The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is warning consumers about the risks of initial coin offerings (ICOs). ICOs have proved very popular in the worlds of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which many funding stories flowing on a regular basis. However, last month, BBVA reckoned the fever for ICOs in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is […]
Enterprise software firm R3, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), RBS and another unnamed bank have built a prototype application for regulatory reporting of mortgage transactions on R3’s Corda distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. The application is also able to generate automated delivery receipts for the regulator when a mortgage is booked. The application was […]
The blockchain duo of R3 and Ripple are suing each other over an options contract to purchase Ripple’s digital currency XRP, according to Reuters. In September 2016, the two companies entered an agreement giving R3 the right to purchase up to five billion XRPs for $0.0085 per unit until September 2019, according to a lawsuit […]
From immaturity to security, our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, the People’s Bank of China, Bank Hapoalim and Microsoft. It’s happened before and it will happen again, but distributed ledger technology (DLT) has come into some criticisms in relation to payments. In a dark duet, the European […]
The landscape of cross-currency (FX) payments is taking on a whole new look – creating challenges for corporate financial managers and the need for new banking solutions.
Welcome to fintech central! Good service operating on all lines. The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
The UBS-led effort to create a digital cash model for payments and settlement on blockchain has got six new banks onboard, according to the Financial Times. As Banking Technology reported in August last year, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, ICAP and Santander joined UBS and Clearmatics to advance their utility settlement coin (USC) concept, and plan […]
Audio ambitions, accelerators and an association. It’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Anryze, Starta Accelerator and the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. Anryze, which provides a blockchain platform designed for speech recognition and analysis, has announced it will hold a token sale to develop its product and expand into new markets. The […]
Do you want fries with that? France-based Capgemini is likely to hear that phrase a lot more now that it’s signed a multiyear IT strategic provider agreement with McDonald’s Corp. Meanwhile, Burger King Russia is jumping on the cryptocurrrency bandwagon.
Nations, platforms and some bad news in our latest blockchain and bitcoin roundup. Find out more about the SEC’S suspension of First Bitcoin Capital Corp., an initial coin offering for cryptocurrency exchange platform KyberNetwork and more.
Nations, platforms and some bad news. It’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring securities in South Korea, KyberNetwork and the suspended First Bitcoin Capital Corp. Over in South Korea, 18 securities firms will start offering blockchain-based authentication services from October for the “first time in the world”, according to BusinessKorea. This follows the investment […]
Financial services IT consultancy Synechron is working with enterprise software firm R3 on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) collaboration to develop a know your customer (KYC) solution. The solution will be built on R3’s Corda platform – that “operates in strict privacy in an open, global network”. The project aims to improve data collection, data […]
Hot on the heels of the round-up on 18 August, here’s another blockchain and Bitcoin report. Featuring D+H Corporation (now Finastra), Visa, BTCS and Blockchain Global. A patent filing frenzy seems to be occurring at present. Following on from Bank of America filing three new patents using blockchain earlier this month, we now have D+H […]
Quickly following on from the round-up on 16 August, here’s more blockchain and Bitcoin action. Features the Australian government, Blockchain (as in the firm), ShapeShift, Bitstamp and Payza. The Australian government has launched a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism financing – including the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time. The […]
Blockchain vacancies in the UK increase by 25% with Britain posting three times as many jobs as Germany – and more findings in this infographic.
Did you know that the FBI owns 1.5% of the world’s Bitcoin!? Get ready for some super scrolling with “ten years of the world with Bitcoin” – and 58 insane facts. Infographic and research courtesy of Bitcoin Casino. Source: Bitcoin Casino
Blockchain and Bitcoin are flying high – literally in one case – as we now have satellites in space. Our latest round-up features Bitcoin Cash, Blockstream, Falcon Private Bank and Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin’s value doesn’t need to be discussed every day, but today (16 August) on the US-based Bitfinex exchange, it has been holding at […]
BBVA reckons the fever for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is facing a “dangerous bubble” driven by speculation. ICOs are a common story in fintech at present and they allow small businesses to reach a large audience via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. (And BBVA has its own interest in […]
Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.
Since 2012, the top ten US banks (by assets under management) have participated in 72 rounds totaling $3.6 billion to 56 fintech companies, according to CB Insights. While investment activity dropped on a quarterly basis in Q1 2017, four of the last five quarters have seen over $1 billion invested into fintech start-ups in the US backed by venture capital firms.
Fintech zeitgeist! This week, Banking Technology’s editor Tanya Andreasyan muses about the growing trend of celebrity endorsement in the fintech world.
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi and UAE Exchange have teamed up “to support, develop and promote the fintech” ecosystem in the country.
This infographic, courtesy of Savi Technology, explains how blockchain links offer immutable, trackable parcels of data that can include “smart contracts”, instructions such as other transactions that will be triggered to perform automatically later.
National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository (CSD), and Waves, a decentralised platform for launching crowdfunding campaigns and issuing digital assets, have embarked on a blockchain project.
Digital currency wallet Coinbase has taken the leap to become a unicorn. The San Francisco-based company announced it has received $100 million in Series D funding led by IVP.
SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq and working with blockchain tech company Chain to provide distributed ledger technology (DLT) for for SIX’s over-the-counter (OTC) structured products business.
UK-based Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) is looking to expand to Asia and plans to set up its first international hub in Singapore. The newly launched organisation says it “has been working closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to formalise plans to expand CFTE’s education initiative to ASEAN”.
Following a year of development and testing, R3, CGI and eleven banks unveil a prototype of a trade finance app built of R3’s Corda distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Following on from Tuesday’s (1 August) round-up, here’s more action from the busy blockchain and Bitcoin scene. Features Gwyneth Paltrow (yes, really), Abra, Gibraltar Stock Exchange and WannaCry. Actress and food writer Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Abra, a Bitcoin-based digital wallet app, as an advisor. In an episode of American reality show “Planet of the […]
What’s in a name? Blockchain solutions company Ripple is about to find out. The company has unveiled a new name for its existing global payments network, as well as a handful of new solutions.
Bitcoin has split in two as a breakaway group of Bitcoin miners and developers plan to create a new network that increases its transaction capacity. After two years of disagreements over network scalability issues, a user-initiated hard fork occurred, creating two versions. The one we know it as today still exists (BTC), and the new […]
The world of blockchain and Bitcoin rumbles on with patents, platforms and positives. Our latest round-up features Bank of America, Blackmoon Financial Group, and research from Cognizant. Bank of America (BofA) has filed three new patents using blockchain. On the US Patent & Trademark Office’s website it now reveals the details. Some of the patents […]
Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]
Fujitsu Laboratories says it has accelerated transaction processing for Hyperledger Fabric, one of the Hyperledger blockchain frameworks hosted by the Linux Foundation. In its latest development, Fujitsu says the processing of communications between applications and the blockchain platform, which had been the source of bottlenecks, is now “more efficient”. In a trial where this technology […]
The partnership between central securities depositary Euroclear and Paxos for a blockchain-powered gold settlement service is over, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported last year, the pair completed their first pilot for the service for London bullion – with a go-live planned for this year. Over 600 OTC test bullion trades were settled on […]
Mobile financial services company Vipera is acquiring SoftTelecom. The deal is expected to close for $1.5 million (€1.3 million).
Blockchain technology investor Medici Ventures has teamed up with Symbiont, providing investment to the company and announcing a collaboration involving both Medici and its parent company Overstock, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The partnership will enable Medici Ventures to become the first company to register corporate ownership shares using the blockchain. The news follows on […]
From Bitcoins to even newer (and lesser known, but rising) forms of currency, will this level the playing field for people in the future, or is this all just a sham that will die down? As things get digitised, what do we need to know about digital currencies, and does this mark the demise of traditional forms of currencies?
Don’t expect silence or tumbleweeds blowing down the street in the world of blockchain and Bitcoin. Our latest round-up features Microsoft, LedgerX and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Microsoft is introducing enterprise smart contracts as it delves deeper into the blockchain arena. This announcement, in a long blog post, follows on from last year’s launch […]
Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Claire Calmejane, director of innovation at Lloyds Banking Group, presents “Digital Zero to Hero: Myth Debunking”. (This is part of a series […]
