Global

December 2, 2023 @ 4:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin’s price continued to rise in November and the crypto recovery broadened to a wider array of market segments, the Grayscale team noted. Grayscale also mentioned in a report that financial markets relaxed “about certain macro risks, including the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East… Read More

December 2, 2023 @ 3:48 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Paytabs, a payment solutions provider in the MENA region, announced the launch of PayTabs Issuance — secure prepaid card issuing solutions aimed at scaling business operations regionally. Abdulaziz Al Jouf, CEO and founder of PayTabs Group, emphasized the potential of the issuing market in the… Read More

December 2, 2023 @ 8:58 am By Michael Wong  |  

Buenos Aires-based fintech firm Uala has launched a no-fee credit card in Argentina, targeting the massive population of unbanked Argentines, according to a Bloomberg report. The company, which is backed by investors George Soros, Steve Cohen, and Tencent Holdings, is offering its no-fee credit card… Read More

December 2, 2023 @ 8:47 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Today, digital asset security firm Fireblocks announced the acquisition of BlockFold, a smart contract development and consulting firm specializing in advanced tokenization projects for financial institutions. Fireblocks said the acquisition enriches its tokenization capabilities to provide clients with a complete service layer that includes advisory, token… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 5:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Swift says it has finally brought 24/7 global payments to life for transfers destined to Europe. According to a statement by Swift, the European Payment Council’s One-Leg-Out Instant Credit Transfer scheme (OCT Inst), now enables payments to and from Europe to be processed 24 hours… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 5:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global equity management company Carta announced plans to expand operations to the Middle East—citing a 180% increase in year-over-year bookings across the broader Asia Pacific region, and “launching with flagship Middle East customers including Global Ventures, BECO Capital, Cotu Ventures, and Outliers VC and Middle… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 4:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), today announced a collaboration with Microsoft and Ingram Micro Inc. Through this collaboration, Cowbell policyholders “gain access to complimentary Microsoft Exchange migrations to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, empowering SMEs to harness the full… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 10:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the UK government announced a “world’s first” agreement with big tech to help battle online fraud, the most common type of crime in the country. The UK government is partnering with the likes of Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Match Group, Microsoft, Snapchat,… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 8:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, which recently agreed to pay a massive $4.3 billion+ as part of a settlement agreed to with US authorities, is pleased to announce that they have successfully executed the “first” cryptocurrency triparty arrangement with a third-party banking partner. As explained by Binance, this solution… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly the first UK bank to adopt fintech platform PrimaryBid’s Fuse platform in order “to expand access to UK capital markets transactions for customers.” This partnership will enable significantly greater participation “for customers of Halifax Share Dealing, Lloyds Bank, Bank of… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 8:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Trulioo, a global identity verification platform, announced its partnership with Public, a U.S. investing platform for stocks, ETFs, crypto, Treasury bills and alternative assets that is allowing U.K. investors access to U.S. stocks. Public chose Trulioo Person Match identity verification “to achieve the highest onboarding… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 8:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bondora reports that the month of October 2023 saw a rebound for originations and investments. Bondora notes in a blog post that after decreasing slightly in September, investments and originations rebounded in October. Both these statistics “totaled just over €15M, with a growth rate of… Read More

December 1, 2023 @ 5:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Transitioning to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, $13.5 trillion in investments will be needed by 2050, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, according to a World Economic Forum report. The Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023, “published in collaboration with Accenture, takes stock of… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 8:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Banco Security will enhance its digital offering with Backbase‘s Engagement Banking platform, laying the foundation for the next generation of banking services. As part of its comprehensive $50 million digital investment plan spanning four years, Grupo Security is driving “a set of initiatives aimed at… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 7:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TRM Labs, the enabler of blockchain intelligence solutions, and Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, launched a world-first trial today that “will pay crypto users to protect themselves against fraudsters through training and by enabling stronger security features to protect their accounts.” The program offers AUD $10… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 6:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG has commented on the recently released Bank of England money and credit data. Karim Haji, Head of Financial Services at KPMG UK, comments on today’s Money and Credit Data from The Bank of England: “Consumer borrowing was down slightly in October, which could be… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 4:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently connected with Matthew Commons, President of the Verified USD Foundation, which aims to facilitate seamless, equitable and transparent on-chain and off-chain transactions within the Web3 ecosystem, backed by the Verified USD (USDV) stablecoin. Commons reportedly comes with more than a decade of blockchain… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 4:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) has shared its fifth annual Transparency Report. Coinbase says that its goal with the Transparency Report is “to provide customers with data about requests for their information that we receive from government agencies and law enforcement.” Coinbase also intends to “provide some insight… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 3:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

From Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM), Stripe processed more than 300 million transactions with “a total payment volume of more than $18.6 billion.” It was reportedly the “largest ever” four-day period on Stripe. A Stripe public microsite “tracked these and a dozen other BFCM… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 3:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin ownership is widely distributed across a variety of groups, according to an update from Grayscale. The report reveals that 74% of Bitcoin (BTC) owners currently hold less than about 0.01 worth of Bitcoin (~$350 as of November 6th, 2023). The research report also mentions… Read More