Signs of life for blockchain

The following is an excerpt from today’s Global Newsletter.

And now for something completely different… Monday good news!

There is a definite Monty Python theme to today’s summary, and it fits as the to-date response to crypto and blockchain from regulators has been absurd and laughable.

A consortium of major players, including Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, formally announced The Canton Network last week as a move to create “the industry’s first privacy-enabled interoperable blockchain network designed for institutional assets and built to responsibly unlock the potential of synchronized financial markets.”

As Decrypt pointed out in their weekend story on the launch, “the institutional adoption of Web3 tech was still robust last year despite a slump in digital asset prices.”

That optimism was evident at our event last week in New York City, as the overriding theme was full-steam-ahead for development and innovation.

The regulatory response and the eventual use cases will be the keys to whether this group can achieve its goals, but the announcement and the work collectively show that blockchain tech is not dead yet.

Also making news

• Global: Cash and car keys work offline: This means digital wallets must, too Digital cash, just like digital car keys, has to work offline. I need to be able to get into my car and drive off where there is no mobile signal, and I need to be able to buy milk if the internet is down at the grocery store. Fortunately, we already have the tech, and Apple and Google are using it.
• USA: Brex tried to buy a piece of Silicon Valley Bank in March Brex was one of the 20 companies that put their hat in the ring to acquire Silicon Valley Bank, or chunks of it, in March, newly-released Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data show.
• USA: Dave sees profitability within a few quarters The neobank’s CFO credits AI technology, smart marketing spend, and a “good value proposition.” Dave’s most popular product, ExtraCash, accounted for roughly 80% of the company’s revenue in the first quarter.
• USA: Regional banks can’t catch a break Even as some key indicators stabilize for midsize lenders, their shares remain under pressure.
• USA: BlockFi claims against FTX, Alameda ‘largest driver’ of more than $1B in asset recoveries The litigation supporting claims against its commercial counterparties is set to make a difference “in excess of $1 billion” to creditors, court filings say.
• LatAm: Mercado Libre and Kavak boost auto lending, companies explore new markets A week of few financing rounds but a lot of movements in the Latin American ecosystem, especially in the pre-owned car and e-commerce market.
• LatAm: ¿Todo será fintech? Empresas que ampliaron sus propuestas hacia las finanzasListamos los negocios latinoamericanos que han dado un giro financiero, desde retailers como Walmart y Ripley, a plataformas digitales como Habi y Rappi.