Today is the 20th anniversary of that tragic event. It resulted in more social, political, and economic change than anything in most of our lifetimes until the pandemic. Including payments, as I wrote about in Is Covid-19 Payments’ 9/11 Moment? The article links to one of the lesser-known changes wrought by the attack. It took the 9/11 crisis to get U.S. federal … [Read more...] about Remembering 9/11
Eyeing Crypto
U.S. regulators are playing catch-up with crypto. The phrase appeared a number of times in this week's media reporting sparked by concerns over the lending of digital assets by cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The Sept. 11 Quartz newsletter, gives the most succinct overview and background of U.S. crypto regulation I found. Senior … [Read more...] about Eyeing Crypto
The Convergence of CeFi and DeFi: The Banks’ Big Opportunity
The following is a guest post from Richard Gendal Brown, Chief Technology Officer at R3, an enterprise blockchain firm. In keeping with our focus on the adoption of digital assets by mainstream regulated markets, Brown argues: "While the utopian ideal of full decentralisation is unrealistic for financial markets, integration with and adoption of the good parts can be utilised, … [Read more...] about The Convergence of CeFi and DeFi: The Banks’ Big Opportunity
Crypto Investments and Faster Payments Meet the Unbanked and Unequal
Who can easily take advantage of the benefits of digital financial services and who cannot? Taken together, this list of articles and research papers shows that cash is no longer king. They also suggest increasing income inequality. The ticket to the digital economy and its efficiencies and rewards is a bank account. Bridging the gap between cash and digital has policy … [Read more...] about Crypto Investments and Faster Payments Meet the Unbanked and Unequal
Could Altcoins Surpass Bitcoin?
Another week has closed with another crypto price rally, in what has been a banner year for the market. Bitcoin's been enjoying historic highs - though not without some of its trademark volatility - throughout 2021, and with another climb to $50,000 Friday that trend doesn't look to be ending anytime soon. But Bitcoin's surge wasn't the only story in crypto this week - along … [Read more...] about Could Altcoins Surpass Bitcoin?
Chinese Commodity Exchange Uses Digital Yuan to Pay Storage Fees
Letter From Shanghai No 738 - Blending e-CNY and the HKEX A50 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 e-CNY, its digital yuan*. We last … [Read more...] about Chinese Commodity Exchange Uses Digital Yuan to Pay Storage Fees