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Friends, this week we provide coverage of some interesting offshore VC deals, a highly inspirational post on crypto and the future of America, and also review bitcoin's increasing acceptance as a form of payment, plus much more! Read up! | Cindy Taylor, Publisher

Frustration...Malaise...Summer is here...get used to the doldrums and hit the beach/lake/bedroom and relax...BITCOIN lost 4% (week on week) and is mired in the $30K-$35K area...trading volume is drying up and the media is looking elsewhere for "action"...good!

The primary value of what we do as financial professionals is always shifting. I have found that a bottomless appetite for news and podcasts goes a long way toward understanding how our clients behave and what they need from us. Here are some resources that have piqued my interest this summer.

Bitcoin is becoming widely accepted for payment for everyday items. Remember back in the good old days (like, 3-4 years ago) when all you ever heard was Bitcoin is "cute" but it will never catch on as a means of payment. Uh, yeah. It sure didn't take long either.

Advisor Group, the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, today announced the significant advancement of its growth strategy with the appointment of Kristen Kimmell as the company’s new Executive Vice President, Business Development. In this role, Ms. Kimmell will integrate and lead recruiting, transitions and onboarding for Advisor Group’s network of firms, encompassing FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services.

The coronavirus pandemic forever changed the technology and financial industries, said Emily Wilcox, chief operating officer at Practifi, a business management platform for financial advisory firms, offering opportunities for both to seek out different ways of doing business and reaching new customers.

This week, we're back again with a fresh new round of top 5 VC deals in the digital wealth sector, and this week the banking sector takes the lead on these deals. In the meantime, TechCrunch recently published a post noting Q2/21 was the hottest quarter ever for VC fundings. LOTS of cash sloshing around with all that freshly minted dollars coming off the printing presses, so we're none too surprised.

Wealthtech keeps upping the ante as managers continue to expand their footprints and integrate new technology to compete and so advisors can better serve their clients.

Big news arrived from CoinDesk this morning regarding JP Morgan’s preparation to launch its first actively managed Bitcoin fund for its private wealth clients by this summer.

What a difference a week can make! The SPAC deal pipeline continues to fill, while Wise tested the mettle of the LSE in a post-Brexit world and the Nasdaq provided a Shanghai surprise. One major Wall Street firm made a bullish call on a fintech consumer lending platform. Google is on the fintech prowl in Japan while the banks look on, plus traditional lenders are upping the ante to compete with their tech-savvy rivals.