FreeCryptoCurrency.Me

Quick Take

• Paradigm is a crypto-focused fund founded in 2018 by Fred Ehrsam and Matt Huang
• As Paradigm’s public portfolio shows, their areas of focus include DeFi protocols, infrastructure providers, firms that offer financial services to institutional clients, and research and development groups
• In total, Paradigm has publicly deployed capital to at least 21 startups and protocols across five verticals

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Figure Technologies, the blockchain lending startup founded by former SoFi CEO Mark Cagney, has applied for a national bank charter, according to a report by Bloomberg.

“It will drive down the cost of delivering our product to those underserved by the financial sector,” Cagney told the outlet. “It will allow the consumer to build a credit history and become a mainstream prime borrower.”

As previously reported, Figure is focused on issuing home equity lines of credit on a private blockchain network. It struck an arrangement for $1 billion in uncommitted credit from Jeffries last year, and in March completed its first asset-backed securitization process on a blockchain.

Whether Figure is able to successfully obtain a bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency remains to be seen. A bid to award special-purpose charters to fintechs drew legal challenges from state regulators, which argued that firms that don’t take deposits in the traditional sense shouldn’t be awarded charters.

As Bloomberg noted, last week the OCC granted conditional approval to Cagney’s old startup, which is seeking to establish a national bank. 

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

A civil antitrust lawsuit has been filed by the U.S. government as it tries to stop the acquisition of fintech firm Plaid by Visa. 

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, describes Visa as a “monopolist” that is trying to buy Plaid in order to “eliminate a nascent competitive threat that would likely result in substantial savings and more innovative online debit services for merchants and consumers.” According to the civil complaint, DOJ lawyers are asking the court to stop the acquisition transaction from taking place. 

Word first emerged that the DOJ was investigating the planned acquisition late last month. Visa went public with its plan to buy Plaid in January.

“American consumers and business owners increasingly buy and sell goods and services online, and Visa – a monopolist in online debit services – has extracted billions of dollars from those transactions,” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a statement. “Now, Visa is attempting to acquire Plaid, a nascent competitor developing a disruptive, lower-cost option for online debit payments.  If allowed to proceed, the acquisition would deprive American merchants and consumers of this innovative alternative to Visa and increase entry barriers for future innovators.” 

In a statement, Visa said that it “strongly disagrees” with the DOJ’s move.

“This action reflects a lack of understanding of Plaid’s business and the highly competitive payments landscape in which Visa operates. The combination of Visa and Plaid will deliver substantial benefits for consumers seeking access to a broader range of financial-related services, and Visa intends to defend the transaction vigorously,” the firm said in a press release. 

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.