It’s been a theme throughout the year: digital assets like Bitcoin are breaking into mainstream financial services. The expectation is that technology can bring its services to the consumer on a pre-dawn Sunday when they want to make an impulse buy – and that’s exactly what digital assets enable. They let financial institutions put a disposable asset in the hands of a … [Read more...] about Navigating a Path to Digital Assets
Cryptofinance
April 2021: The Month in FinTech
Our April stories mirrored many of those themes through articles covering banks' continuing investment in FinTech and the increasing legitimation of cryptofinance within traditional financial institutions. Here's a review. Banking on FinTech U.S. banks made more than 65 strategic bets in FinTech in 2020. Capital markets investments led the way. “Despite the economic … [Read more...] about April 2021: The Month in FinTech
Banking on Crypto
THE WEEK IN FINTECH 05-01-2021 This column continues to follow the money into crypto, as large U.S. financial institutions made more product announcements and investments in cyptocurrency investment and custody services. It also follows the larger trend of banks increasing their strategic investments in FinTech. Enterprise banks ramped up their interest in digital assets … [Read more...] about Banking on Crypto
Banks Increasingly Need Crypto Literacy
As bitcoin prices have exploded upward throughout the beginning of this year, many traditional financial institutions have been forced to one conclusion: cryptocurrency is here to stay. Even if your institution doesn’t plan to deal directly in the space, the need to be knowledgeable about it is becoming an increasing imperative. But it’s a complicated subject – a crowded … [Read more...] about Banks Increasingly Need Crypto Literacy
Follow the Money: The Institutional Rise of Crypto and FinTech
Addendum: This quote from 04/21/21 NY Times DealBook supports the general trend: "The public listing of Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., generated a wave of excitement that competitors aim to ride. Among them is Binance.US, the third-ranked domestic crypto exchange, which yesterday named Brian Brooks — formerly Coinbase’s chief counsel and most recently … [Read more...] about Follow the Money: The Institutional Rise of Crypto and FinTech
China’s Digital Currency and CME’s Bitcoin Micro Contract
This week we feature a guest post from John Browning, founding partner of Hong Kong commodity and financial futures broker BANDS Financial. In reporting on the state of and statistics on the Chinese economy, Browning follows the development by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) of a so-called "digital yuan." We last wrote about it here. The PBOC's effort is gaining enough … [Read more...] about China’s Digital Currency and CME’s Bitcoin Micro Contract