Benzinga | Oct 31, 2021 05:27PM EDT

Fintech Focus For November 1, 2021

Quote To Start The Day: "The next phase and the way applications and businesses are built is this Web 3 concept of data transparency and fungibility between different projects."

Source: Trevor Marshall

One Big Thing In Fintech: [T]he companies that have been more successful are the passive "invest-from-your-couch" investment platforms and those with innovations that democratise access to capital markets through "fractionalisation" which allow, for instance, a retail investor to get $10 off an Apple share if they can't afford the whole price.

"In the US there were hundreds of wealthtech businesses that didn't work out very well," says Michael Meyer, managing partner at Middlegame Ventures.

Source: Sifted

Other Key Fintech Developments:

* Facebook adds a crypto wallet. (NASDAQ:FB)

* EBANX is going public via IPO.

* Selfbook raising for payments.

* Biconomy adds $11.5M for API.

* Maxwell raised a $52.5M round.

* Q2, NYDIG intro Bitcoin trading.

* BlockFi, Berman partnering up.

* Microsoft tapped Worldpay, FIS. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

* KuCoin reveals app: KuCoin S.

* Mastercard added Touch Card. (NYSE:MA)

* Causality Link added an advisor.

* Nubank eyeing U.S.-based IPO.

* Tiger leads $3M Union54 round.

* Greenlight announces new offer.

* Alchemy grew valuation to $3.5B.

* Marigold & Co launches fintech.

* Amount, Marqeta are partnering.

* MX intros a fintech API platform.

* Rally raises $6M for checkouts.

* Symphony and Unqork teamed.

* U.S. Bank's Elavon eyes BNPL. (NYSE:USB)

* Upstream launching IPO for film.

* VanaCars raises $50M Series B.

Watch Out For This: Auto loans have long been what we in the industry call "a shitshow." Long terms, high payments, and predatory lending tactics have dominated the industry for years.

Now, a terrifying study from Consumer Reports shows that things are worse than anyone thought -- and with increasing investment in auto-loan-backed securities, another financial crisis could be brewing. Double, double, toil and trouble.

Source: Jalopnik

Interesting Reads:

* Jordan Belfort enters Metaverse.

* Square CFO on crypto, Afterpay. (NYSE:SQ)

* Dems scrap bank reporting idea.

* Wharton allows crypto payments.

* Unpacked: The business of bets.

Market Moving Headline: We are pulling forward our forecast for the Fed's first rate hike by one full year to July 2022, shortly after tapering is scheduled to conclude.

We expect a second hike in November 2022 and two hikes per year after that.

Source: Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)