Five tech funding rounds that bucked the gloom this year December 23, 2022 At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking it had been another fairly rosy year for tech firms raising cash in the Capital. London’s start-ups bagged £16bn throughout the year; the capital now boasts more high growth firms and ‘unicorns’ than many European countries; and the UK’s tech industry on the whole sailed past a [...]
Narrow Escape: Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250m bail December 23, 2022 Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried avoided prison on Thursday after posting a $250m recognised bond before awaiting trial for charges of fraud and money laundering. The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has charged Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts, including fraud and money-laundering offences. The previously heralded crypto hero reportedly used [...]
FinTech sector asks UK government for more clarity in 2023 December 22, 2022 A group of UK based FinTech companies have written an open letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calling for greater clarity on how open banking will be regulated from 2023 onwards. The letter criticizes the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC), a regulatory body established in March by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The [...]
Crypto in 2022: It wasn’t all bad December 22, 2022 This year was turbulent, even by crypto standards. If the past twelve months have taught us anything it’s that crypto is still far from a mature asset class and time may be running out for the industry to prove itself as a functional and beneficial cog in our financial system. There are a number of [...]
Venture capital to play major role in European private equity December 21, 2022 Go big or go home, there is no time to be risk-averse as venture capital investments are set to play a major role in European deal values throughout 2023. The venture capital (VC) game was primarily played in the US however, since 2013 the European asset class has grown from €60bn (£52.6bn) assets under management [...]
Sam Bankman-Fried extradited to the US December 21, 2022 Sam Bankman-Fried will be extradited to the US to face criminal charges for the demise of cryptocurrency exchange FTX after a judge in the Bahamas approved his transfer. In a hearing on Wednesday morning, Bankman-Fried’s legal team told the court that the former crypto executive agreed to extradition to the US, waiving his right to [...]
Tech wins: UK sector retains No1 spot in Europe December 21, 2022 Despite a rough year on all financial fronts, UK’s tech sector retained the top spot in Europe. The country’s tech sector showed resilience with the fast-growing UK tech companies raising funds at near-record levels (£24b),which was substantially more than France (£11.8 b) and Germany (£9.1 b) combined. UK’s tech sector has raised nearly £100b over [...]
London’s unicorns: City’s tech start-ups are bringing in the big bucks December 21, 2022 London’s tech start-ups have had a turbulent 2022. But while some of the original tech players in the city have struggled with rising costs and depleting revenues, newer unicorns are making moves. Here are the five London start-ups that made their mark this year, and are to be watched out for in 2023. OakNorth Valued [...]
Exclusive: Top fintechs slam regulators for slow progress on open banking December 20, 2022 A group of top fintech firms including Monzo and Wise have slammed UK regulators for a lack of progress on open banking today, claiming the “integrity and potential” of the regime in the UK is at risk.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried agrees to US extradition in major U-turn December 20, 2022 The disgraced founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has agreed to be extradited to the US from Bahamas where he faces a slew of fraud and conspiracy charges from federal prosecutors.