Sue Britton, Advisor, Corporate Innovation & Partnerships
September 26th, 2018
Sue Britton is CEO & Founder of FGS (FinTech Growth Syndicate) – Canada’s leading FinTech innova[...]
Entrepreneurs who use Utility Tokens to reduce CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) will create the most valuable Security Tokens
Daily Fintech | | Apr 13, 2019
This post is an update to the chapter on Investing in Utility Tokens in The Blockchain Economy digital book.
This post describes:
- The SEC rules governing Utility Tokens.
- Laws change over time and vary by jurisdiction.
- Four reasons why other jurisdictions will probably follow the SEC rules.
- Utility Tokens can be used to improve CAC/LTV, which is a critical metric driving valuation.
- Invest in Security Tokens of ventures that offer great Utility Tokens.
- Two ways that a Utility Token is different from a traditional crowdsale.
- The future cryptocurrency landscape will have 4 different types of assets.
See: A Regulation Revolution In Financial Services
The SEC rules governing Utility Tokens
The SEC rules were analysed in Ilias Louis Hatzis’s Daily Fintech post on Monday. For convenience the key rules (defined in a No Action letter for the Utility Token of a company called TJK) are copied below:
- “Token holders won’t be granted an ownership stake in the company.
- Any funds raised from the token sale will not be used develop the platform or app.
- When the tokens are sold, they must be usable immediately for their intended functionality.
- Transfers of the TKJ tokens are restricted only to TKJ wallets. External wallets are not allowed.
- TKJ tokens will be priced at 1 USD per token. Each token will essentially function as a pre-paid coupon for TurnKey’s air charter services. If TurnKey wants to buy back the token (coupon), it must do so at a discount (less than 1 USD).
- The token must be marketed in a way that emphasizes its functionality, and not its potential to increase in value, over time.”
Laws change over time and vary by jurisdiction
The Legacy Finance world has Debt and Equity. The Blockchain Economy has Utility and Security Tokens. You can tokenise Debt (just like you can tokenise Equity or any other asset) but that does not change the fundamental characteristic of that asset.
See: The Security Token Field – The Next Step After the ICO Annihilation?
Debt is illegal in Islamic Finance (for more please read this). There are workarounds that dress up debt to look like equity, just like there are workarounds that ICOs used to dress up a security to make it look like a utility token. This perspective is useful when you look at the legality of Security vs Utility tokens ie laws change over time and vary by jurisdiction.
Four reasons why other jurisdictions will probably follow the SEC rules
Yes, the SEC only has jurisdiction over one market – America, but here are the four reasons why other jurisdictions will probably follow the SEC rules:
- America is still the biggest single market.
- SEC is known as a tough regulator that is not afraid to take cross border action.
- SEC has defined some clear rules. So entrepreneurs can plan around these rules.
- There is no single regulatory market in Asia, which is the growth engine of the 21st century.
There will be minor markets that differentiate by being easier on Utility Tokens, but unless they also offer a large investor pool, that will be “noise on the line”. Europe’s legislation/regulation will be interesting to watch. Unless Europe takes a differentiated position soon, the market will follow the SEC rules.
Utility Tokens can be used to improve CAC/LTV, which is a critical metric driving valuation
CAC/LTV = Customer Acquisition Cost/Life Time Value.
You can use this to evaluate the value of both Banks and Fintechs, as we described in this post from 2015. In fact just about any company can be evaluated using CAC/LTV.
Both CAC and LTV are complex in their own right, but it is the interaction between the two that is so often confusing or difficult.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the metric to evaluate Marketing efficiency.
See: TokenFunder announces Canada’s first Security Token Exempt Market Dealer
Churn is the kryptonite of Superman Marketing. The problem with Churn it is not directly under the control of Marketing. This is where Product is key. Another way of saying Churn is “if customers think the product sucks, all that expensive Marketing is wasted”. Churn means customers cancel the service and then Marketing have to win new customers, which is far more expensive than retaining them.
Life Time Value is not static. LTV is all about getting the balance right between cross selling, upselling and low churn – too much selling to customers may increase churn. If LTV goes down, you have to reduce CAC. Product strategy, pricing, marketing, customer service all have to be in alignment.
The story of Banking in the 20th century can be summed up as Low Churn. We are statistically more likely to get divorced than change banks. There was no point in changing Banks, because the difference between banks was marginal. The Fintech disruption changes that. Now customers have more real choice and regulation is seeking to protect consumers from lock-in strategies that make it hard for them to switch.
Crowdsales are a great way for companies to sell a service aka reduce CAC. It is Internet Marketing 101. Crowdsales have been around for a while, but Utility Tokens enable Crowdsales on steroids.
Two ways that a Utility Token is different from a traditional crowdsale.
- The buyer has the comfort that if they no longer want to use the service they can sell their Utility Tokens. If everybody wants to sell their Utility Tokens because their service is no good, token holders will lose. If the service is great but the token holder’s life situation changes they can sell their Utility Tokens.
- The buyer feels more committed to the success of the venture. Some of that commitment is psychological and some of it is quite practical. A Utility Token is like a Loyalty Coin (more than it is like a Security) but it is a Loyalty Coin with some fungibility (you can sell it for cash if the venture/service is a success and demand exceeds supply).
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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NCFA Canada | May 24, 2019 JOIN US ON A STORYTELLING JOURNEY EVERY FRIDAY. Ep32-May 24: Rallying behind Bitcoin with Frederick T. Pye HOST: Manseeb Khan, Fintech Friday's show host GUEST: FREDERICK T. PYE, President & CEO, 3iQ Corp (Linkedin) BIO: Fred kick-started his career as a precious metal and foreign exchange trader at Guardian Trust. In 1986, they were the first to list gold, silver, and platinum certificates on the Montreal Stock Exchange. Fred later joined Fidelity Investments, where he was part of a team that saw its assets rise from 85 million to over 7.5 billion. Through the launch of creative and exotic investment products, Fred started his own firm, which worked diligently with Canadian regulatory bodies to establish the first mutual fund in Canada that was allowed to take short positions. Finally, as founder and CEO of 3iQ, he and his team have worked cooperatively with the OSC for the last 2 and a half years to launch the first regulated Bitcoin fund in Canada. This fund will be the first major exchange-traded cryptocurrency fund in North America. About this episode: On this week's episode of NCFA's Fintech Friday Podcast, our host sits down with Frederick T. Pye from 3iQ. The chat ...
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ATB Financial (Government of Alberta) | May 23, 2019 Crowdfunding and Crowdlending platform Opportunity Notice and Information Organization: ATB Financial Organization Address: Reference Number: AB-2019-03314 Solicitation Number: 20.06 Solicitation Type: Request for Information Posting (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/15/2019 03:49:51 PM Alberta Time Closing (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/31/2019 02:00:59 PM Alberta Time Last Update (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/15/2019 03:49:51 PM Alberta Time Agreement Type: Non-Applicable Region of Opportunity: Open Region of Delivery: Alberta Opportunity Type: Open & Competitive Commodity Codes: T005A: Graphic Design Services - including website Preview the RFI --> 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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The Next Web | Radek Zaleski | May 21, 2019 Are Europeans really coming? “The US market is vast. There are a lot of consumers in the US that use outdated technologies, and from that perspective we see huge potential here [in the US],” announced Nicolas Kopp, US CEO of N26, during a panel at Netguru’s Disruption Forum. Over the past few years, the fintech industry has started to prove that it can be a driving force to disrupt the financial services sector. Banks now have serious competition from tech-forward lending companies, transfer startups, personal finance and investment apps, and non-traditional banks. The majority of this activity has come from fintech companies in Europe. Why? See: Canada’s financial upstarts are lining up behind open banking, but bigger players may need convincing Europe has led the charge in bridging the gap between older banking practices and rapidly advancing consumer technology. Some even estimate that these new challenger companies have taken up to one third (33%) of new revenue across the industry in Europe alone. When compared to the US, the difference is vast – the same report estimates that US fintechs have only captured just over 3% of the new revenue ...
Read More
Financial Post | Bermuda Development Agency Release | May 15, 2019 NEW YORK — Bermuda highlighted its world-respected regulatory and legal framework for fintech business, as a delegation of government and industry experts returned for a second year to “Blockchain Week” in New York for Consensus 2019. Bermuda promoted its pioneering legal & regulatory framework for fintech startups during New York’s Blockchain Week, attending Consensus and an interview with @bloombergradio Premier David Burt, accompanied by Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson and Bermuda Business Development Agency CEO Andy Burrows, led a group of regulatory and industry representatives to the annual three-day midtown conference which attracted 4,500 attendees, including major sponsoring companies such as IBM, Deloitte, Microsoft, Citi, RBC and eBay. Along with a business development team from the BDA were Assistant Financial Secretary Stephen Gift, Chief Fintech Advisor to the Premier Denis Pitcher, and fintech experts from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), Deloitte Bermuda, PwC Bermuda, and global law firms Appleby, Conyers, and Walkers. See: The Future of Government… in a Digital Age “Events like this are important because they bring a lot of the major players from well-established companies that are going to be the largest companies of the future,” said ...
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Koho Release | May 15, 2019 TORONTO, May 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KOHO announced today that it has closed a $42 million fundraising round led by Portag3 Ventures (“Portag3”), including Greyhound Capital and other strategic investors. The announcement comes as KOHO, a fintech company that offers Canadians an alternative to their traditional banking experience, continues to see rapid growth. In less than two years, KOHO has grown to over 120,000 accounts, moved their HQ to Toronto and released 43 new versions of the app. With over $500 million in annualized transactions and a KOHO card used every 4 seconds, KOHO has built a current account Canadians love (they boast a Net Promoter Score of 80 and App Store rating of 4.8/5 stars). “KOHO’s mission is to restore balance to Canadians by giving them control over their own finances. This new funding is both validation of what we’ve done and a vote of confidence for the work left to do,” said Daniel Eberhard, Founder and CEO of KOHO. Having raised $8 million from Portag3 in their Series-A funding round, KOHO is thrilled to continue the relationship with an investment from Portag3 Ventures LP II. See: Banks’ Revenue Growth at Risk ...
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NCFA Canada | May 14, 2019 JOIN US ON A STORYTELLING JOURNEY EVERY FRIDAY. Ep31-May 14: Blockchain Law with Jason Saltzman About this episode: On this episode of the Fintech Friday's Podcast, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Jason Saltzman partner at Gowlings WLG law firm. They chat about how to make your ICO compliant, Blockchain in law and how to create a business structure. Enjoy! HOST: Manseeb Khan, Fintech Friday's show host GUEST: JASON SALTZMAN, Partner, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP (Linkedin) BIO: Jason Saltzman is a partner in Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP’s Toronto office practising in corporate finance and securities law, with an emphasis on securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions and regulatory compliance matters. Jason assists issuers, investment dealers, investment portals and institutional and private investors on complex equity and debt financing transactions, ranging from start-up investments, venture capital and private equity investments, to larger public offerings and project finance. Jason has taken numerous companies public on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange and Canadian Securities Exchange by IPO, reverse takeover, capital pool transactions and direct listings. He also advises securities dealers, advisers, investment fund managers and other market participants in connection with their ...
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Forbes | Billy Bambrough | May 13, 2019 Bitcoin has been soaring over the weekend, boosting most major cryptocurrencies including ethereum, litecoin, Ripple's XRP, EOS, and bitcoin cash—and adding some $25 billion to the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization since Friday morning, taking it over $200 billion of the first time this year. The bitcoin price is now trading at a little over $7,000 per bitcoin, after beginning the year at under $4,000, taking the total value of all bitcoins over $124 billion and making up 58% of the broader cryptocurrency market cap. Over the weekend some major bitcoin holders, known as whales, moved a staggering number of the digital tokens, potentially pushing the market higher, with the single biggest whale moving 47,000 bitcoin worth an eye-watering $343 million, according to data from Whale Alert, which tracks big cryptocurrency moves. Bitcoin whales have traded around 100,000 bitcoin over the weekend, with a total value of some $670 million dollars. Most of the bitcoin whales have been moving their holdings out of major cryptocurrency exchanges, with just a few of the biggest transactions over the weekend involving cryptocurrency wallets moving bitcoin to an exchange. Large bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions can prop up the market, with ...
Read More
Coindesk | Yogita Khatri | May 10, 2019 Figure Technologies, a fintech startup founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has closed a $1 billion “uncommitted” line of credit on a blockchain. Investment bank Jefferies and WSFS Financial Corporation, the parent of WSFS Bank, are the project’s participants, Figure announced Thursday. As part of the deal, Jefferies may periodically lend to Figure under a variable funding note, which is secured by Figure’s home equity lines. WSFS Financial is acting as trustee for Jefferies. Lines of credit have a maximum loan amount that can be borrowed as needed, paid back, and borrowed again. Figure’s financing facility is custodied on its own blockchain platform called Provenance, according to the announcement. See: FaceCoin: Here’s What Facebook Could Build In Blockchain And Cryptocurrency The platform can support “the entire end-to-end financing of loans, from origination to funding to servicing to financing,” said Cagney, adding: “It paves the way for the first securitization on chain, which will demonstrate the massive cost savings, risk reduction and liquidity benefits blockchain delivers.” Brian McGrath, head of the securitized markets group at Jefferies, commented on using the blockchain: “We’ve gained full transparency into the underlying assets, real-time access to loan performance and ...
Read More
PYMNTS | May 6, 2019 The suit can proceed. The news came Thursday (May 2) that, per a ruling in federal court in New York, the State Department of Financial Services can move forward with a suit that looks to derail national bank charters for FinTech companies. Judge Victor Marrero, presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said the case can proceed, a ruling that denied a dismissal of the suit requested by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The New York department had argued that the OCC had stepped beyond its regulatory authority (and is misinterpreting the National Bank Act) when it had offered the “special purpose” charter in the middle of last year. The judge ruled that “such dramatic disruption of federal state relationships in the banking industry occasioned by a federal regulatory agency lends weight to the argument that it represents exercise of authority that exceeds what Congress may have contemplated in passing the NBA . Indeed, if DFS’ characterization of the impact is accurate – which the Court assumes, given the posture of this order … the OCC’s reading is not so much an ‘interpretation’ as ‘a fundamental ...
Read More
NCFA Canada | May 24, 2019 JOIN US ON A STORYTELLING JOURNEY EVERY FRIDAY. Ep32-May 24: Rallying behind Bitcoin with Frederick T. Pye HOST: Manseeb Khan, Fintech Friday's show host GUEST: FREDERICK T. PYE, President & CEO, 3iQ Corp (Linkedin) BIO: Fred kick-started his career as a precious metal and foreign exchange trader at Guardian Trust. In 1986, they were the first to list gold, silver, and platinum certificates on the Montreal Stock Exchange. Fred later joined Fidelity Investments, where he was part of a team that saw its assets rise from 85 million to over 7.5 billion. Through the launch of creative and exotic investment products, Fred started his own firm, which worked diligently with Canadian regulatory bodies to establish the first mutual fund in Canada that was allowed to take short positions. Finally, as founder and CEO of 3iQ, he and his team have worked cooperatively with the OSC for the last 2 and a half years to launch the first regulated Bitcoin fund in Canada. This fund will be the first major exchange-traded cryptocurrency fund in North America. About this episode: On this week's episode of NCFA's Fintech Friday Podcast, our host sits down with Frederick T. Pye from 3iQ. The chat ...
Read More
Read More
Denise Hearn | Myth of Capitalism | May 24, 2019 Shivaun Moeran and her husband Adam Raff founded one of the most promising startups you’ve never heard of. Adam managed Europe’s supercomputers used for weather forecasting and Shivaun managed software products for General Motors. While having a cigarette outside his office one day in 2006, Adam was struck with a brilliant idea. What if you could create an online search platform to find the best price for any product? It would aggregate specific information about category verticals, and nothing like it existed at the time. They quit their jobs, hired a team, and began beta testing. Their site, Foundem.com ranked well on Google and they were receiving a steady flow of traffic. However, a few days after the official site launch, visitors to the site disappeared and never came back. Upon investigation, they discovered that Google had updated their search ranking algorithm and had demoted the site, so it appeared on page 4 or even 170 of search results. Foundem had effectively disappeared from the internet – blacklisted. They suspected that they had been intentionally knocked out of the market and, after speaking with other entrepreneurs who had similar experiences, ...
Read More
Read More
ATB Financial (Government of Alberta) | May 23, 2019 Crowdfunding and Crowdlending platform Opportunity Notice and Information Organization: ATB Financial Organization Address: Reference Number: AB-2019-03314 Solicitation Number: 20.06 Solicitation Type: Request for Information Posting (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/15/2019 03:49:51 PM Alberta Time Closing (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/31/2019 02:00:59 PM Alberta Time Last Update (MM/dd/yyyy): 05/15/2019 03:49:51 PM Alberta Time Agreement Type: Non-Applicable Region of Opportunity: Open Region of Delivery: Alberta Opportunity Type: Open & Competitive Commodity Codes: T005A: Graphic Design Services - including website Preview the RFI --> 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 ...
Read More
Read More
The Next Web | Radek Zaleski | May 21, 2019 Are Europeans really coming? “The US market is vast. There are a lot of consumers in the US that use outdated technologies, and from that perspective we see huge potential here [in the US],” announced Nicolas Kopp, US CEO of N26, during a panel at Netguru’s Disruption Forum. Over the past few years, the fintech industry has started to prove that it can be a driving force to disrupt the financial services sector. Banks now have serious competition from tech-forward lending companies, transfer startups, personal finance and investment apps, and non-traditional banks. The majority of this activity has come from fintech companies in Europe. Why? See: Canada’s financial upstarts are lining up behind open banking, but bigger players may need convincing Europe has led the charge in bridging the gap between older banking practices and rapidly advancing consumer technology. Some even estimate that these new challenger companies have taken up to one third (33%) of new revenue across the industry in Europe alone. When compared to the US, the difference is vast – the same report estimates that US fintechs have only captured just over 3% of the new revenue ...
Read More
Read More
Financial Post | Bermuda Development Agency Release | May 15, 2019 NEW YORK — Bermuda highlighted its world-respected regulatory and legal framework for fintech business, as a delegation of government and industry experts returned for a second year to “Blockchain Week” in New York for Consensus 2019. Bermuda promoted its pioneering legal & regulatory framework for fintech startups during New York’s Blockchain Week, attending Consensus and an interview with @bloombergradio Premier David Burt, accompanied by Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson and Bermuda Business Development Agency CEO Andy Burrows, led a group of regulatory and industry representatives to the annual three-day midtown conference which attracted 4,500 attendees, including major sponsoring companies such as IBM, Deloitte, Microsoft, Citi, RBC and eBay. Along with a business development team from the BDA were Assistant Financial Secretary Stephen Gift, Chief Fintech Advisor to the Premier Denis Pitcher, and fintech experts from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), Deloitte Bermuda, PwC Bermuda, and global law firms Appleby, Conyers, and Walkers. See: The Future of Government… in a Digital Age “Events like this are important because they bring a lot of the major players from well-established companies that are going to be the largest companies of the future,” said ...
Read More
Read More
Koho Release | May 15, 2019 TORONTO, May 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KOHO announced today that it has closed a $42 million fundraising round led by Portag3 Ventures (“Portag3”), including Greyhound Capital and other strategic investors. The announcement comes as KOHO, a fintech company that offers Canadians an alternative to their traditional banking experience, continues to see rapid growth. In less than two years, KOHO has grown to over 120,000 accounts, moved their HQ to Toronto and released 43 new versions of the app. With over $500 million in annualized transactions and a KOHO card used every 4 seconds, KOHO has built a current account Canadians love (they boast a Net Promoter Score of 80 and App Store rating of 4.8/5 stars). “KOHO’s mission is to restore balance to Canadians by giving them control over their own finances. This new funding is both validation of what we’ve done and a vote of confidence for the work left to do,” said Daniel Eberhard, Founder and CEO of KOHO. Having raised $8 million from Portag3 in their Series-A funding round, KOHO is thrilled to continue the relationship with an investment from Portag3 Ventures LP II. See: Banks’ Revenue Growth at Risk ...
Read More
Read More
NCFA Canada | May 14, 2019 JOIN US ON A STORYTELLING JOURNEY EVERY FRIDAY. Ep31-May 14: Blockchain Law with Jason Saltzman About this episode: On this episode of the Fintech Friday's Podcast, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Jason Saltzman partner at Gowlings WLG law firm. They chat about how to make your ICO compliant, Blockchain in law and how to create a business structure. Enjoy! HOST: Manseeb Khan, Fintech Friday's show host GUEST: JASON SALTZMAN, Partner, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP (Linkedin) BIO: Jason Saltzman is a partner in Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP’s Toronto office practising in corporate finance and securities law, with an emphasis on securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions and regulatory compliance matters. Jason assists issuers, investment dealers, investment portals and institutional and private investors on complex equity and debt financing transactions, ranging from start-up investments, venture capital and private equity investments, to larger public offerings and project finance. Jason has taken numerous companies public on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange and Canadian Securities Exchange by IPO, reverse takeover, capital pool transactions and direct listings. He also advises securities dealers, advisers, investment fund managers and other market participants in connection with their ...
Read More
Read More
Forbes | Billy Bambrough | May 13, 2019 Bitcoin has been soaring over the weekend, boosting most major cryptocurrencies including ethereum, litecoin, Ripple's XRP, EOS, and bitcoin cash—and adding some $25 billion to the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization since Friday morning, taking it over $200 billion of the first time this year. The bitcoin price is now trading at a little over $7,000 per bitcoin, after beginning the year at under $4,000, taking the total value of all bitcoins over $124 billion and making up 58% of the broader cryptocurrency market cap. Over the weekend some major bitcoin holders, known as whales, moved a staggering number of the digital tokens, potentially pushing the market higher, with the single biggest whale moving 47,000 bitcoin worth an eye-watering $343 million, according to data from Whale Alert, which tracks big cryptocurrency moves. Bitcoin whales have traded around 100,000 bitcoin over the weekend, with a total value of some $670 million dollars. Most of the bitcoin whales have been moving their holdings out of major cryptocurrency exchanges, with just a few of the biggest transactions over the weekend involving cryptocurrency wallets moving bitcoin to an exchange. Large bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions can prop up the market, with ...
Read More
Read More
Coindesk | Yogita Khatri | May 10, 2019 Figure Technologies, a fintech startup founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has closed a $1 billion “uncommitted” line of credit on a blockchain. Investment bank Jefferies and WSFS Financial Corporation, the parent of WSFS Bank, are the project’s participants, Figure announced Thursday. As part of the deal, Jefferies may periodically lend to Figure under a variable funding note, which is secured by Figure’s home equity lines. WSFS Financial is acting as trustee for Jefferies. Lines of credit have a maximum loan amount that can be borrowed as needed, paid back, and borrowed again. Figure’s financing facility is custodied on its own blockchain platform called Provenance, according to the announcement. See: FaceCoin: Here’s What Facebook Could Build In Blockchain And Cryptocurrency The platform can support “the entire end-to-end financing of loans, from origination to funding to servicing to financing,” said Cagney, adding: “It paves the way for the first securitization on chain, which will demonstrate the massive cost savings, risk reduction and liquidity benefits blockchain delivers.” Brian McGrath, head of the securitized markets group at Jefferies, commented on using the blockchain: “We’ve gained full transparency into the underlying assets, real-time access to loan performance and ...
Read More
Read More
PYMNTS | May 6, 2019 The suit can proceed. The news came Thursday (May 2) that, per a ruling in federal court in New York, the State Department of Financial Services can move forward with a suit that looks to derail national bank charters for FinTech companies. Judge Victor Marrero, presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said the case can proceed, a ruling that denied a dismissal of the suit requested by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The New York department had argued that the OCC had stepped beyond its regulatory authority (and is misinterpreting the National Bank Act) when it had offered the “special purpose” charter in the middle of last year. The judge ruled that “such dramatic disruption of federal state relationships in the banking industry occasioned by a federal regulatory agency lends weight to the argument that it represents exercise of authority that exceeds what Congress may have contemplated in passing the NBA . Indeed, if DFS’ characterization of the impact is accurate – which the Court assumes, given the posture of this order … the OCC’s reading is not so much an ‘interpretation’ as ‘a fundamental ...
Read More
Read More
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