Even if you are just peripherally aware of crypto you probably heard about the much-hyped Ethereum Merge that took place this week. It was all anyone could talk about on Thursday. There was also big news from Biden Administration on crypto regulation, Walmart’s fintech offering is nearing a beta launch, some fintech companies have figured out profitability and Varo’s CEO discusses his bank’s prospects. Here are what I consider to be the top ten fintech news stories of the past week.
Ethereum switches to proof-of-stake consensus after completing The Merge from TechCrunch – After years of planning and plenty of hype the Merge finally happened and Ethereum has transitioned from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, thereby reducing energy consumption by 99.95%.
Biden White House just put out a framework on regulating crypto — here’s what’s in it from CNBC – The long-awaited White House framework for regulating crypto was released this week. While it doesn’t propose any new legislation, it greenlights the SEC and CFTC to continue working on enforcing laws for digital assets, it should make borderless transactions easier, as well as cracking down on fraud in the digital asset space.
Milk, Diapers and Checking Accounts: Banking Comes to Walmart from Bloomberg – The joint venture from Walmart and Ribbit Capital, known as One, is getting ready to launch its beta. Some of Walmart’s 1.6 million US employees will soon be able to open a One checking account and with 5,335 stores it will have a bigger “branch” footprint than any US bank.
How Starling Bank, Upgrade and Dave cracked the profitability code from American Banker – Getting to profitability has never been more important for fintech companies and in this profile by Penny Crosman she looks at three companies that are already there.
Varo’s CEO on the Neobank’s Missteps & Rebuilding Strategy from The Financial Brand – Speaking of fintechs looking to get to profitability Varo Bank spent $100 million on getting a banking license and are now working their way to breakeven. CEO Colin Walsh expects that to happen in the next couple of years.
Embedded Finance Transactions Predicted to Jump to $7 Trillion by 2026: Report from Crowdfund Insider – A new report from Bain & Company suggests that embedded finance transactions will value $7 trillion a year within five years with revenue opportunities topping $50 billion.
JPMorgan Chase acquires payments fintech Renovite to help it battle Stripe and Block from CNBC – In the latest fintech acquisition by JPMorgan Chase, they have agreed to acquire Renovite, a payments startup. The largest bank in the US is also the world’s largest provider of merchant services by transaction volume but they felt the need to increase their fintech payments capabilities to compete with the likes of Stripe and Block.
Amid a market of faltering crypto platforms, EDX Markets is born from Fintech Nexus – Crypto exchanges have been struggling this year but that hasn’t stopped some of the biggest names in finance to launch their own. EDX Markets is a new digital asset exchange launched by Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities and Fidelity Digital Assets.
Fintech Ramp Introduces Network for SMB Lending from Crowdfund Insider – One of the leading small business fintechs Ramp has created a lending network consisting of the likes of SmartBiz Loans, Lighter Capital, Live Oak Bank, Stifel, Capchase and Founderpath giving Ramp customers access to range of small business lending options.
FTX Is in the Lead to Buy Crypto Lender Voyager Digital’s Assets Out of Bankruptcy: Source from CoinDesk – The Voyager Digital bankruptcy process is playing out as there was an auction this week of its assets with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX being the highest bidder. The deal has not been approved yet and FTX as well as Voyager are not commenting on any deal.
