What happened
Shares of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) CF Acquisition Corp VI (CFVI) rose as much as 10.5% today before ending the day up nearly 5%. While it may not be the exact reason, the company that CF Acquisition Corp intends to merge with and take public, Rumble, announced today that it plans to invest in the payments company Parallel Economy.
So what
Rumble is a video publishing platform that claims to have fewer restrictions than other more-traditional publishing platforms like YouTube. Rumble has gotten popular among publishers worried about having their content banned from traditional publishing platforms. The company said last year that it had reached 36 million average active monthly users.
Image source: Getty Images.
Launched last year, Parallel Economy is a payment processor that has flat pricing, no monthly surcharges, and next-day funding. The company claims to be "censor resistant."
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski said in a statement:
Our mission is to eliminate every chokepoint and backdoor to cancel companies like Rumble and our creators. This investment in a digital payment processing system is another example of Rumble's commitment to put creators first. With Parallel Economy, creators won't have to worry about arbitrary cancellation. Giving creators financial security is a critical part of Rumble's mission to protect a free and open Internet.
Now what
Rumble does seem to have built a sizable audience. Additionally, platforms like Rumble and Truth Social, whose parent company is being taken public by the SPAC Digital World Acquisition Corp, are clearly seen as two disruptors in the world of traditional social media and tech.
It's a bit early to know if platforms like this are here to stay, and ultimately I think more information and performance history are needed to prove these concepts out.
