Fintech Focus For December 10, 2020

Quote To Start The Day: Two armies that fight each other is like one large army that commits suicide.

Source: Henri Barbusse

One Big Thing In Fintech: Stock trading app Robinhood Markets Inc has picked Goldman Sachs to lead preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) which could come next year and value it at more than $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Source: CNBC

Other Key Fintech Developments:

• SEC to modernize market structure.
• MarketAxess adds new marketplace.
• BBVA launches cryptocurrency tech.
• SC Ventures invested into OpenFin.
• Robinhood plans tapping into growth.
• Barclays launches an equity platform.
• AAX added global currency support.
• Coinbase backstory, growth prospect.
• Refinitiv has closed Giact acquisition.
• Celsius, Chainalysis team on audits.
• Scotiabank intros real-time payments.
• Bitso taps into $62M Series B round.
• Wells Fargo, Bill.com partner on tech.
• Ninth Wave, Vantaca will collaborate.
• SC, Northern Trust add Zodia custody.
• HealNow raises $1.3M for payments.

Watch Out For This: In effect, hedge funds are providing bridge loans that have enabled a host of famous names from the world of business, finance and politics to launch their own SPACs this year. The funds are often arbitrageurs, though, with no intention of remaining investors once a SPAC has found a merger target. Retail investors and institutional investors who hold SPACs as long-term investments once a deal is struck haven’t always done as well.

It’s vital that these other investors understand that the lifecycle of a SPAC has these two distinct phases and that a hedge fund’s motivations for holding a SPAC often aren’t the same as those who buy later.

Source: Bloomberg

Interesting Reads:

• How Biden administration is shaping.
• Kode With Klossy, Learn & Earn team.
• Steps to effectively scale sales plans.
• True dangers of AI now appear closer.
• DACA is back -- here’s what happens.
• DoorDash pops on its first trading day.

Market Moving Headline: The traditional business cycle playbook does not apply to the pandemic. We see the shock as more akin to that of a large-scale natural disaster followed by swift economic restart. Early in the crisis, we assessed that the ultimate cumulative economic losses – what matters most for financial markets – would likely prove to be a fraction of those seen in the wake of the global financial crisis (GFC).

This view was conditional on robust policy support to tide households and businesses through the income shock. The early results of Covid-19 vaccine trials give us greater confidence in this framework. They suggest the economic restart can re-accelerate significantly in 2021 as pent-up demand is unleashed. Markets will likely be quick to price in a full economic restart given the better visibility on the outlook.

Source: BlackRock