All Access

Fintech Deals

Standard

Fintech Deals Alerts

Alert

Fintech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Two interesting stablecoins have hit the market in less than a year. One has puttered along, and one has shot up like a rocket, Axios' Brady Dale writes.

Why it matters: Stablecoins are the grease of the cryptocurrency market, but they could one day serve as a medium of payment for normal people.

PayPal entered the market in August with its stablecoin, paypal usd (PYUSD), which generated a lot of excitement, because it was a major brand validating stablecoins. However, uptake has been modest, as most exchanges still make trading pairs with tether (and the few that don't use usd coin).

There had been no clear purpose for PYUSD in the market, besides being a stablecoin associated with a major brand.

Last week we saw the company differentiate its stablecoin by offering free global remittances for those who used it.

Nevertheless, the performance has been lackluster.

Enter Ethena USDe (USDE), a stablecoin that effectively automates a cash-and-carry trade for blockchain investors.

Once users mint USDE by depositing another stablecoin, they can use it or stake it. If they stake it, they share in the revenue made off that trade. (It's been pretty great so far.)

Stablecoins are then traded to make a delta-neutral trade of staked ETH (stETH) and funding to ETH shorts in the perpetuals market. Each has its own source of revenue.

The chief risk of staking USDE is that funding rates turn against ETH shorts (which is where they earn most of the money).

Yes, but: No one buying products like this is thinking long term.

Historically, it's been shorts that got paid to take positions.

The big picture: Both of these are minuscule compared with tether.

1 big thing: A tale of two stablecoins

PublicSq, a publicly traded sales marketplace that promotes retailers with conservative values, has acquired Credova, a buy now, pay later company that caters to shooting sports and firearms sales.

Why it's the BFD: The all-stock deal will help PublicSq hedge against payment vendors who may not be comfortable servicing certain goods, like guns, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

Between the lines: Credova is the only BNPL platform in the country that services guns.

The company has exclusive partnerships with over 60% of the top online shooting sports retailers.

"They're the leading point-of-sale financing firm for the parallel economy, specifically focused on the Second Amendment," PublicSq CEO Michael Seifert told Axios in an interview.

Details: Credova is PublicSq's first acquisition since the firm went public last year. Executives hope that integrating Credova's functionality into its retail marketplace will help increase potential sales for both companies.

The all-stock deal will give PublicSq access to Credova's 4,250+ merchants and 2.8 million customers.

With the deal, Credova's leadership and its 18 total employees will all move over to PublicSq, whose management expects the deal to be immediately accretive before any anticipated synergies.

Credova brought in around $15 million in revenue last year and is profitable.

The big picture: PublicSq and Credova are part of a larger set of companies looking to build services and products that serve consumers with conservative economic and cultural values.

That movement was sparked by the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in 2021, when dozens of internet apps, payment systems and shopping platforms removed then-President Trump and his campaign.

Bottom line: Credova's CEO Dusty Wunderlich said the deal highlights "our collective dedication to building financial infrastructure that upholds our values and protects our community."

2. The BFD: PublicSq's BNPL buy

Illustration of a pattern of 3D pixel style dollar bill signs. 

🌍 Mastercard and Visa's startup strategy in Africa (Rest of World)

Just six months after Mastercard Foundation announced an early-stage fund for the region, Visa launched a fintech accelerator program on the continent last year.

Together, they have spent about $700 million in Africa, where local wallet and telecom companies are rapidly taking over the payments market.

🏛️ U.S. probes Hamas' use of crypto (WSJ)

The Treasury Department is investigating $165 million in crypto transactions that may have helped finance Hamas before the group's Oct. 7 attack against Israel, the agency said in a report to Congress.

😶‍🌫️ InvestCloud preps another major reorg (Citywire)

In its "second executive reorganization" in as many years, InvestCloud Americas CRO Pete Hess and APL CPO Frederick Duden are leaving. McKinsey has been hired to help in reorganization.

⏹️ Block releases its long-awaited crypto wallet (The Verge)

The $150 Bitkey hardware wallet has a fingerprint sensor on top of the device, a USB-C charging port, and an NFC chip to transfer funds. Block first introduced a prototype of the wallet in 2022 before opening preorders last December. 

➡️ Klarna takes aim at Visa, Mastercard (Bloomberg)

The company plans to allow U.K. users to make payments directly from their bank accounts, rather than using their Visa or Mastercard products.

3. Credit score

Illustration of a tape measure with "Credit Score" written on the side.

Go deeper into our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Lago, a Paris-based open-source billing platform, raised $22m in seed and Series A funding from FirstMark, SignalFire, Addition, YC, New Wave and Script. https://axios.link/43gW7ff

• Polyhedra Network, developer of zero-knowledge interoperability protocol zkBridge, raised $20m in funding at a $1b valuation. Polychain Capital led the round, which also included Animoca Brands, Hashkey Capital, Longhash Ventures, Emirates Consortium and Mapleblock Capital. https://axios.link/3VblZHA

• ClearToken, a U.K.-based cryptocurrency clearing house, raised $10m in seed funding. https://axios.link/4chZGpy

• Freed, an Indian debt relief platform, raised $7.5m in funding led by Sorin Investments and Multiply Ventures. https://axios.link/3wTgTFX

• Pallet Exchange, an NFT platform on the Sei blockchain, raised $2.5m from Spartan Group, Symbolic Capital, Cypher Capital and angels. https://axios.link/3VcHg3D

• Youverify, a Nigerian AML and ID verification startup, raised $2.5m from Elm. https://axios.link/3PhvsJF

• Tookeez, a Morocco-based startup that consolidates loyalty points into one wallet, raised $1.5m in funding led by Azur Innovation Fund. https://axios.link/43jJd0k

• Cerberus Capital Management is the front-runner to buy Polish lender VeloBank, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/4aeUelt

• Levenue, a Dutch revenue-based financing marketplace, acquired Swiss revenue-based lender MidFunder for an undisclosed sum. https://axios.link/49PWVKN

• Request Finance, a French crypto payments startup, acquired Vienna-based crypto accounting platform Consola Finance for an undisclosed sum. https://axios.link/3TxUWF8

4. Deals!

• Taylor Burton, a co-founder of Till Financial, has been named CEO. He succeeds fellow co-founder Tom Pincince, who will remain on the board of directors, which also added Azlo and One founder Brian Hamilton. https://axios.link/4cckbEf

• Stephen Bergin and Shayne Ganeson have been named CFO and global head of sales and relationship management of TradingHub, respectively. https://axios.link/4ch94di

• Rob Sarrow joined crypto-focused VC firm Volt Capital. He previously was with Delphi Digital. https://axios.link/3v9lXFs

• Ajei Gopal, president and CEO of ANSYS, was appointed to the board of Fiserv Inc. (NYSE: FI). https://axios.link/3PmZ4VT

• Andrew Fullam was named CFO for the U.S. and Americas at HSBC. https://axios.link/4a6SY3O

5. It's personnel

💰 Situational awareness: Private fund managers Apollo, Ares, Blackstone and KKR are aggressively pursuing "asset-based finance," aka the kitchen sink of debt that includes auto loans, credit cards and real estate mortgages.

 👀 @Lucinda is fascinated by Steve Mnuchin's TikTok bid.

⚾ @Ryan is excited for MLB Opening Day, just two weeks away!

Thanks to George Moriarty and Rob Reinalda for today's edits.

And thanks to you for reading this edition of Fintech Deals. Please tell your fintech friends about this newsletter. They can sign up here.

March 14, 2024

1 big thing: A tale of two stablecoins