FinTech

Facebook’s Libra has no doubt incurred a mixed reception among crypto fans and regulators alike, but the fact that it could now be left in the dark by one of its biggest supporters – PayPal – doesn’t look good at all.Libra and PayPal Part WaysPayPal and Facebook are hugely connected through Libra in that former PayPal exec David Marcus is the leader of development with Facebook’s blockchain division. He’s the guy in charge of Libra, and he’s often the man who serves as the face of the...

The walls are all but crumbling down around Facebook’s embryonic ‘cryptocurrency’ venture, as PayPal allegedly considers calling quits on Libra. Libra Back(er)s Against the Wall First Visa, and MasterCard, and now PayPal. Things aren’t looking too rosy for Libra, as regulatory watchdogs continue to hound the project. Today, a fresh batch of conjecture is boiling over, as the Financial Times reports that representatives from PayPal abstained from yesterday’s Libra association meeting. 28...

Apart from its ongoing antitrust investigation as put forward by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Facebook is also having a rough time regarding its proposed digital currency, the Libra. A few months ago, Facebook announced its plans to float its own cryptocurrency and also released a whitepaper to the effect.As part of the announcement, a Libra Association was announced, an association made up of several big companies including Uber, Mastercard, Visa, eBay, Spotify and many other...

Bird, a startup that rents out electric scooters, has acquired an extra $275 million in Series D funding round led by CDPQ and Sequoia Capital. After raising that amount at a valuation of $2.5 billion, the company claims that is a testament to its effort to improve its unit economics.Notably, the new funding raises Bird’s post-money valuation to almost $2.8 billion. This funding round comes just a few months after reports emerged that Bird wanted to raise a Series D round at a $2.5 billion...

Although Apple is making an aggressive move in the fintech and global payments industry, the tech giant has no plans to step in the crypto space for now. Apple Inc’s chief executive officer Tim Cook recently said that his company has no plans to launch its own digital currency.During an interview with French financial newspaper Les Echos, Cook said that matters related to currency should remain in the hands of countries and their respective governments. He added:“I really think that a...

Photo: MicrosoftOn Thursday we reported of Microsoft unveiling its next generation of Surface devices including the dual-screen Surface Neo tablet and the Microsoft Surface Duo, a smaller device that seems to be for all intents and purposes a new Microsoft foldable phone.We also said that Surface Duo will have Android instead of Windows OS. However, Neo will brag with the new variation of Microsoft’s operating system to keep track of: Windows 10X.Microsoft is constantly trying to push its...

According to the Wall Street Journal, Visa and MasterCard are getting cold feet about helping build payment infrastructure for Facebook’s Libra project. The Wall Street Journal said that a number of financial partners were starting to back away from Libra because of regulatory concerns. This comes on the heels of a September 9 meeting in Switzerland in which financial regulators from across the globe questioned members of Libra. It also follows the skepticism expressed by Congress in July,...

Microsoft announced something we didn’t really expect – a new foldable Surface Neo counterpart with phone functionality. Dubbed the Surface Duo, it runs Android instead of Windows. It seems that the world strongly needs a “clasp” because foldable phones are starting to be very much “in fashion” again.Microsoft came as a direct challenge to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold but also the upcoming Motorola Razr. The main difference will be in the fact that you may choose between one big screen that bends in...

There has been a lot of negativity surrounding the launch of Facebook Libra over the last few months. Global regulators and banking institutions have showered severe criticism over the project. However, despite several kickbacks, the Libra Association is proceeding ahead with its plans of mainnet launch.Recently, the Libra Association has published a new roadmap that highlights 4 major milestones to be attained before the launch of the Libra network. The Calibra team says that the first...

Microsoft Surface event started on a big note with the tech giant unveiling some impressive line of hardware. The most eye-grabbing announcements were the company’s new foldable smartphone Surface Duo running on Android and the Surface Earbuds running on Android.Company CEO Satya Nadella kickstarted the event while Surface chief Panos Panay took the wraps off from the new Surface offerings. Well, let’s take a look at some of the most-important devices unveiled at the Surface event. So without...