Blackbox Weekly

.@RobinhoodApp’s valuation now tops $5 billion. Can its quality of users back that valuation up? Also, the Beanie Babies of blockchain tech just raised $12 million via @a16z & @usv. Read brief overviews of these & more in our most recent newsletter: bit.ly/2DWv6ka

German digital challenger bank @N26UK, which is expanding stateside this year, just raised $160 million from Tencent and Allianz tcrn.ch/2Gb4bpM

The IRS now has "data on about 13,000 Coinbase account holders who bought, sold, sent or received digital currency worth $20,000 or more between 2013 and 2015." @coinbase' 20 million customers will be reviewed to identify who's skipped paying tax via @WSJ on.wsj.com/2FWxtIN

A city in New York just became the first to ban bitcoin mining in the United States motherboard.vice.com/en_us/a… via @motherboard

.@lightning, an add on to bitcoin that’s meant to make cryptocurrency payments faster and cheaper, is now live! bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via @technology

Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey is among the new investors in @lightning labs, which announced a $2.5 million investment today qz.com/1228958 via @qz

Coinbase has made it easy for online businesses to accept cryptocurrencies and Venezuela has become the first country to launch a digital token of its own: medium.com/blackbox/blackbox… #blockchain #cryptocurrency

Can @RobinhoodApp Give Coinbase a Run for Its Money? medium.com/blackbox/can-robi…

These are five fintech stories of the week we think are worth knowing about: medium.com/blackbox/blackbox…

Will weed, porn, and poker lead adoption of blockchain tech?bit.ly/2DYFxrC #blockchain #fintech #cannabis #ethereum

Over half a million people have registered for early access to @RobinhoodApp's crypto trading feature—in just one day: bit.ly/2Ec6yVW #crypto #trading #bitcoin #ethereum

A month later, it looks like Robinhood didn't think its stock option trading product was enough to attract Millennial dollars, either: bit.ly/2DDmnrU According to @business, @RobinhoodApp's added 150,000 users in anticipation of a new crypto tech capability today

Initially launching as strictly an international money transfer service in 2011, @TransferWise has slowly expanded its capabilities to encompass more features traditionally serviced by banks bit.ly/2DamxlY #fintech #transferwisecard

A robot could soon be investing in bitcoin on your behalf @CityAM ow.ly/qAX630hG9P7

Cue the flourishment of point-of-sale financing upstarts—and they’re not the only ones giving traditional lenders a run for their money. #fintech #financing #personalfinance fintechunltd.com/2018/01/09/…

What Is Going To Happen In 2018 @avc ow.ly/ysUO30hBZj8

Ripple Claims 3 Big Money Transfer Firms Will Use XRP in 2018 @coindesk ow.ly/FSFR30hBHsQ

.@MoneyLion Raises $42 Million to Continue Push to Capture Middle Class bit.ly/2CDa0dN #fintech #personalfinance #vc