So, why are we talking about this?
Cathie Wood. You know her? She of the Ark Invest, chief executive, chief investment officer and one of the world’s leading backers of new tech. Well, she’s sold out of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and moved into Cash, the app co-founded and run by Twitter’s former driving force, Jack Dorsey.
And that’s news?
For the fintech world, it marks a tectonic shift. It’s the move out of old fintech and into new.
Smart move?
On the face of it, no. PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) (beloved of your mum, dad and grandparents) has 426mln users versus the Cash App’s 44mln monthly active users. The two companies do essentially the same thing: allow users to transfer funds electronically around the world. Of course, there are differences and flourishes.
So, why’s Wood done this?
The ability of the Cash App to invest directly into bitcoin and tap into its lightning network was the clincher. This and its position as a pioneer in bringing mainstream finance and defi together. Rival Venmo is also moving in this direction, but is more of a follower than a leader, Wood observed.
Is that it?
Effectively, Wood also seemed to suggest in an interview with CNBC that the greatest organic growth potential lay with Cash rather than PayPal. So, it’s also about investing fundamentals.