Tagged: perspective

May 21, 2020 @ 3:00 am By Barry James  |  

Some people in government here are talking as if the crisis is over, and that they’ve done all they can for businesses. There are worrying signs that the initial good intentions are fading and that the temptation to manage the numbers and the messages rather… Read More

May 16, 2020 @ 4:11 pm By Timothy Li  |  

Hello everyone, my last series on the Latin American Fintech revolution was inspired by LendIt Latam conference hosted in Miami back at the beginning of 2020. The Fintech world was abuzz with new ideas, innovation, and of course new territories to explore. Fast forward four… Read More

May 15, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, it was reported that Telegram has decided to abandon its initiative to launch a blockchain platform called TON (Telegram Open Network) and a cryptocurrency named Gram. The decision was the direct result of an ongoing enforcement action launched by the US Securities… Read More

May 14, 2020 @ 4:00 pm By Craig Dempsey  |  

The first case of Covid-19 in Latin America was diagnosed in Brazil at the end of February. Since then, the number of cases has soared into the thousands in at least 20 countries. In response, many countries have implemented strict social distancing policies, requiring businesses… Read More

May 12, 2020 @ 4:00 pm By Lee A. Schneider  |  

In the wake of the announcements of Facebook’s Libra and the Chinese government’s intention to have a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the topic of CBDCs as a new component of a country’s legal tender has become popular with governments and commentators. The basic idea… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 9:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

San Francisco has earned a bit of a bad rap the past couple of years. Questionable leadership has led long-time inhabitants to complain about the rising level of crime and the increasing squalor of the city. The high cost of living/rent and California’s reputation as… Read More

May 11, 2020 @ 12:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely reported that Paul Tudor Jones is buying Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation apparently picking crypto over the more plebian gold. Jones is a well-known investor and hedge fund manager Tudor Management Corporation that is worth a reported $5 billion or… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Dror Futter  |  

  Buried in the model Series A Certificate of Incorporation of the National Venture Capital Association is the following notation: This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation includes a sample “pay-to-play” provision, pursuant to which Preferred Stock investors are penalized if they fail to invest… Read More

May 4, 2020 @ 12:50 pm By Andrés Abumohor  |  

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute substantially to the global economy. They now make up 90% of businesses and 50% of employment worldwide. In emerging markets, SMEs are propelling development by introducing new products, processes, and competition. Although it is difficult to gather and track… Read More

April 30, 2020 @ 4:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act, has emerged as an exceptionally popular policy program by the US government in its efforts to support a faltering economy. In brief, the PPP provides a loan for 2.5X times monthly payroll for struggling… Read More

April 29, 2020 @ 6:30 pm By Trilliam Jeong  |  

What happens when a business is forced to try something new amid a crisis? Usually a lot of pain and a lot of failed attempts. But today’s capital market players may have it easy. While major Wall Street banks and asset managers are being forced… Read More

April 28, 2020 @ 2:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is an interesting discussion. Todd H. Baker and Kathryn Judge, both from the Columbia Law School, posted an article earlier this month on banks and Fintechs in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. As most people recall, during the last big financial crisis, policymakers fumbled… Read More

April 24, 2020 @ 10:14 am By JD Alois  |  

While everyone expects the People’s Bank of China to launch a limited trial of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) as it is called in the country questions have frequently emerged as to how the government will utilize the… Read More

April 23, 2020 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) in China aims to change the existing problem of the high cost of developing and deploying blockchain applications by providing public blockchain resource environments to developers. According to BSN, just like the internet, the ubiquity of access can greatly reduce… Read More

April 22, 2020 @ 7:30 pm By Michael Burtov  |  

It’s no secret that there has always been a disconnect between the Venture Capital (VC) industry and the Startups that they fund. VCs are the embodiment of old school funding and their investments have, until recently, been the judge, jury, and executioner for countless innovation… Read More

April 22, 2020 @ 3:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Crowdfund Insider covered the news that LendingClub (NYSE:LC), the largest Fintech consumer lender in the US, was furloughing and eliminating jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis has apparently driven the elimination of 471 individual jobs. Shockingly, LendingClub’s President saw his position eliminated…. Read More

April 20, 2020 @ 9:16 am By JD Alois  |  

In a widely anticipated move, HM Treasury announced a new package of bailout programs for early-stage ventures that did not qualify for programs initially set into place to support the COVID-19 battered economy. There have been profound concerns that younger, entrepreneurial firms that require ongoing… Read More

April 18, 2020 @ 4:48 pm By Marcie Terman  |  

The heady days of a booming token sales market driven by FOMO are long gone. Firms looking to raise money on the blockchain in 2020 are faced with a far more cautious investor base, and with good reason. A high percentage of early tokens failed—… Read More

April 17, 2020 @ 2:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

As has been widely reported, the Paycheck Protection Program – part of the CARES Act that provided SMEs with 2 months of payroll loans that may be forgiven – has run out of money. The widely lauded plan has struggled to distribute the funds as… Read More

April 17, 2020 @ 9:05 am By JD Alois  |  

This is interesting because it is indicative of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally approved Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) investment in Deliveroo. Before the Coronavirus, the investment was not a given as the CMA was “concerned that… Read More