Techmeme: Analysis: Nigeria is second only to the US in bitcoin trading volume, hitting $2.4B in May from $684M in Dec. 2020, as the government tries to curb its use (Emmanuel Akinwotu/The Guardian)

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August 2, 2021, 8:50 AM

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Greg Ahlstrand / CoinDesk:

Square reports Q2 revenue of $4.88B, up 143% YoY, while its Cash App service's bitcoin yearly revenue was $2.72B, up 200% — Cash App's bitcoin gross profit rose to $55 million, Square said in its Q2 letter to shareholders. — Jack Dorsey's Square said its Cash App service's bitcoin …

More: Square, Benzinga, altfi.com, The Block, Decrypt, Finextra, Coinspeaker, Bitcoin Magazine, blockchain.news, Cointelegraph, NewsBTC, and Reuters

Tweets: @firstgenwealth and @arturo_p_a

Reuters:

Square says it's buying Australia-based buy now, pay later service Afterpay for $29B in an all-stock deal, paying a 30% premium on Afterpay's last closing — U.S. fintech company Square Inc (SQ.N) said on Monday it had agreed to purchase Australian buy now/pay later giant Afterpay Ltd …

More: Wall Street Journal, The Verge, TechCrunch, iTnews, Australian Financial Review, TNW, The Economic Times, The Register, Gizmodo, CNBC, Australian Financial Review, Engadget, Cointelegraph, Fortune, Neowin, SiliconANGLE, Cryptonews, BBC, ZDNet, CNN, ABC, Insider, TechRadar, and Tech in Asia

Tweets: @jack, @square, @gokulr, @pitdesi, @magyer, @jonrussell, @magyer, @rstephens, @mengxilu, @fintechfrank, @jendudley, @valwagoner, @rrhoover, @packym, @bengrubb, @alexh_johnson, and @carnage4life

Jon Porter / The Verge:

YouTube trials Premium Lite subscription for €6.99/month, offering ad-free viewing across all major platforms, currently available in Europe — Currently being piloted in parts of Europe — Google is piloting a more affordable premium subscription tier for YouTube …

More: ResetEra, Android Authority, XDA Developers, PCMag, Engadget, Android Police, MacRumors, 9to5Google, iMore, phonearena.com, and Cult of Mac

Tweets: @chunvn8888, @danishkh4n, @tomwarren, and @martinsfp

Olivia Solon / NBC News:

Female journalists and activists share how they were targeted and harassed by authoritarian regimes through hack-and-leak attacks using the Pegasus spyware — Ghada Oueiss, a Lebanese broadcast journalist at Al-Jazeera, was eating dinner at home with her husband last June when she received …

More: 9to5Mac. Tweets: @memeghnad, @lalehkhalili, @k8em0, @drewharwell, @kimzetter, @trycatchhcf, @shadow0pz, @evan_greer, and @oliviasolon

See also Mediagazer

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Zoom agrees to pay $85M and bolster its security practices to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged user privacy violations and Zoombombing — Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming …

More: PCMag, CNBC, Engadget, ZDNet, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, The Register, SiliconANGLE, Digital Trends, Agence France-Presse, New York Times, Axios, iTnews, The Hill, NPR, TheStreet, Mercury News, Slashdot, and AppleInsider. Tweets: @pernillet

Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech:

A now-deleted tweet by an Intel executive suggests Thunderbolt 5 could double the bandwidth of existing Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 connections to 80 Gbps — An executive visiting various research divisions across the globe isn't necessarily new, but with a focus on social media driving named individuals …

More: MacRumors, 9to5Mac, iPhone in Canada Blog, Tom's Hardware, Neowin, AppleInsider, and VideoCardz.com

Tweets: @rsg, @steakandchickn, @tapbot_paul, and @anandtech. Thanks:@iancutress

Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal:

Non-VC funds invested in a record 42% of tech startup funding deals in Q2 2021; H1 '21 US startup funding was $150B, with FY 2021 on pace to double 2020's total — Hedge, mutual and pension funds are investing heavily, leading to higher valuations and more leverage for company founders

Tweets: @sarahponczek, @notamitalegend, @jontreble, @amyssorrells, @dngusev, @mv11151, @heathersomervil, @timcohn, and @mdudas

The Economic Times:

Fashinza, a B2B marketplace for apparel manufacturing, raises $20M Series A from Accel, Elevation Capital, and others — B2B manufacturing marketplace Fashinza on Monday said it has raised $20 million (about Rs 148.6 crore) in funding from investors, including Accel Partners, Elevation Capital and actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja.

More: Entrackr, VCCircle, Tech in Asia, YourStory.com, and Forbes India

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Bangalore-based online learning startup Unacademy raises $440M led by Temasek at a $3.44B valuation — Unacademy has raised $440 million in a new financing round as the Indian online learning startup looks to expand into multiple additional categories. — Temasek led the Bangalore-based startup's …

More: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, KrASIA, Bloomberg, Tech in Asia, Entrackr, Business Standard, and Keeping Up With India

Tweets: @samidhas, @prasannavishy, @gauravmunjal, and @gauravmunjal

Emmanuel Akinwotu / The Guardian:

Analysis: Nigeria is second only to the US in bitcoin trading volume, hitting $2.4B in May from $684M in Dec. 2020, as the government tries to curb its use — As leaders around the world grapple with cryptocurrencies, what happened when the African country tried to ban them?

More: Cointelegraph. Tweets: @yme, @anthonydessauer, @nic__carter, @lynaldencontact, and @gladstein

Carly Page / TechCrunch:

Nozomi Networks, which aims to shield critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, raises $100M Series D led by Triangle Peak Partners as it prepares for an IPO — Nozomi Networks, an industry cybersecurity startup that aims to shield critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, has raised $100 million in pre-IPO funding.

More: VentureBeat, Reuters, and Nozomi Networks

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

London-based Kuda, which offers mobile-first banking services in Nigeria, raises $55M Series B at a $500M valuation co-led by Valar Ventures and Target Global — Kuda Bank, the London-based, Nigerian-operating startup that is taking on incumbents in the country with a mobile-first …

More: TechCabal, Techpoint Africa, and WeeTracker

Tweets: @babsogundeyi, @pkisadha, @oba_kinbo, @iatalkspace, and @oluwatosinraji_

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:50 AM ET, August 2, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:

iHeart says it is laying off employees; a source says the layoffs affect less than 5% of a workforce of more than 10,000 employees

Mandy Dalugdug / Music Business Worldwide:

UMG, ABKCO, and Concord sue Believe, a music distributor in 50+ countries, and its subsidiary TuneCore for $500M+, accusing Believe of copyright infringement

Tom Phillips / The Guardian:

Federal police in Brazil formally charge the alleged mastermind of the murders of UK journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in June 2022

More News

Financial Times:

SPACs are being forced to fund deals with more expensive financing, like issuing convertible bonds, due to cash from institutional investors drying up

Jennifer Elias / CNBC:

Filings: Larry Page and Sergey Brin have sold a combined $1B+ in Google stock since May 2021, the most since 2017; Google's share price has since tripled

More: ResearchBuzz and PYMNTS.com. Tweets: @mycatalan88

Christine Hall / TechCrunch:

Mixlab, which lets veterinarians prescribe and deliver medications to pet owners, raises $20M Series A led by Sonoma Brands

More: Yahoo Finance and VatorNews

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu:

Snoop, which uses open banking and analytics to help customers manage their money, raises £15M Series A at a post-money valuation of £47M

More: Finextra and Crowdfund Insider

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

Estonian ride hailing startup Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, raises $713M at a ~$4.75B valuation, led by Sequoia, Tekne, and Ghisallo

More: Bloomberg, Forbes, Reuters, Insider, Coinspeaker, and blog.bolt.eu

Tweets: @ryan_browne_, @e_estonia, @pvesterbacka, and @ryan_browne_

Daniela Hernandez / Wall Street Journal:

A look at technology's role in professional surfing, as ML-based wave forecasting and biomechanics data help improve riders' performance and prevent injuries

Tweets: @asayed, @danielas_bot, and @richardattiasas

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:

Matrixport, led by Bitmain founder Wu Jihan, which offers crypto financial services, raises $100M+ Series C, and says a second tranche is to come

More: Decrypt, The Block, Forkast, PR Newswire, CoinJournal, blockchain.news, Coinspeaker, Cointelegraph, CoinDesk, and Tech in Asia. Tweets: @pingroma

Earlier Picks

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Indian online insurance aggregator Policybazaar files for IPO, seeks to raise $809M and says it may raise about $100M in a pre-IPO round

More: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Moneycontrol, and Tech in Asia. Tweets: @digbijaymishra1

Brent Lang / Variety:

Profile of Netflix's head of movies Scott Stuber, who has grown original film output from 21 in 2016 to 70+ in 2021, as it makes deals with Spielberg and others

Tweets: @erikdavis, @getfandom, @ljwr_, @cavillclarke, @variety, @adequateemily, @2old2guard, @raminsetoodeh, @dfriend, and @discussingfilm