The hype and excitement surrounding DeFi’s impact on finance and financial technology at Money 20/20 stands in stark juxtaposition to the caution raised by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.
Salt Lending has written a blog post sharing the immense amount of interest in their blockchain backed loans; since launching on December 28th, 2017 they have issued $23 million in loans yet there is still demand of over $1.3 billion; the company is working on scaling and automating processes, but is focusing on addressing existing demand before adding new members. Source
The lawsuit by the New York Department of Financial Services aimed at blocking the OCC Fintech Charter has been thrown out; Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald stated, "Since the OCC has not reached a final ‘fintech charter decision,’ defendants’ … motion is granted as plaintiff has suffered no injury in fact … and because plaintiff’s claims are not ripe."; it is possible that they could attempt to re-sue once the fintech charter is created. Source
The regulator says, "digital tokens in Singapore will be regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) if the digital tokens constitute products regulated under the Securities and Futures Act"; if digital tokens fall under the definition of securities in the Securities and Futures Act then issuers are required to register a prospectus with MAS and other requirements may also apply to associated parties; overall the statement from the MAS increases the level of compliance needed for an initial coin offering. Source
US-based Fireblocks has raised US$550 million in Series E funding, vaulting its valuation to over US$8 billion.
Se trata de una app nacida en el país vecino que permite a los extranjeros comprar y vender títulos o acciones como así también acceder a la moneda norteamericana a valor de cotización de Contado con Liquidación (CCL).
European payments firm Volt has entered Brazil. Volt states that it has now integrated Brazil’s domestic instant payments network Pix – and established its physical presence in São Paulo. Volt states that it currently works with over 5000 banks in Europe on the PSD2 Open
Business Insider takes a look back at one of the biggest trends in finance from 2017; Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs have become one of the main ways for companies in the blockchain space to raise capital; more than $3.5bn was raised using this method; some of the top raises include $153mn by The Bancor Protocol, $232mn by Tezos and $257mn by Filecoin. Source.
Collaborations among rival banks and fintechs can be mutually beneficial, Vanessa Colella says. A recent example is a small-business loan portal Citi created that other banks can use.
Automotive parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group has been actively investing in China and is the country's largest blockchain investor; Wanxiang Group recently committed $30 million to a smart cities initiative and is now planning a blockchain accelerator 'Chainbase Accelerator' with four startups involved in the program; Chainbase Accelerator will focus on blockchain initiatives for next-generation energy delivery, digital currency and smart governance; Wanxiang has also reported that it will begin to reveal plans for its smart city which will result in an innovative global platform for businesses. Source