Would a crypto crash threaten financial stability? Plus: Fed officials’ trading ban, Africa’s new fintech king, and who to follow on LinkedIn

Welcome back to?This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations and top voices trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click Subscribe to be notified of each edition. This week:

Watchdog frets over a crypto crisis

Subprime mortgages are so 2008 — the next financial crisis could instead be triggered by cryptocurrencies. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Financial Stability Board. The international watchdog says institutional investors' deepening involvement in the $1.9 trillion crypto market “could have implications for global financial stability.” The FSB compares the potential fallout from a crypto crash to the credit crunch that sparked the 2008 financial crisis. “A small amount of known exposure does not necessarily mean a small amount of risk,” it warns, especially if “transparency” and “regulatory coverage” are lacking. ?? Here's what people are saying.

JPMorgan enters the metaverse

JPMorgan Chase has boldly gone where no bank has gone before: into the metaverse. The lender has opened a lounge in Decentraland — a virtual world based on blockchain technology — where visitors’ avatars can listen in as experts discuss the crypto market. For reasons that are not yet clear, a digital tiger patrols the virtual building’s first floor, which also features a portrait of CEO Jamie Dimon, reports Bloomberg. The opening coincided with the bank’s release of a paper on opportunities in the metaverse, which JPMorgan says could one day generate $1 trillion in annual revenues. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Who to follow:

Fed bans top officials from trading

The Federal Reserve has adopted tough new rules to stop top officials and staffers from making ethically questionable trades in a range of assets, after a scandal threatened to undermine confidence in the central bank. Under the new rules — most of which take effect May 1 — officials and their spouses will be banned from buying stocks and from holding individual bonds, cryptocurrencies, agency-backed securities, and foreign currencies. Officials will have to give 45 days' notice and secure approval before buying or selling any security, and all investments must be held for at least a year. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Ex-Goldman banker on trial

A former Goldman Sachs employee is on trial for his role in the global corruption scandal that has already cost the bank more than $5 billion in penalties. Roger Ng is accused of laundering money and violating an anti-bribery law in connection with the 1MDB case — a staggering scheme in which $4.5 billion was ransacked from a state investment fund in Malaysia. The long-delayed trial is drawing global attention and likely will bring renewed public scrutiny of Goldman's actions. Ng's former boss at Goldman, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to charges related to the 1MDB case in 2018. He's expected to testify against Ng. Ng's defense attorney called Leissner a "double bigamist" in his opening statement. Both men face decades in prison. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Home sales surge ahead of rate hikes

Buyers swarmed into the U.S. housing market last month before an expected increase in interest rates, pushing existing-home sales 6.7% higher. Sales would have been hotter, brokers said, had prices not already climbed 15.4% from a year ago as the pandemic drove sales of bigger homes further from cities. Another impediment is dwindling inventory: On sale in January were 860,000 existing homes, the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began keeping record in 1999. Investors have bought up almost a fifth of U.S. homes — a record — contributing to higher prices and tighter supply. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Investment firms play Airbnb host: Due to inflated property prices and increased demand from remote workers, many investors now believe they can make more money renting out properties by the night instead of the year.
• Mortgage sizes are at a record: Americans are borrowing more money than ever to buy their homes. The average purchase loan size is now a record $453,000.
• Want to rent a house? Good luck: Prices for single-family rentals are at an all-time high. Unlike home sales, which could slow as mortgage costs increase, demand for rentals is expected to remain strong while workers continue to clock in remotely.
• WFH heats up local housing markets: Remote work is letting out-of-towners from expensive real estate markets outspend locals by an average of 30%, according to a new study.
• Canadian home prices skyrocket: The country's average home price was $748,450 last month, a 21% leap from a year earlier. The number of homes for sale fell 11%, creating a historically tight market across Canada.

Who to follow:

Uber CEO sees crypto future

Uber customers will eventually be able to pay for their rides and food deliveries with cryptocurrency, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, but there's a catch. The company is waiting for the technology to become less expensive and more environmentally friendly before jumping in, much like Tesla. "Is Uber going to accept crypto in the future? Absolutely, at some point," said Khosrowshahi. While some companies have already adopted crypto payments, many others still aren't buying into the craze, citing the currency's volatility. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Intel bets on blockchain: The company will start selling an energy-efficient new chip later this year customized to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Several mining companies have signed up to buy the technology, as has Block, the payment processor formerly known as Square.

Big oil talks a big climate game

A new report says companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP “greenwashed” their commitments to clean energy and climate targets amid pressure from investors from 2009 to 2020. Oil companies have increasingly included climate buzz words in annual reports, but few have taken actions to reduce emissions and decrease fossil fuel exploration, the researchers found. Shell responded by saying its climate targets were in line with goals set in the Paris Agreement. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Big banks still funding fossil fuel: Europe’s biggest banks have pumped ￡24 billion into oil and gas companies less than a year after joining the UN-led Net Zero Banking Alliance. Campaign group ShareAction reports that fossil-fuel giants have continued receiving significant funding from big banks for oil and gas production, with about ￡14 billion spent by the alliance’s founding members HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Deutsche Bank.

Africa's fintech king

Nigerian fintech company Flutterwave is now the most valuable startup in Africa after raising $250 million, tripling its value in just a year to $3 billion. The payments company, which enables businesses on the continent to accept payments globally, says it will use the funds to expand to other emerging markets, as well as to larger Western economies. African startups raised a record $4.65 billion in 2021, roughly double the previous year’s tally. About two-thirds went to fintech companies, and Nigeria was the top recipient. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Latest MBA course: happiness

Courses on "managing happiness" — where skills like emotional awareness, balance, and well-being are taught — are filling up quickly at Harvard Business School and other top MBA programs, The Wall Street Journal reports. The goal is to help future bosses learn how to build their own happiness at work, as well as cultivate it on their teams. The growth of such courses comes as leaders are increasingly seeking soft skills, and work-life balance comes into focus in light of the pandemic. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Gen Z wants finance help

Gen Z wants to learn how to manage their money — and they expect to do it on the job. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers believe their financial wellness is their employer’s responsibility, according to a new study by TIAA. More than any other generation, the youngest members of the workforce are interested in resources designed to help them save for retirement, manage debt, and learn how to budget. Just 31% of all workers reported already having those benefits. With a quarter of Gen Z workers looking to switch jobs and nearly half saying the pandemic ate away at their savings, financial literacy training could be the next perk used to lure young talent. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• The pandemic's impact on savings: Younger millennials, aged 26 to 32, took the biggest hit of any generation, a Bankrate survey shows, with 54% reporting that their emergency savings have declined. One in three say their savings are less than what they owe in credit-card debt. That’s a reversal from before the pandemic, when the generation tended to save and avoid debt more than older generations.

Who to follow: See Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz's financial literacy and education newsletter and more on LinkedIn.

With?Theunis Bates,?Melissa Cantor,?Cate Chapman,?Laura Entis,?Bobby Armstrong, Kelli Nguyen, Ruiqi Chen, Emma Hudson, Solange Uwimana, Riva Gold, and?Taylor Borden.

What's your take on the week's news and other developments impacting you or your business? Join the conversation in the comments below.