January 1, 2024 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Folks Finance, the DeFi app on Algorand, continues its expansion into new networks by bringing xALGO into the Avalanche ecosystem. Powered by Wormhole technology, this is reportedly “the first Avalanche-Algorand cross-chain DeFi product available.” xALGO is a liquid staking derivative; “a yield-bearing version of ALGO… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 9:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Europe’s equity derivatives market has historically been “dominated by national exchanges each of which have primarily focused on their domestic market, requiring participants to connect to multiple exchanges and clearing houses to achieve pan-European coverage.” Cboe Europe Derivatives (CEDX), which launched in 2021, has taken… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

OKX, a Web3 technology company, announced that QuickSwap, a DEX and automated market maker built on Polygon, Polygon zkEVM and Dogechain, now supports the testnet version of X1. X1 is OKX’s new zkEVM Layer 2 network, “developed using the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK).” With… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 9:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hakbah – the KSA-based fintech savings platform – announces a new partnership with Tarabut – MENA’s open banking platform, and an investor in the region’s digital transformation. The partnership has several benefits for Hakbah as it “simplifies and expedites various tasks.” It will enable streamlined… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 8:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The mainnet serves as the fundamental backbone of any public chain ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in “shaping its development,” according to an update from IOST. IOST’s mainnet was officially “launched on February 25, 2019. Over the course of the past four years since its… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 8:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on draft amendments to the “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions under the control and supervision of the Saudi Central Bank.” In this context, SAMA invites stakeholders to “provide suggestions and observations on the draft by… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Four in 10 consumers are heading into 2024 saying they feel less financially secure than when 2023 began, according to new research from KPMG UK. Assessing confidence for 2024, KPMG’s latest Consumer Pulse survey of 3000 UK consumers shows those feeling worse “about their financial… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 6:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

If 2023 has demonstrated anything, it is the “remarkable resilience” of the crypto industry despite “reputational and regulatory challenges,” according to an update from Bitfinex. So as we head into 2024, the analysts at Bitfinex foresee “the number of global cryptocurrency owners to rocket up… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 6:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Engage People, the loyalty network that enables program members to pay with points directly at checkout, commissioned a new survey to gain insights. The new survey, from The Wise Marketer titled “Paying with Points – “Tomorrow” Is Too Late,” examines the use of “pay with… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cboe Canada announced receipt of all necessary approvals to formally unify its Canadian operations by bringing together the NEO Exchange and the MATCHNow alternative trading system (ATS), along with other related Canadian regulated entities, “into one corporate entity under the umbrella of Cboe Canada, effective… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 6:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Lightyear announced a strategic investment from two South Korean venture capital funds, Sunbo Angel Partners and Lighthouse Combined Investment. Both funds, with ties to South Korea’s automotive industry and other manufacturing corporate alliances, “have recognized Lightyear’s potential to create the next era of highly efficient… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 6:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a civil penalty of $3.9 million on Credit Suisse AG, for its alleged failure “to prevent or detect misconduct by its relationship managers (RMs) in the Singapore branch.” The RMs had allegedly provided clients “with inaccurate or… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 3:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Marco Manoppo, the Research Director at Digital Asset Research, has shared several notable developments that took place recently in the crypto and blockchain sector. Marco from Digital Asset Research notes that all of the following happened in crypto this week: MicroStrategy Acquires $615M worth of… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 2:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Brad Kelly, Managing Director at Payment Services, has shared his forecast for the coming year. According to Brad Kelly, 2024 is going to be “a tough year for payment fintechs in Australia with startup corporate and business card issuers likely to fail with little value… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 1:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Central banks will likely keep interest rates higher for longer in economies with persistently elevated core inflation (excluding food and energy prices), according to an update shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF noted that the high-interest-rate environment, which recently “triggered banking sector… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 1:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As the end of the year approaches, the Nansen team has shared key insights on higher-probability scenarios poised to take center-stage in 2024. In line or consistent with prevailing sentiment, which leans toward positive scenarios for crypto in 2024, Nansen says that their outlook remains… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 1:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jeff Owens, co-founder of Haven1, says that decentralized finance (DeFi) will finally attract mainstream users in 2024, “with the help of innovations like RWA tokenization and the hype around a potential ether spot ETF approval.” However, he also claims that wider adoption “will only happen… Read More

December 30, 2023 @ 8:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ubank’s Chief Product Officer, Andrew Morrison, has provided his top tips on staying alert and scam-savvy this holiday season. For many of us at this time of year, the focus has shifted to holiday gift-giving, finalizing travel plans, and managing money coming in and out… Read More

December 30, 2023 @ 6:04 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Sri Lanka has seen an exponential increase in the use of online loan applications across the country, according to a report by online lender Robocash said. The user base for these digital lending services has seen a dramatic rise, skyrocketing from 10,600 in August 2021… Read More

December 30, 2023 @ 6:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European continental P2P lending market is “subject to localized randomness, especially in times of crises,” according to an update shared by Robocash. Robo.cash analysts studied “the exposure of the continental European P2P lending market to the randomization effect.” The analysis included 54 European platforms… Read More