Strategy

January 20, 2021 @ 8:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Plaid is reportedly planning to more than double its Europe-based workforce in 2021, despite having to back out of a potential deal to be acquired by payments giant Visa (due to US antitrust issues). The financial technology firm appears to be taking the… Read More

January 17, 2021 @ 7:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

John Lee Quigley, who’s focused on building Bitcoin media and research products at HASHR8 Inc, a cryptocurrency mining and media firm that aims to support the “decentralized growth” of hashrate (or computing power used to secure digital currency networks) while enhancing the security of blockchains,… Read More

January 14, 2021 @ 8:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mike Kühnel, Partner, Frankfurt at Bain & Company, Thomas Olsen, Partner, New York at Bain & Company, John Fildes, Expert Partner, Sydney at Bain, and Karl Gridl, Senior Manager, Zurich at Bain, have all co-authored a brief, titled “For Digital Assets, Private Markets Offer the… Read More

January 10, 2021 @ 9:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cross-border payment platform Currencycloud notes that financial innovation is now taking place at a “record pace.” However, when it comes to smaller businesses, you must first address their cash flow problems, because “nothing else matters” (if you can’t solve this issue first). Derik Sutton, VP… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 11:30 am By Jan Večerka  |  

With plenty of options out there, choosing which investment opportunity is right for you is a potential minefield. You can look into the traditional market investments such as stocks and mutual funds, but there is also the burgeoning real estate crowdfunding market to consider. This… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 11:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cambridge-headquartered Vestigo Ventures, which mainly invests in Fintech firms or other financial services businesses, has reportedly secured a total of $83.5 million (to date) for its second fund, according to a securities filing. Vestigo had been planning to acquire $100 million in capital for its… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 4:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

LocalBitcoins, one of the oldest and most widely-used Bitcoin (BTC) services, reveals that most of its customers are based in developing countries. These are places (such as Argentina and Venezuela) where Bitcoin is needed badly as a store of value because local fiat currencies have… Read More

December 28, 2020 @ 9:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Collaboration is the “new competition” in the financial technology industry, according to Melody Brue, a Senior Fintech Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. Brue, a startup veteran and advisor, notes that almost every industry or sector had to “pivot” in many different ways in order… Read More

December 19, 2020 @ 1:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens took it “relatively slow” this past week when compared to Bitcoin (BTC) while crypto and blockchain industry developments strengthened Ethereum’s (ETH) support, according to a report from OKCoin. The digital asset exchange notes that DeFi tokens are still lagging behind BTC… Read More

December 13, 2020 @ 8:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped consumer mentality and habits, especially as it relates to people’s financial needs. But it remains unclear what new habits born out of necessity are here to stay and what will vanish as the pandemic grinds to an eventual halt. We recently… Read More

December 13, 2020 @ 6:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Simon Torrance, Advisor to Boards and Leadership teams on business model transformation, platform strategy, and digital ventures, claims that embedded insurance is a $3 trillion market opportunity, which may help “close the protection gap.” Torrance, a Senior Advisor at Rainmaking, explains that embedded insurance is… Read More

December 11, 2020 @ 3:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

An embedded Fintech is a non-financial firm providing its own financial technology products and services that aim to complement its existing business model, according to Christine Loredo, VP Fintech Evangelism and Innovation Programs at Yodlee. Loredo explains that embedded Fintech services allow big tech firms… Read More

December 11, 2020 @ 8:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom has maintained its status as a major global Fintech hub. But will the country be able to capture a significant share of the world’s financial technology business after Brexit and can it retain its dominant status despite the challenges created by the… Read More

December 10, 2020 @ 8:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gaelle Olivier, CEO at Societe Generale (EPA:GLE) for Asia Pacific, a French multinational investment bank and financial services company with around €1.3 trillion in assets, argues that traditional banks should not think of Fintechs as direct competition. Olivier, whose comments came during a CNBC interview,… Read More

December 10, 2020 @ 1:50 pm By Milena Naitoh  |  

Digital lending platforms have made strong inroads in Southeast Asia over the past few years. In 2016 alone, peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending generated US$115.01 million—more than half of Southeast Asia’s total alternative financing market that year.  This growth can be attributed to a combination of… Read More

December 8, 2020 @ 9:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ralph Hamers, CEO at UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG), a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company based in Switzerland with around $1 trillion in assets, has noted that innovation and collaboration haven’t really been the norm for many traditional financial institutions. Hamers, whose… Read More

December 8, 2020 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

  The Digital Finance Forum has rebranded as Fintech Founders, according to a note from the group. Founded and Chaired by LendInvest founder Christian Faes, the name change is said to indicate the group’s wider, scaled-up ambitions to become a network of influence and authority… Read More

December 7, 2020 @ 8:30 am By Amit Anand  |  

Emerging from the pandemic while other regions are still in the midst of crisis is giving the region an advantage.  The venture market in Southeast Asia has grown exponentially in the last five years but it’s not too late for LPs to dive in. While… Read More

December 1, 2020 @ 8:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Coinrule, a cryptocurrency trading startup that recently secured over £410,000 in funding through its Seedrs round, notes in a blog post published by crypto futures and options exchange Deribit that Investors now have a new option they can add to their investment… Read More

November 27, 2020 @ 11:43 am By Gautam Gujral  |  

On November 2, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted to amend its rules to harmonize, simplify, and improve the exempt offering framework. These amendments will, in general, be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Bigger is Better An… Read More