Famed short-seller is even more concerned with political fallout from Evergrande than economic/financial woes.
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Voices
Kraken Crypto report and On-Chain Analysis: SHOKTOBER
Kraken Blog | Oct 28, 2021
After a predictably underwhelming September in the crypto markets, history was made in October as BTC hit new all-time highs.
As foreshadowed in last month’s Crypto On-Chain Digest, End of Summer Sale, data indicates that a supply shock (driven by long-term holders) contributed to BTC’s rise to record levels.
In Kraken Intelligence’s latest Crypto On-Chain Digest, S H O C K T O B E R, the team further analyzes the impact of BTC’s supply shock, how whales and long-term holders are leading the charge and why on-chain metrics suggest that the bull run still has significant upside.
October 2021 Takeaways
- As foreshadowed in our September On-Chain Digest: End of Summer Sale, data suggests a supply shock appears to have contributed to BTC gaining more than +50% month-to-date. Despite the latest rally, our findings indicate there has been little profit-taking from long-term holders.
- 1-year revived supply, which reflects long-term holder activity, supports the observation that holders are contributing to BTC’s supply shock; on October 18th, BTC’s 1-year revived supply fell to ₿2,293.5, the lowest level since August when BTC was trading at about $48,000.
- BTC’s HODL Waves shows that the number of coins that haven’t moved in the past 6 months (young coins) recently hit a 3-year low of 25.49%, which suggests that long-term holders held through September softness and October ’s strength.
See: Wealthsimple adds crypto portfolios to group-retirement plans
- Miner supply points to further holding amongst mining pools, while individual miners realized a relatively modest amount of profit.
- Validating the uptrend and highlighting strong demand for BTC, the excitement in the market is evident across several metrics and indicators. Renewed demand for BTC is increasingly clear when looking at active addresses, new addresses, transaction count, velocity, and other metrics; since September, active addresses, new addresses, transaction count, and 1-year active supply velocity have risen +10.3%, +4.7%, +10.5%, and +4.9%, respectively. Data indicates that much of this jump in network activity is attributable to BTC “whales.”
- BTC’s Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), MVRV Z-Score, and exchange net position suggest that the bull market cycle may have further room to run despite BTC reaching new all-time highs.
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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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Liquid Avatar Technologies and Optimize Financial Technology Partner to Launch Fintech and Neobanking Solutions for US Markets
Liquid Avatar Technologies | Cara Buckspan | Oct 28, 2021
Toronto, Canada - TheNewswire - October 28, 2021 -Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (CNSX:LQID)(OTC:LQAVF)(FRA:4T51) a global blockchain, digital identity and fintech solutions company announce that it has signed an agreement with California based Optimize Fintech Technology (“OptimizeFT”) to launch a fintech and neobanking solution for the Liquid Avatar Mobile App initially for US markets and consumers. The program is expected to begin rollout sometime in the first two quarters of 2022.
The new Liquid Avatar payment card account will be powered by the OptimizeFT’s Engage360 payment card and digital banking solutions platform. The Engage360 platform contains a robust library of financial technology features and services that enable a wide range of financial solutions including a prepaid card and neobank accounts. Liquid Avatar will be well positioned with its security-conscious user base, to expand beyond its initial US Card offering to launch financial solutions targeting multiple demographics within its consumer base.
See: Liquid Avatar Technologies Partners with the Ontario Convenience Stores Association (OCSA) to Provide Digital Age-Verification Solutions to Over 8,000 Stores
The neobank and alternative banking market is experiencing explosive growth. According to KBV Research, the global neobank market is expected to grow from a baseline of $34 billion in 2019 to an expected US$333 billion by 2026. The number one factor for consumers selecting a digital or alternative bank, is security and increased risk. With users having to create their Liquid Avatar Digitally secured ID as the first step to getting an account, Liquid Avatar provides an extremely high level of security to launch and generate significant opportunities from neobank and other alternative financial solutions.
“We are very excited to enter into an agreement with Liquid Avatar Technologies to develop and launch industry-leading payment card and digital bank (neobank) solutions,” said Jim Collas, CEO of OptimizeFT. “The Liquid Avatar mobile app is in a unique position to offer security conscious consumers financial solutions aligned with its Verifiable Credentials Ecosystem, which elevates account security to the next level.
In our experience, a perception of enhanced account security can drive account use by consumers, which in-turn generates increased account revenues. We anticipate working with Liquid Avatar Technologies to develop and launch an array of uniquely branded financial solutions that will strongly resonate with their user base.”
According to Allied Market Research, prepaid cards have taken the place of cash, cheques, and other payment cards where consumers or businesses want to use an electronic means of payment, without linking the payment to a credit or debit account. The global prepaid card market size was valued at $1.73 trillion in 2019, and Allied predicts that it is projected to reach $6.87 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 18.2% from 2021 to 2030. The prepaid card market is expected to exhibit high growth during the forecast period, owing to the convenience offered being similar to that of a credit or debit card with the ability to allow the end user to set the spending limit according to the budget.
See:
Digital IDs Help Open Banking Reach Its Fullest Potential
Liquid Avatar Releases Major Update to their Digital Identity Mobile App
Liquid Avatar Technologies has developed the Liquid Avatar Verifiable Credential Ecosystem (LAVCE) and a digital wallet that supports digital credentials for multiple forms of verification. The LAVCE platform has been developed to allow users to leverage their government issued and other digital ID, as they become available to verify who they are at healthcare facilities, testing labs, government agencies, financial institutions, schools, sports arenas, transportation, trade shows, age-restriction programs, and workplaces.
Available to consumers at no cost, the Liquid Avatar Mobile App is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play and allows users to hold, manage and control digital credentials using the LAVCE. Additionally, Liquid Avatar users can benefit from a wide range of discounts and cash back offers from over 600 brand named merchants across North America.
“We are very excited to have formalized this partnership with OptimizeFT,” said Michael Konikoff, Chief Revenue Officer - Liquid Avatar Technologies. “We believe that the OptimizeFT solution is ideal for our emerging US audience, and we believe that we can jointly provide value to Liquid Avatar Mobile App users and provide them with neobanking, engagement and loyalty solutions as we continue to accelerate our programs.”
The Liquid Avatar Wallet mobile app is now available to everyone via Google Play and the App Store.
If you would like to join our mailing list and receive updates from the Company, please click here
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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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SEC Chair Gary Gensler speaks to Yahoo Finance about Bitcoin ETF, DeFi and Stablecoins
Yahoo Finance | Oct 25, 2021
In a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo Finance's Brian Cheung, SEC Chair Gary Gensler discusses cryptocurrency regulation, the GameStop trading frenzy, and various conflicts tied to retail investing and crypto trading
Video Transcript of SEC Chair Gary Gensler with Yahoo Finance interview by Brian Cheung (BC)
Gary Gensler is chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the government's top financial markets watchdog. Gensler joined the SEC in April 2021, and is facing many regulatory puzzles from payment for order flow to ESG corporate disclosures to, of course, cryptocurrencies. The former MIT professor and Baltimore, Maryland native is no stranger to the regulatory world. Having served as the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Obama administration. He's also an alumni of Goldman Sachs with a deep knowledge of Wall Street.
See: Hester Peirce: Lawless in Austin
BRIAN CHEUNG: Just wondering if you had any thoughts about how those two products rolled out, the ones from ProShares in addition to Valkyrie. Is anything that you're seeing, the volume and interest in this brand new product also guiding your thoughts on maybe the possibility of these applications that you're working through on a Bitcoin spot ETF? Do you feel like anything that you've seen, though, with the Bitcoin futures products last week are resolved? Are any of those concerns kind of alleviated given what we've seen, the response to those products be?
GARY GENSLER: Brian, you can imagine I'm not going to speak to any individual filings that might be in front of us or prejudge anything. But I think that the concern for the investing public is the crypto asset space to plus 2 and 1/2 trillion dollars. Most of it has not come within an investor protection remit. And thus, investors are protected the way they are, whether they go into the stock or bond markets that we've overseen for so long. Without that, I think that it's really is, as I've said to others, a bit of the Wild West. And these markets largely around the globe, 24 hours a day, seven days a week don't have the similar protections against fraud and manipulation and front-running and other abuses.
BC: So let's move on to stablecoins kind of sub corner in the crypto space. They've been eating a lot of lunch from the prime money market funds. And there's been some media reporting that's gotten a lot of attention about the transparency by which some of these stablecoins are detailing what's actually underlying the reserves that back these assets. You've compared stablecoins to chips at a Casino. Do you think that stablecoin should be regulated as banks?
See: SEC likely to target stablecoins this week, report says
GARY GENSLER: Well, there's about $130 billion stablecoins today. That's up nearly tenfold in the last year. And they are intertwined inside of crypto exchanges, crypto lending platforms, so-called DeFi. And those poker chips, so to speak, are facilitating 80% of the volume. So there are only 5% of the crypto market.
But 80% of the volume in this token to token, crypto to crypto trading. And so I think there's a lot of speculative activity. And again, it's best to bring that inside regulatory investor protection remit. So I do think there's work to be done here.
BC: What you kind of said right there about the amount of volume that we've been seeing in this space does kind of also extend to the broad DeFi movement. Just wondering what your thoughts are on DeFi. Obviously, it stretches into a lot of different areas. What do you feel like the SEC's role is in regulating that space? Just kind of your broad thoughts on that.
GARY GENSLER: Decentralized finance has started to press up some other innovations. While that's all interesting, it reminds me a lot about when peer-to-peer lending came along about 15 years ago. People said, well, I'll lend money to you and it would just be peer-to-peer. And we had to take 3, 4, 5 years to bring it within an investor protection, and in some cases, banking regulation.
See: SEC says GameStop’s wild stock surge was not short covering
And I would say that's what we're going through right now. The same process, hopefully, we get to the other side where whatever innovation it's there survives. But again, the public is protected. We protect against financial stability concerns as well. There's a lot of lending going on. There's a lot of trading going on. And without protections, I fear that it's going to end poorly.
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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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Hester Peirce: Lawless in Austin
SEC | Oct 8, 2021
Thank you to the Texas Blockchain Summit for the chance to be here today. I have to start with my disclaimer that my views are my own and not those of the Securities and Exchange Commission or my fellow Commissioners. I am interested, however, in what my colleagues have to say, which is why Chair Gensler’s habit of calling the cryptoverse the “Wild West” has captured my attention. He is not alone in referring to the crypto landscape as the Wild West, a place we imagine to have been lawless—a society in which the gunslinger with the best reflexes and worst morals wins at everyone else’s expense.
See: SEC likely to target stablecoins this week, report says
Merriam-Webster defines the “Wild West” as “the western U.S. in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness.” Bringing government into that kind of an environment to establish some order seems like a no-brainer. Today, however, I will offer a different take on the Wild West and, with that picture in mind, suggest a way forward in crypto regulation.
Texas may come to mind more readily than my native Ohio when we think of the old West. Here too, though, the Wild West was marked by more order than the movies would have us believe. Andrew Morriss, who, after a stint at Case Western Reserve University, moved West and eventually ended up in Texas, researched the Wild West and identified numerous forms of effective private regulation, which were effective precisely because they faced competition. He explained, for example, that Texas cattlemen, whose ranches were delineated by clear property lines, were able to “creat[e] order on their ranches.” One ranch’s code “prohibited cowboys from gambling, carrying six-shooters, keeping private horses, running game with [ranch] horses, drinking, and stealing cattle from other ranches.”
See: SEC commissioner: Investors have the right to make their own decisions without regulators standing in the way
As detailed in an article titled “The -Not So Wild, Wild West,” western order was not limited to ranchers imposing gambling bans on their cowboys, but also included an array of private organizations dedicated to maintaining order:
[I]t appears in the absence of formal government, that the western frontier was not as wild as legend would have us believe. The market did provide protection and arbitration agencies that functioned very effectively, either as a complete replacement for formal government or as a supplement to that government.
On the other hand, ironically, our gunslinging ways in the old, supposedly staid, government regulatory world back East are causing people to question our commitment to the rule of law. Let me explain by raising several questions about our regulatory approach to date. I will conclude by suggesting that it is not too late for government regulators to set clear rules that respect the unique attributes and challenges of life on the crypto frontier.
I. Is There Really Legal Clarity Around Digital Assets?
II. Are We Enforcing Rules by Settling or Settling for Ambiguity?
III. Are We Fighting for Investors or Fighting for Jurisdiction?
IV. Are We Protecting Investors or Denying Investors Opportunity?
V. Are We Going to Pretend Everything is Centralized So We Can Regulate It?
VI. Are We Catching Bad Actors or Creating a Catch 22?
See: Hester Peirce on personal liberty, crypto regs and retail investor particiation
- Can the platform custody client assets, a feature typical of centralized crypto trading platforms? If so, how, given our concerns about custody of digital asset securities?
- If not, could a sufficient number of broker-dealers navigate the registration process to make a liquid market?
- Would the conditions placed on their registration permit them to function as market makers or to facilitate trading on behalf of retail investors?
- Can the platform trade non-securities alongside securities? If not, how can the platform, using two entities—a broker-dealer entity for digital asset securities, and an affiliated non-broker-dealer entity for non-securities, offer a seamless, or at least serviceable, trading platform to customers, who are likely, for example, to want to trade both digital assets and digital asset securities and pay for transactions in digital asset securities using non-security digital assets?
- How can a trading platform and its customers determine whether a particular digital asset is a security?
- If a token was sold in a securities offering as part of an investment contract, how long must secondary transactions in that token be deemed to be securities transactions by platforms trading the tokens?
- What are the mechanics of registering tokens sold as part of an investment contract as a class of “equity security” under the Exchange Act?
Conclusion
These questions are intended to spur a deeper cross-government commitment to searching for sensible regulatory solutions. The stakes are high because the government is riding into crypto town with the promise that it can do a better job than the existing informal disciplinary mechanisms.
See: Hester Peirce on personal liberty, crypto regs and retail investor particiation
We do have regulatory experience that we can bring to bear here, but we have to do so carefully. As government agencies consider how to regulate, they ought to take their lead from Congress, work collaboratively with one another, and actively consult the public who will be subject to and protected by the rules. I might approach this whole endeavor with a less strict hand than some of my fellow regulators, but the real question is not what I or any other regulator wants, but what you the people—the intended beneficiaries of this regulation—want. I am eager to see what you accomplish on the crypto frontier once we set some sensible, clear regulatory parameters.
To paraphrase the standard closing words of a popular crypto podcast, which follow an appropriate warning about the riskiness of the space, “[You] are headed West. This is the frontier. It’s not for everyone. . .”
Thank you for allowing me to drop in on your journey West.
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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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Monetizing the Creator Economy Through Social Tokens
Borderless Ventures | Ethan Pierse | Oct 27, 2021
You might not yet have heard of social tokens or creator coins, but it's very possible that you heard the news of Lionel Messi changing football clubs from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. Well, millions of dollars of his $40M signing bonus were paid in $PSG tokens issued by social token platform Socios. Those tokens allow fans to interact with the team by earning rewards, participating in select club decisions, and accessing unique merchandise and experiences.
But what are social tokens ?
Social tokens allow brands, whether individuals or organizations, to include their fans and community in a dedicated tokenized economy that facilitates:
- Direct monetization
- Community engagement and loyalty
- Governance
See: 67 per cent of young Brits want a socialist economic system, finds new poll
Social media platforms can take 5-30% of content creators' tips and payment tools like Venmo charge 3% commission. However, creator coin platforms like Rally are able to charge 0% for direct digital payments to creators. Amazing platforms like Patreon, Substack, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch have enabled creators to build business models on top of their communities and content, but in addition to expensive commissions, there is always the risk of de-platforming and censorship, potentially eliminating a particular revenue stream entirely. On the pure donation side, even Twitter and Clubhouse are now offering in-app tipping.
While there exist great tools like Gumroad for monetizing downloadable content and products, content creators need more choices for direct digital payments that are independent of any specific content platform or merchant account. Social tokens facilitate low to no-fee fiat and crypto transactions between creators and their communities.
The ability to hold a balance of a creator's token creates an opportunity for deeper engagement and customer/fan loyalty. Platforms like Discord and Clubhouse or tools like WordPress can confirm a user's token balance through APIs and provide token-gated access to content, events, and VIP discussion channels. Fans can earn rewards by contributing to, supporting and evangelizing the community.
If you have explored NFTs at all, this may sound familiar, as the ability to bake in early/VIP access to special content, merchandise, online and offline events, and other benefits is exactly the same with creator coins.
See: Businesses competing on social values use fintech to gain an edge
The third utility allows for token holders to participate in the decision process around a brand or organization. Maybe you want to pick the color of the next PSG jersey or vote on which subject a content creator should discuss in their next video or podcast. You'll be hearing a lot about Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) over the next year and the functionality is the same here; token holders can actively participate in the governance of an organization.
Social tokens can be :
- Individuals, like your favorite YouTuber, podcast, or newsletter
- Brands, like a soccer team
- Communities, like an online forum or NGO, or the social token platform itself, like Rally or Socios (Chiliz).
Why I’m bullish on social tokens: 3 trends
You might be saying, fine, those are a few, recent examples, but is there really huge potential here? There are three signals that suggest that tokenizing content creators' communities could lead to a massive market.
The first is the existing centralized creator economy growth over the past few years. Hundreds of thousands of people now create full-time incomes on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. There are hundreds of journalists and writers making thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars per month through small subscription payments on Substack. Patreon has 200,000 content creators monetizing their communities. During home confinement, practically every band you know used StageIt to perform paid concerts from their sofas. All of this runs through centralized platforms and legacy payment systems. Fans have shown that they are more than willing to financially support their favorite content creators directly.
See: NFT Fire hose: Educational Resources
The second signal is the rapid growth of NFTs and digital collectibles this past year. While you may be a bit dubious on the potential of pixelated digital art, people continue to innovate around the kinds of content and perks they are creating with non-fungible tokens. Digital collectibles, however, are the evolution of the billion dollar industries behind baseball cards, Pokemon, and comic books. Three year old fantasy football platform Sorare is built on NFTs, has generated more than $100 million in revenue in 2021, and is rumored to have recently raised over $500M at an almost $4B valuation. You don't have to understand the blockchain or care about bitcoin to see the future value in business models built on digital collectibles.
And third, decentralized finance continues to create new financial solutions that don't rely on historical financial infrastructure in the areas of savings, loans, bonds, crowdfunding, and insurance. Each month, more people are discovering and getting comfortable with crypto/blockchain services without necessarily being "into" crypto.
Taken together, these three trends show us a very near future where brands use a mixture of centralized and decentralized platforms and financial services to monetize their communities.
See: CPAs and the New Social Contract: The Rise of the Warrior Accountant
Still not sure? I already mentioned Lionel Messi but Sorare has 180 officially licensed football clubs and just signed La Liga. Social token-issuance platform Rally just raised $50M and signed a deal with United Talent Agency to begin tokenizing some of the thousands of actors, musicians, and athletes that UTA represents. Sotheby's just auctioned $24M worth of digital collectibles. The Vault ($WHALE) is a social currency fund of curated digital art, blockchain gaming, and virtual real estate, with a market cap of over $100M. The future of finance is social and tokenized.
About the Author
E
than Pierse, Director at The CryptoAssets Institute, evangelizing the blockchain economy across Europe and Southeast Asia. Director, Quantum Economics Financial Advisory. Founder of Borderless Ventures focused on FrenchTech, CEE, and ASEAN startups. Former Managing Partner, Nest Venture Capital. Serial entrepreneur in digital and e-commerce in the US and Western Europe. 20+ years digital marketing strategy advising Coca-Cola, HP, BP, large banks, airlines and governments. Twitter | Rally
This article is featured in NCFA's digital magazine, Fintech Confidential (Issue 4 Oct 2021). Click to read the latest thought leadership, insights and trends about Fintech in Canada:
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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
Shiba Inu Meme Coin Soars to Record, Slips…as Chinese Authorities Strengthen Supervision of NFTs
TheStreet | Rob Lenihan | Oct 25, 2021
Cryptocurrency prices were climbing Monday with the parody cryptocurrency Shiba Inu coin soaring to a record over the weekend before losing ground.
Shiba Inu's recent surge appears related to unconfirmed rumors that the coin would soon be listed on the popular stock trading app Robinhood, according to Fortune. Shiba Inu coins traded at a record $0.0000455 at 7:20am U.S. Eastern. That topped the previous record $0.0000388 from May 10, Coindesk reported, citing Messari data. It's currently trading at $0.000039.
See: SEC says GameStop’s wild stock surge was not short covering
Some market observers said that the currency started falling after Tesla CEO Elon Musk, famed for rattling crypto markets worldwide, tweeted on Sunday that he does not own the cryptocurrency.
"Don't bet the farm on crypto," Musk tweeted. "True value is building products & providing services to your fellow human beings, not money in any form."
Regulation remains a factor in the cryptocurrency world.
-- "[The] U.S. Congress predictably looking at imposing standard financial industry 'Know your Client' and Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements
-- "[The] UK warning about investor protection
-- [The] EU cracking down on money laundering," and,
-- "China clearing the field for the introduction of the digital yuan."
Winston Ma, a former managing director and head of North America at China Investment Corp., said Chinese regulatory authorities are strengthening their supervision of NFTs, "as regulators cast a weary eye on this new virtual asset market as a potentially huge bubble."
See:
Elon Musk reposted this meme > 2 days later ‘Love in The Time of Web3’ sold as an NFT for nearly $20,000
Ways NFTs Can Reinvent Your Small Business
"They have spoken with Big Tech companies about this market, according to a tweet posted on Saturday by Colin Wu, an influential blogger," said Ma, who is author of "The Digital War - How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace."
By Monday, Ma said, Chinese technology giants Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have both renamed their nonfungible-token offerings “digital collectibles. The rebranding actions taken by Alibaba and Tencent reflect their efforts to steer away from any potential conflict with China’s digital economy regulators," Ma 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
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Jim Chanos: China’s “Leveraged Prosperity” Model is Doomed
Institute for New Economic Thinking | Lynn Parramore | Oct 14, 2021
Famed short-seller is even more concerned with political fallout from Evergrande than economic/financial woes.
LP: Let’s talk about Evergrande, the Shenzhen developer whose crisis has got everybody worried. How did things get so bad?
JC: Last year, as the tech crackdown was gaining momentum, Xi’s administration put down a set of rules called the “three red lines.” They were sort of balance sheet financial tests. It was an attempt to deleverage the real estate developers.
LP: So with Evergrande, everyone came to expect a bailout?
JC: I think we’re at that crossroads. The problem is that these companies are so much bigger than they were in 2015 or 2011. Can you bail everybody out? In the case of the developers, you have an additional problem. The biggest amount of liabilities is not necessarily to banks and bondholders. It’s to apartment buyers. Here’s why: the Chinese real estate finance system is exactly the opposite of ours. In our system, when there’s a new development, you’re typically required to put 10% down to sign a contract, with the balance due on closing.
See: Opinion: Evergrande and Crypto Where is Bitcoin Heading
You go get your financing and your mortgage proceeds pay for the rest of the house or the apartment. In China, you pay upfront. You are extending the developer a loan. So, of the $300 billion in liabilities Evergrande owes, I think the biggest chunk, last time I checked, is basically what we would call a deferred revenue item. It’s money that you took in from people, and you owe them an apartment. And the apartments aren’t done, but the money’s been spent. So the problem is not just bailing people out, but the question of who is going to put up more capital to pay off the retail people that have bought apartments that haven’t gotten anything.
These numbers are big, and Evergrande is not the only one. There are a handful of developers that are missing interest payments and have their bond prices reflecting distress.
LP: How does this problem relate to Chinese politics?
JC: As all of this is happening on the financial and economic front, along with the crackdown on business elites, we’ve seen a commensurate rise in bellicosity, in saber-rattling toward Taiwan, India, and Tibet. We’ve seen a much more aggressive posture from Xi in relating to the West. Now every day there’s a warning in one of the Chinese Communist Party organs threatening Australia if they come to Taiwan, threatening Japan. I don’t know if the Party is preparing the citizenry for a “them.” Someone to blame.
LP: To touch on Xi’s crackdown on the tech industry, how do you view that in the context of the need to lessen this dependency on the real estate sector? Certainly, we can see in our own case with Silicon Valley — Facebook and so on — that poorly regulated tech is a problem. But what does Xi’s stance mean in the context of his desire for China to be a leader in innovation, on the cutting edge of technology?
JC: The problem was that, number one, it gave rise to these global tech celebrities, and number two, I think China, or the Party, realized a little bit later than they might have that the control of databases and information that these companies have is certainly a power center.
See: Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI): China’s crackdown puts US in pole position and Canada in 4th
And the one thing that the Communist Party cannot brook is a threat to its control. There are no other political parties, no free press. The only thing that could challenge control is the thing that people said would liberalize China – the internet. Access to the internet, access to ideas, access to global media. People thought these things would democratize China, but Xi is saying no: we’re going to put up a Great Firewall and we’re not going to allow Alibaba to have as much power as the Party.
LP: And it looks like he’s going after the banks next.
JC: The real estate system is so big, and so levered – the banking system has grown with it, of course. It seems to me that Xi is basically going through all the power centers — technology, finance, etc., and cracking down. He’s making sure his people are completely in charge and that there’s no interference, no other power centers. And it makes me ask why. What’s the end game? I mean, the Party has control of the country for the most part. The citizens understand that. So why? What is coming that he feels he needs to make sure that all of his people are in control? I can’t help but think of Stalin. The end game puzzles me the most. Is it to prepare for a takeover of Taiwan? To be more forceful on the international stage? I don’t know.
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