FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 20 May 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Cryptocurrency
KPMG UK hires Crypto UK exec to bolster digital asset services
KPMG UK says the hires will allow it to offer clients “additional high calibre expertise”.
Programmable banking
We are fast approaching the time finally being right for programmable banking.
Blockchain fintech Oasis Pro lands $27m Series A
The company’s mission is “to bridge the world of traditional finance, blockchain and decentralised finance”.
Former Meta, PayPal chief launches Bitcoin payments start-up
Lightspark aims to “explore, build and extend the capabilities and utility of Bitcoin”.
Digital assets platform Elwood lands $70m Series A
The Series A cash will go towards expanding Elwood’s product offerings and global operations.
Blockchain data platform Chainalysis raises $170m Series F
The Series F pegs Chainalysis’ valuation at $8.6 billion.
New York’s Solidus Labs bags $45m in Series B round
Solidus Labs enables safer crypto trading across centralised and DeFi markets through its solutions.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 13 May 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
EMEA funding round-up: Cashew, Stanhope, Elucidate, Spades, Sun Zu Lab & sqft.capital
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across EMEA.
UK crypto payments and banking platform BVNK lands $40m Series A
BVNK’s CEO says the funds will allow the company to “expand our services, markets and operations”.
KuCoin hits $10bn valuation with new $150m funding round
The round was led by Jump Crypto with participation from Circle Ventures, IDG Capital and Matrix Partners.
Crypto firm Talos bags $105m from investors including Citi, Wells Fargo and BNY Mellon
Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, PayPal and Fidelity also took part in the round.
Latin American Bitcoin rewards credit card provider YoCripto readies for launch
YoCripto is on a mission to be the first in Latin America to offer a credit card with Bitcoin rewards.
ICYMI funding round-up: Estateguru, SaaScada, tell.money, Cheq, GMEX & Bluezone
A handy round-up of the recent funding endeavours of fintech companies across the globe.
Fintech app for teens Copper secures $29m Series A
The latest round takes Copper’s total capital raised to date to $42.3 million.
Robinhood announces layoffs, sheds 9% of full-time workforce
CEO Vlad Tenev cites duplicate roles and job functions and “more layers and complexity than are optimal”.
Fintech start-up Valor set to launch in US for Latino and Hispanic communities
The company was founded by WePay alumni Parag Gupta (CEO) and Sankate Sharma (CTO).
How the regulation of fintech could help the UK stay competitive in the sector
The UK must balance innovation and competition with the need for customer protection through effective regulation.
US financial services super-app Multicent gears up for launch
Multicent will offer personal and business accounts, a crypto exchange and merchant services.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 22 April 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Alkami tapped by ORNL Federal Credit Union for digital banking upgrade
The Alkami Platform will power ORNL FCU’s growing digital offering, with new services set to be rolled out.
Trading app Robinhood plots global expansion with acquisition of UK crypto firm Ziglu
Robinhood says the deal forms part of its mission to “democratise finance”.
Indian crypto platform CoinDCX raises $135m Series D
CoinDCX CEO says the investment “reinforces the belief in India’s immense potential in the crypto ecosystem”.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 15 April 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Crypto paytech MoonPay receives $87m from entertainment and sporting stars
MoonPay CEO says: “Web3 is radically changing the way we approach the business of entertainment, sports and music.”
Bank of England’s fintech chief Varun Paul leaves for digital asset platform Fireblocks
Paul has been at the central bank for 16 years and spent just over a year as head of the fintech hub.
Binance.US lands $200m in first funding round at $4.5bn valuation
The digital asset exchange will use some of the new funds on developing new products and services.
Charitable giving start-up Daffy on the growth of donor-advised funds
FinTech Futures speaks to Daffy’s Adam Nash and Lorie Lambert about streamlining donations.
Two years on from the FCA’s AML/CTF registration regime, how are firms managing?
Two years on from its introduction, how have cryptoasset firms been navigating the registration process?
Bank of Italy bans N26 from “undertaking operations with new customers” over AML shortcomings
N26 says it takes money laundering “very seriously” and has been scaling up its global AML efforts since last year.
Blockchain.com valued at $14bn following Series D funding round
The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Baillie Gifford.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 25 March 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Banking app Dave partners FTX US to explore crypto payments
The partnership will see FTX Ventures, the venture fund arm of FTX Trading, invest $100 million in Dave.
Finovate Europe 2022: fintech investment trends – where’s the smart money going?
Investment professionals from Citi Ventures, Albion VC and Finch Capital discussed the ‘next big thing’ in fintech.
FCA says all UK crypto ATMs must be shut down
The FCA says none of the cryptoasset firms registered with the regulator have been approved to offer crypto ATM services.
Blockchain firm ConsenSys lands $450m Series D funding
Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Microsoft all contributed to the latest funding round.
Unbanked goes crowdfunding to build global bank on blockchain
Unbanked has attracted nearly $1.5 million from 1,500+ investors so far. The round closes on 26 April.
State of play: fintech and telco
How we pay, what we pay, and who we pay is changing, and telco firms are well positioned to take advantage.
Lunar lands €70m Series D extension round, launches crypto platform
Lunar CEO says the new funding will enable the firm to continue carrying out its Nordic expansion plan.
