Opinion

January 2, 2022 @ 3:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Zelle is a peer-to-peer payments service that is now utilized by over 1000 banking apps across the US. As services like Venmo gained in popularity, traditional banks were compelled to compete and Zelle has emerged as a viable alternative for real-time transfers. Originally founded by… Read More

January 2, 2022 @ 2:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Towards the end off 2021, industry professionals from Finn AI, MX, Q2, and Rival Technologies came together to talk about what they’ve learned throughout the year and what advice they’d like to “impart to banks and credit unions in 2022.” By looking at the latest… Read More

December 31, 2021 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

CoinSmart Financial Inc., one of the first digital asset trading platforms to be registered as a restricted dealer under securities laws across Canada, has shared some perspective on the Binance Canada predicament. Earlier today, it was reported that Binance Canada had been registered as a… Read More

December 30, 2021 @ 3:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ruben Salazar Genovez, Global Head of Visa Direct, notes that when he was growing up in El Salvador during the 1980s, people living in “extreme” poverty were defined as those “who spend their daily purchasing power on food and still go to sleep hungry.” Now,… Read More

December 29, 2021 @ 5:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao or CZ notes that there are many “misconceptions” out there about crypto and that he will address a few of them. For example, many people say that “Regulation is bad for crypto.” According to CZ, we should not hold such a simplistic… Read More

December 29, 2021 @ 10:18 am By JD Alois  |  

In December 2019, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers in France approved its first initial coin offering (ICO). France had previously pushed forward legislation that sought to regulate ICOs under the French Pact Law (or Loi Pacte). The Loi Pacte introduced an optional visa regime for… Read More

December 28, 2021 @ 7:04 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The American Blockchain PAC is urging American legislators to look to the future and not inhibit the transformative power of blockchain technology through heavy-handed regulation. The organization is an independent, non-profit committee that lobbies federal legislators to support blockchain-based and cryptocurrency-based initiatives.. On Dec. 8,… Read More

December 28, 2021 @ 4:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On its face (or at surface level), 2021 may not have seemed like the year cryptocurrency “got serious,” according to an end-of-year update from Mastercard (NYSE: MA). The team at Mastercard noted that this year, we had Elon Musk sending Dogecoin (a virtual currency initially… Read More

December 27, 2021 @ 3:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crypto proponent Senator Cynthia Lummis is planning “comprehensive” legislation for digital assets early next year. According to a report in Bloomberg, Senator Lummis, who has frequently voiced her support of digital asset innovation, will propose a bill that will clarify the regulatory status of the… Read More

December 27, 2021 @ 1:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The blockchain and crypto-assets space has grown tremendously during the past 18 months due in part to the acceleration of the ongoing digital transformation. Many more consumers and business organizations are completing tasks online instead of visiting physical locations to avoid the further spread of… Read More

December 24, 2021 @ 11:23 am By JD Alois  |  

By now everyone is aware there is a significant migration taking place. High tax, less business-friendly states are losing out to low tax, business welcoming states and the transition is ongoing. While there are multiple states benefiting from individuals and firms exiting California, New York,… Read More

December 23, 2021 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the US Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on stablecoins that involved advocates and those who believe they are bad. The short hearing saw witnesses grilled with the Democrats generally dismissive and the Republicans in support of digital assets tied to fiat… Read More

December 22, 2021 @ 10:20 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

2022 could see aggressive movement by some federal agencies, an experienced industry hand suggests. Joseph Lynyak III is a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney and one of the nation’s foremost experts in the country on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),… Read More

December 22, 2021 @ 10:26 am By JD Alois  |  

“Cryptocurrency is the Emperor’s New Clothes.” Dr. Dan Geller, a behavioral economist who frequently chats about financial services at his firm Analyticom, is out with a note today hammering cryptocurrency while predicting its demise. According to Geller, crypto has been created for control and not… Read More

December 20, 2021 @ 9:00 am By Chantelle Arneaud  |  

Our third year of living with Covid-19 is about to start. Given the new omicron variant, we anxiously wait to see if it causes a spike in infection, which may cause a downward turn in economic growth. What does this mean for equity fundraising in… Read More

December 19, 2021 @ 11:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

VIP$ Coin (VIP$), which claims to be an asset backed and blockchain-powered cryptocurrency, has reportedly been holding discussions with the Mexican government in order to look into the possibility of supporting the nation’s economy with a decentralized currency. In a letter sent to VIP$ Coin’s… Read More

December 17, 2021 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Plaid, a leading open banking platform, has published a blog post that reflects on 2021 while providing some insight into their expectation for 2022. Authored by Keith Grose, GM of International at Plaid in London, explained that Fintech’s disruptive capacity is far beyond financial services…. Read More

December 15, 2021 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, there was a hearing at Parliament that tackled some of the challenges to growing the Fintech ecosystem in the UK – a strategic sector of great importance for the country. The UK has long been a top Fintech global hub. Brexit, policy inertia,… Read More

December 13, 2021 @ 8:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman have once again voiced their concern regarding SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s regulator agenda – a list that was recently updated. Last summer, Gensler published his regulatory agenda and now an update is available. When Gensler posted his initial… Read More

December 13, 2021 @ 9:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Binance has shut down its Singapore-facing crypto exchange. The news follows a series of events that have eventually led to Binance exiting the top Asian Fintech market with a wholly owned trading platform. Binance Singapore was originally granted an exemption from holding a license under… Read More