AI나 핀테크 업계에서 또 다른 와이어카드 같은 사태가 나올 가능성 있을까요? 🤔

Yes — a “Wirecard-type” blow-up can happen again in AI/fintech. The pattern isn’t the industry, it’s the combo of opacity + complex third parties + weak verification + incentives to tell a growth story.
Models I’d watch closest: Payment processors / “platform” fintechs where revenue is hard to verify (net vs gross, take rate games), lots of third-party acquiring/resellers, and big “cash” balances that are actually restricted/escrow/merchant funds. Also anything that lives on float/working capital (BNPL, some neobanks, crypto venues/stablecoins) where the key question is “can you prove reserves/segregation and redemption works under stress?” And on the AI side: companies selling vague “AI transformation” with unclear product usage, lots of pilots, and metrics that don’t tie to cash.
Red flags / DD checklist I use (generic, not naming any specific firm): Does cash flow track earnings over time? Any weird gap between revenue growth and cash collections (DSOs rising)? Any reliance on “adjusted” metrics to explain away losses? Frequent auditor changes, late filings, or qualified opinions? Big related-party transactions or offshore structures/SPVs? Unusually high margins in a commoditized business? For fintech specifically: clear disclosure on safeguarding/segregation of client funds, chargeback/credit loss reserves, and who the actual counterparties/banks are.
If you want one simple rule: in hype sectors, trust cash + verification more than narratives. If outsiders can’t independently confirm the core asset (cash/reserves) or the core revenue (transaction volume/take rate), treat it as higher risk and size accordingly.