Short Takes: Beijing breaks up Alipay; SEC vs. Congress; PayPal buys Japanese BNPL Paidy for $2.7B; Varo bank hits $2.5B val; Audius showcases Solana NFTs; Insurance DeFi Cover shuts down

Hi Fintech Architects --

Welcome back to the subscribers-only letter! You are the best.

Here are the top updates hitting our radar:

1. PayPal to buy Japanese unicorn Paidy in $2.7 billion deal (link here)

2. Digital bank Varo raises $510 Million series E at $2.5 Billion valuation (link here)

3. Beijing to break up Ant’s Alipay and force creation of separate loans app…