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Nesto raises $80 million CAD in Series C financing (BETAKIT)

The round closed in December and brings Nesto’s total funding to date to $167.5 million CAD. The company did not respond to questions about whether the Series C round included any secondary financing.

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested in the Bahamas (THE NEW YORK TIMES)

The arrest was the latest stunning development in one of the most dramatic falls from grace in recent corporate history. Mr. Bankman-Fried, 30, was scheduled to testify in Congress on Tuesday about the collapse of FTX, which was one of the most powerful firms in the emerging crypto industry until it imploded virtually overnight last month after a run on deposits exposed an $8 billion hole in its accounts.

Plooto closes $27 million CAD Series B to help SMBs manage cash flow (BETAKIT)

As a recession looms and it has become tougher to secure capital, preserving cash has become key to the survival of many companies—especially small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

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FTX FOMO: How big-name investors, including Canadian pension funds, bought into a crypto craze that ended up with criminal charges (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

FTX’s charm offensive and the appeal of a white-hot sector portrayed the platform as the next big thing. The eccentric, shaggy-haired, soft-spoken, millennial Mr. Bankman-Fried was labelled a savant, earning cover-page splashes in business magazines and endorsements on popular broadcast shows.

Does scaling your startup feel like constant chaos? Here’s what to do. (BETAKIT)

Startup leaders are accustomed to the mantra of ‘move fast and break things’ because this growth-at-all-costs mentality produced some of the largest companies the world has ever known. But along with it came intense working hours and mental health risks for founders and employees.

Exclusive: U.S. Justice Dept is split over charging Binance as crypto world falters (REUTERS)

Splits between U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are delaying the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, four people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Some of the at least half dozen federal prosecutors involved in the case believe the evidence already gathered justifies moving aggressively against the exchange and filing criminal charges against individual executives including founder Changpeng Zhao, said two of the sources. Others have argued taking time to review more evidence, the sources said.

Layoffs persist at Canadian tech companies amid bleak outlook for 2023 (BETAKIT)

More than a dozen Canadian tech companies have recently laid off employees, BetaKit has learned, joining a growing list of firms to shed staff in 2022.

Mazars Group suspends all work with crypto clients including Binance, Crypto.com, citing concerns over public perception of proof of reserves (CNBC)

The move comes as major cryptocurrency exchanges look to prove their solvency, and show they have enough money to cover customer withdrawals.

Subsidiaries of FinTech startup Lendified face creditors over unpaid loans (BETAKIT)

In a public statement, the company said its subsidiaries – Lendified Privco Holding Corporation, Lendified Inc, Castle Return Inc. and WPCFP SPV Inc. – are in no position to repay the loans.

Checkout.com slashes internal valuation to $11bn (FINANCIAL TIMES)

The London-based group told employees last month of the valuation drop, according to people familiar with the move. Alongside that reduction, the company lowered the price at which staff can exercise their stock options.

Golden Ventures’ Matt Golden has advice for startups fundraising in a down market (BETAKIT)

Investors who have recently raised enormous funds over the last two years still need to disburse that capital. According to Matt Golden, founder and managing partner of Golden Ventures, what changes are the variables that matter to investors.

Crypto firm Amber raises $300 million to tackle damage from FTX (BNN BLOOMBERG)

Amber, a leading crypto trading and lending platform, had planned to raise $100 million at a $3 billion valuation in multiple parts, but changed tack once Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange blew up, Wu said in an interview.

Walnut Insurance secures $4 million CAD to help FinTechs deliver embedded insurance programs (BETAKIT)

The all-equity round, which closed in November, was led by ATB Financial and NAventures, the National Bank of Canada’s corporate venture capital arm. Others that participated include Harvest Venture Partners, Highline Beta, and N49P.

JP Morgan signs deal for stake in fintech Viva Wallet for over $800 million (REUTERS)

JP Morgan has signed a deal to buy a 48.5% stake in Athens-based payments fintech Viva Wallet for more than $800 million, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal was expected to be announced early next week. Both JP Morgan and Viva Wallet declined to comment.

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