Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Web3, Decentralization, DAOs
Franklin Templeton Launches On-Chain Money Fund, A Stablecoin Alternative, on Polygon Network with $1.4T AUM
The Defiant | Samuel Haig | Apr 28, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Andre Taissin
Franklin Templeton, the subsidiary of a global investment firm with $1.4T in assets under management, launched its on-chain money fund, a stablecoin alternative, on the Polygon network on Wednesday.
- Franklin Templeton has launched the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), a U.S.-registered mutual fund that uses the Stellar blockchain for transactions and share ownership recording. The fund aims to provide dividends while maintaining a stable $1 share price by investing primarily in government securities, cash, or repurchase agreements. Roger Bayston, the company's head of digital assets, emphasized that this marks their first integration into the Ethereum ecosystem, as the fund's compatibility with the digital ecosystem is extended through the Ethereum-based Polygon network.
- The news is the latest sign of increasing institutional interest in Ethereum and its ecosystem following its transition to Proof of Stake consensus last year. Last month’s Shapella upgrades, which activated Staked Ether withdrawals for the first time, have further stoked institutional appetite for Ethereum.
- Tom Wan, a researcher at crypto ETP provider, 21Shares, tweeted that there were $1B worth of staked Ether inflows over the previous week. “Flow is mainly driven by institutional staking providers,” he said.
See:
BoE Speech: 4 Areas at the Intersection of Payment Innovation, Tokenization, and Money
Fund Tokenization: Fractional Issuance, Streamlined Redemption, and Servicing Benefits
Colin Butler, head of institutional capital at Polygon Lab:
It’s amazing to have a legacy institution like Franklin Templeton bringing transparency, interoperability, and secure, democratized access to their financial instruments. When we take a step back and look at these things less as blockchain products and more as benefits created by utilizing blockchain rails, we start to see the ‘why.
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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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Industry Thinks Feds Are Trying to Kill Crypto, White House Denies It
Intelligencer | | May 1 2023
Image: Unsplash/Ricardo Arce
Are the Feds Trying to Kill Crypto?
- Protego Trust, founded by a lawyer turned venture capitalist, was betting big that it could be the squeaky-clean, bona fide bank that crypto needed to win Wall Street’s business. It had spent $80 million pursuing a coveted approval for a national trust charter, winning conditional approval in 2021. It then raised more than $100 million — at a reported $2 billion valuation — from big crypto companies, including Coinbase.
- “We courted regulation. We did everything that was required in order to build a pristine financial institution to serve the most discerning institutional clients,” says Protego founder Greg Gilman. But when Protego told the OCC in February that it had completed all of the agency’s requirements for full approval, its application was denied on a technicality — one that the OCC had never mentioned before, according to a person familiar with the situation.
- It has led to an almost universal conviction that financial regulators are purposefully trying to put them out of business — not by barring them explicitly but rather through the recent appearance of a web of policies, both written and unwritten, that together make it unfeasible or impossible for crypto firms to operate in the U.S.
- Critics tend to see as neither legitimate nor productive — are now calling what’s happening to crypto “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” Indeed, the Gensler-led crackdown over the past six months has, according to many in the sector, pushed things to a crisis point, forcing a desperate decision: Fight against the federal government or flee the country.
See: 16z: 2023 State of Crypto (and Index)
Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation:
I think all the conspiracy theorists are definitely onto something. There is enough circumstantial evidence to say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a real thing.
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Decrypt | André Beganski | Mar 2, 2023
The Democratic presidential candidate endorsed the view that recent turmoil in the U.S. banking sector was fallout from a "war on crypto."
- Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the perceived "war on crypto" waged by the FDIC and SEC, claiming they lack authority to do so. Kennedy opposes a U.S. central bank digital currency and argues that this war on crypto negatively impacts major banks.
- Referencing an article written by Ellen Brown titled “How the War on Crypto Triggered a Banking Crisis,” Kennedy said Brown makes a “strong case” that a government-led campaign against the digital assets industry led to several historic bank failures in March, specifically Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank.
- Whether or not there’s a concerted effort to uproot crypto from the U.S. financial system is a contentious topic.
FFCON23 Video: Strategies for Canadian Fintech Companies Amidst Regulatory Crackdowns
- The Federal Reserve issued clarity days after Kennedy’s anti-CBDC remarks, saying the launch of its FedNow payments system is neither a digital currency nor a replacement for cash, which Kennedy appeared to conflate with a CBDC.
- While certain Democrats like Elizabeth Warren have slammed crypto numerous times and made criticism of the industry a key pillar of their political platform
Ellen Brown makes a strong case the FDIC/SEC war on crypto caused failures of SVB, Signature, and Silvergate banks. FDIC and SEC have no authority to wage an extra-legal war on crypto that leaves major banks as collateral damage. #Kennedy24https://t.co/HMZuW7Rr1H
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 2, 2023
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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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TransUnion Offers Credit Scores for DeFi Borrowers Utilizing Crypto Assets
Blockworks | Shalini Nagarajan | Apr 21, 2023
TransUnion’s new crypto-focused service will provide individuals’ credit scores to blockchain dapps when they apply for DeFi loans. Their scores will be based on their real-world credit histories.
- Blockchain data platform Spring Labs and Web3 identity solution provider Quadrata partnered with TransUnion on the initiative. In 2021, TransUnion led a $30 million investment in Spring Labs’ Series B.
- Credit scores in Web3 aren’t a new concept. Quadrata previously partnered with nine DeFi protocols including TrueFi and Cred Protocol to provide KYC and anti-money laundering risk scores.
See: Vitalik Proposes Web3 Credentials of the Future: ‘Soulbound Tokens’
- TransUnion, headquartered in Chicago, enables consumers to obtain their credit data and selectively share it with relevant dapps, ensuring user privacy. This partnership empowers DeFi lenders with crucial information for confident lending decisions, reducing risk and offering borrowers better terms.
- TransUnion's entry into the crypto space strengthens the case for DeFi, especially after the turmoil caused by the Terra collapse and subsequent market sell-offs. The transparent nature of DeFi addresses concerns over unsecured loans that have jeopardized lenders' balance sheets. The integration of TransUnion's identity and credit data into blockchain-based lending enables a balance between risk assessment and user privacy, promoting more lending opportunities while minimizing risk.
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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 Asserts DeFi is Caught Under Securities Rules, Reopens Proposal to Widen Definition of Exchanges
Coindesk |Jesse Hamilton| Apr 17, 2023
Image: Coindesk TV
Unless Congress legislates otherwise, U.S. oversight will hold most of the crypto world inside the SEC’s jurisdiction as the agency moves to make its reach increasingly explicit.
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) warning shot last week that decentralized finance (DeFi) could be thrown into its expanding definition of what makes a securities exchange is the latest move to formalize what Chairman Gary Gensler has been saying: Crypto belongs in the securities world and will be regulated that way.
- the agency voted 3-2 to reopen an existing proposal to widen how it defines operations that need to be regulated as securities exchanges, is aimed at bringing in new technologies that would now include DeFi. To comply with this and other SEC initiatives, crypto operations would have to decide whether to make fundamental changes – such as increased centralization. Some of those changes could threaten what’s different about their approach to money and investing.
See: Should the SEC Be Allowed to Wage an Unsupervised Dirty War on Crypto?
Jason Gottlieb, Laywer at Morrison Cohen in New York:
The SEC is simply seeking to ban DeFi protocols in America. In doing so, the SEC is substituting its own opinions for Congress' prerogative on a major question, central to the future of the American economy. [The change] would sweep decentralized software protocols into a regulatory framework that was not built for them, and with which they literally, technologically cannot comply.
The SEC has now mostly arrayed its pieces on the regulatory battlefield:
- It targeted trading platforms as unregistered exchanges, and has warned Coinbase its turn for an enforcement action is coming.
- It labeled a number of tokens, yield products and staking services as securities.
- It proposed a rule that would likely insist investment firms custody their crypto assets outside of the industry.
- It proposed a “best execution” rule that would include any firms trading crypto security tokens.
- Apart from last week’s vote to add DeFi to its exchange definition, last year the agency proposed a new way to define securities dealers that could similarly rope in DeFi activity.
Read: Hong Kong Rolls Out Red Carpet to Crypto Firms Including Mainland China
- In testimony prepared for a Tuesday hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said that "nothing about the crypto markets is incompatible with the securities laws." He also criticized crypto platforms for trying to fulfill multiple roles without registering for federal oversight, and noted that calling yourself a DeFi platform is not an excuse to defy the securities laws.
- Gensler's rhetoric is being put into action with the latest enforcement action against Bittrex and last month's case against Beaxy. Commissioner Peirce, who has been called "Crypto Mom" for her past support of the sector, said that this marks a "very consequential moment" and that the enforcement division will ultimately make the calls on how DeFi transactions fit into SEC rules.
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CNBC Christina Wilkie | Apr 18, 2023
Gensler defends SEC’s crypto crackdown in marathon House hearing
- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler faced a barrage of criticism from House Republicans on Tuesday over his agency’s crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms.
- In a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Republicans argued that the SEC's disclosure rules were not suitable for decentralized digital currency exchanges and could push digital platforms overseas, weakening America's status as a hub for cryptocurrency innovation. They also argued that the SEC's regulation by enforcement was not sustainable. However, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler rejected these notions, stating that the crypto industry understands the law and should come into compliance if providing exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing services of crypto security tokens.
- The prospect of legislation to regulate digital currencies has faded this year, but major crypto industry groups are planning to spend millions of dollars this year to lobby Congress and the Biden administration.
See:
Wall Street Opposes a Controversial Retail Investor Proposal by SEC Chair Gary Gensler
SEC Ignores All Recommendations by the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee
Gary Gensler, SEC Chairman:
We have a clear regulatory framework built up over 90 years. The exchanges are “just a bunch of intermediaries in this market that think they have a choice. They don’t have a choice. They’re noncompliant generally, and they need to come into compliance.
Fortune | Justin Doom | Apr 18, 2023
House committee chair blasts SEC’s Gensler on defining Ether: ‘You won’t answer my question, and you’re the head of that agency’
“Back in 2018,” said the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, at a Tuesday hearing, “then-SEC Corporation Finance Director Bill Hinman stated that he believed Ether was not a security. Last month, CFTC Chair [Rostin] Behnam expressed his view that Ether is a commodity. The state attorney general of New York asserted in a court filing last month that Ether is a security. Clearly, an asset cannot be both a commodity and security. Do you agree?”
Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, smirked.
“Actually,” he responded, “all securities are commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act. It’s that we are excluded commodities. But I would agree that a security cannot be also an excluded commodity and an included commodity.”
McHenry, an advocate of establishing rules for stablecoins, pushed onward.
“Okay. How would you categorize Ether then?”
“I think,” continued Gensler, “that the general sweep of what Congress did, not just in the ’30s but as—”
“I’m asking you, sitting in your chair now, to make an assessment under the laws as [they] exist: Is Ether a commodity or a security?”
“Without speaking to any one—”
“I know, you’ve repeatedly said you’re not going to speak to one, except you’ve spoken to one: Bitcoin. So I’m asking you to speak to a second one, [with] the second-largest market cap.”
“In speaking to the tokens,” replied Gensler, “there’s 10 to 12,000. If there’s a group of entrepreneurs—”
“I’m asking you about one.”
“…”
McHenry later asked Gensler if they could at least agree on how the existing lack of clarity was affecting the marketplace.
“I think that the clarity is there,” Gensler said. “The law is clear.”
Answered McHenry: “Let me be explicit about this: The market doesn’t see it.”
For two years, Democrats gave @GaryGensler a pass for his disastrous agenda. It's time for accountability. From his destructive climate disclosure rule to his regulation by enforcement of digital assets, Chair Gensler’s agenda has weakened capital markets & stifled innovation. https://t.co/coo8kvmpYe
— Patrick McHenry (@PatrickMcHenry) April 18, 2023
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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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Citi Report: Blockchain’s Next Billion Users: Money, Tokens, Games
Citi | March 30, 2023
Image: Citi
Billions in Adoption, Trillions in Value
- The report discusses the potential for blockchain and tokenization to be a disruptive innovation that transforms various industries, including finance, gaming, and social media. Although blockchain has not yet reached mass adoption, the authors believe that an inflection point is approaching, which will be driven by the adoption of central bank digital currencies and tokenized assets.
See: 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2023: Blockchain, Crypto, Metaverse, Web3
- The authors suggest that successful adoption will occur when blockchain has a billion-plus users who do not even realize they are using the technology. However, to achieve this, blockchain needs the help of technology enablers and regulatory considerations. Although mass adoption could still be six to eight years away, momentum on adoption has positively shifted as governments, large institutions, and corporations have moved from investigating the benefits of tokenization to trials and proofs of concept.
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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 Opens Its Series A Financing in Aftermath Islands Metaverse and Receives Lead Share Purchase Agreement
Liquid Avatar Technologies | Release | Apr 17, 2023
Image: Aftermath Islands
Investment confirms approximate value of Aftermath Islands at $53 Million CDN
- Toronto, Ontario and Bridgetown, Barbados--(Newsfile Corp. - April 17, 2023) - Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (CSE: LQID) (OTCQB: LQAVF) (FSE: 4T5) ("Liquid Avatar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its controlled subsidiary, Aftermath Islands Metaverse Limited ("Aftermath Islands") confirms receipt of a share purchase agreement for its lead investor in its private Series A round financing, at approximately $4.50 CDN per ordinary share. The lead investor is the principal of a Family Office and group of privately held funds in the UK and EU and includes an option to increase their position based on the Company reaching certain milestones, which the Company is well underway to achieving, but cannot be guaranteed. The purchase agreement values Aftermath Islands Metaverse Limited currently at approximately $53,000,000 CDN.
- Aftermath Islands Metaverse Limited is continuing to work with additional VCs, Family Office, and High Net Worth Individuals to support the raise in its Series A round of up to $6,000,000 USD in aggregate, with approval to increase to a maximum of $7,500,000 USD and will provide further updates as they become available.
- Aftermath Islands has generated over $2 million in retail sales, over 7,800 platform purchases, and provided high-fidelity gaming graphics for a real-world virtual experience with no download, making it accessible by a wide variety mobile, tablets and computers. Aftermath Islands has successfully launched its first servers and has incorporated Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT3 to enable Non-Player Characters (NPCs) to engage with players as subject matter experts. The platform also allows instant connections to legacy Web2 websites, eCommerce platforms, search engines, ticketing systems, gaming platforms, educational institutions, social media and more to create a holistic 360-degree experience for consumers and businesses.
- In late October 2022, Aftermath Islands launched its first Play to Earn (P2E) game, Lost Kingdom of T'Sara, ("LKoT") allowing players to collect resources and exchange them for Resource Pack NFTs that can be used inside the open world platform to create value. To date, users have collected over 3.9 billion resources, successfully created over 4.7 million Resource Pack NFTs and user engagement is upwards of 70 minutes per day, with outliers spending several hours a day playing LKoT.
See: Aftermath Islands Metaverse Launches Events Pavilion with Over 1.1 Million Player-Generated Resource Pack NFTs
David Lucatch, CEO of Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. and Managing Director of Aftermath Islands Metaverse Limited:
The investment in Aftermath Islands open world concept with high fidelity graphics, no download and proven revenues supports our ability to move forward expeditiously and continues to gain momentum and traction in market. As a Web3 pioneer and supporter of legacy Web2 platforms, Aftermath Islands has created a unique environment that provides users with a high-fidelity graphics experience with no download, creating a platform similar to the major streaming services but with multi-player usability. We believe that this approach is the launch point to integrating the future of online technologies, engagement, and commerce, while respecting and including today's vast network of online properties.
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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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Calgary Police and Chainanalysis Launch the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre
Chainanalysis | April 12, 2023
Image: Chainanalysis
Today, the Calgary Police Service and Chainalysis are together launching the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre, an innovative regional center that will enable law enforcement to tackle crime that takes place using blockchain technology.
- Law enforcement agencies and personnel from Western Canada will collaborate with Chainalysis, using their blockchain analysis tools and investigations team to combat crimes involving digital assets. This will lead to increased investigative efficiency and better outcomes for citizens, ultimately increasing trust in digital assets.
- The partnership between Chainalysis and CPS will provide training and case support to law enforcement in Western Canada. This collaboration aims to equip personnel with the skills to investigate crimes involving cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. As scams and related crimes are on the rise locally, the partnership seeks to improve investigative outcomes and deter criminal activity. Chainalysis will also offer 24/7 case support, leveraging its experience in assisting law enforcement with various high-profile cases, including seizures of billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies.
- Growing problem with increased adoption: Overall, for every 1000 Canadians, there was at least $1,144 CAD in total exposure to illicit crypto activity in 2022 alone. In only looking at the top 10 scams in terms of revenue, we see that over $41.7 million CAD was garnered through this activity in 2022 across Canada.
See: Wirecard: A Facade of Innovation…How the Biggest Fraud in German History Unravelled
Chainalysis Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Levin:
Not only is this a great moment for Western Canada, but it is a first step in our work to enable law enforcement partners across the world to protect their constituents, and in turn, help build trust in blockchain technology.
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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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