Author: GT

Plaid, which connects bank accounts to financial applications, has sold about $575 million worth of common stock at a $6.1 billion post-money valuation, the fintech company confirmed to TechCrunch. The valuation is about less than half of the $13.4 billion that San Francisco-based Plaid was valued at when it raised a $425 million Series D in April 2021 in a round led by Altimeter Capital. A spokesperson acknowledged the decrease, saying it was “simply a reflection of the contraction of multiples across the market.”  Indeed, higher interest rates have led to lower valuations for many startups that last raised at…

As a Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) investor, it can be confusing to make sense of all the information out there. And that’s especially the case when it comes to the weekly influx of new macroeconomic data. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate the signal from the noise. So, to help make sense of it all, here are three numbers that can help to ground your thinking about where Bitcoin is headed next. Let’s get this number out of the way first. A lot of very smart people on Wall Street think that Bitcoin is going to hit a price of $1…

The caller identity app Truecaller said that it crossed the 450 million user mark earlier this week. The company said that it added 50 million users in the past 10 months and 15.5 million users since the beginning of 2025. India is the company’s biggest user base. So it wasn’t surprising when Truecaller promoted chief product officer and MD of India operations, Rishit Jhunjhunwala, to the CEO position after the company’s co-founders decided to step back from day-to-day operations last year. Image Credits:Truecaller Jhunjhunwala said that while India remains a critical market for Truecaller, it also saw growth in other…

As the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency, it’s a surprise to nobody that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is subjected to all sorts of different trends, pressures, risks, and influences. It’s easy to assume that all of the biggest factors that determine its price are already common knowledge. But what might be surprising is that some of the coin’s least-discussed risks are getting less scary instead of looming larger, particularly in one key area. In short, the future is looking even brighter for the coin, and, interestingly, it will probably also be easier on the conscience of some holders and future buyers.…

Expanding into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains a costly and complex challenge for global businesses, thanks to fragmented regulations and banking systems. Dubai-based fintech Fuse aims to simplify that with a cross-border payments API and has raised $6.6 million in seed funding to make it happen. Founded in 2023 by CEO George Davis (pictured above, right), former co-founder of BVNK, and CTO James Smith (pictured above, left), Fuse says it’s the first infrastructure-grade payments platform offering virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) in the region. This is a product Davis says is commonplace in Europe but nearly…

It’s no secret that cryptocurrencies come and go, often after experiencing 15 minutes of fame that cause many to call for their ongoing dominance as part of a new paradigm of financial technology. But some coins, like XRP, (CRYPTO: XRP) have demonstrated staying power that lasts for years rather than months or weeks. And that means they stand nearly alone as some of the only cryptos worth buying and holding through 2030 — and perhaps even beyond that. Here’s a quick rundown of what makes this coin one of the survivors, and why that’s likely to continue for the foreseeable…

The Phillips 66 Company’s Los Angeles Refinery in California.Bing Guan | ReutersThe oil price outlook is being hit with more bearish forecasts on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping and market-hammering tariff announcements. Businesses and investors worry that a trade war and lower global growth lies ahead.Goldman Sachs on Thursday reduced its December 2025 forecasts for global and U.S. benchmarks Brent crude and WTI by $5 to $66 and $62 a barrel, respectively, “because the two key downside risks we have flagged are realizing, namely tariff escalation and somewhat higher OPEC+ supply.”The bank also cut its forecasts for…

With President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs coming out today — a day he is calling “Liberation Day” — a web3 startup thinks it could track tariffs automatically on goods coming into and out of the USA using its blockchain platform. The claim may well be bold — and typical of many such bold claims made by other web3 startups. However, Watr‘s platform is already being used to validate commodities by large mining companies and auto manufacturers, so there may be more to the claim than meets the eye.  Created by former Shell, BP, and JP Morgan executives, the company…

At a presentation unveiling the Nintendo Switch 2, longtime Nintendo producer Kouichi Kawamoto revealed that at one point, he considered calling the Switch’s successor the “Super Nintendo Switch.” It would have been a nice nod to Nintendo’s second console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which followed the original NES about 35 years ago. But Kawamoto, along with directors Tetsuya Sasaki and Takuhiro Dohta, didn’t think that “Super Nintendo Switch” was quite the right fit. It’s not that the Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t super — I’ll go out on a limb and call it the Pretty Good Nintendo Switch. Rather, the…

Retail adoption is often seen as the missing piece in Bitcoin’s long-term success. And while institutions and sovereign wealth funds are pouring in, some experts believe that mass retail participation remains essential. “I do feel retail growth and adoption will be important to the long-term future of Bitcoin,” said TheStreet Roundtable host Rob Nelson in a recent conversation with Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks. “Just having big institutions, sovereign wealth funds, strategic reserves — all good — but you kind of need a wider adoption worldwide.” Sui is the founding CEO and chairman of the board of CF Benchmarks,…