Developments in faster payments, digital assets, and technical interfaces raise questions. Businesses wonder about how to adopt them and at what cost. Investors wonder how to profit from them. And regulators wonder how to keep them safe and conder control. We covered some of those competing agendas this month in the articles linked below. For a consumer-oriented view and … [Read more...] about November FinTech in Review: FinTech Questions
FinTech Trends
Are Businesses Ready for Faster Payments?
The payments industry is currently undergoing a once-in-a-generation change in infrastructure, as use cases increasingly shift towards the promise of faster, or even instant, payments settlement. Progress has been ongoing for years, but the reality of the global pandemic drove the reasons for innovation to the forefront of the minds of many in businesses from small to large … [Read more...] about Are Businesses Ready for Faster Payments?
NFTs (Part2): Is It Art and What’s It Worth?
In a recent conversation on crypto and NFTs, the inevitable question came up: what's this stuff worth? It's a link on a blockchain, after all. Yet NFTs are shaking up the art world, raising questions of artistic aesthetics and investment values. Artists can benefit both economically and legally. I covered the economic and legal aspects of NFTs in How Misuse of a Technical … [Read more...] about NFTs (Part2): Is It Art and What’s It Worth?
NFTs (Part 1): How Misuse of a Technical Term Obscures an Economic and Legal Function
The record-setting price of bitcoin this week, driven by the launch of the first U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) – the most successful ETF launch in history – may support one of the year's other major FinTech stories: the rise of NFTs. The bitcoin EFT makes it possible for investors to buy exposure to the future price of bitcoin without purchasing either the futures … [Read more...] about NFTs (Part 1): How Misuse of a Technical Term Obscures an Economic and Legal Function
Stablecoin: A Faster Future?
Could stablecoin be an idea whose time has arrived? The industry remains niche in terms of overall value, but as more competitors test the ground to enter the field - including large central banks in some countries like Sweden - the conversation has rapidly developed into what could be suggested to be an inevitability. Stablecoins - in this case, cryptocurrency tied directly … [Read more...] about Stablecoin: A Faster Future?
September FinTech in Review: ESG and the Evolving Shape of Crypto
Our Week in FinTech columns for September covered themes of trends here to stay: ESG investing and the constantly-evolving face of cryptocurrency. Sustainable investing continues to be a major theme in the markets, and looks more and more like a model that all advisors need to learn inside and out to continue to play a significant role going forward. People want to know … [Read more...] about September FinTech in Review: ESG and the Evolving Shape of Crypto