Not All Good in the $HOOD 

• Robinhood’s “Broken IPO”
• Huge mid-week rally followed by another slump
• Why the rollercoaster? Cathie Wood, convertible notes 
• What went right/wrong? Is an IPO really democratizing finance for the retail investor? 

 

BNPL Gets Squared Up

• https://www.wsj.com/articles/square-agrees-to-acquire-afterpay-for-29-billion-in-all-stock-deal-11627855390
• Square acquires Afterpay, what this says about the future of BNPL 
• Other recent news from Square - making a big banking play

 

“You Don’t Know Jack”

•  https://www.protocol.com/fintech/square-tbd-crypto-strategy
• Square launched an open developer platform for non-custodial permissionless and decentralized financial services.
• I was quoted in the article calling Dorsey “Jack” when talking about his crypto infusion into business units 

 

Topic: Super Apps

• https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/protocol-fintech/revolut-super-app
• Is now the time for super apps in the US? 

 

Acronym of the Week: KYC (Know Your Customer)

• Mel explains 
• Recent KYC experience with LEX investment app, regtech making this easier, importance to AML and anti-terrorism 

 

Final Thoughts

• Prop tech
• AI