Your Daily FinTech Podcast - June 15th, 2022

Sign up for my Daily Fintech or Daily Digital Banking Newsletters here. Check out my latest podcast episode below: Welcome to another episode of our Daily Fintech Podcast. THE NEWS HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY IS Bitcoin has crashed to its lowest level since December 2020 after one of the crypto-economy's largest lenders, Celsius Network, suspended withdrawals on Sunday. JUST IN: MoneyGram International, a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source public blockchain that allows money to be tokenized and transferred globally, announced the initial roll-out of a first-of-its-kind global on/off-ramp service for digital wallets to increase the utility of digital assets by creating a bridge between cash and cryptocurrencies. ALSO: Metro Bank (UK) is being sued by US software company Arkeyo over allegations that it leaked the company's coin counting technology to a rival firm. WHAT ABOUT FUNDING ROUNDS AND INVESTMENTS? JUST has raised €3M in its first funding round. E-commerce in France is exploding: valued at more than 112 billion euros in 2020, it is expected to nearly treble in volume by 2026. Berlin-based Airbank has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Molten Ventures. Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) has announced a £1.6 million, five-year investment in FinTech Wales, the independent not for profit membership association and champion of the FinTech and Financial Services industry in Wales. WHAT’S THE LATEST ON VENTURE FUNDS? The IFC - International Finance Corporation., a member of the World Bank Group, is open to investing and supporting the fintech sector in Saudi Arabia, as it eyes to expand its existing portfolio worth $8 billion invested in the Kingdom, said a top official. AS FOR OPPORTUNITIES Bucking the trend for lay-offs in the fintech sector, Banking-as-a-Service provider Contis has revealed plans to increase its headcount by more than 33% over the next six months, with the Yorkshire headquartered firm intending to recruit 123 additional roles across the UK, Lithuania and India.