Tagged: perspective

What the Investigation Into Binance Means for Money Laundering

The role that cryptocurrency plays in money laundering is hotly debated. Some say that the anonymity afforded by currencies like Bitcoin makes it easier for criminals to shift funds undetected, while others argue that the blockchain and it’s unchangeable, publicly visible ledger actually provide far… Read More

Don’t Do It: CEI, a DC Think Tank, Tells Federal Government Not to Issue CBDC

While multiple countries around the world are pushing forward with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the US is reviewing the pros and cons, one prominent DC-based think tank is telling public officials not to move forward on a digital dollar. The Competitive Enterprise… Read More

Non-Fungible Tokens: Buyer Beware!

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are currently the belle of the blockchain ball. The revenue related to sales of NFT’s are staggering: $69 Million for Beeple while NBA’s Top Shot swished over $700M in sales in less than a year. Open Sea, the largest NFT exchange, has a… Read More

Skip the Credit Card Terminal, Apple to Enable NFC Transactions Directly on the iPhone

Apple (NASDAQ:APPL), the largest publicly-traded company in the world, is predicted to enable credit card transactions directly via its ubiquitous iPhone. The new feature will challenge all credit card terminal providers like Block/Square (NYSE:SQ) that generate massive amounts of revenue by processing payments via credit… Read More

Confirmed: Meta’s Diem to be Sold for $200 Million

Facebook/Meta’s (NASDAQ:FB) digital currency venture Diem will be sold to Silvergate Capital for $200 million, according to WSJ.com. It was previously rumored that the failed cryptocurrency project was on the auction block as Meta threw in the towel on a project that once sought to… Read More

Perspective: Unpacking Venture’s Virtuous Circle

With a new SPAC launched seemingly every day and IPOs popping left and right, it might seem like the public markets are the place to be. Although following that path to liquidity might make sense for some companies, that’s just not the case for most… Read More

Amazon Decides to Continue to Accept Visa Cards in the UK, For Now

Towards the end of 2021, Amazon UK distributed an email to its customers stating it would stop accepting Visa cards for purchases beginning January 19, 2022. Today, it is being widely reported that Amazon has backed away from that decision. According to AP, Amazon has… Read More

Former SEC Official Predicts End of Businesses Accepting Cryptocurrency, Labels Crypto a “Menacing Cancer”

At least one former enforcement executive from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is predicting the demise of crypto – or at least a significant setback for digital assets. John Reed Stark, former head of the SEC’s Internet Enforcement team says that new rules from… Read More

SPACs Have Big Year in 2021. What’s Next for 2022?

Doug Ellenoff of Ellenoff, Grossman and Schole Shares Insight into Booming SPAC Market. Special purpose Acquisition Companies or SPACs had a blowout year in 2021.  While the financing vehicle has been around for decades, in recent years SPACs have rocketed in popularity. SPACs are an… Read More

Tommy Nicholas from Alloy Says Firm Spends Considerable Time Thinking About Managing Interplay between Risk and UX

Tommy Nicholas, CEO at Alloy, which specializes in identity verification APIs that make KYC/AML “effective and simple,” says that he loves Fintech. Nicholas writes in a blog post that he believes the wide availability of “digital-first” consumer/SMB financial services helps “drive fees down, increases access… Read More

Crypto Markets Massively Outperformed Other Asset Classes Last Year, Reasonable to Expect Market Crash in 2022: Report

The team at Blockchain.com, a leading block explorer, crypto wallet, and trading platform, says that 2021 witnessed a “fourth” major bull cycle for Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto-assets. Historically, in the years that followed the previous large bull markets, we’ve seen “a struggle to hold gains… Read More

Top 10 Fintech Predictions for 2022

6 years is an eternity in Fintech and this is my 6th annual Top 10 Fintech Predictions for 2022. 2021 was a great year for Fintech, billion-dollar IPOs, Crypto, NFTs, and the evolution of blockchain technology has taken over the globe. BigTech are all basically… Read More

Community Banks: Payments Service Chuck Looks to Emulate Zelle, Alloy Labs Aims to Provide More Digital Banking Services Going Forward

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

CoinSmart CEO Comments on Binance Predicament in Canada

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

In 2019, the Autorité Des Marchés Financiers in France Approved its First ICO, Since then Few Have Used the Updated Rules

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

After Unprecedented 2021, Mastercard Predicts Even More Digital Currency Innovation in 2022

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

Senator Cynthia Lummis Plans Comprehensive Legislation for Crypto

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

Following Senate Hearing on Crypto, Dante Disparte, Circle’s Chief Strategy Office, Shares Stablecoin Myths

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

Lenders Beware: 2022 Could See Increased Enforcement Activity

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

Behavioral Economist Says Crypto was Created for Control

“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

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