Blockchain technology and digital assets rose to new heights in 2021; with a record $30 billion in investments, interest in this sector of FinTech has never been stronger. But what's happening with all that money? That was the subject of 1871's recent Tech Talk: Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency: A Breakout Year, with experts weighing in on where developments in digital assets … [Read more...] about The Future of Digital Assets: Not a Zero-Sum Game
DAOs: The Next Blockchain Frontier?
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) came back into the news in 2021, generally falling into two categories: blockchain projects generally centered around the issuance of Ethereum-based tokens, and blockchain-powered crowdfunding ventures for investors. To say that DAOs got off to a rocky start would be something of an understatement. The original DAO, formed in … [Read more...] about DAOs: The Next Blockchain Frontier?
Fed Releases Digital Assets Report
The Federal Reserve issued its long-awaited report on the status of its research on whether the U.S. should issue a digital currency. It isn't a story that makes for exciting headlines, but it's all good: The Fed released the report, it's designed to create discussion, and any decision will rest with Congress. American Banker headlined its report, "Fed defers to elected … [Read more...] about Fed Releases Digital Assets Report
China Takes Next Steps in Retiring Physical Cash
Letter From Shanghai No 811 - Digital RMB only This week we feature another guest post from John Browning, founding partner of Hong Kong commodity and financial futures broker BANDS Financial. It's the latest in his ongoing reporting on the development by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) of e-CNY, its digital yuan*. We last wrote about it here. On Sunday (01-09-2022), … [Read more...] about China Takes Next Steps in Retiring Physical Cash
FinTech Forecast 2022
FinTech investments surpassed every year prior in 2021 – $131.5 billion. That’s more than double 2020’s final tally, and 2020 had already set records for that year. It is safe to say that FinTech’s moment has arrived. The digital transformation of finance hit a transition point to become an integral part of business as usual for financial services across the board. In … [Read more...] about FinTech Forecast 2022
BNPL: High Reward, High Risk?
Buy Now, Pay Later has finished 2021 strong, the new payment model seeing strong adoption over the past 12 months particularly as the pandemic forced a number of shifts to consumer spending habits. The biggest platforms continue to expand – BNPL company Klarna recently extended its services to incorporate all online retailers, whether they’re Klarna partners or not – but while … [Read more...] about BNPL: High Reward, High Risk?