In March the Securities and Exchange Commission denied approval for a Bitcoin ETF by the Winklevoss twins because they said too many bitcoin markets were unregulated; with recent futures markets at the CBOE and CME starting there is new hope for ETF approvals; previous filings for ETFs are now being refilled and newer ETFs are being filed as recently as late last week; there has been similar products in Canada and Switzerland with both trading at premiums. Source.
With AI and machine learning technology becoming better banks of all sizes have started to employ chatbots with more regularity; Crowdfund Insider takes a look at 5 banks employing the technology; banks include Bank of America’s Erica, Swedbank’s Nina, Capital One’s Eno, SEB’s Aida and Wells Fargo; in most cases the chatbots help with simple tasks like checking balances, paying bills and finding the closest ATM. Source.
The CEO and Co-Founder of Nav talks small business finance and how his company is helping small business owners become more successful. Source
Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft, or GAFAM as they are beginning to be know are continuing their move towards financial services; payments have become one area in particular where they have seen the tech giants making inroads; mobile wallets for in-store payments, money transfers between friends and even loans to small businesses; tech giants have only started to disrupt fintech as they look to become bigger players in consumers financial lives. Source.
JPMorgan Chase and Barclays have joined IBM’s quantum computing network as they look to use the technology to assess risk and stay secure; Barclays is beginning to test potential uses and JPMorgan Chase is looking to leverage quantum computing for trading, portfolio optimization and risk analysis; there is a lot happening in quantum computing these days as big tech firms look to master the technology seen as potentially 100,000 times faster than classic computers; while there are clear benefits to quantum computing banks are also looking at protecting themselves from the cyber threat that hackers could exploit using the same technology. Source.
Startups like Salt Lending, Nebeus, CoinLoan and EthLend have all started a new industry by making loans to borrowers using bitcoin as collateral; with the world of bitcoin millionaires growing they will need to buy houses or cars and being able to secure a loan by putting up their bitcoin will allow then to make these purchases; securing a loan for $100,000 could cost a borrower 12 to 20 percent in interest and $200,000 in bitcoin as collateral; the loans could help bitcoin miners secure funding and potentially compete with P2P lenders; it is still early days but the potential is there as more byproducts are coming to light in the bitcoin craze. Source.
Bitcoin is the financial phenomenon of the year; Peter Renton, Founder of Lend Academy and Co-Founder of LendIt shares his thoughts on cryptocurrencies as well as a breakdown of his holdings. Source
- Lendio Announces New Franchise in Detroit
- Goodbye Ethereum: Kik Plans to Move Its ICO Tokens to Stellar
- SBDA Group Closes Series A Investment Round
- Yirendai Makes $50 Million Strategic Investment in Finance Services Platform Lion Rock
- Financeit Recapitalizaton Gives Goldman Sachs Majority Stake
- Ablrate Launches Portfolio Loans Product After Topping £30 Million in Total Funding & Securing £3 Million in IFISA Funds
- Coinbase is now the No. 1 iPhone app in the U.S.
Walmart partnered with Even and PayActiv to provide a set of products for their more than 1.4 million employees; employees will be able to access earned weaves ahead of schedule using an Instapay feature; “We’re investing to give our people financial tools that help provide more stability in their lives, which we believe will empower them to be all they can be when they are at work serving our customers,” explained Jacqui Canney, Walmart’s Chief People Officer; Walmart is covering the cost of Even’s tool and it will allow for employees to access Instapay eight times a year for free. Source.
The Financial Times reviews company and loan performance at various online lenders; shares that Shanda Group bought more shares of LendingClub after forecasts were adjusted last week; LendingClub also recently stopped making F & G grade loans available to investors; broadly, delinquency rates have increased across online lenders; valuations of other companies such as Earnest and Prosper have also been affected. Source