Benzinga | Dec 15, 2021 10:29PM EST

Fintech Focus For December 16, 2021

One Big Thing In Fintech: Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced the board members of his bitcoin development endowment in collaboration with Jay-Z.

Source: The Block

Other Key Fintech Developments:

* Sound.xyz adds a $5M round.

* KKR to lead Anchorage round. (NYSE:KKR)

* Archax eyes exchange launch.

* ICCU will offer crypto services.

* QuickBooks rebrands product. (NASDAQ:INTU)

* Ramp secures $52.7M round.

* SEBA Bank is launching token.

* Scalable Capital added crypto.

* IBISA round is led by Gateway.

* NYDIG adds $1B at $7B value.

* Aspiration added $315M raise.

* Insurance alums eye insurtech.

* Uni raises $70M for pay-later.

* Aiera, Glue42 are teaming up.

* iTrustCapital, Fireblocks unite.

* ISDA looking to digital assets.

* Brinc closes on $130M round.

* Gift stocks, BTC w/ Cash App.

* Papaya added $50M Series B.

* Ledn added $70M in Series B.

Watch Out For This: U.S. military commanders in the Pacific have built a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to U.S. actions in the region like military sales, U.S.-backed military activity and even congressional visits to hotspots like Taiwan.

Source: Reuters

Interesting Reads:

* Apple scraps office-return date. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

* Biden is releasing JFK records.

* Reddit is filing to go public, IPO.

* NASA tries to dodge the moon?

* Metaverse startup lists w/SPAC.

* Tesla resorts to suing its critics? (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Market Moving Headline: Given the Fed's willingness to smooth out changes in communication and avoid abrupt changes, we see further room for the Fed to turn more hawkish next year, as we see more longer-lasting inflation pressures in the US economy.

Source: Nordea