The white paper from Square’s new TBD division describes a protocol for exchanging digital and other assets in a way that’s more accessible to everyone.
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Research
Pitchbook ranks Waterloo top Canadian university for founders
University of Waterloo | Melanie Scott | Dec 2, 2021
Waterloo maintains its position in the 2021 PitchBook rankings and is the top Canadian university on the list
The University of Waterloo is ranked 22nd in the world for universities that produce the most successful entrepreneurs, according to the 2021 PitchBook rankings of top 50 colleges for founders.
PitchBook is a financial data and software company whose annual rankings uncover which colleges and universities produce the most successful entrepreneurs. The global rankings are based on undergraduate and MBA programs that have venture capital-backed founders among their alumni. The 2021 rankings take into account companies that have received a first round of venture funding between January 1, 2006 and October 31, 2021.
See: Gen Z VCs are entrepreneurial, digitally native, values-focused
President and Vice-Chancellor Vivek Goel says the University of Waterloo is proud to hold this position among so many esteemed colleges and universities around the world. “At Waterloo, entrepreneurship is in our DNA. We are focused on nurturing talent by creating an environment that removes barriers and allows imagination and impact to lead the way,” Goel says. “With our unmatched programs for entrepreneurs, our role in supporting the Toronto-Waterloo Tech Corridor and our focus on nurturing the next generation of talent, Waterloo will continue to be a university that positions founders for success.”
Waterloo is the highest ranked Canadian university on the PitchBook undergraduate list. Its startup incubators and entrepreneurial support programs include Velocity, Concept and GreenHouse, at Waterloo’s St. Paul’s University College. Waterloo alumni have gone on to become leading entrepreneurs and have founded unicorn companies like Faire, ApplyBord and Clearco. Velocity, Waterloo’s flagship incubator, has played a key role for influential companies like Vidyard, Embark and Brink Bionics.
“Waterloo’s support for undergraduate and graduate students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation has a multiplier effect on the Canadian economy. Many alumni directly cite Waterloo and Velocity’s programs as critical steps to their entrepreneurial success,” says John Dick, director of Velocity on-campus programs, including Concept, the Problem Lab and Zero Experience.
See:
Dick says Waterloo equips students with the tools and confidence to make an impact in the world through a variety of extracurricular programs and incubators as well as courses in entrepreneurship. “Waterloo produces the largest share of venture-backed startup founders in Canada,” Dick says. “Many alumni use what they have learned to drive meaningful change as business owners and help transform industries by bringing innovative mindsets to established companies.”
In 2021, Velocity saw alumni and residents collectively surpass $2.4 billion USD in funding, a 40 per cent increase from the end of 2020. Waterloo companies, many who got their start at Velocity, have helped fuel the Toronto-Waterloo startup ecosystem, which was listed as one of the fastest growing ecosystems in the world in the 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report. Eight companies founded by Waterloo alumni were recently ranked in the Deloitte 2021 top 50 fastest growing tech companies and Waterloo was ranked most innovative University in Canada in the Macleans 2022 ranking.
Continue to the full article --> 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
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Tink Survey Report 2021: Open banking spending, investments and use cases
Tink | Dec 1, 2021
We surveyed 308 financial executives in Europe to get a better understanding of how their open banking budgets are shaping up in 2021, and what use cases they are most likely to invest in.
In this report, we explore how investments are shaping up and what use cases executives have in sight. Here is the ‘too long; didn’t read’ version, if you’re just curious to know some of the top findings on the investments front:
See: Open banking continues to evolve — what’s next?
- Across all segments of finance, the mean spending on open banking objectives in 2020 was €32 million.
- The spending was significantly higher for retail banks and wealth management firms – at a mean of €84 million and €79 million, respectively.
- The pandemic played havoc with budgets in 2020, and executives spent less than they’d initially budgeted. But this year, investor confidence is back up and open banking is high on the agenda.
- Although one third (30%) of executives say budgets declined in 2021, the largest chunk (46%) indicate that their budgets have grown year-on-year.
- As to where the money might be going, financial executives have set their eyes on a broad set of open banking use cases:
- Payment initiation services comes out on top as the most important use case across all segments.
- Opportunities to improve the customer experience follow, with use cases related to financial management and onboarding.
- Risk-related use cases also rank high – especially for retail banks, credit institutions and mortgage providers who consider these ‘extremely important’.
- Differentiators and add-ons (such as subscription management, loyalty programmes, targeted advertising) rank lower on the list – although they are still important for a majority of respondents.
See: Financial data unbound: The value of open data for individuals and institutions
We also explore how open banking is tearing down barriers and allowing new players to enter the market – meaning financial institutions should move fast to keep a competitive edge. The full report (which you can download as a PDF) dives a bit deeper in the results, analysing the industry context and our own take on what might explain the results. It also includes additional interviews with three industry thought leaders, and some practical tips for staying ahead in this fast-moving space.
Continue to the full article --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Crypto-tax primer in Canada
Investment Executive | Gail J. Cohen | Nov 25, 2021
Whether earnings from crypto are considered business income or a capital gain depends on the holder’s behaviour
Investing in cryptocurrencies is becoming more mainstream, particularly in Canada with its supportive regulatory environment for new and innovative financial products.
The Canada Revenue Agency generally treats cryptocurrencies as commodities, not currency (the same goes for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service). Therefore, “any income from transactions involving cryptocurrency is generally treated as business income or as a capital gain, depending on the circumstances,” the CRA states.
And when crypto is used to “pay” for goods and services, the CRA considers someone to be bartering, and “not reporting income from such transactions is illegal.”
See: Foreign property tax implications associated with owning cryptocurrencies
But the tax treatment of cryptocurrency is “an evolving situation,” said Mehran Sedigh, a CPA and managing partner at Triple M Professional Corp. in Richmond Hill, Ont. In his experience, crypto “was getting treated as a commodity, but now it is being treated as a liquid asset of some sorts,” he said.
Whether earnings from crypto are considered business income or a capital gain depends a lot on the holder’s behaviour, said Sedigh. For a long-term holder, crypto is more likely to be treated as a capital asset (and earnings as a capital gain). But if the holder actively trades crypto, then crypto is more likely to be considered active business inventory, with any earnings considered business income, Sedigh said.
Which events are taxable?
Owning cryptocurrency itself is not taxable. But, according to the CRA, there could be tax consequences for doing any of the following:
- selling or gifting cryptocurrency;
- trading or exchanging cryptocurrency, including disposing of one cryptocurrency to get another cryptocurrency;
- converting cryptocurrency to government-issued currency, such as Canadian dollars;
- using cryptocurrency to buy goods or services.
See: Liberals’ new bank surcharge tax on profits over $1 billion could be implemented by start of 2022
For example, say your client owes their accountant $50,000 and pays the accountant in Bitcoin. The client bought one coin when it was worth $30,000 and it’s now worth the full $50,000 of that accountant’s bill. “That $20,000 increase in value, from the time you purchased it to the time that you paid the bill with it, would be considered a gain,” Sedigh said.
The big question is whether that $20,000 gain is income or a capital gain.
The CRA would consider the gain to be business income if the activities the client engaged in “involve some regularity or a repetitive process over time.” Those activities could include cryptocurrency mining and trading, as well as creating and selling non-fungible tokens, Sedigh said.
Continue to the full article --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
tbDEX: Square Releases White Paper Detailing Protocol for a Decentralized Bitcoin Exchange
Coindesk | Tanzeel Akhtar, Nelson Wang | | Nov 20, 2021
The white paper from Square’s new TBD division describes a protocol for exchanging digital and other assets in a way that’s more accessible to everyone.
Payments giant Square released a white paper on Friday detailing a new decentralized protocol for exchanging digital and other assets known as tbDEX.
- “The tbDEX protocol facilitates decentralized networks of exchange between assets by providing a framework for establishing social trust, utilizing decentralized identity (DID) and verifiable credentials (VCs) to establish the provenance of identity in the real world,” the company wrote in the paper’s abstract.
- In a post introducing the protocol, a TBD developer wrote that “the tbDEX protocol aims to create ubiquitous and accessible on-ramps and off-ramps that allow the average individual to benefit from crypto innovation.”
- TBD has published the white paper in GitHub so that the community can contribute.
See:
5 guiding principles for decentralized identities
Microsoft's decentralized identity head leaves to join Square
Square CEO Jack Dorsey, who’s also the CEO of Twitter, announced the company’s plan to create an open developer platform for a decentralized bitcoin exchange back in August. He noted that TBD, Square’s new division focused on developing non-custodial and decentralized financial services, would be building the exchange.
Continue to the full article --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Bank of Canada Staff Paper: Bitcoin Adoption and Beliefs in Canada
Bank of Canada | Daniela Balutel, Christopher Henry, Jorge Vásquez, Marcel Voia | | Nov 30, 2021
In the last few years, the number of so-called cryptocurrencies—a form of electronic money that allows people to make direct person-to-person transactions—has surged, with more than 740 now available. Among them, Bitcoin enjoys the highest trading value and volume as well as significant mainstream media attention.
See: BIS Research: CBDCs beyond borders: results from a survey of central banks
Gaining insights into why more people are adopting cryptocurrencies is increasingly important. That’s because these currencies, if widely adopted, could affect both the banking sector and central bank’s core functions, such as monetary policy. We provide an analysis to better understand how three factors influence people’s decisions about Bitcoin adoption:
- network effects—as more people adopt and use Bitcoin, it becomes a more useful platform
- individual learning—whether beliefs about the future of Bitcoin influence a person’s present-day decision to use the currency
- social learning—how beliefs about Bitcoin are formed by those around us
See: Bank of Canada Speech: Money and Payments in the Digital Age
We find that both network effects and individual learning are important and increase the probability of adopting Bitcoin. In other words, a person will more likely own Bitcoin if they:
- belong to a larger network of Bitcoin users
- have more optimistic beliefs about Bitcoin’s future
We also find that peers’ beliefs are not currently a key factor behind Bitcoin adoption. This makes sense because Bitcoin adoption in Canada remains low (around 5 percent).
Download the 41 page PDF Paper --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
What Does The Financialization of Games Mean? GameFi
Messari | Jerry Sun | Nov 26, 2021
Explain it like I'm 5: GameFi.
What if you could keep what you built? And not only keep what you earned, but also sell it to others, loan it out, or showcase it off? While that sounds like a dream, this is the promise of GameFi, and it’s why leaders like Wilson are excited about what’s next. GameFi sits under a new genre where digital economies don’t just end when the game is shut off, thus blurring the boundary between in-game resources and real-world assets. For yourself and billions around the world, it represents a paradigm shift, a chance to take back time and ownership into the average gamer’s own hands.
See: Fintech and the Gaming Industry
GameFi, a portmanteau of “game” and “finance,” runs on blockchain networks designed to merge the fun of games with the financialization of in-game economies. Distributed ledger technology is important not only to help players provide verifiable ownership of assets, but also to structure marketplaces for trading both inside and outside the game. In this new type of game, all objects are represented as tokens on blockchain networks. So each sword, armor, or plot of land can be owned by you or anyone else on the blockchain-based game. In other words, every gamer within a blockchain-based game becomes both a participant and an owner.
While game types differ in narrative, a recurring objective is the accumulation of resources. Playing the game well allows you to accumulate more in-game currency (often represented as a fungbile token) or in-game assets (clothes, land, items) represented as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). What’s key here is once assets are earned, you can trade them on marketplaces for other cryptocurrencies – or fiat money like U.S. Dollars – for disposable income.
The World of GameFi
Player Guilds: As the community pushes to include new gamers, one challenge is the upfront investment needed to get started. Axie Infinity creatures, for example, cost upwards of hundreds of dollars to purchase. That cost is unaffordable for many players.
GameFi Aggregators: GameFi aggregators function as platforms for game-related content. Gamers can explore existing and upcoming games across multiple blockchain networks. Aggregators will also allow them to manage their in-game NFTs, tracking earnings, and demo mini-games. The idea is to create a one-stop shop for all tokens, game releases, promotions, and more.
See: Ep27-Mar 1: Blockchain Gaming and Esports with Shidan Gouran
Initial Game Offering (IGO) Launchpads: Launchpads are platforms designed to help facilitate the IGOs, which are fundraising events carried out via crowd sale. IGOs tend to happen when a project team needs funding to kickstart the game’s release. Investors provide funding to finance a game’s development in return for discounts or access to special features before the game’s launch. Participation in launchpads requires accreditation under US regulations.
NFT Blockchains: The pioneers of blockchain gaming, CryptoKitties, found out how congested activity can get on the network when transactions for the game’s NFTs began to account for more than 20% of all traffic on Ethereum in 2017. Competitors took that lesson to heart. Today, multiple blockchains support NFTs, bringing the so-called blockchain wars to GameFi. Games exist or plan to exist on the default network, Ethereum, as well as a variety of other general and NFT-purposed blockchains.
Developer Tools: Automating away parts of the development process helps game studios get to market faster. Astute entrepreneurs realized this need and now supply developers with the tools to succeed. These include application programming interfaces (APIs), software development kits (SDKs), payment platforms, and general infrastructure services. Most of the parties working on developer tools are centralized startups with venture capital investment.
See: Liquid Avatar Integrates with Disrupted Logic Interactive to Reach 60 Million+ Gamers
Game Studios: Game studios are the final piece in the GameFi ecosystem. In a recent study completed in the US and UK, 58% of the 197 video game developers surveyed declared plans to use blockchain in future games. 47% of the same group have already begun incorporating NFTs in their projects. Early trendsetters set the tone for blockchain games but the community is only getting started on full development efforts. That’s something to watch out for over the next few years.
Continue to the full article --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Scott Galloway: Red Friday
Scott Galloway | Nov 26, 2021
BNPL is one of the hottest trends in finance: 1 in 5 Americans used one of these services in the past year, with U.S. spending on BNPL increasing 230% since 2020. By 2025 global BNPL spending is projected to double to $680 billion. In August, Square acquired BNPL pioneer Afterpay for $29 billion in the largest-ever acquisition of an Australian firm. (We had the Founder/CEO of Afterpay on the Prof G Pod, and he’s an impressive young man.) Swedish BNPL giant Klarna is getting ready for a $50-billion-plus IPO, with a current valuation on par with ING or Lloyds Banking Group.
The target market is young people. Klarna’s frontman is rapper A$AP Rocky (who was paid in equity, not debt) — many BNPL brands rely on social media influencer campaigns. In the U.S., three-quarters of users are Gen Zers or millennials; it’s projected that nearly half of Gen Z will be using BNPL services by 2022. Their attraction to BNPL coincides with an aversion to banks and the credit they offer. This is a generation that came of age just before or in the wake of the Great Recession, a global economic crisis precipitated by … way too much credit. Young people love BNPL because, according to the former director of Afterpay, the vast majority of them “don’t want to be on credit.”
He’s not wrong. As Klarna reported in an investor factsheet, 1 in 3 millennials’ biggest fear is credit card debt. That’s more than name death or war. Deployment to Afghanistan is bad, but an unpaid balance on your Discover Card is (apparently) worse.
There’s one problem: Buy Now Pay Later is (wait for it) credit.
Hiding in Plain Sight
By most measures, BNPL services aren’t even good credit offerings. With a traditional credit card, you pay nothing up front, then you’ve got, on average, five weeks to pay without incurring any fees or interest. Closer to two months if you manage your billing cycles carefully. Carrying a balance will cost you, though, 1%-2% in interest per month. Miss a payment, and you get a late fee, about $30 — on which you’ll also pay interest.
See: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada publishes BNPL pilot study
In the short term at least, BNPL terms are worse. Take Afterpay. When you buy your new jeans, you have to come up with 25% of the money at purchase, then the lender gives you six weeks to pay off the remainder, in three installments. Miss an installment, and Afterpay hits you with a late fee. Continue in arrears, and the late fees increase, up to a cap of 25% of the purchase price. Also, you need a debit or credit card to make payments to Afterpay. Other providers have different fee and interest structures, but the basic model is the same. It’s credit.
Money Machine yet Vulnerable
So what’s the harm? Why not have a credit card with training wheels to ease young people into their journey toward a lifetime of debt? Especially as some of the costs are borne by the retailer in exchange for the consumer buying more sooner. Might Buy Now Pay Later even be training consumers to develop better purchase habits? Here’s a good reason to be skeptical.
See: Take home now, pay later with no interest fees
Buy Now Pay Later firms are quick to tell you that this is where they make most of their money — off merchants, not millennials. That’s true. But the business model only works by capitalizing on the instinct for immediate gratification. And younger neurons are more vulnerable to this marketing than older ones.
Continue to the full article --> 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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
