Rojin Nair, Advisor
June 1st, 2021
At Incyub8 Inc, Rojin is focusing on nurturing and guiding various national and international start-[...]
Category Archives: Fintech Services
Bitcoin Mining Council Protest ‘Misleading’ Letter Sent to EPA
Letters sent to the EPA have deepened battle lines between crypto critics and proponents over Bitcoin’s environmental impact
Bitcoin industry advocates responded this week to a letter submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and signed by a total of 23 Democratic members of Congress.
The extensive rebuttal sent by the Bitcoin Mining Council, a group representing bitcoin miners, is co-signed by nearly 50 industry figures, including Castle Island Ventures’ Nic Carter — who contributed much of the essay — as well as Block’s Jack Dorsey and Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz.
See: Bitcoin mining is worse for the environment since China banned it
“If you have 23 members of Congress signed onto this thing, it could get messy.”
Carter claimed the original Huffman letter held several inaccuracies:
- For one, he noted Huffman highlighted the EPA’s denial of a Greenidge application to keep open its coal ash ponds — large dirt ditches used to of harmful coal byproducts that are not biodegradable. But Greenidge is now a gas-only operation that mines bitcoin. The firm uses those ponds to continue mitigating waste associated with its past life as a coal plant. So celebrating the EPA’s move against Greenidge’s coal ash ponds isn’t at all relevant to crypto mining, Carter said.
- Another sticking point was Huffman’s claim that “a single Bitcoin transaction could power the average US household for a month.” This calculation relies on taking average transaction counts and simply dividing it by the estimated energy usage of the network. The Bitcoin Mining Council’s response labeled the per-transaction energy cost analysis as a “deeply flawed way to reason about Bitcoin, since projecting future energy growth is not a function of transaction count, but instead of value of Bitcoin issuance (which is a function of price and supply growth), together with the fees users are willing to pay to transact.”
See: A Carbon-Negative Blockchain Making Money Beautiful
- He noted that some vertically-integrated crypto mining operations — those that control the data center and its energy source — are already sanctioned by the EPA and some state regulators. Just 2% of Bitcoin’s hashrate comes from such mining operations, according to the council’s response to the EPA.
“It’s a myth to say that the EPA is not aware of these things. They’re very much aware of them, and in some cases they’re supported,” Carter added. However, he did note that noise pollution caused by bitcoin miners is unnecessary, and that he’d actively discourage industry participants from setting up in residential areas.
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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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Terra Networks’ Stablecoin Loses Dollar Peg (again) Dives 45% (Update: to near zero) Adding More Pressure on Bitcoin
Market Insider | Weilun Soon | May 10, 2022
Terra Network's luna token plunged by as much as 61% on Tuesday, after sister stablecoin TerraUSD lost its peg to the dollar for the second time in as many days.
TerraUSD is an algorithmic stablecoin whose value is fixed to $1. Unlike traditional stablecoins that are backed up by fiat currency and hard assets — including government bonds or even gold — UST, as it's known, has its value set by a computer algorithm. But intense volatility across the broader financial markets on Monday, caused by investors fretting about the outlook for surging interest rates and inflation, hit the crypto market. UST decoupled from the dollar again, leaving the luna token in freefall on Tuesday.
See: Terra is transitioning from a dollar-pegged stablecoin to a bitcoin-backed stablecoin
Last week, LFG announced it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to add to its reserves. It has said in the past it intends to acquire $10 billion in bitcoin for its reserves.
Terra Labs' co-founder and CEO Do Kwon said:
"Per the LFG's mandate, the LFG will proactively defend the stability of the $UST peg & broader Terra economy, especially under volatility and the uncertainty of macro conditions in legacy markets," the group said.
"For the first time, you're starting to see a pegged currency that is attempting to observe the bitcoin standard."
See: How Stable is your Stablecoin?
LFG said in a tweet Monday that it would lend bitcoin to trading firms. "Deploying more capital steady lads," Do Kwon tweeted after.
Deploying more capital - steady lads
— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) May 9, 2022
However, algorithmic stablecoins are controversial even within the crypto community. "It's a lot more dangerous than taking a T-bill and tokenizing it," Charles Cascarilla, chief executive of Paxos, told the Wall Street Journal last month. Paxos issues Binance USD, a stablecoin that's backed by monetary assets.
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BNN Bloomberg | | May 11, 2022
Luna Bailout Terms Put a Crypto Spin on Death-Spiral Financing
(Bloomberg) -- From borrowing and lending platforms to synthentic equities to simply trying to build a stable proxy for the US dollar, cryptocurrency projects have long attempted to reimagine traditional financial vehicles for the age of the blockchain.
Now, after the values of both the Luna and TerraUSD coins have collapsed in dramatic fashion, something that in broad strokes resembles an old Wall Street tactic is being revived in hopes of saving the project behind them -- death-spiral financing -- as well as another money-raising tool favored by strapped companies, a PIPE, where stock is sold to institutions at below-market prices.
In the latest example of the crypto world imitating traditional finance, backers of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin (known as UST) are trying to raise about $1.5 billion to shore up the token after it crashed from its dollar peg, according to the founder of a firm that was approached about the deal from the Luna Foundation Guard, a consortium set up to help UST maintain a $1 value. Investors would be able to buy the Luna cryptocurrency -- a coin with fluctuating value that’s used on the other side of arbitrage trades meant to keep UST pegged at $1 -- at a 50% discount to the spot price. The LFG didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
To Max Gokhman, chief investment officer for AlphaTrAI:
Selling something that’s crashed so hard at a 50% discount is like a bad joke. There’s catching falling knives and then there’s standing outside when it’s raining chainsaws. This feels like the latter. “Risky assets are correlated and the selling pressure drags one asset into a deeper discount,” said Wilfred Daye, chief executive officer of Securitize Capital, a digital asset management firm. “The selling pressure drags the price further down on BTC, and then you have a whole loop, if you will. That’s the death spiral. It’s crazy.”
In order for Terra to issue enough Luna to get UST back up to $1, dilution of as much as 1,000% may be needed, according to Kunal Goel, an analyst at crypto-research firm Messari. The resulting mismatch between demand for Luna and supply of UST from investors fleeing Terra’s borrowing and lending protocol Anchor may prove to be fatal.
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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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Meta to Start Testing NFTs on Instagram (Facebook and Other Apps To Follow)
Go Banking Rates | May 9, 2022
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, tweeted that the company [Meta] will begin to test digital collectibles this week “with a handful of U.S. creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram.” He added that “there will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.”
NFTs on Instagram 🎉
This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.
See you next week! ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) May 9, 2022
NFTs on Instagram will have a unique “shimmer” effect to differentiate them from traditional images and photos, and will be attributed to both the collector and the original creator, according to Decrypt. In addition, Instagram will add support for NFTs on blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Flow and Polygon.
See: CB Insights: Metaverse stack and companies making it a reality
Some experts, however, voiced their dissatisfaction with Meta’s foray into NFTs. Hugo Feiler, CEO and co-founder at blockchain network Minima, told GOBankingRates:
While NFTs are decentralized and have the associated benefits of being tamper-proof and accessible, it seems that this approach by Meta to integrate NFTs on various platforms is another sign of them not truly understanding the purpose of the underlying technology. Blockchain wasn’t meant to be leveraged by a few powerful parties to increase stickiness of their platforms and therefore ad revenue. It’s a technology that, when used right, empowers individuals, from artists to art lovers and anything in-between.
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Mark Zuckerberg | May 9, 2022
[Zuckerberg] enjoyed talking to Tom Bilyeu about NFTs, web3 and the metaverse. This week we're starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so creators and collectors can display their NFTs on their profile. Similar functionality is coming to Facebook soon, along with augmented reality NFTs on Instagram Stories via Spark AR so you can place digital art into physical spaces.
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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Economist Webinar (May 24): Bank or Pay? Digital Competition in the Fintech Ecosystem
Economist | May 9, 2022
Covid-19 has been a trigger for digital acceleration in almost every industry. Technology has forced financial institutions—under mounting pressure from new competitors such as fintechs and large tech companies—to make or propose regulatory, operational and customer-centric changes. Bankers echoed that sentiment in a recent EIU survey, where they were most likely to name payment platforms such as PayPal, Alipay and Apple Pay as the non-traditional industry entrants that represented their biggest competition.
See: Economist Spotlight: Imagining a world without banks
While tech firms have clearly eroded some of banking’s traditional functions, what’s less clear is how bankers plan to respond. Are they altering offers, entering new lines of business, buying technology, lobbying regulators, partnering with potential competitors, or innovating their own technology? How fierce is the competition for talent between banks and tech giants?
On-line Webinar: (free registration)
Tuesday, May 24 at 10:00AM EDT
Questions we will address include:
-
What challenges and obstacles do they face in innovating their systems and strategies?
- Does tech play a bigger role now for bank leadership or are they seeing tech more as a competitor than a partner in the post-covid world?
- What are the main areas where the banking industry is most concerned by digital competition?
- How can well-established financial institutions rethink their products and services and collaborate across the industry ecosystem to improve the customer experience?
See: 4 Digital Transformation Lessons that Banks Need to Learn from Covid-19
- What are the implications for the structure of the banking market?
- What factors should be considered when banks choose between buying or collaborating with fintechs? And what can financial institutions learn from fintechs and neobanks?
Register for this webinar --> 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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Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada Not to be missed! Registration NOW OPEN! |
NEO Financial Surpasses 1 Million Customers, Closes CA$185M Series C at Unicorn Valuation
TechCrunch | Mary Ann Azevedo | May 5, 2022
Source: NEO Financial
Canadian digital bank Neo Financial has raised $145.2 million (CAN$185 million) after surpassing the 1 million customer mark, the company announced today.
Valar Ventures led the investment, which brings Neo’s total funding to $234.7 million (CAN $299 million) since its 2019 inception, and values the company at over $784.8 million. In Canadian dollars, this means that Neo has achieved unicorn status, or a valuation of over $1 billion. Also participating in the round were Tribe Capital, Altos Ventures, Blank Ventures, Gaingels, Maple VC and Knollwood Advisory.
See: Neo Financial Launches a Wealth Management Platform for Retail Investors – Neo Invest
Neo Financial offers a variety of products to its customers, including cash-back rewards and savings. It expanded into investing in April with a private wealth management product, and plans a mortgage offering for later this year as part of its effort to be a “one-stop shop for all financial services for Canadians and retailers.”
Indeed, the company says that its partnerships, which include Hudson’s Bay, The Home Depot, H&R Block, Boston Pizza, Goodfood and 7,000 other local and national retailers, have accelerated in the past year, “as retailers search for ways to modernize their loyalty programs and financial service offerings.”
Neo has also expanded beyond just offering personalized loyalty card programs and into launching co-branded card programs, “buy now, pay later” options (BNPL), point of sale installment financing and subscription-based loyalty services for both online and brick and mortar retailers.
See: Fintech Card Space is Growing: Brim Financial, Float, Caary Capital, Jeeves, Neo Financial
In an interview with TechCrunch, Neo co-founder and CEO Andrew Chau shared:
[him] and his co-founders Jeff Adamson, Chris Simair and Kris Read started Neo to challenge the Big Five banks that own some 90% of the country’s market share. Notably, it only went live in January of 2021, so it has managed to surpass 1 million customers in a relatively short period of time. We’ve built all our financial infrastructure, our banking core, from scratch. And that really provided us with this advantage to quickly innovate and drive a ton of product velocity.
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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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Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada Not to be missed! Registration NOW OPEN! |
PayPal, Aon Partner to Enable Small Businesses to Shop For and Manage Insurance Online
Insurance Business America | Roxanne Libatique | May 2, 2022
PayPal Holdings Inc. formed a partnership with Aon Plc to offer its small-business customers the ability to shop for and manage their insurance policies using the company’s digital-commerce platform. The program went live in the US on April 4, 2022.
The partnership sees PayPal adapt Aon’s CoverWallet solution to its commerce platform, allowing small business customers across the US to shop for, purchase, and manage insurance online and within a few minutes. The program also enables users to obtain personalized advice and guidance from Aon’s licensed insurance advisors.
See: PayPal’s role in EU Antitrust complaint about Apple Wallet
Roberto Pinto, president of digital client solutions at Aon said:
CoverWallet’s digital capabilities and integrating it into PayPal’s existing offering for small businesses created a unique experience that simplifies insurance access and sale for millions of merchants.
“We share PayPal’s culture of innovating on behalf of clients, and this initiative is one way we are addressing our clients’ most pressing needs,” Pinto said. “We are uniquely positioned to develop and deliver a digital solution to PayPal that will expand access to insurance for small businesses, which is often an underserved market, and ultimately help them make better decisions to grow and protect their business.”
See: PayPal is Exploring the Launch of its own Stablecoin
With the new initiative, small businesses could address some of the most persistent challenges they face with their insurance decisions – time, effort, choice, and cost. Specifically, they benefit from real-time visibility into the typical coverage and average costs for their insurance needs, a breadth of online quotes and coverage options from top carriers, and the convenience of purchasing insurance with their PayPal accounts.
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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Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada Not to be missed! Registration NOW OPEN! |
Crypto SPACs Guide
King and Spalding | May 5, 2022
Digital assets and special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) have been two of the hottest topics in the financial world over the past few years, and, unsurprisingly, the topics overlap with increasing frequency.
See: CSE proposes new senior tier for scale-up companies and SPAC program
We have set forth below a high-level overview of what SPACs are (including an explanation of the documentation involved in a crypto-related SPAC), guidance on what makes cryptocurrency-related SPACs unique and difficult to execute, a list of historical examples of such SPACs that have successfully completed an acquisition, a pipeline of potential crypto SPACs and some expectations for the future.
Resource guide covers:
- Illustrative economics for SPAC funding
- SPAC IPO workstream checklist
- Crypto SPAC examples
- Unique considerations (valuation difficulties, regulatory uncertainty)
- Geographic expansion
- SPAC headwinds
Continue to the full article --> here
Download the 13 page PDF resource --> 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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Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada Not to be missed! Registration NOW OPEN! |
