Plus: Crypto firm FTX gets warning from FDIC to stop ‘misleading’ consumers about deposit protection.
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Bank of Canada’s Ron Morrow: FinTechs “need to be ready” for upcoming retail payments regulations (BETAKIT)
The Bank of Canada will soon regulate entities facilitating retail payment functions in Canada, including FinTech firms of various sizes, domestic and foreign.
“It’s not very often the Bank of Canada gets a new mandate, and it’s not very often you get a blank sheet of paper to work from.” Said Ron Morrow, executive director of retail payments supervision at the Bank of Canada.
Galaxy Digital terminates its acquisition of BitGo (THE BLOCK)
“Galaxy remains positioned for success and to take advantage of strategic opportunities to grow in a sustainable manner,” said Mike Novogratz, CEO and founder of Galaxy Digital, in a release. “We are committed to continuing our process to list in the U.S. and providing our clients with a prime solution that truly makes Galaxy a one-stop shop for institutions.”
Venture investment returning to pre-pandemic levels, shows Q2 2022 CVCA report (BETAKIT)
The economic downturn is leading to investment themes that bear resemblance to early 2020, when investors were cautiously deploying capital and concentrating on their existing portfolio companies.
Crypto.com laid off 260 employees — then quietly let go of hundreds more (THE VERGE)
“We were assured the layoffs would impact 5 percent, 260 employees only,” one source with close knowledge of the situation told The Verge. “People in the company recently noticed many employees disappearing from our internal slack or scheduled meetings.”
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Losses from crypto hacks surged 60% to $1.9 billion from January to July, Chainalysis says (REUTERS)
“DeFi protocols are uniquely vulnerable to hacking, as their open source code can be studied ad nauseum by cybercriminals looking for exploits and it’s possible that protocols’ incentives to reach the market and grow quickly lead to lapses in security best practices,” Chainalysis said in a blog.
How startups can survive a market downturn (BETAKIT)
Katy Yam, partner at Real Ventures and GM of Founder Fuel, Peter Fishman, co-founder and CEO of Mozart Data, and Ethan Ruby, partner of analytics at Craft Ventures all spoke about how the right data can help startup leaders make survival decisions in a downturn.
Wait, When Did Everyone Start Using Apple Pay? (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Patience isn’t the most popular virtue in Silicon Valley, where companies aspire to move fast and break things, the motto that defined the age of tech excess. It took longer than expected for the iPhone to become a wallet. But the patience of Apple is slowly paying off.
Samsung revealed as most active investor in blockchain since September (COINTELEGRAPH)
In a blog published by Blockdata which was updated on Wednesday, the tech company was revealed to have participated in funding rounds for 13 companies, including climate tech venture Flowcarbon, Bored Apes Yacht Club issuer Yuga Labs, blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, and Axie Infinity owner Sky Mavis.
As other lenders collapse, Ledn bets conservative approach will help startup survive crypto winter (BETAKIT)
“What’s become evident after all that’s happened is that not all [crypto] lending platforms are created equal,” Ledn co-founder and chief strategy officer (CSO) Mauricio Di Bartolomeo told BetaKit in an interview.
“When times are good, you don’t ask the right questions,” said Di Bartolomeo. “And when times get bad, it’s unfortunately too late to ask the right questions.”
Social Media Was a C.E.O.’s Bullhorn, and How He Lured Women (THE NEW YORK TIMES)
After responding to questions earlier in the day from The New York Times, Mr. Price tweeted that he had resigned on Wednesday evening as chief executive of his company, Gravity Payments. He wrote that he had become a “distraction” and needed to “focus full time on fighting false allegations made about me.”
Crypto firm FTX gets warning from FDIC to stop ‘misleading’ consumers about deposit protection (CNBC)
“Based upon evidence collected by the FDIC, each of these companies made false representations —including on their websites and social media accounts — stating or suggesting that certain crypto-related products are FDIC-insured or that stocks held in brokerage accounts are FDIC-insured,” a regulator said in a press release.
Talk of regulation, market conditions collide with glitzy behaviour at Blockchain Futurist Conference (BETAKIT)
The setting allowed attendees to rent company cabanas, lounge by a pool, park their yachts outside, and use a local helicopter service to fly in. Overheard by one of the conference’s global attendees was a boast that they had recently rented a $5 million Airbnb for their company.
OSFI limits crypto exposure for Canadian banks, insurers (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Financial firms need to notify the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions if their gross exposure to type 2 crypto assets — which, under the regulator’s definition, would likely encompass most cryptocurrencies — exceeds 1 per cent of their Tier 1 capital, the regulator said Thursday.
Sequoia India-backed Digit Insurance files for $440 million IPO (TECHCRUNCH)
The five-year-old startup, which sells auto, health and travel insurance, is part of a group of firms that is attempting to expand the number of individuals in India that buy insurance coverage.
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