Kanye West to Buy Microblogging Platform Parler 🛍
Kanye West to Buy Microblogging Platform Parler 🛍
Scott D. Clary | Daily Business, Tech & Finance Newsletter
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Here’s whats happening:
Kanye West to buy microblogging platform Parler
Mastercard to facilitate banks in offering crypto trading
Binance launches fund to support crypto miners
Edtech decacorn Byju secures funding from existing investors
Ambi Robotics raises $32 million in funding
Kanye West to Buy Microblogging Platform Parler 🛍
American rapper and fashion designer Ye (formerly Kanye West) is all set to buy the conservative social media platform Parler.
The move from Ye comes after other social media platforms suspended him over anti-semitic posts.
The Deal:
In a press release, Parler said it has entered into an agreement in principle with Ye.
While the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The terms of the proposed deal would include ongoing technical support from Parlement Technologies (Parler’s parent company), along with the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data center infrastructure.
Parlement noted that the acquisition would help create “an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.”
Statement from Kanye West (Ye):
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.”
Mastercard to Facilitate Banks 🏦 in Offering Crypto Trading
Payments giant Mastercard has entered into a partnership with crypto trading platform Paxos to offer a program that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading.
Key Takeaways:
Mastercard will work with Paxos to bridge the bank gap and manage security and regulatory compliance.
The payments company started the Crypto Source program, which will help banks follow crypto compliance rules, verify transactions, and provide anti-money laundering and identity monitoring services.
The program is expected to launch in Q4 of 2022.
The Bigger Picture:
With this move, Mastercard could expand the adoption of crypto among the general population, as several banks have stated security and regulatory compliance as the two big reasons for avoiding bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Statement from Ajay Bhalla, President of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard:
“At Mastercard, trust is our business. What we are announcing today is a connected approach to services that will help bring users safely and securely into the crypto ecosystem.”
Binance Launches Fund to Support Crypto Miners ⛏
In a move aimed at supporting Bitcoin miners, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has launched a massive $500 million lending project.
Here are the details:
The company mining subsidiary Binance Pool has designed this project to provide “secure debt financing services to both public and private blue-chip Bitcoin (BTC) mining and digital asset infrastructure companies globally.”
Lenders will have access to loans on an 18- to a 24-month term, with interest rates ranging from 5% to 10%.
In addition, borrowers have to offer collateral in the form of mining hardware or cryptocurrencies that will have to be deemed “satisfactory to Binance.”
Why does this matter?
In recent months, the crypto mining industry has struggled mainly because of Bitcoin’s general price decline and rising energy costs. Hence, this money could help the mining industry steer through troubled waters.
Edtech Decacorn Byju Secures Funding From Existing Investors 💸
Indian edtech decacorn Byju has raised $250 million in a fresh funding round from its existing investors.
The Investors:
Byju’s said that Qatar’s sovereign fund, Qatar Investment Authority, participated in the round. The company did not disclose other investors.
Key Points:
In recent months, the edtech startup has worked towards clearing its debts and other balances. It recently cleared all its dues to Blackstone by paying the $234 million it owed for the $1 billion acquisition of Aakash Education.
Byju’s, which is India’s most valuable startup, recently announced that it would be laying off about 5% of its workforce (about 2,500 workers) across various teams. This is in a bid to avoid redundancies and duplication of roles.
The fresh capital will help the company to navigate the market downturn that has forced the firm to postpone its initial public offering and cut thousands of jobs.
Ambi Robotics Raises $32 Million in Funding 💰
Ambi Robotics, a startup developing supply chain automation hardware, has raised $32 million in additional funding.
The funding was led by Tiger Global and Bow Capital, along with participation from Ahren and logistics firm Pitney Bowes.
The capital will help the startup to increase the deployment of AI-powered parcel sorting systems.
That’s a wrap for today, ladies & gents. See ya tomorrow!
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