It is a good time to be a fast growing fintech company. We have big funding rounds and record valuations from many of the leaders in fintech in another jam-packed week for news. Here are what I consider to be the top 10 most important fintech news stories of the past week.
Upstart Posts Strong Results in First Earnings Call and Announces Acquisition from Lend Academy – Upstart is the new fintech darling as they not just reported a blowout quarter in their first earnings report as a public company but raised guidance significantly for 2021.
Altimeter to Lead Plaid Deal After Scrapped Visa Merger from The Information – Speaking of fintech darlings Plaid is looking to raise $600 million at a $10-$15 billion valuation, more than double the price tag Visa put on them in early 2020.
Fintech Stripe Scores Blockbuster $95 Billion Valuation from The Wall Street Journal – Stripe remains the undisputed fintech king in this country, at least when it comes to valuation, with the news of a $600 million round that values the company at $95 billion.
Chime prepares stock market listing as online banking grows from Reuters – To the public markets is where Chime is reportedly headed with the news that preliminary talks have been held with investment banks of a possible $30 billion IPO.
Trading platform eToro to go public via SPAC merger in $10B deal from TechCrunch – While the SPAC mania of a few weeks ago is slowing down there is still one or two big fintech deals announced every week.
Are NFTs the New ICO? Could NFTs be Deemed Securities? A Top Digital Asset Attorney Explains from Crowdfund Insider – NFTs are still the flavor the month so it is good to get the opinion of an experienced attorney to weigh in on some of the unknowns.
Brian Brooks joins blockchain company Spring Labs from American Banker – While the headline is a little misleading – Brian Brooks is joining the board of Spring Labs, not taking a full time job – we have all been wondering where the former OCC head will land next.
Blend Opens Digital Front Door For Banks To Recapture Loan Business from PYMNTS – It was a big week for Blend as they announced the $500 million acquisition of Title365. Here Karen Webster sits down with Blend’s head of Finance for an in depth perspective.
Investors warm to Lending Club, the fintech that became a bank from The Financial Times – Even LendingClub has some positive momentum, ending the week up almost 50% in valuation as investors suddenly see them as a bargain in the frothy public markets for fintech.
CEO Of Fintech Lender Upstart Now A Billionaire After Shares Soar 89% In One Day from Forbes – We will bookend the news this week with another Upstart story. After their blowout earning report their stock rose 89% making CEO Dave Girouard a billionaire.
