Plus: Dapper Labs makes third round of layoffs, Revolut loses $20M to theft.
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WonderFi, Coinsquare, CoinSmart merge as landmark Canadian crypto deal closes (BETAKIT)
Vancouver’s WonderFi has now merged with two fellow regulated Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinsquare and CoinSmart, which are both based in Toronto.
The three-way business combination, initially announced in April, brings over $600 million CAD in assets under custody and more than 1.65 million users under the same roof.
Ex-Celsius CEO Mashinsky Charged in Latest DOJ Crypto Case
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
Former Celsius Network Ltd Chief Executive Officer Alex Mashinsky was accused by US prosecutors of pumping up the price of his firm’s cryptocurrency to entice customers to the platform — all so he could line his pockets to the tune of $42 million.
Dapper Labs makes third round of layoffs since November as crypto winter continues (BETAKIT)
Vancouver-based Dapper Labs has carried out more layoffs, marking the Web3 company’s third round of cuts in the past eight months as it navigates the market downturn.
Dapper Labs founder and CEO Roham Gharegozlou disclosed that on July 12 the firm let go of as many as 51 employees, including full-time staff and contractors.
Robinhood Rival Public.com Makes Its International Debut in UK
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
Commission-free investing platform Public.com is launching in the UK, marking the Robinhood rival’s first expansion outside its American home market.
Public says it earns revenue through services like its premium accounts and a voluntary tipping system, rather than the controversial order flow payment system.<
Tapping into Vaughan’s emerging world-class healthcare hub with Mayor Del Duca (BETAKIT)
The Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital sits on more than 80 acres of undeveloped land.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca—along with Council colleagues, Mackenzie Health, York University, and ventureLAB—has a plan to turn that land into a world-leading medical innovation hub.
Ripple Labs notches landmark win in SEC case over XRP cryptocurrency (REUTERS)
Ripple Labs Inc did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday, a landmark legal victory for the cryptocurrency industry that sent the value of XRP soaring.
Report: Canada saw over 30,000 tech workers immigrate while losing nearly 1,700 to the US (BETAKIT)
Canada saw an intake of over 30,000 tech workers from abroad within the last year, a new report from the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) and Canada’s Tech Network (CTN) found.
Additionally, the report found that Canada “largely” benefits from investment of American tech companies as they expand or relocate to Canada.
Revolut’s US payment flaws allowed thieves to steal $20mn (FINANCIAL TIMES)
A flaw in Revolut’s payment system in the US allowed criminals to steal more than $20 million of its funds over several months last year before the company could close the loophole, according to multiple people.
The incident, which has not yet been disclosed publicly, is likely to add further pressure to the highly valued fintech.
Binance Lays Off Over 1,000 Employees (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Grappling with federal investigations and regulatory crackdowns, Binance has fired over 1,000 people in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the moves.
The exercise, which is continuing, could result in Binance losing more than a third of its staff, the person said.
Alberta Technology Minister’s mandate letter appears to support reducing restrictions on title ‘software engineer’ (BETAKIT)
In her mandate letter, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appears to task the provincial Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, with ensuring “appropriate governance of software engineers that will not hamper the efforts of tech companies to attract these needed-professionals from competing jurisdictions.”
Papara Becomes Turkey’s First Fintech Unicorn (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Turkey’s Papara became the country’s first fintech firm to reach unicorn status, particularly significant after a global slump in valuations in global tech assets reached Turkey.
This year, Papara expanded its product offerings beyond core banking services to include pet, home, travel and mobile insurance.
Waterloo tops global list of enrolment for computer science students (BETAKIT)
Three Canadian universities have made a list of the top-25 highest ranked computer science universities globally.
The list is part of the QS World University Rankings. This year’s marks the 20th edition of the list, which features 1,500 institutions across 104 locations.
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