Will Beeson, CFA

Exciting news! Knot has teamed up with Plaid, a Knot investor, as a preferred referral partner for card-on-file switching. With Knot's CardSwitcher™, users can set their credit or debit cards as the default payment across 100+ online merchants with just a few taps. Plaid customers can now import transaction history into Knot's SDK for even more seamless card switching ✨. This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to create a user-centric financial ecosystem. Plaid's Transaction History, combined with Knot's CardSwitcher™, offers solutions for card issuers, merchants, and consumers. 🏦 Card Issuers: Achieve quick and efficient top-of-wallet placement 🏪 Merchants: Reduce transaction declines and improve customer retention by preventing involuntary churn 🏡 Consumers: Gain control over where cards are stored and how payment information is shared Thanks to Plaid for believing in our vision. Link in the comments for the full press release. If you want to utilize Plaid's Transaction Data with Knot, feel free to reach out!

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#Apple continue to make their mark in the payments ecosystem, expanding 1/ the use of #ApplePay in e-commerce, and 2/ their ability to remain relevant in #payment journeys through: - the integration of BNPL functionality (via Monzo Bank and HSBC in UK🇬🇧 ) - easier, safer wallet provisioning by tapping your card 💳 to the device - better #P2P payments (for #AppleCash ie US 🇺🇸 users) via #AirDrop Apple continue to subtly change user #behaviour through better #UX, ensuring they are increasingly the de facto way to pay for Apple customers, and providing multiple jumping off points for Apple to supplant / replace others in the payment ecosystem at a later date as THE dominant player at the top of the click / tap stream. #WWDC

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🏦 Goldman Sachs, the 150-year-old investment bank, is getting deeper into crypto, according to the firm's global head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott. ♻ Ultimately, McDermott says, he sees tokenization as a growing trend due to the sheer benefits of "digitizing the lifecycle" of asset issuance, which not only improves firms' operating efficiency but also liquidity by potentially bringing in a wider group of investors. 🙌 "If you can actually create a product that you can fractionalize and offer up to a much broader universe of investors that not only broadens the distribution channel but also concentrates more secondary liquidity – that is very powerful," he said. 📈 If the tokenization of staid asset classes like money market funds continues, that means an additional $4.7 trillion in collateral that can be used to create derivatives and repos. "That's hugely powerful," he said. We are just getting started! https://lnkd.in/gQSSgtnX #OndoFinance #RWA #Tokenization #FutureofFinance

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All of this happened in crypto this week 👇 1️⃣ Stripe to enable USDC payments. "Fintech company Stripe will begin supporting transactions in USDC this summer, reviving its involvement in crypto-based commerce." 2️⃣ Pantera Capital seeks $1B for new crypto fund V. "Pantera Fund V, as its called, would focus on startup equity, early-stage tokens and liquid tokens among others assets, the source said." 3️⃣ Consensys sues SEC, challenging its approach to Ethereum. "The blockchain and web3 development company behind the well-known MetaMask Wallet filed a lawsuit against the agency on Thursday in a Texas court." 4️⃣ Immutable plans a $50M crypto gaming rewards program. "Blockchain gaming platform Immutable announced it is launching what it calls 'the largest ever web3 gaming quest and rewards program.'" 5️⃣ Morgan Stanley may allow brokers to recommend Bitcoin ETFs. "Morgan Stanley may allow its 15,000 brokers to recommend that customers purchase spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to a report from AdvisorHub on Thursday, which cited two senior executive sources familiar with the company’s plans." 6️⃣ SEC thinks Do Kwon and Terraform Labs should get a $5.3B fine. "The SEC asked a New York judge to impose $5.3 billion in fines against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon to resolve the civil fraud case against them." 7️⃣ Blockchain Association sues the SEC over dealer rule. "The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a newly adopted dealer rule that they say would have 'disastrous effects' on the industry." 8️⃣ Jupiter acquires Ultimate Wallet as part of mobile push. "Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter announced Tuesday it has acquired the self-custody crypto wallet firm Ultimate Wallet as it aims to onboard millions more users with a mobile expansion." 9️⃣ Block develops a 3-nanometer BTC mining chip. "Block, a digital payments firm co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has finished developing a three-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip." 🔟 Ripple rejects SEC $2B fine in final judgment. "Ripple Labs filed its opposition on Monday against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to ask a New York judge to impose a nearly $2 billion fine against the company behind the XRP Ledger blockchain." --- #stablecoin #ethereum #bitcoin 👨‍⚕️🧪 Read my free newsletter for the next best web3 products, strategies, and trends. Join 19,500+ web3 builders and investors at: https://lnkd.in/e8yTC9qA

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There's a lot of buzz about stablecoins in the fintech community right now. But we're just scratching the surface of what fintechs will achieve. If the opinions of this cohort of leaders are anything to go by, stablecoins are back on the agenda. In this report, we spoke to leaders at different points in the payments value chain: stablecoin issuers like Paxos, embedded banking providers like ClearBank, B2B payments fintechs like Freemarket and VCs like General Catalyst. We asked: how are you thinking about stablecoins and what progress will be made this year? Here are a few things they told us: - Market timing is a challenge we need regulators, banks and governments to come on board. But with stablecoins we’ll find the next category-defining business. - Traditional financial institutions (FIs) are experimenting. When they see clear ROI, they’ll start rolling out stablecoin rails to other countries – this will be a pivotal moment for market readiness. - Stablecoins will reach a market cap of $250bn by the end of 2024, growing 2-3x the pace of the crypto market overall. - Providers with the right licences will be in a stronger position to launch stablecoin products and offer those to other FIs. - By the end of 2024 we’ll see some marquee partnerships where traditional fintechs are launching a full stablecoin solution, wallets pay-ins and payouts. For those thinking about adding stablecoins to their tech stack, I hope this collection of views, along with summaries of use cases, can provide some useful perspectives. https://lnkd.in/dh7ZAfg2

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📊 Do all roads in fintech lead to license aggregation? 📌 In Feb ‘24 the # of fully licensed payment aggregators (PA) was 15. By May, it ~2x’ed to 27 📌 New entities with a full PA license: CAMS, Toucan, Concerto, Boku, Unlimit, Worldline, CCAvenue, Innoviti, Mswipe, Groww, AmazonPay & Finacus There are others with in-principle approvals & not full licenses (yet) ✅ 33 PAs are in-principle approved & can operate. Major names: PayU, Phonepe, PineLabs, and fintechs such as CRED, Mobikwik, Eazebuzz & Adyen ✅ 11 are approved, & can’t operate. Ex: Nium, Payglocal 60+ PAs? That's pretty crowded. 📌 For ecomm players, a PA license could be more for optionality - enable negotiating power and build in the future (if needed). And for tech & non payment fintechs, a bundled offering: Ex: Microsoft Teams Vs Slack strategy. As companies scale they graduate to multiple PAs, so this could be an added benefit non payment players offer to win clients for their core offering, not necessarily a PA play But that solves for non payment players. Even within payments it’s crowded: ~15 core PAs with some form of license that can operate ✅ Full license & core PA: Razorpay, Paymentz, CCAvenue, Cashfree, Stripe, Worldline, Boku, Unlimit ✅ In-principle approval & can operate: Core PA: Adyen, Eazebuzz, PayU. Non core PA but scaling: PineLabs & PhonePe. Payments Tech: Juspay 📌 And interestingly: 6 /10 Top UPI Fintech Apps (vol. and val.) have some sort of PA license (Phonepe, Gpay). Maybe an early indicator of future movement of UPI App to PA? But it's too soon to tell 📌 Product builds are momentary moats. So the differentiating factor could be licenses, which allow additional monetization & experience. Ex: Prepaid Instruments (PPI) for gifting/loyalty & Account Aggregators (AA) for seamless information sharing 📌 Some PA’s have already started. Below are the PAs (in stages of approval) with multiple licenses: CRED: PA, PPI, NBFC PhonePe: PA, PPI, AA Nium: PA, PPI Razorpay: PA, PPI Pinelabs: PA, PPI, AA Digio: PA, AA AmazonPay: PA, PPI Mobikwik: PA, PPI Sodexo: PA, PPI 📌 Of PAs, CRED, Groww, Zomato, PayU & TATA have affiliated NBFCs. Others like Fi & Jupiter are neobanks - I suppose if not banking then an NBFC is the next best thing 📌 NBFC licenses are highly coveted. There are 9500+ NBFCs in India, most of which are dormant, which fintechs seek to acquire. But RBI is reluctant to give them out 📌 But why? Could be overlapping ownership. The same VC / PE’s have invested in multiple fintechs, some of which have received NBFC licenses. RBI generally is not in favor of the same entity holding multiple NBFC licenses and has extended that logic to investors. That’s probably why OneCard and others were rejected: Matrix is an investor in OneCard & Jupiter, and Jupiter has an NBFC license To read the full article, and other pieces like this, click below: https://lnkd.in/gftFhKV3 #fintech #PA

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In the wake of today’s SEC Wells Notice to Robinhood, it is more ironic than ever that tradfi continues to look to crypto for inspiration. Great recent piece by Michael Bodley for Unchained Media Co. on indications that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is looking toward 24/7 trading. While conventional wisdom might hold that the introduction of around-the-clock stock trading would come at the expense of crypto flows, I totally disagree. “It makes sense in this world where information is 24/7,” according to TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord “Why shouldn’t the stock market be one of those things? I do really believe that crypto has pushed that [narrative].” Redbord said NYSE’s explorations indicate that Wall Street is “adopting some of the promise of crypto,” pointing to an eventual market where “crypto and Wall Street not only coexist, but there’s an ecosystem of different types of assets that people engage with.” Similar to the bitcoin ETF wave, according to Redbord, those assets would merge traditional financial instruments with digital ones, creating new trading opportunities. “What we’re seeing is ‘Generation Crypto’ influence the traditional financial system in a really meaningful way,” he said. “This is what people today want … Through a Coinbase account or in their own self-hosted wallet, they want [crypto] 24/7, but they also want to be invested in the stock market. But they want to do it 24/7, on their own terms.” Some days are tough and the journey may be long and hard, but the future is bright and it is 24/7 #cryptoverse. https://lnkd.in/euup22Bi

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We've released the latest edition of our EQ/IQ Crypto Newsletter, and it's chock-full of critical industry developments! Here are my top three takeaways: 1️⃣ Robinhood has entered an agreement to acquire Bitstamp for an estimated $200 million and plans to expand its lineup of crypto-native products and services. 2️⃣ Coinbase's new Smart Wallet aims to bring millions of new users on-chain with improved usability and security relative to traditional wallets. 3️⃣ Kraken Digital Asset Exchange is seeking at least $100 million in pre-IPO funding. Which key industry developments are you following closely this week? 💡

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Carta's latest blog post on Q1 fundraising was sobering. Priced Seed and Series A came in short of Q4 numbers, both in terms of total rounds and total cash raised. More insights are available in the blog post below: https://lnkd.in/gnDdJ2Pa

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🏨 RSRV Revolutionizes Hotel Investment: Opens Platform to Investors on May 1st 🏨 Exciting developments in the world of tokenized real estate as RSRV gears up to open its innovative platform to investors this May. Building on the success of the St. Regis Aspen's tokenization, RSRV is extending its unique investment approach to more luxury hotels, transforming patrons into potential investors. Key Highlights: 1️⃣ Innovative Investment Access: Starting with the iconic St. Regis Aspen Resort, RSRV offers accredited investors a chance to buy equity in prestigious hotels, merging traditional real estate investment with the cutting-edge technology of blockchain. 2️⃣ Exclusive Perks for Investors: Shareholders not only invest but also enjoy tangible benefits such as discounted stays and the potential to lock in room rates, enhancing the value and appeal of their investments. 3️⃣ Supported by tZERO Group, Inc.: The RSRV platform, powered by tZERO Securities, ensures a secure, compliant, and efficient marketplace for trading and managing digital securities tied to real estate assets. Implications for the Hospitality Industry: - By allowing hotel guests to invest in the properties they love, RSRV is creating a novel way to engage customers and foster brand loyalty. - The platform's ability to tokenize hotel equity paves the way for more dynamic capital raising strategies in the hospitality sector, offering a compelling alternative to traditional financing methods like mezzanine debt. 🤔 What's Next? As RSRV rolls out its platform, the focus will be on how this new form of investment reshapes investor engagement and property management in the luxury hospitality market. 🔗 Learn more about RSRV and its groundbreaking approach to hotel investment here: https://lnkd.in/dGtDH9C6 🔄 Share your thoughts and stay tuned for updates as we witness the evolution of hotel ownership through blockchain innovation! #RSRV #RealEstateInvestment #Blockchain #HospitalityIndustry #Innovation #LuxuryHotels #tZERO #Tokenization

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Further dollarization is via stablecoins is a good thing for the US (one the US government seems to be fighting against by pushing companies off-shore), but I still liked the original vision of Diem with a basket-based global stablecoin. Interestingly, it's the same concept used by the IMF for the SDR: https://lnkd.in/eERkbM_w There is even a published spot rate for it. https://lnkd.in/eHjdQkT8 https://lnkd.in/e8sdnvtE

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Pantera Capital Seeks to Raise $1 Billion for a New Crypto Fund - The money is to be invested into equity, early-stage tokens - The fund is seeing limited partners with at least $25 million Pantera Capital, one of the largest managers of digital assets, is seeking to raise more than $1 billion for a new fund that would offer investors exposure across the spectrum of blockchain assets. The Pantera Fund V would be the company’s second “all-in-one” fund to invest in startup equity, early-stage tokens, liquid tokens and other assets, according to information seen by Bloomberg News. #digitalassets #venturecapital #fundraising Supercap Group Pantera Capital

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As a fintech operator, we do not store all our clients' funds in traditional banks. Instead, their funds are saved in treasury bonds. We only keep a small amount in banks to operate partnered products, such as debit cards. Our operations are supervised by regulators, ensuring safety for our clients. The bankruptcy of a partner bank will never pose a problem for our clients. BaaS providers and Fintechs must be resilient to issues such as a partner bankruptcy or similar disruptions. Our ledger is a piece of the solution for this problem, for Banks, BaaS and Fintechs.

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BVNK integrates PayPal USD stablecoin into payments platform "...BVNK’s platform allows customers to create PYUSD wallets, settle payments to suppliers, pay contractors and employees globally, and accept consumer payments in PYUSD. These functions are accessible through BVNK’s API, hosted payments page, or merchant portal. Additionally, it's worth noting that PYUSD can be converted into fiat currencies such as EUR and GBP..." #stablecoins #cryptowallets #payments #fiat #merchants The Paypers Paxos _____________________________________________________ If you want to immediately see new content that I curate 👉🏻 Ring my bell (🔔) and follow #informationbanker or if you want to get the posts that got noticed in my weekly What’d I miss newsletter, subscribe here: "https://lnkd.in/d5_KvWwu"

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Another significant step in making digital assets more accessible. On-ramping, i.e the process of exchanging your $/€/£ etc for crypto just got way easier! Stripe now facilitate the purchase of Avalanche native token AVAX! You can access the Avalanche ecosystem (called Core) via Stripe and this will give you a gateway into AVAX, d’Apps and NFT’s. #Crypto #adoption #AVAX #STRIPE

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Interesting that two of the largest fund raises over the past few weeks are for layer-1 blockchain builders. Berachain announced on Friday that it closed a $100m round led by Framework Ventures and the Abu Dhabi branch of Brevan Howard Digital. Just a few days earlier, Monad Labs announced that it had finalized a $225 million round led by Paradigm. These are big rounds, and the timing and size suggests that venture investors are still betting on engine builders. While I’m sure public-facing applications are also getting some funding, I haven’t seen them get this size of allocation. This is a reminder of how young this industry still is. https://lnkd.in/e2sMFVPv

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