Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
Mahi Sall is the CEO & Founder of FinXpair, a Berlin-based strategic advisory boutique firm focu[...]
Category Archives: Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets, Tokens, CBDCs, Metaverse, NFTs
Coinbase Issued Wells Notice by SEC
Reuters | March 22, 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has threatened to sue Coinbase Global Inc over some of the crypto exchange's products, turning up the heat on the largely unregulated sector.
- The potential enforcement actions would be tied to aspects of Coinbase's spot market as well as its Earn, Prime and Wallet products, the company said.
- Shares of Coinbase dropped nearly 13% to $67.33 in extended trading after the company said on Wednesday that the regulator had issued it a Wells notice - a formal declaration that SEC staff intend to recommend an enforcement action.
- Coinbase said its services continued to operate as usual after the notice was issued.
See: Coinbase Begins ‘Wallet as a Service’ Enabling Companies to Integrate Into Their Own Apps
- A Wells notice does not always result in charges or signal that the recipient has violated any law. A Wells notice is typically one of the final steps before the SEC formally issues charges. It generally lays out the framework of the regulatory argument and offers the potentially accused an opportunity to rebut the SEC’s claims.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in a blog post:
Although we don’t take this development lightly, we are very confident in the way we run our business – the same business we presented to the SEC in order for us to become a public company in 2021.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Sushi DAO Head Chef Served With SEC Subpoena
CoinDesk | Nikhilesh De, Oliver Knight | March 22, 2023
Sushi DAO and Head Chef Jared Grey were served with a subpoena by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the decentralized autonomous organization revealed Tuesday.
- Grey proposed creating a "Sushi DAO Legal Defense Fund" in a forum post, saying it would "cover legal costs for core contributors." The proposal recommends making $3 million in tether (USDT) available for core contributors, with another $1 million worth of USDT available in case the initial $3 million are used up.
- The sushi token dropped 5.5% on the news.
- One of the initial comments on the forum post asked how the DAO known as Sushi was subpoenaed, with the user saying they did not receive it despite being a member of the DAO.
- "We’re cooperating with the SEC. We do not intend to comment publicly on ongoing investigations or other legal matters," the forum post said.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
How Bitcoin Affects the Growth of the Canadian Online Casino Industry
March 20, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Traxer
Bitcoin has become incredibly popular in Canada over the past decade. Celebrities keep tweeting about it. Casinos are now accepting it for payments while tech-savvy Canadians are buying it as an investment.
In the online casino space, almost every website has bonuses for crypto users. Some of them also feature games created on the blockchain. What’s this commotion all about? How is Bitcoin benefiting online casinos in Canada?
Fast and Secure Payments
Slow, unsecured payments kill hundreds of businesses every year according to the Harvard Business Review. That’s why many new casinos are embracing crypto at such a fast pace.
Bitcoin processes transactions in an average of 10 minutes. If you use an alternative coin like XRP, you can send money around the world in seconds. It doesn’t matter if you’re sending $10 or $1 billion worth of crypto—the blockchain system is lightning fast.
It’s also secure. Bitcoin addresses are encrypted using cryptography. This means no one can decipher the data. Secondly, they’re stored on the blockchain, which is decentralized and impossible to hack.
Although most crypto casinos accept bitcoin for deposits, some of them also accept Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Visit Bitcoincasinocanada.com to find the best crypto casinos and the cryptocurrencies they accept.
Low Transaction Fees
Both gamblers and online casinos benefit where low fees are involved. As a casino player, you can save money while transacting with your favourite betting site. For casinos, low fees increase profits.
Bitcoin offers much lower fees than credit/debit cards and bank transfers. That's because it eliminates the middleman. You see, a payment made through a wire transfer must be approved by the bank.
If you deposit through a credit card, your credit card company must approve the transaction. In both cases, the middleman takes a small cut for their service. In the world of crypto, there’s no intermediary.
Crypto provides peer-to-peer payments, meaning you can send money to your friend without asking for approval from anyone. There’s a catch, though. To keep the blockchain secure, every payment must be verified.
The people who verify crypto transactions are called miners. They verify transactions through a resource-intensive mining process. To reward them, crypto users pay a small of money during every transaction.
Cross-Border Transactions
When you think about it, some of the most popular online casinos in Canada are located overseas. Some, like this Blockchain-based online casino, are located in Curacao. Some are based in Malta while others have their headquarters in Panama.
Despite that, these casinos provide smooth gambling services in Canada. The reason they’re successful has everything to do with cross-border payment methods.
They allow players to gamble through Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Skrill and wire transfers. Lately, these sites are accepting bitcoin because it operates all over the world.
If a Canadian casino wants to target customers from all the major continents, crypto offers the ideal payment option. Sure, some governments have tried to ban it. But these measures seldom work. Governments can’t control blockchain technology. And that means crypto will continue to thrive.
Reducing Fraud
Did you know chargeback fraud costs online businesses $20 billion every year? That’s right. People are constantly trying to rob businesses like casinos. Crypto is offering a solution.
When you send money through bitcoin, there's no chargeback. If you make a mistake, you lose the money for good. If you deposit funds to your favourite casino, you can't ask for a chargeback.
This means you need to be careful about the gambling sites you use. It’s in your best interest to conduct due diligence to avoid fraudulent sites. If you run an online casino, the absence of chargebacks is a huge win. People can’t take advantage of you by asking for refunds even after they spent their money.
A Potential Inflation Hedge
The Federal government keeps printing new dollars. That means the CAD will continue to lose value over time. With bitcoin, there will be a maximum of 21m BTC ever.
More than 80% of all bitcoins have been mined, which means scarcity is increasing. Scarcity means more demand and higher prices—a hedge against inflation.
Casinos using crypto can make more money by just holding onto their coins. Sometimes crypto loses value. So, holding crypto required for day-to-day operations may not be the best idea.
With that said, operators can keep some profits in offline crypto wallets. Crypto has proven to be an excellent hedge against inflation in the long term.
Enhancing Convenience
As crypto becomes popular in Canada, so will the demand for bitcoin online casinos. Crypto is one of the most sought-after financial assets in North America, especially in the millennial and Gen Z demographics.
Most people buy bitcoin and altcoins to make profits. However, there's also an avid group of crypto users who purchase the coin to use it for everyday payments on eCommerce sites and betting apps.
People who love bitcoin and Ethereum expect casinos to offer crypto deposits and withdrawals. Some of them also want to play blockchain-based slots and table games.
Yes, developers are now creating gambling games on the blockchain. These games have one unique feature—they’re provably fair. You can check the blockchain to confirm you won or lost fairly.
Increasing Traceability
Some online casinos use the blockchain to manage all their payments. The blockchain works as a ledger that stores data transparently. This way, a company can trace every payment in real-time.
Unlike humans, the blockchain does not make errors. This helps operators maintain their records and also save money. It also helps them streamline operations—they can settle bills, clear payouts and manage deposits on the same platform.
Conclusion
Crypto is transforming the online casino sector in Canada. And both the gamblers and casinos love it. Bitcoin fans who love to play slots and card games can now deposit funds through BTC or ETH.
See: Bitcoin Payments on the Rise
On the other hand, casinos have a new customer base. They can reduce operational costs and invest some of their profits in the ever-growing crypto market.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
Crypto Banking Crisis Props Hard Assets as Tokenized Diamond Sales Surge
CoinDesk | Aoyon Ashraf | Mar 16, 2023
Image: CNBC/FastMoney, Diamond Standard
Sales of tokenized diamonds surged 300% last weekend, when three banks collapsed and investors scrambled to sell their USDC stablecoins.
- The collapse of three prominent U.S. banks over the weekend led to market volatility and a lot of uncertainties as to where investors could stash their cash. Gold, the age-old safe haven, saw a boost in prices by about 5% since last week, and another asset that caught investors' attention was diamond – digitized diamond.
- Diamond Standard, a blockchain company that tokenized and standardized the diamond market to allow investors buy the previously hard-to-invest-in gemstone, said it saw a large spike in its marketplace after the banks started to shut down.
- The company gathers physical diamonds together in a "coin" of standardized value that's stored in a vault. Each holds eight to nine diamonds. The diamond-embedded tokens are digitized through an Ethereum-based digital coin, bitcarbon, which is tradable on different exchanges.
- Most of the buyers are existing customers, which include individuals, family offices and some smaller hedge funds, Kinney noted. During the chaotic weekend, Diamond Standard Spot Market, a peer-to-peer marketplace with a centralized limit order book, remained open 24/7 and handled a jump in volumes, the company said.
See: Bank-Issued Deposit Tokens Emerge and JP Morgan Sees Them Going DeFi
- The firm's patented technology is designed to create a more transparent system allowing investors to track supply chains and subsequent ownership of the world’s ultimate bling more easily and efficiently. The company also standardized the value of diamonds by creating a uniform system through blockchain technology.
- Kinney said his company primarily banks with Signature Bank, though it has relationships with other banks. While the weekend’s events had been worrisome at the time, he says the company is still using Signature Bridge Bank – a new interim entity that will be temporarily run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – which has transferred all of the deposits and majority of the assets of former Signature Bank.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
Coinbase Begins ‘Wallet as a Service’ Enabling Companies to Integrate Into Their Own Apps
CoinDesk | Bradley Keoun | Mar 8, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Mariia Shalabaieva
Coinbase, the big U.S. crypto exchange, is starting a “wallet as a service” business that will allow companies to customize blockchain wallets for their own customers.
- The U.S. crypto exchange says the new service could help companies “to help bring the next hundred million customers into Web3 through a seamless wallet-onboarding experience.” The service could be used by gaming apps where tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFT) are part of the game, or by companies that might want to incorporate a wallet into an app and make that “almost invisible to the end user.
- Coinbase says its wallet-as-a-service could help companies “to help bring the next hundred million customers into Web3 through a seamless wallet-onboarding experience,” according to a press release.
- The use of complicated 24-word recovery phrases is avoided through the use of “multi-party computation” cryptographic technology.
See: Federal Judge Dismisses Unregistered Securities Class Action Suit Against Coinbase (Shares Jump 21%)
Patrick McGregor, Coinbase’s head of product for Web3 developer platforms:
We view this as being the central enabling technology and revenue source for our developer strategy
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
Digital Asset Experts School Senate Banking Committee Members on Silvergate Debacle
Crowdfund Insider | | Mar 9, 2023
Yet while crypto contagion and the failure of firms like FTX may be a catalyst to the demise of Silvergate Bank, ultimately, it was not the cause, according to multiple digital asset experts. This is contrary to statements made by several prominent US Senators.
- Senator Brown, Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said that FTX’s collapse continues to “ripple outward” when a bank is “overreliant” on crypto.
- Response by Caitlin Long, a digital asset entrepreneur, crypto proponent, and former investment bank executive.
- Long provided a brief education to the Senator, stating:
“… you’re wrong [Senator Sherrod Brown] that #crypto triggered Silvergate’s issue. What did it was $13.3bn in demand deposits that depositors cld withdraw in minutes, but only $1.4bn of cash. Had $SI held $13.3bn of cash, the bank run wouldn’t have impaired its capital. Not a crypto prob…”
See: US Government Closes Signature Bank and Moves to Stop Potential Banking Crisis
Long added:
“When a bank w/ highly volatile deposits makes a levered investment in 10-year bonds into a Fed tightening cycle, what happens when a bank run hits is predictable—liquidate those bonds at a loss, impairing the bank’s capital. It’s an indictment against fractional-reserve banking.”
She said this is exactly what her digital bank Custodia proposed to fix – which was blocked by federal regulators.
- Ram Ahluwalia, a well-known Fintech entrepreneur and crypto expert, slammed Senator Elizabeth Warren’s statement on Silvergate’s failure. Senator Warren is a member of the Senate Banking Committee and has long opposed digital asset innovation.
Senator Warren stated:
“As the bank of choice for crypto, Silvergate Bank’s failure is disappointing, but predictable. I warned of Silvergate’s risky, if not illegal, activity—and identified severe due diligence failures. Now, customers must be made whole & regulators should step up against crypto risk.”
Ahluwalia said, “the Senator’s allegations should not be used to justify the destruction of a Federal Reserve member bank in a 120-character Twitter thread.”
See: Silicon Valley Bank Collapses. Second Largest Financial Institution in U.S. History
He added:
“Silvergate, the first crypto bank, faced a bank run that led to its downfall. Despite facing allegations around AML, it was not these issues that ultimately caused the demise of $SI. The responsibility for bank supervision lies with the Executive Branch, but this process was cut short. A Senator’s letter, amplified by social media, undermined public trust in Silvergate, ultimately leading to a crisis of confidence. It is important to uphold the principle of due process. Silvergate was denied due process.”
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
CATO: Response to Request for Information on Digital Assets R&D
Cato Institute | Jack Solowey | Mar 3, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Fabio
Cryptographically secure software—including private cryptocurrencies and the distributed ledgers that enable them—can not only be tools for enhanced financial infrastructure, but also for furthering democratic civil society.
- My name is Jack Solowey, and I am a financial technology policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP’s) Request for Information regarding Digital Assets Research and Development (RFI).
See: Should the SEC Be Allowed to Wage an Unsupervised Dirty War on Crypto?
- The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace, and the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives focuses on identifying, studying, and promoting alternatives to centralized, bureaucratic, and discretionary financial regulatory systems. The opinions I express here are my own.
- The RFI posed several important questions regarding the research and development of digital assets to further responsible innovation in line with American values. This letter specifically addresses topics 1, 2, and 4.
Download the 9 page PDF public comment --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Register for #FFCON23 and hear from global thought leaders what’s next! Click below for Open Access tickets to all virtual programming and on-demand content from FFCON23. |
