Fintech Update, 6/20 - 6/26
Hi! It’s Monday, June 27, 2022.
The Rundown
Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX acquired Embed, a fintech that provides white-label brokerage services and APIs, for an undisclosed price. FTX, who has partnered with Embed before, plans to use the acquisition to expand its equities division. The acquisition comes shortly after FTX’s announcement that it would offer traditional stock trading and rumors that it was investigating potential acquisition opportunities in this space.
Celsius hired advisors to prepare for a potential bankruptcy filing, shortly after it froze withdrawals from the platform last week. Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to raise $2B to buy up distressed assets from Celsius in the event it does go through with bankruptcy.
Crypto firms are vying for a stake in another troubled crypto lender, BlockFi. Crypto exchange FTX extended BlockFi a $250M line of credit, and was reportedly in talks to acquire a stake. In response to FTX’s move, crypto investment firm Morgan Creek is looking to extend a $250M equity offer for a majority share.
Crypto exchange Bitpanda announced that it is planning to eliminate ~ 1/3rd of its workforce, which would lower its headcount to 730 from over 1,000.
Revolut announced that it is launching a BNPL product in Europe, starting in Ireland, that will allow users to spread the cost of purchases of up to €499 across three monthly installments.
Brex conceded it did a “poor job” explaining its move away from SMBs, which “eroded some of the valuable trust” the corporate spend giant had built over the years. In the company’s blog post on lessons learned from the announcement, Brex provided actual details on which businesses it would still serve (those with more than 500k in cash, or 50 employees, etc.).
Controversial stablecoin Tether is launching a version tied to the pound, hoping to capitalize on the UK government’s stated goal of becoming a global hub for cryptocurrency.
Selected fundings
SumUp, a UK-fintech offering SMEs payments technology, raised $624 million (50% equity and 50% debt) in a new funding round led by Bain Capital at an $8.5 billion valuation.
Singapore-based neobank Stashfin raised $70 million in equity and $200 million in debt in a Series C funding round.
Cryptocurrency brokerage and digital asset trading platform FalconX raised $150 million in Series D funding at an $8 billion valuation.
Kasheesh, a fintech offering an embedded webs browser that allows customers shopping online to split their payments across cards, emerged from stealth and raised $5.5 million in pre seed funding.
iCapital, a platform for alternative investments and investors, announced a strategic investment from Bank of America.
Prime Trust, a crypto custody and infrastructure provider, raised $100 million in Series B funding.
UK-based B2B BNPL provider Playter raised $55 million (“mixture of equity and debt”) in a new funding round.
Cleo, a UK-based financial assistant app, raised $80 million in new funding.