Fintech

Robinhood finds riskier ways to take from the rich

22 Aug 2024

Having recovered from a post-IPO slump, the $18 bln online brokerage is thinking big. Founder Vlad Tenev wants to lure millennial wealth, including trillions left behind by boomers, with new products at low prices. The catch: putting more of the company’s own money on the line.

Stripe would be an ugly pattern for Silicon Valley

16 Jul 2024

The fintech firm led by the Collison brothers has outlived most venture capital funds without going public. Its $70 bln valuation looks generous for a sluggish IPO market anyway. Sequoia cashing out older backers with newer funds buys time, but also distorts the investment model.

Revolut’s desired $40 bln price tag is a stretch

24 Jun 2024

The UK fintech group wants to sell $500 mln of shares at a valuation far above its last level. To get to $40 bln, investors need to assume it’s like payment giant Adyen. With a lower margin and discounts warranted in other areas, Revolut’s value looks more like $20 bln.

Tech FOMO prices at a disturbingly high level

9 Apr 2024

Destiny Tech100, a newly listed fund with only $53 mln of stakes in private firms such as SpaceX and OpenAI, is now worth about $700 mln. Investors are clearly overeager to get in earlier on hot trends. A multiple of 13 times net asset value resets the Silicon Valley hype bar.

Credit card suit takes swipe at perks programs

27 Mar 2024

A $30 bln settlement in a decades-old lawsuit will compel payment networks Visa and Mastercard to let retailers charge customers more to use certain cards – and to tell them why. As shoppers take notice, they may cool on fancy rewards programs.

Collapsed US bridge spans hard assets to high-tech

26 Mar 2024

The Baltimore tragedy compounds Suez and Panama Canal shipping woes. Fallout from Los Angeles port closures illustrates how wide-ranging costs can be. For investors swept up in AI fervor, it’s a reminder that the value of intangible IP depends heavily on tangible infrastructure.

Klarna IPO now makes less sense than one later

28 Feb 2024

Decent growth and lower losses mean the Swedish buy now, pay later group can justify a $20 bln valuation. Given that’s three times the level of its last cash injection, there’s an argument for a speedy listing. Still, Klarna’s messy governance suggests a 2025 IPO is more logical.

Coinbase adds more wobbly legs to stool

16 Feb 2024

Coinbase posted its first annual profit since 2021, sending its shares up 12%. But the $46 bln digital currency exchange is moving from volatile trading fees to even shakier revenue streams, such as interest on deposits and legally ambiguous staking.

Peter Thiel’s latest bitcoin bet is a coronation

13 Feb 2024

The billionaire’s Founders Fund pocketed $1.8 bln in 2022 on crypto investments before dipping back in last fall. Bitcoin has since been anointed with an ETF and technology that furthers its use. The currency isn’t yet legitimate, but Thiel’s return marks its growing status.

PayPal’s new boss risks meeting his low targets

8 Feb 2024

Alex Chriss is spending on innovations like faster check-out in the hope of reanimating the $62 bln payment firm’s valuation, but warns they won’t add profit soon. That sounds like modesty. As rivals like Apple march ahead, the danger is that his lowball forecasts come true.

Paytm’s smackdown has a full and final feel

1 Feb 2024

The payments bank of India’s top fintech has been barred by the regulator from receiving deposits. The reputational damage may prompt other lenders to pull back from working with the loss-making $6 bln company. It makes Warren Buffett’s recent painful exit look well-timed.

Jack Bogle’s ghost haunts Vanguard’s crypto plans

19 Jan 2024

The asset manager’s rival BlackRock is plunging into digital currency with a bitcoin ETF that brought in over $1 bln in a week. That strategy, divergent from Vanguard, highlights the desperation to differentiate. Bogle’s former firm’s decision to shun crypto may leave it behind.

BlackRock deal buys Larry Fink optionality on exit

12 Jan 2024

The asset manager’s $13 bln purchase of infrastructure firm GIP is a smart bet on private markets. Fink’s relationships give the tie-up an edge and history with GIP’s founder smooths integration. It’s transformational enough that Fink could retire, if only he were less ambitious.

Bitcoin ETFs only entrench one frivolous use case

10 Jan 2024

The SEC finally greenlit BlackRock, Grayscale and other funds to track the crypto price, with trading due to start this week. It’ll be easier to make – and lose – money in the volatile digital asset, but it’s no closer to being a currency, store of value or network for new apps.

Carta gives startups an unwanted SVB refresher

10 Jan 2024

Growth companies closely guard details of their investor base, so the misuse of such data by a16z-backed Carta is a big blow. Startups may conclude that vital functions are best entrusted to bigger, more regulated firms. It’s not the first time they have received that warning.

Bitcoin ETF race is a shiny distraction

15 Dec 2023

The digital token’s price has spiked as a US exchange-traded fund creeps closer to approval, bringing it back into the ranks of the world’s most valuable assets. But as with gold, economic swings, not accessibility or inherent value, will mostly determine its long-term worth.

Nvidia’s AI boom outpaces China limits

21 Nov 2023

The $1 trln semiconductor company tripled revenue, despite a crackdown on exports to the giant market. Unlike Apple, which also faces risks in China, there’s no substitute for Nvidia’s chips for fueling AI. Right now, the only limit on growth is how quickly it can meet demand.

Binance mega-fine fits go-big-or-go-home vibe

21 Nov 2023

The cryptocurrency exchange will pay $4.3 bln for violating US laws, and its founder will stand down. It’s more than HSBC and Goldman Sachs paid for big financial transgressions, and racked up in a fraction of the time. Crypto is precocious in its lows as well as its highs.

Ransomware targets will pay one way or another

17 Nov 2023

Just saying no to extortionists – as the White House wants US firms to do – might stamp out ransom attacks. But the hack of Chinese bank ICBC shows why it’s not always realistic. Companies who won’t pay up need ever-better defenses. Either way, it’s an extra cost to be borne.

Google antitrust trial crystallizes Apple’s risk

15 Nov 2023

Court testimony revealed that Alphabet’s search giant gives the iPhone maker 36% of ad revenue generated through its devices. The cost allows Google to argue it’s in a pay-to-play market. It also suggests that Apple and its shareholders have more to lose from the deal unwinding.