Today in FinTech: Bitcoin Further Crushed; Experian Acquires MOVA; Buymie Raises Funds

In today’s FinTech news, the founder of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried said he doesn’t think bitcoin can be a payment method. Plus, Buymie is expanding its digital grocery delivery service to more cities in Ireland and the U.K.

FTX Founder Says Bitcoin Fails as Payments Network

The founder of the crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried threw bitcoin under the bus in an interview with the Financial Times, saying bitcoin can’t work as a payment method. He later said his quotes were chosen by FT “selectively,” but critics said he could be bashing bitcoin in favor of his self-interest in the Solana exchange.

Experian Secures Majority Stake in Brazilian FinTech MOVA

Experian is picking up a 51% stake in the Brazilian FinTech MOVA for 40 million Brazilian reais ($7.9 million). The global information services firm is acquiring the stake from Érico Sodre Quirino, a private investor, and Roberto Tesch, founder and CEO of MOVA.

Digital Grocery Delivery Startup Buymie Picks Up €7M in Fresh Funds

Buymie raised 7 million euros to continue growing its online grocery delivery startup and further its ability to serve customers. The new infusion of capital will also help the startup expand across Ireland and the U.K. The company is weighing the possibility of growing its footprint to roughly 200 other cities.

PayPal Vets Launch $158M Fund to Advance FinTech 

PayPal veterans Jeremy Jonker, Jay Ganatra and Mario Ruiz announced a $158 million venture capital fund Infinity Venture to help advance FinTech infrastructure startups, commerce enablement firms and other new companies that align with its model and portfolio.

Plaid Taps VGS for Tokenization Services

Data privacy provider Very Good Security (VGS) is expanding its partnership with Plaid for tokenization services to help further protect personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive data. “VGS will provide tokenization of PII and financial data vaulting services for Plaid customers. This will help ensure end-to-end data security for Plaid customers by seamlessly integrating VGS services alongside Plaid APIs.”