Biden Digital Dollar, Fintech for Women, APIs and the Banks

European investors are tripping over themselves to fund a new wave of fintechs who want to usurp them. It’s a land grab, but who does what?

The Biden administration is putting its support behind the research and development of a “U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency,” or CBDC. The move is part of a sweeping executive order President Joe Biden signed Wednesday instructing the federal government to explore possible uses of and regulations for digital assets like cryptocurrencies.

Digital real estate platform Roofstock closed a $240 million Series E equity financing round, achieving a valuation of $1.94 billion.

Nordic neobank Lunar raised $77 million at a $2 billion valuation and unveiled a crypto trading platform. Users are able to trade bitcoin, ether, DOGE, ADA and DOT at the platform’s launch.

Global financial transactions are facilitated mainly by payment processors such as Visa or Mastercard. They are responsible for communication between banks and fintechs to settle transactions for consumers and businesses swiftly. Africa has it different. It’s not a predominantly card continent.

Debt marketplace CredAvenue, which helps businesses and enterprises secure debt from lenders, has become the fastest Indian fintech startup to join the unicorn club, it said on Sunday. The two-year-old startup has raised a $137 million Series B financing round led by Insight Partners, B Capital Group and Dragoneer, it said.

Portage Ventures, the venture capital arm of investment firm Sagard, announced the sixth close of its Portage Ventures III LP. The VC firm said it has raised $788.5 million CAD ($616 million USD) to date, and claims the fund is now one of the largest early-stage FinTech-focused venture funds in the world.

Millennials were the neobanks’ bread and butter. But seven years since the likes of Monzo and Revolut first emerged on the scene, the new kids on the block are Gen Z. 

The fund has a specific focus for individuals working in consumer crypto, web3 infrastructure and decentralized finance.