iZettle has raised 60 million euros ($63.46 million) in a Series D funding round and hired a new chief financial officer; the firm is now valued at more than $500 million; says an initial public offering is one scenario it is considering for its next growth phase; the payment processing firm is comparable to US-based Square, offering card readers and credit financing for merchants; iZettle is based in Sweden and provides its service in 12 markets with market transactions led by the UK. Source
"Bitcoin, a New Asset Class" has been published by authors Chris Burniske and Adam White; in their research they identify bitcoin as an emerging asset class analyzing its characteristics over time; they find that its volatility has been decreasing while its price has been increasing; the authors make the case for including bitcoin as an investment in modern portfolio theory calculations; they expect the cryptocurrency to gain increased institutional investment and imply that including it in a modern portfolio theory managed account could help investors more efficiently manage the investment risk according to their risk tolerance. Source
Chinese regulators are considering custodian requirements for bitcoin to help mitigate effects from its market risks; the custodian support appears to be welcomed by platforms and investors in China; overall, Chinese regulators are taking a more active role in bitcoin market activity as Chinese investors increasingly account for a majority of bitcoin's trading volume. Source
Predictions in 2015 estimated that within 20 years half of the jobs in Japan could be done by robots; the Nomura Research Institute worked with Michael Osborne in 2015 to study 600 jobs in Japan reporting that 49% could be replaced by computer systems; since the 2015 predictions there has been a continued trend toward artificial intelligence with Japanese insurance company Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance releasing one of the first public announcements on artificial intelligence replacing a significant portion of workers in its payment processing department in January 2017. Source
Artificial intelligence is maturing and has gained significant traction in some of the market's leading industries; Finovate provides eight areas where artificial intelligence is being utilized and gives predictions on its potential value; top industry services using artificial intelligence include robo advisory, advisory tools, fraud detection and underwriting; services with significant value potential in 2017 include regulatory compliance, marketing, customer service and reporting tools. Source
A new report by Accenture shows that seven out of 10 consumers would welcome exclusive robo-generated advice for investing and insurance needs; not all is lost for the human experience; 68% of consumers would still want to interact with a human for complex financial needs like a mortgage or to help solve a problem; the main reasons given for this shift are computers are seen to be less biased, they make services cheaper and the tasks are done faster; additionally, the report showed that consumers were willing to share their data if they thought a non traditional provider could be faster and cheaper. Source
Canadian robo advisor WealthBar now manages over CAD$100 million (USD$75.93 million) in assets under management; the firm was launched in 2014; it currently offers online onboarding, investment management, financial planning and an individual advisor; its services have also expanded to private investment portfolios and registered retirement savings plans. Source
CompareEuropeGroup is a London fintech company using artificial intelligence to develop digital and automated services for financial companies; it has obtained 20 million euros ($21.32 million) in new capital from a Series A funding round; investors included ACE & Company, Pacific Century Group, Nova Founders Capital, SBI Holdings, Mark Pincus and Peter Thiel; the company will use the funds to develop its technology and machine learning services. Source
Sichuan Xinwang Bank and Jilin Yilian Bank have received licensing to provide internet banking services in China; the two banks will bring the total number of digital only banks in China to four; Xiaomi is a leading Chinese shareholder in Sichuan Bank with a 29.5% stake and Meituan is a leading shareholder in Jilin Yilian Bank with a 28.5% stake; the other two digital banks in the Chinese market include Ant Financial's MyBank and Tencent's WeBank. Source
R3 has reported that it is leading a $150 million funding round for a blockchain investment which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017; the funding will be the largest investment in the blockchain industry; R3 is a blockchain banking consortium with over 100 employees in nine countries; it now has 77 members and will be involved as an adviser on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation's integration of a new blockchain solution. Source