The FTX fiasco continued to lead the news all week. Every day contained new revelations of the staggering mismanagement inside FTX as their downfall continues to reverberate throughout the crypto world. It was a relatively slow news week aside from the FTX news. Here are what I consider to be the top ten fintech news stories of the past week.
New Chief Calls FTX’s Corporate Control a ‘Complete Failure’ from The New York Times – The new FTX CEO is the same person who dealt with the Enron debacle 20+ years ago and he famously said this week that with FTX he had never seen “such a complete failure of corporate control” in his 40-year career.
Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself from Vox – This was the craziest FTX story this week as a Vox reporter had a long exchange with Sam Bankman-Fried via Twitter direct message where SBF is shockingly candid for someone who is the subject of multiple criminal investigations and has the attention of Congress.
Why the Investing Pros Were Such Suckers for FTX from The Wall Street Journal – This is the really big question here. Some of the smartest investors on the planet were hoodwinked by SBF and ignored multiple warning signs as they desperately wanted to jump on board what seemed like a crypto rocket ship.
U.S. banks to pounce on fintech deals as valuations plunge from Reuters – With valuations of many fintech companies down as much as 90% we can expect to see a flurry of M&A activity in the next 12-18 months, most likely led by banks.
Treasury calls for more fintech oversight from BankingDive – A report released by the Treasury Department this week called for more oversight of the fintech sector and bank-fintech partnerships. While the report acknowledged the positive innovation that fintech companies have brought to finance it has also come with increased risks to consumer protection and market integrity.
How Chase Plans to Revolutionize Rent Payments with a Digital Solution from The Financial Brand – The home rental market is seeing a lot of fintech innovation recently on the consumer side and now Chase has thrown their hat in the ring with the launch of Story, a modern payments solution for large property owners.
Key issues intact in Custodia-Fed lawsuit over master accounts from American Banker – Late last week a federal judge ruled against dismissing the lawsuit that Custodia Bank has brought against the Federal Reserve. This means that the case may end up going to trial.
How deep of a banking threat is Walmart’s One? from BankingDive – Walmart has 1.6 million employees and over 100 million weekly shoppers, a huge potential market for financial services. When One eventually rolls out it will have two massive advantages over other fintechs: close to zero customer acquisition costs and no need to raise outside capital.
Brazil’s Nubank reaches break-even, reports 70 million customers from Fintech Nexus – Leading Brazilian digital bank Nubank recently report Q3 earnings where they reported a small profit even as the company continues to grow. They now have 70 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
Shopify, Balance teaming up to modernize B2B payments from American Banker – Shopify is partnering with Balance, a supply chain e-commerce fintech, to enable a range of checkout and financing options for sellers on Shopify’s platform. They intend to create a B2B payments experience akin to the consumer experience.