Fintech Focus For April 9, 2021

Quote To Start The Day: We don't abandon our pursuits because we despair of ever perfecting them.

Source: Epictetus

One Big Thing In Fintech: To stay competitive, financial institutions must take a page from SaaS providers by embedding much needed financial services functionality into their existing digital channels — improving customer retention, deposits, and cross-sell opportunities.

Source: Tearsheet

Other Key Fintech Developments:

• VideoCoin, Filecoin add NFT tech.
• Walmart clarifying fintech ambition.
• Envestnet bought fintech Harvest.
• Russia will launch cryptocurrency.
• Equilibrium raises $2.5M funding.
• Immutable plans to cut NFT costs.
• Railsbank looking to boost BaaS.
• State Street intros crypto platform.
• UK fintechs attract venture capital.
• HIPPO fintech joins SPAC mania.
• Barclays goes live with XTX Direct.
• SoFi’s fintech-bank deal blueprint.
• LSEG suffered outage on Refinitiv.
• Nasdaq discusses failing trades. 
• Capital One talking digital access.
• Revolut allows staff to work abroad.
• TrueLayer secures $70M Series D.
• FDX announces strategic surveys.
• 2021 fintech and bank challenges.
• MoneyLion adding crypto support.
• Ramp raised $115M in its Series B.
• PIMCO leader joins Arca to advise.
• Texture Capital, COSIMO partner.

Watch Out For This: President Biden has announced a new set of initiatives by which he hopes to curb the gun violence he described as “an epidemic” and “an international embarrassment.” Among other things, the ATF will be closing loopholes in unregulated online sales and so-called “ghost guns,” which can be built or printed with no serial numbers or background checks.

Source: TechCrunch

Interesting Reads:

• Tiger Global funds Gupshup plans.
• Stimulus to cause excess leverage?
• GM idles more plants on shortages.
• A story on the cult of CryptoPunks.
• Patreon raised $155M in financing.
• Keys to success, the next big thing.

Market Moving Headline: In the aftermath of the Archegos blow-up, the biggest nightmare on Wall Street [] is that (many) more Archegos-style, highly levered "family office" blow-ups are waiting just around the corner.

Well, in a transaction after the close that is sure to spark much-heated controversy tonight and tomorrow morning, Bloomberg announced that JPMorgan was offering a 9 million block of Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) stock. Since this is virtually identical to what happened two Fridays ago when similar public BWICs by Goldman and other banks proceeded to unwind the Archegos portfolio, the immediate question on everyone's lips is whether a second highly levered family office has blown up.

Source: ZeroHedge