Blockbuster Blockchain IPO? ??; Coinbase is diversifying w NFT Marketplace which is IG for Web3 ??; Meta’s last results show why it needs Metaverse ??

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1. Adyen is an underrated FinTech Giant. But that might change soon ??
2. Stripe’s Fast fails too fast? It was just too fast & too luxurious ??♂?
3. Current taps DeFi in a bid that hybrid is the future of finance ??
4. Microsoft & Finastra’s BaaS Partnership signifies what the future of Lending is ??

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April?was a massively exciting month in Blockchain & Crypto.?We will look at?Blockbuster Blockchain IPO? (something doesn't add up there); Coinbase is diversifying with NFT Marketplace which is Instagram for Web3; Meta’s last results show why it needs Metaverse, and other interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency sector over the last month. Let’s connect the dots.

Blockbuster Blockchain IPO? ??

The scoop ???Cryptocurrency exchange?Blockchain.com?is interviewing banks for an initial public offering (IPO), which could take place as early as this year, Bloomberg reported. The IPO might not happen till 2023 and its plans could still change, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Blockchain.com is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world and reached a valuation of $14B in a Series D round last month. The Series D round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with "major participation" from Baillie Gifford.

The USP ???Headquartered in London, Blockchain.com was launched in 2011 and is one of the oldest firms in the crypto space. The company has 37M verified users worldwide, with 82M wallets created and more than $1T transacted, according to its website.?It operates in more than 200 countries and got its start as an early trailblazer in cryptocurrency and developed infrastructure for the bitcoin community.

Earlier this month, Blockchain.com launched an asset management service for institutional investors — BCAM — and also started developing a product to manage exposure to decentralized finance (DeFi) coins.?BCAM will enable the firm to double down on institutional investors and cater to family offices and high net worth investors.

Also, Blockchain.com bought Altonomy’s crypto OTC desk in February in a deal valued at $250M in cash and stock. The acquisition gave Blockchain.com a large roster of institutional clients, plus $8B in loan originations and $15B in lifetime trading volume related to institutions.

?? THE TAKEAWAY

Testing the waters ???If the plans to go public are confirmed, Blockchain.com would be only the 2nd crypto firm to debut in public markets in the US - the first one was Coinbase back in 2021. More importantly, it would be a very interesting test given the current market sentiment towards tech and growth stocks, not to mention the challenging geopolitical environment and COVID still showing its tentacles. Even more important would be the public market test. Blockchain.com does around $11.5M in trading volume per day but is valued at $14B. Coinbase does $2.2B (x191 more) per day though has a market cap of circa $33B (x2.3) in public markets. Something doesn’t add up here ??♂?

Coinbase is diversifying with NFT Marketplace which is Instagram for Web3 ??

The launch ?? Coinbase?($COIN), America’s largest crypto exchange, has finally launched a version?of its non-fungible token marketplace.?Announced last year, its NFT product garnered a 3 million person-long wait-list.

More about this ???The marketplace will launch in beta with zero transaction fees, will support Ethereum-based NFT trading and “all sorts of self-custody wallets,” enable fiat purchases made via credit cards and incorporate social media functionality as it aims to distinguish itself from competitors like OpenSea.

Ultimately, this move is all about?diversification. Oh, and it seems that Coinbase didn’t launch an NFT platform - it launched a?Web3 Instagram… ?? Here’s the takeaway:

?? THE TAKEAWAY

Diversification & IG for Web3.?To begin with, we must note that despite having a strong Q4 and overall 2021, Coinbase’s year-end momentum doesn’t seem to be carrying over into 2022. Declining crypto market capitalization (~20%) and lower volatility (~10%) that is pinching the exchange, falling QoQ monthly transacting users as well as the overall trading volume, are only some of the reasons to be cautious about this year as per the company’s Q1 outlook. Hence, it’s clear that Coinbase needs to further diversify and expand its offerings beyond just routine crypto trading. NFTs might be exactly it, especially given surging adoption. Zooming out, we can say that this very much aligns with $COIN’s push of?“crypto as an app platform,”?which entails investments in Web3 applications—Web3, it said, “represents a decentralized, community-governed internet with modern functionality.” And this brings us to Web3 Instagram. Why? Because Coinbase NFT platform will allow users to showcase their personal profile and follow accounts whose content will appear in a “For You” feed, which is very similar to social-media giants like Instagram or TikTok. Users will also be able to “like” and comment on each other's posts. The social media spin might be the exact secret sauce that should help $COIN distinguish itself from the competition. And it’s mainly OpenSea now.

Meta’s latest results show why it needs Metaverse ??

The news ???Meta?posted?its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public as Facebook in 2012. In the?previous?quarter, Meta?reported?a $1B profit hit and its first-ever dip in daily users. Although in the latest financials, users actually ticked up, financials weren’t great.

More on this ???The latest results show that sales growth majorly slowed to 7%, from 20% in the previous quarter. Profit fell for the second quarter in a row, down to $7.5B, from $9.5B a year earlier. One can add that Meta has spent as much as $10B on its meta-ambitions. Despite all of this, Meta stock popped 16% after it reported the results, as investors were surprised by better-than-expected profit.

What’s next? ???You want to hear a crazy story? It’s this - Meta stock had lost nearly half its value this year alone. And this is exactly why it really needs the Metaverse. Here’s the takeaway:

?? THE TAKEAWAY

Diversification matters. Again.?Let’s zoom out a bit and stress that Meta isn't the only Big Tech firm that has been struggling with its growth as of late. Netflix tanked?recently on the news that it lost 200K subscribers, Google?reported?slowing sales growth and profits while?Snap posted?disappointing earnings too. This brings us to the key point here, which is this - revenue diversification matters and often is crucial. The economic situation is too fragile right now to rely on a single revenue stream. A brilliant example here could be Microsoft which crushed earnings thanks to?strong demand?not only for its software but also for its cloud and cybersecurity services. How is Metaverse related here??Well, it could come to the rescue…???♂? Meta just announced it is testing means for creators to sell virtual goods and experiences within its?Horizon Worlds?metaverse platform, as well as a creator bonus program. The moves are a notable step toward forming the building blocks for Meta’s metaverse concept, where creators can get paid for their assets, and Meta takes a (meaningful) cut in the process. Meta sees its nascent metaverse delivering greater revenues as time passes, and given all the hype and growth of the space, this could be a winning key ?? for a more diversified future. The open question here is how many metaverses there will be and whether Meta will be big enough to matter.

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??

• Interoperable CBDC ???In a speech before the European Parliament on Wednesday (March 30), Fabio Panetta, member of the board of the European Central Bank (ECB), said that several central banks around the world, including the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England (BOE) and the ECB, are discussing how to align their projects to have interoperable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Panetta delivered a speech summarizing the benefits of a digital euro for the region but emphasizing that there are still many questions that need to be answered at the political level such as the level of privacy and anonymity, the role of the banking system to hold and distribute retail CBDCs — or even if users should be discouraged from having large amounts of digital euros, for instance by penalizing large deposits, to prevent crowding out private initiatives.?
• BTC dividends ?? Digithost, a?crypto mining company, will become the first publicly-traded company to offer dividend payments in bitcoin. The first dividend is targeted in 3Q 2022, totaling?10% of its net income. Shareholders will have the option to accept dividends in the form of bitcoin or cash. Digihost currently supports a hashrate of 1EH/s and mines approximately ?4.25 per day.

Money Moves??

• Swapin, a European Union-licensed crypto-to-fiat payments processor, has closed a private investment round and raised €1.68M ($1.85M).
• Boba Network, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution,?raised?$45M in a Series A funding round, valuing the company at $1.5B. Boba indicated the funding will expand the team's capacity and invest in ecosystem projects leveraging the network.
• FTX.US?has made?an investment?in national equities exchange?IEX Group, as it looks to solidify its global digital asset market footprint. The size of the investment wasn’t disclosed and won’t be completed until May, but an FTX spokesperson told CoinDesk the company will become a “significant'' shareholder.

Continue reading by subscribing to?Linas's Newsletter.?You will receive fresh news about FinTech, Blockchain & Crypto with hot takeaways every day.

P.S.?You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

?? Bitcoin in 2021: a story in 5 graphs, and what might come in 2022

???A Wise pitch deck that led to London’s biggest and most successful direct listing ever

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About: I am?a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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