Feb 7, 2022

Fed on Stablecoins, New Credit Cards Acquisition Channel, $323 Million in ETH Stolen

Issue #134 — View online — Suggest a link

Fintech

A weekly newsletter covering all things fintech.
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Hey fintechers,

This week we look into the Fed new research on risks and promises of stablecoins, BNPL as a new credit card acquisition channel, hundreds of millions stolen from cross-chain protocol Wormhole, the great resignation after Vishal Garg’s return, fintech growing role in healthcare, the reasons behind Latam’s fintech investments boom, plus much more.

As always, if you like this newsletter, remember to share the love and tell your fellow fintech enthusiast friends to sign up!

Enjoy,

Alessandro

This Week in Fintech

Fed Releases New Research on Risk and Promise of Stablecoins

Researchers examine the current ecosystem, and how expansion could affect the stability of US monetary policy. To preserve stability, the report advocates for a two-tiered approach, which would have issuers rely on commercial banks for reserves rather than banking their tokens solely with Fed deposits.

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Buy Now, Pay Later: The New Credit Card Acquisition Channel

Buy now pay later companies are establishing a: 1) deep history of young consumers’ purchase and repayment activity, and 2) relationships that avoid revolving debt, high interest rates, and punitive fees. That’s not a threat to credit cards—but it is to credit card issuers.

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Vishal Garg’s Return as CEO Shakes Better.com; Many Resign, Company Rolls in NDA, ‘No Phone’ Rule for Meetings

Seems like the air of tension hasn’t yet left the company as several employees of Better.com are resigning in ‘droves’.

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Funding, Merger & Acquisitions

SAP to Buy US Fintech Taulia; Eyes Metaverse Opportunities

SAP said on Thursday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in privately held U.S. fintech firm Taulia as the German business software group seeks to expand its presence in supply-chain financing and working capital management.

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Vesta Closes on $30m in an a16z-Led Series a to Build a New Kind of Mortgage Infrastructure

If you’ve ever taken out a mortgage, you know how painful and tedious the process can be. In an effort to make it simpler, faster and cheaper, a pair of former Blend employees have teamed up to build mortgage loan origination software that will connect banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers.

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Wayflyer Raises $150m on a $1.6b Valuation for a New Spin on Providing Loans to E-Commerce Merchants

Wayflyer, a financing platform, using big data analytics and repayments based on a merchant’s revenue activity, announced a $150 million Series B, valuing the Dublin-based startup at $1.6 billion.

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Withco Closes on $32m to Help SMBs Become Property Owners With a Lease-To-Own Model

Withco’s mission is to purchase properties and then rent them back to small business owners with the option to purchase the property at a future date.

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Something More for You to Read

Fintech’s Growing Role in the Healthcare Revolution (paywall)

Similar to how fintech is scaling vertical SaaS, the pandemic-fueled disaggregation of healthcare has created new players that are taking a page out of the fintech revolution book.

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$323 Million in ETH Stolen From Cross-Chain Protocol Wormhole

According to a series of etherscan transactions, an attacker has exploited Wormhole, a bridge between the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, for close to $323 million in ETH.

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Visa Customers Made $2.5b in Crypto-Linked Payments in Q1

Payments volume in the quarter was 70% of the company’s total crypto volume during its previous fiscal year.

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Why Fintech Investment in Latin America More Than Tripled Over the Past Year

Venture capitalists invested a record $15.3 billion in funding in Latin American firms throughout 2021.

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Grayscale Debuts ETF to Track Digital Asset-Based Equities Index

Crypto asset manager Grayscale has made a splash in the $7 trillion exchange-traded fund market by launching its first ETF.

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In Africa’s Booming Startup Hubs, the Founders Have Become the Funders

Tech pioneers from Cellulant, Paystack, and Andela are backing the next generation of founders in Lagos and Nairobi.

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Nubank Sees Brazil Downturn as a Chance to Grow Faster

Brazil’s economic downturn may represent an opportunity for Latin America’s newest listed lender to gain market share aggressively despite the riskier environment, the founder and CEO of digital bank Nubank , David Velez, said.

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Techstars Startup Digest Fintech is curated by:

Alessandro Ravanetti - Fintech writer, copywriter & content strategist. Working in the fintech industry since 2011, previously as a founder and now as a consultant. Independent expert with the European Commission and SXSW advisory board member.
alessandro.ravanetti@startupdigestmail.com

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