Why Pristyn Care exited Bangladesh; Experts on the dropping Bitcoin price

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It’s time for DevSparks Pune!

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Meanwhile, a US bankruptcy court has held BYJU’S parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, Riju Ravindran, and the hedge fund Camshaft Capital guilty of a “fraudulent transfer” of $533 million. In his summary judgment, the judge noted that founder Byju Raveendran’s brother had failed to furnish financial statements that would have revealed where the funds were transferred and “orchestrated the sham resignation of Ravindran.”

ICYMI: How a Mangalore-born businessman orchestrated BYJU’S massive offshore financial movements.

Moving on, have you tried “vibecoding”?

Popularised by the AI researcher Andrej Karpathy, vibecoding is used to describe the way AI tools allow even non-coder hobbyists to build fully functioning apps and websites. All one needs is an idea about an app and AI will handle the rest.

Also, it’s the end of an era as Microsoft is shutting down Skype in May and replacing it with the free version of Microsoft Teams for consumers. The company is also phasing out support for calling domestic or international numbers.

Elsewhere, the world’s nations have agreed on a funding plan at UN talks in Rome for reversing the decline of nature. The deal came after countries were eventually able to overcome deep divisions which led to negotiations ending without an agreement last year in Colombia.

Hopefully a big win for biodiversity!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Why Pristyn Care exited Bangladesh
• Experts on the dropping Bitcoin price
• Revolutionising waste management

Here’s your trivia for today: Which Russian composer wrote the ballet Swan Lake?

Healthtech

Why Pristyn Care exited Bangladesh

Indian healthcare startup Pristyn Care has halted its operations in Bangladesh, less than a year after expanding to the neighbouring country, YourStory has learned.

Pristyn Care confirmed its exit and attributed the withdrawal primarily to "civil distress that started in Bangladesh in July 2024.

Curtain down:

• The company had originally planned a Rs 100-crore investment to establish a strong foothold in the Bangladeshi healthcare market but faced strategic and political challenges that made the venture unviable, sources told YourStory.
• Despite the exit, Pristyn Care maintains that its Bangladesh operations showed promising growth. According to the company, it achieved 125% quarter-on-quarter growth and expanded 11X from its first quarter.
• Pristyn Care is the latest Indian healthcare company to retreat from Bangladesh. Major Indian hospital chains, including Devi Shetty’s Narayana Health and the Fortis group, had previously attempted to establish operations in the country.

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup: Geniemode

Amount: $50M

Round: Series C

Startup: MOC Cancer Care & Research Centre,

Amount: $18M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Oxyzo Financial Services

Amount: Rs 100 Cr

Round: Debt 

Cryptocurrency

Experts on the dropping Bitcoin price

Bitcoin prices fell below $80,000 on Friday amid stringent tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump, whose election was welcomed by the crypto community, sending prices of the digital asset soaring at the time.

“After an impressive rally that pushed Bitcoin to an all-time high of $109,200, the market has entered a consolidation phase. Such phases are common during bull markets, allowing assets to build momentum for the next rally,” Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Indian crypto exchange, Mudrex, told YourStory.

The cycle:

• Higher interest rates can trigger sell-offs, pushing prices BTC down, while inflation causes market uncertainty and impacts investor sentiments. Moreover, a stronger USD typically exerts downward pressure on Bitcoin and other risk assets.
• “The recent Bybit hack may have shaken investor confidence, adding to the selling pressure. Given crypto’s inherent volatility and sensitivity to market sentiment, such events can trigger rapid price movements,” said Balaji Srihari, Vice President at CoinSwitch.
• “Historically, such pullbacks have been a natural part of crypto cycles, often preceding phases of accumulation and renewed growth. While the short-term outlook may appear challenging, long-term investors recognise the resilience of Bitcoin,” said Paras Malhotra, Business and Operations Head at CoinDCX.

Sustainability

Revolutionising waste management

Tamanna Sharma’s journey as a climate activist began in 2011, when she started contemplating the philosophy and reality of environmental conservation. In 2016, she launched Earthling First, a sustainability consultancy focused on creating waste management models for businesses and organisations.

Sustainable intervention:

• The Jalori Project initiative focused on waste segregation at collection sites before disposal at a Material Recovery Facility. Sharma financed the project using Earthling First’s profits that she earned from the company’s sustainability consultancy projects.
• Building on Earthling First’s philosophy, Sharma also initiated Sustained Labs. This platform fosters social and botanical experiments, aiming to test and implement sustainable models in real-world conditions.
• Another initiative of Earthling, the Seed Bank, will establish an offline centre in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, providing a paid experience for volunteers to experiment with permaculture and sustainable food practices.

News & updates

• Gold rush: Strong US demand for gold is “sucking” bullion out of some countries as traders try to stockpile it before US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico kick into high gear.
• Opportunities: Chinese technology startups are racing for fresh fundraising to capitalise on the DeepSeek-induced fervour towards AI, as well as President Xi Jinping's recent show of support to the country's private enterprises.
• Fat fingers: The US bank Citigroup credited a client’s account with $81 trillion when it meant to send $280—before the “fat finger” error was caught. The mistake was spotted only after two employees had missed it, and a third employee rectified it 90 minutes after it was posted, the Financial Times reported. No funds left the bank.

Which Russian composer wrote the ballet Swan Lake?

Answer: Tchaikovsky.

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