đź‘ľ GMEme

The meme stock becomes a meme coin. Plus, a fintech giant joins in on mass layoffs.

Author

Sebastian Soran
January 31, 2024

Happy Wednesday, Zingernation! Remember when GameStop was the hottest thing among “meme” traders? In other words, yesterday? Yes, the GameStop "meme stock frenzy" has become the "meme coin frenzy." A GME-based meme coin surged 330% in 24 hours to a $40M market cap. Guys. Just… Stop.

Today, Amazon is collaborating with a Mexican fintech company to bring flexible payment options, Ethereum co-founder talks AI and crypto and more.

Plus, this company reached record revenues with 250% YOY growth.

And, did someone forward you this email? Click here to subscribe to this Benzinga newsletter and more.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

FINTECH FOCUS

Briefly: Amazon is collaborating with Mexican Buy Now, Pay Later firm Kueski to introduce installment payments to Latin America’s second-largest economy.

So Basically: Amazon customers who choose to use Kueski Pay for their purchase will be able to select plans of up to 12 bi-weekly installments.

So Then: A key feature of this product is that it does not require a credit card.

So What? “It’s an exciting milestone, given Amazon is such a significant merchant in the context of Mexico,” said Kueski head of finance Andrew Seiz. “With this agreement, people who may not have been able to access financing before will be able to purchase products on Amazon.”

What Next: Read more here.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNERS

If the pandemic did anything positive, it would help e-commerce explode and generate a shift in consumer habits.

This company reached record revenues with 250% YOY growth. They also have strategic relationships with Microsoft and Lenovo and distribution agreements with retail giants Walmart, Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and Amazon. Also, the company has a licensing deal with The Walt Disney Company and the ONLY Disney-licensed STEM toy of 2023.

Discover why insiders are loading up and big names like Microsoft and Disney are forming relationships.

FIVE ZINGERS

What Goes Up Must Come Down: Bitcoin drops below $43,000 after ADP report.

Nothing’s Free Except… Taxes? A free tax filing pilot program by the IRS is available in 12 states this tax season.

ATH You Say? Mastercard's stock is creating new all-time-highs as the company is set to report its Q4 earnings today.

Was There Ever A Pal Like You? Hopefully not. PayPal initiated company-wide layoffs, impacting around 9% of its workforce, or around 2,500 employees.

Womp Womp: Zwipe, a biometric card company, is exiting the payments market due to low adoption of its fingerprint-powered contactless cards.

CRYPTO CORNER

vitalik buterin GIF by Product Hunt

Briefly: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin yesterday shed light on the potential integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with cryptocurrency.

So Basically: Comparing AI’s role to that of a participant in a video game, Buterin sees trading bots on blockchain-based exchanges as an established example of AI’s involvement in the crypto space.

So Then: He wrote in a blog post, “This use case has existed for a long time, even with much simpler AIs than what we have today, but ultimately it is a very real AI + crypto intersection."

So What? Buterin cautions against the dangers of AI integration. The transparency of open-source software in crypto might allow individuals to exploit AI systems. An AI integrated into an open-source wallet might be meticulously analyzed by hackers to design scams that evade AI detection.

What Next: Read more here.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNERS

If the pandemic did anything positive, it would help e-commerce explode and generate a shift in consumer habits.

This company reached record revenues with 250% YOY growth. They also have strategic relationships with Microsoft and Lenovo and distribution agreements with retail giants Walmart, Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and Amazon. Also, the company has a licensing deal with The Walt Disney Company and the ONLY Disney-licensed STEM toy of 2023.

Discover why insiders are loading up and big names like Microsoft and Disney are forming relationships.