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Remitting it Forward

Run on digital assets leads platforms to freeze user accounts, including withdrawals. Bankruptcy looms. 

The Big Chill in Crypto

Firm to combine asset, wealth and consumer banking into one unit

Goldman Sachs Reorganization 

Coinbase, Google Cloud, MinePlex among deals

Crypto Still Has Fans...And Deals

OB1 develops OpenBazaar, a fully decentralized software solutions that provide free online trading of cryptocurrencies.


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Launched in July 2023, the Federal Reserve's FedNow service has been a game-changer in the U.S. payments landscape. With over 900 financial institutions onboarded, including major players like Chase and Wells Fargo, FedNow is reshaping the future of payments in the U.S. FedNow represents a significant shift from the traditional Automated Clearing House (ACH) system to real-time payments, ensuring transactions are processed instantly, 24/7/365. ACH, while effective, typically requires one to two business days for transaction completion. In contrast, FedNow processes payments in seconds, offering a faster and more efficient alternative that aligns the U.S. with global payment standards. 

One Year Since the FedNow Launch: What You Should Know

Finance and payments company Klarna says it has reduced hundreds of jobs and sees more reductions coming due to its implementation of AI. The Swedish company is using AI to handle customer queries with chatbots to drastically reduce the time taken to resolve issues. A buy-now-pay-later company, widely expected to seek a stock market listing next year, Klarna has been one of the early adopters of generative AI to cut costs and boost productivity.

Klarna uses AI to reduce employee numbers

Cryptocurrency prices fell on Friday as investors weighed the latest financial woes at Silvergate Capital and assessed what a potential bankruptcy at the crypto bank could mean for the broader crypto industry.The drop came late Thursday night, hours after several crypto companies said they’d stopped accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate – including Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Circle, Paxos and Bitstamp. Silvergate, which has become the go-to bank for cryptocurrency businesses, gave notice Wednesday that it won’t meet an extended deadline to file its annual report and warned it may not be able to operate for another 12 months. 

Bitcoin, ether slide on Friday as investors weigh potential fallout from Silvergate woes

The U.S. cryptocurrency firm Circle’s USD Coin lost its dollar peg and fell to a record low Saturday morning. The company revealed it has nearly 8% of its $40 billion in reserves tied up at the collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank. USDC is designed to trade at $1, but it fell below 87 cents on Saturday, according to data from CoinDesk. In a tweet Friday, Circle said it has $3.3 billion in remaining reserves at SVB. The company called for the continuity of the bank and said it will follow guidance from regulators.

Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after firm reveals it has $3.3 billion in SVB exposure

Half of all fintech firms have put a stop to hiring staff in 2023 because of the challenging economic climate, according to a major new report. During the first half of 2022, over 4,000 fintech employees lost their roles across 45 companies, from mortgage lenders to firms processing digital payments, further highlighting the impact challenging financial times are having on a sector.  With a global recession looming, the development of financial software and the evolution of fintech innovations will have a larger impact on consumers than ever in 2023. 

Half of all fintech firms introduce hiring freeze

The New Jersey-based regional bank has a higher profile after a trio of recent bank collapses – and will likely face added regulatory scrutiny. Cross River Bank – a venture capital-backed, FDIC-insured regional bank in New Jersey that’s part financial institution and part fintech – has an increased profile in crypto circles thanks to the collapses of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in under a week. 

What Is Cross River Bank, USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle’s New Partner?

eToro recently completed a $250 million funding round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. Investors include ION Group, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Velvet Sea Ventures, and a number of existing investors. This funding stems from an Advance Investment Agreement (AIA) which eToro entered into in February 2021 as part of its proposed SPAC transaction.

eToro raises $250 million at $3.5 billion valuation

Factris, an Amsterdam-based tech-power financing solution for SMEs, has received further momentum thanks to a €50 million funding line from global investment business Aegon Asset Management.

Factris lands €50 million funding line from Aegon Asset Management

U.S.-based savings and investing startup Acorns has acquired London-based GoHenry, a startup focused on providing money management and financial education services to 6- to18-year-olds in an all-equity deal, the two companies announced today.

Acorns acquires UK’s GoHenry, a fintech focused on 6- to 18-year-olds

Remittance outfit Sendwave has launched a banking product for migrants in the United States. Sendwave, which is owned by London-based fintech Zepz, is offering select customers a FDIC-insured bank account with an accompanying debit card.


Sendwave launches bank account for migrants

The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple, who are accused of trading securities with the question: are cryptocurrencies securities? Since then, the SEC has issued warrants against Binance and Coinbase which essentially all comes down to what the US refers to as the Howey Test.  In separate cases against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase, it added 16 more digital assets to its list of likely securities but rather than going after them, it went after the exchanges that provide a venue for them to trade. By not registering as an exchange or broker, Coinbase is deemed in violation of such laws.

Why the SEC is chasing Coinbase, Binance, Ripple and more

On June 6th the Securities and Exchange Commission (sec) sued Coinbase, the country’s largest crypto exchange, for failing to register as a broker, exchange or clearinghouse of securities. When markets opened, Coinbase’s share price dropped by a fifth. The day before the sec had sued Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange—alleging both that it offered securities-trading services without the necessary registrations, and that it had placed customer funds in a trading outfit owned by its boss, Changpeng Zhao. Binance rejected all the allegations and said it would “vigorously defend” itself.

Regulators put the future of America’s crypto industry in doubt

Asset management giant Fidelity is close to submitting its own filing for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, joining a long list of issuers keen to be first to market with such a product. A source familiar with the firm’s plans says that it could submit its filing as soon as Tuesday, following the lead of asset management giant BlackRock. BlackRock’s June 15 filing has been followed by other asset managers looking to launch their own spot bitcoin funds including Invesco, WisdomTree and Bitwise.



Fidelity preparing to submit spot bitcoin ETF filing: Source

A recent article was quoted as saying "that Wall Street is coming for crypto, whether early believers like it or not." Something has changed, and maybe the biggest change is that treasury managers want to use cryptocurrencies. If the customer wants it, then the big banks have to service it and there’s the rub. The big banks have stirred and incorporated digital assets, and specifically cryptocurrencies, into their remit. And then you know that cryptocurrencies are going mainstream when Standard and Poor’s (S&P) start to rate them. They don’t do that today, but they are moving that way. 

The moment you realise crypto has gone mainstream

A TD Cowen analyst views MicroStrategy as “an attractive vehicle for investors looking to gain bitcoin exposure." TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza, who initiated coverage on the Michael Saylor-led firm last Wednesday with an outperform rating, praised the company for its “hybrid corporate strategy.” MicroStrategy is known for converting all of its earnings from its core software intelligence business into bitcoin. This approach represents a “paradigm shift,” he wrote in a note to investors.

Bullish MicroStrategy Analysts Raise Price Targets Ahead of Q2 Earnings

Corporate spend management giant Brex has laid off 282 people (20% of its workforce) and revealed that its COO and CTO are leaving their roles.In a message to employees, shared on the company's blog, co-CEO Pedro Franceschi says the job cuts as part of a restructuring to become a "high-velocity company". Franceschi says the axe is being wielded following a hard look at the company's structure that will result in fewer management layers.

Brex axes 20% of staff

Temenos shares were down over 6% on Friday after closing over 28% lower on Thursday.
The Swiss software company said its board of directors “fundamentally refutes” a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research. Short-seller Hindenburg Research made headlines after accusing Indian conglomerate Adani of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in early 2023.

Hindenburg’s latest short target Temenos rejects allegations as share price tumbles

In the six months following its groundbreaking launch in July 2023, FedNow has emerged as a transformative force in real-time payments, marking a significant departure from the traditional Automated Clearing House (ACH) system.  This shift signifies a pivotal moment in banking innovation, offering instantaneous transaction processing that aligns with the modern financial transaction demands.

How FedNow is Shaping Payments Since its Groundbreaking Launch

The Federal Reserve is stressing the importance of fintechs and core providers for the future expansion of its new instant payments system FedNow. The Federal Reserve won’t provide fintechs with direct access to its new instant payments system FedNow, but it’s still courting their participation in the new real-time ecosystem. 

Fintechs can help the Fed see what’s on the horizon for the new faster payment system and allow the new real-time payments services to be easier to use, said Mollie Markham, a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago industry specialist who works with nonbanks. Fintechs can also assist the Fed in providing services that make the most of FedNow’s data-rich capabilities, she said during a conference this month.

Fed courts nonbanks for FedNow growth

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declared on Wednesday that customers of the burgeoning buy now, pay later industry have the same federal protections as users of credit cards. The agency unveiled what it called an “interpretive rule” that deemed BNPL lenders essentially the same as traditional credit card providers under the decades-old Truth in Lending Act. The BNPL market is dominated by fintech firms like Affirm, Klarna and PayPal.

CFPB says buy now, pay later firms must comply with U.S. credit card laws

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