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Hi Sifted Reader,

The digital nomad model might seem like a no-brainer. Nomads get to live and work in amazing locations around the globe while local economies get a boost. But is it really that simple? Today, we find out, plus: 

• The F word causing headaches for neobanks
• What you didn't know about cryptocurrency rules
• Money over mentoring — what female founders really need

"Digital nomad villages" are springing up all over Europe, from the Canary Islands to Madeira. Arrivals typically get access to a coworking space, a whole ecosystem of events and the luxury of living in some pretty lush locations, while the local economy gets a healthy boost.

Sounds like everyone's a winner, right? 

Wrong. Here's what the locals really think. 

The Netherlands has long been a pillar of modernisation, currently ranking as Europe’s fourth most competitive economy. We’re excited to announce our latest report (out tomorrow!) looks at the disruptive startups shaping the Dutch tech landscape and more.

In the meantime, why not register for Techleap.nl’s upcoming event, discussing the untapped potential the Netherlands has yet to seize.

Attend Techleap.nl Summit here.

Yup, it's the biggest issue in financial services, and it's not going away anytime soon.

Just last week PayPal admitted to finding 4.5m "illegitimate" accounts, while digital banks like Monzo and Revolut have encountered plenty of their own problems with compliance.

How are fintechs fighting back about fraudsters? And are they having any luck?

Isabel Woodford and Amy O'Brien investigate.

The march of cryptocurrency — a lightly regulated industry that’s been tainted by fraud, money laundering and hacks — has often felt like a complete free-for-all. 

But after years of scant attention from regulators, authorities in Europe are slowly taking steps to rein in the sector. 

So what's the state of play?

This week, the "200 Billion Club" launched, a 12-week programme for female founders to get them "pitch-perfect and VC investable".

But is that really what female founders need? 

Tessa Clarke, cofounder of Olio, thinks it's not the female founders who need "fixing". 

With 40% of finance professionals planning to jump ship, how can you retain — and nurture — your talent? Our next Sifted Talks will ask experts from Spendesk, Typeform and Partechan all this and more on February 16.

Register to attend here.

🦄 The UK's 22nd unicorn. The trophy goes to British payments company GoCardless, which hit a $2.1bn valuation following its $312m Series G round led by Klarna investor Permira. Amy O'Brien has the story.

💰 The Baltics’ biggest VC fund. Tallinn-based VC firm Change Ventures announced the closing of its latest €49m fund, which will back young Baltic startups alongside a star-studded list of LPs from companies like Vinted, KiloHealth and Lightyear. The fund close comes amid a record-breaking 2021 for Baltic startup funding, with €1.5bn being invested in the region.

🎈 Space balloon fraud. Spanish space tourism company EOS-X Space has landed in court after its investor accused the company of fraud. The project claims that it can take tourists to the edge of space in high-altitude balloons. It’s not the first time space balloon projects have run into problems. Maija Palmer reports.

🤑 An RBF round. Bpifrance and Eurazeo were among the investors which led the €130m funding round for French revenue-based financing startup Silvr. According to the company, it's helped companies grow by 64% within two months after receiving financing.

👀 M3ter comes out of stealth. The London-based startup, which provides SaaS companies with a metering and pricing engine, bagged $17.5m in seed funding. The company was founded by Griffin Parry and John Griffin, who sold their previous business GameSparks, a backend-as-a-service provider, to AWS.

🎙️ Early stage tech startups. Catch Sifted’s head of intelligence Chris Sisserian on the Tech Can’t Save Us podcast where he chats gaming and the metaverse and explains what he does at Sifted. 

👾 Rosie Wood hits the metaverse. That’s right, your favourite (fictional) VC is back, and this time she’s getting nervous about Web3 and talking about that Sebastian Mallaby piece in the FT. 

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