Is this 32-year-old a brilliant founder, or a deceptive fraudster?

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The big story

The criminal trial against 32-year-old fintech startup founder Charlie Javice began on February 21, with lawyers laying out their opening arguments. On one side, JPMorgan Chase alleges that Javice helped “fake millions of customers in order to induce the bank to buy her company,” student financial planning aid startup Frank, for $175 million. For her part, Javice claims that the financial services giant had “buyer’s remorse” due to a government change in the way financial aid forms are filled out. Her lawyers say alleging fraud was a way to get out of the deal. We’ll of course be glued to this trial and whether jurors will find in favor of Javice or of JPMorgan, or something in between.

Dollars and cents

Fintech Varo has been hoping to raise a $55 million Series G round but has, so far, closed on $29 million to date, according to a recent SEC filing. The close comes soon after the digital bank’s founder Colin Walsh recently announced he was stepping down from his role as CEO, with Gavin Michael replacing him.

Crypto exchange Bybit announced on February 21 that “a sophisticated attack” led to the theft of Ethereum (ETH) from one of the company’s offline wallets. Bybit’s chief executive and co-founder Ben Zhou said in a livestream that the hackers stole around 401,346 ETH, which at the time of the theft amounts to about $1.4 billion.

Coinbase on February 21 said the SEC has agreed to drop the lawsuit against the company with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. The move, which is still subject to the approval of the SEC’s commissioners, is yet another signal that the Trump administration plans to be more friendly to crypto than the SEC was under former leader Gary Gensler. Days later, Robinhood said that the SEC has closed its investigation into Robinhood’s crypto unit and will not pursue action.

Judging by our inboxes, there is no shortage of venture capitalists still betting big on the fintech space. Here is a list of just a few VCs who remain bullish on fintech. Note: This is an ongoing list that will be updated over time.

Dubai-based Mansa, whose offering allows payments companies, mainly in Africa to date, to settle transactions and fund customer accounts instantly, has raised $10 million in seed funding, including both equity and debt. Stablecoin provider Tether led the $3 million equity investment.