Paul Schulte, Advisor, Banking and Financial Services
August 22nd, 2019
Paul Schulte is the Founder and Managing Editor of Shulte Research based in Singapore. Paul's roles[...]
FaceCoin: Here’s What Facebook Could Build In Blockchain And Cryptocurrency
CB Insights | April 30, 2019
Could blockchain be an answer to scandal-plagued Facebook?
While a “Facecoin” might not lay the company’s many controversies to rest, it could potentially address everything from centralized single sign-on to cheaper payments processing. A variety of different signals point to Facebook getting serious about blockchain and digital currency.
For one, in January 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned cryptocurrency when disclosing his annual project for 2018:
“There are important counter-trends to [the rise of Big Tech] — like encryption and cryptocurrency… I’m interested to go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects.”
Since then, the company has created a formalized group dedicated to exploring blockchain.
However, using the CB Insights platform, we learned Facebook has been experimenting with digital currency tech for quite some time.
See: Facebook Is Developing a Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers, Sources Say
From a new org structure to patent trends, we used the CB Insights platform to highlight Facebook’s blockchain ambitions and the possibility of a Facebook cryptocurrency — FaceCoin.
Timeline of major events
- November 2017 — Early publicity about Russian election interference using Facebook
- Jan 2018 — Zuckerberg’s personal goal for “Fixing Facebook” mentions experimenting with cryptocurrency and encryption
- March 2018 — NYT and the Guardian publish coverage on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, working with Christopher Wylie
- May 2018 — Facebook announces its largest reorganization ever, creating the blockchain group run by former Messenger boss (and ex-PayPal president) David Marcus, while also moving Instagram VP of Product Kevin Weil to the project
- June 2018 — Facebook reverses ban on cryptocurrency ads
- August 2018 — David Marcus steps down from the Coinbase board, citing a conflict of interest
- December 2018 — Bloomberg reports that Facebook is developing a stablecoin, or a cryptocurrency pegged to a basket of currencies, for transfers within its WhatsApp service
- March 2019 — Facebook acqui-hires Chainspace, which focused on smart contracts and payments, in its first blockchain acquisition
- April 2019 — Sources say Facebook is meeting with VCs to raise as much as $1B for its cryptocurrency initiative, which could help present the project as more decentralized
See: Eastern Caribbean Central Bank to Issue World’s First Blockchain-Based Digital Currency
What FB could build with blockchain and digital assets
As Facebook looks to redefine itself and expand its offerings, blockchain could be a significant lever to pull. Among many possibilities, tech commentators have theorized Facebook could build:
- Coin incentives for e-commerce
- Micropayments for services and content creators
- Banking apps
- Exchanges (competing with the likes of Coinbase)
- Identity tech
Continue to the full article --> here
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Osgoode Professional Development York University | Nov 2019 Strictly Legal, an Osgoode Professional Development podcast, is about all things legal. Each episode, we unpack current issues affecting the legal landscape with the help of some of the industry's leading thinkers. Heated fights over intellectual property are nothing new in promising technology markets. Are we poised for a revolution in the protection of all types of IP? The blockchain can be used to control and track the distribution of protected IP. Imagine a world where you could easily register and claim ownership over your original creative works – from music to photos to blogs. With the use of blockchain technology, that world is not so far away. As the world reacts to the current blockchain mania, many businesses in the community are having discussions on what the future of innovation in the blockchain space looks like. This week's guest: Paul Horbal, Bereskin Parr (@horbal) BIO: Paul Horbal is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Electrical & Computer Technology group and is Chair of the Financial Technology group. His practice focuses on patent, industrial design and technology law, with an emphasis on securing and leveraging ...
Read More
Reuters | Sharon Lam | Nov 8, 2019 Recession gatecrashes Hong Kong’s fintech party HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong’s economic travails are an unwelcome guest in the city’s fintech party. Enthusiasm for online-only banks was palpable at the Fintech Week conference. Yet months of political unrest have hit small businesses, and the added risks may delay local launches by the likes of Standard Chartered and Tencent. Attendees this week descended on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island for the financial hub’s fourth annual gathering. With appearances from top officials like Financial Secretary Paul Chan to executives at Singapore’s $14 billion Grab and other rising stars, there was plenty of buzz. Hot topics included central bank digital currencies and cross-border payments. See: News on China cryptocurrency and more reforms Virtual banks, as these branchless outfits are known in Hong Kong, took centre stage. Earlier this year, Hong Kong authorities granted eight licenses for such firms to offer payments, deposits and other services, in a long overdue shakeup. HSBC, Bank of China Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank and Standard Chartered account for some three-quarters of the city’s mortgages and two-thirds of retail loans. Online challengers, including a joint venture between Chinese handset ...
Read More
TLT Solicitors | Daniel Lloyd | Sept 2019 Who is liable when AI goes wrong? Let us take the example of Tesla, whose vehicles have been involved in two similar fatal crashes since 2016. In both cases the vehicle failed to see a lorry cross its path and travelled into the lorry shearing off the top of the car, thereby causing both drivers to suffer fatal injuries. Should Tesla be liable for the crash? At what point should a driver no longer have any liability for what the car is doing? At the moment the Department of Transport in the USA adheres to the automation standards set out by the SAE which run from “level 0” (no automation) to “level 6” (full automation). It is accepted that Tesla’s Autopilot driverless software system is no more than a level 2 or 3 on this scale, both of which require the driver to remain in control of the vehicle when driving. So from a public law perspective at least, Tesla is not being held liable for the two crashes that occurred if, as appears to be the case, the drivers were not in control of the vehicles at the time they crashed ...
Read More
American Banker | Nov 6, 2019 JPMorgan Chase has long feared that technology giants will act more and more like banks. The firm’s surprising solution: help them do it. The bank has spent the last year developing an e-wallet tailored for companies such as Airbnb, Lyft and Amazon that it says could help online marketplaces and companies in the gig economy defend against getting cut out of the businesses they helped create. In the process, they’ll look a little more like banks. The JPMorgan product would give tech companies the ability to provide millions of customers virtual bank accounts and to offer perks such as car loans or discounts on home rentals to those who keep money stashed there. The more customers use their virtual accounts to pay for services, the less the companies would have to spend on payment-processing fees to third parties such as JPMorgan. See: JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to transform payments business “A company’s biggest fear is that once they establish a commerce-type relationship, they can’t maintain the end user, and they leave the ecosystem because they now have a direct relationship with the seller,” Matt Loos, a managing director ...
Read More
Markets Insider | Ben Winck | Nov 8, 2019 Robinhood's "infinite leverage" glitch has placed the company back under regulator scrutiny, which could result in a fine, Bloomberg reported Thursday. One person on the WallStreetBets sub-Reddit — the forum where much of the discussion around the glitch has taken place — described the bug as an "infinite money cheat code." The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are the two agencies most likely to investigate the matter. Both have the authority to levy fines for financially-irresponsible behavior. The glitch that allowed traders to borrow limitless amounts of capital was exploited by about 20 users and led to losses of less than $100,000 for Robinhood, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Members of the WallStreetBets subreddit discovered the bug in late October, with one user deeming it an "infinite money cheat code." The bug allowed traders to borrow seemingly-limitless amounts of capital without posting enough cash as collateral. The glitch was exploited by about 20 Robinhood Gold users and led to losses of less than $100,000 for the company, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial ...
Read More
Betakit | Isabelle Kirkwood Nov 8, 2019 Vancouver-based FinTech startup Grow Technologies, which develops software solutions in the loan management space, has been acquired by Alberta’s ATB Financial. The purchase price was not disclosed. “With the Grow assets and team, we are strengthening that position by accelerating our digital experience for our customers.” Through the acquisition, the majority of Grow’s team members, including founder and CEO Kevin Sandhu (who authors BetaKit’s yearly Canadian Tech Companies to Watch list), will transition to the ATB team. ATB said its customers will begin to use Grow’s digital services within the next few months. Customers will have access to Grow’s digital platform, which was designed to help financial institutions acquire new users and grow wallet share with existing users. “The entire Grow team is excited about a new chapter ahead of us as we look to bring our FinTech solutions and expertise to ATB,” Sandhu told BetaKit. Grow offers a range of cloud-based digital banking solutions spanning retail and business banking. Founded in 2014, the company has developed a variety of software solutions, including account opening and lending for SMEs and retail, a personalized financial health tool, and Finsnap, a bank account data aggregator ...
Read More
Mavennet and US Department Homeland Security | Patrick Mandic | Nov 6, 2019 WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $182,700 to Toronto-based Mavennet Systems, Inc. to adapt its oil and gas industry blockchain security technology for Custom Border Protection (CBP) to track cross-border oil imports. “Accurately tracking the evidence of oil flow through pipelines and refinement between the U.S. and Canada and attributing oil imports with the accurate composition and country of origin are of great interest to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” said Anil John, S&T’s SVIP Technical Director. “Mavennet’s platform could provide this digital auditability while ensuring broad interoperability by supporting emerging World Wide Web Consortium standards such as decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials.” Mavennet Systems, Inc. Phase 1 award project “Blockchain-as-a-Service for Cross-Border Oil Exchange” will apply the company’s expertise, gleaned from building a platform enabling real-time auditability of the natural gas trading markets in Canada, to address CBP needs for cross-border oil import tracking. Mavennet’s solution will build a generic end-to-end platform that can be used for any type of commodity that includes automation and integrating application program interface, physical measurement and legacy system capabilities. See: President ...
Read More
FastCompany | Howard Yu and Jialu Shan | Nov 6, 2019 Despite Facebook’s reach, IMD professor Howard Yu and research fellow Jialu Shan break down how its Libra digital currency is no match for legacy financial institutions. To understand the impact of Visa’s and Mastercard’s withdrawal to Libra is to understand their enormous influence in fintech innovation in the Western world. At the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), we track how likely a firm is to successfully leap toward a new knowledge frontier in its effort to prepare for the future. We specifically measure how ready the industry incumbents in the financial sectors are for new areas such as robo-advisers, cryptocurrency and blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobile services and mobile payments, and application programming interfaces (APIs). To achieve a balanced and robust measurement, we take note of the “health” of a company’s ongoing business through its cash flow, operating margins, and rising revenues. But for that healthy cash flow to be effectively deployed into new areas, executives need to see beyond their day-to-day operations and be capable of challenging the long-held assumptions of the industry. This process demands diversity in a company’s workforce, which is represented by gender and nationality ...
Read More
TechCrunch | Arman Tabatabai | Nov 6, 2019 Over the past several years, ‘fintech’ has quietly become the unsung darling of venture. A rapidly swelling pool of new startups is taking aim at the large incumbent institutions, complex processes and outdated unfriendly interfaces that mar billion dollar financial services verticals, such as insurtech, consumer lending, personal finance, or otherwise. In just the past summer, the startup community saw a multitude of hundred-million dollar fintech fundraises. In 2018, fintech companies were the source of close to 1,300 venture deals worth over $15 billion in North America and Europe alone according to data from Pitchbook. Over the same period, KPMG estimates that over $52 billion in investment pour into fintech initiatives globally. See: How to Value a Fintech Startup With the non-stop stream of venture capital flowing into the never-ending list of spaces that fall under the ‘fintech’ umbrella, we asked 12 leading fintech VCs who work at firms that span early to growth stages to share where they see the most opportunity and how they see the market evolving over the long-term. The participants touched on a number of key trends in the space, including rapid innovation in fintech infrastructure, fintech ...
Read More
Crowdfund Insider | JD Alois | Nov 5, 2019 Last month, Crowdfund Insider reported on comments by EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, a Commissioner whose portfolio includes Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union, indicating harmonized crowdfunding rules may be forthcoming before the end of the year. In a tweet, Dombrovskis stated there is a “willingness to move forward and find compromises, hopefully still this year” (on investment crowdfunding). Harmonization across all EU member states could dramatically help European SMEs and entrepreneurs access much-needed growth capital. Platforms could operate across national borders with the assurance of a single set of regulations. Currently, investment crowdfunding platforms must adhere to national, member state rules which vary dramatically across Europe. This fragmented ecosystem stands in stark contrast to what the European Union ostensibly seeks to achieve. Capital Markets Union has been a longstanding and obvious policy goal of Europe, but while simple in concept, the reality has been far more difficult to accomplish. The most robust market for investment crowdfunding remains the UK – a country that will sometime soon exit Europe. While the UK platforms will continue to provide online capital formation across the continent, a single set of rules ...
Read More
Osgoode Professional Development York University | Nov 2019 Strictly Legal, an Osgoode Professional Development podcast, is about all things legal. Each episode, we unpack current issues affecting the legal landscape with the help of some of the industry's leading thinkers. Heated fights over intellectual property are nothing new in promising technology markets. Are we poised for a revolution in the protection of all types of IP? The blockchain can be used to control and track the distribution of protected IP. Imagine a world where you could easily register and claim ownership over your original creative works – from music to photos to blogs. With the use of blockchain technology, that world is not so far away. As the world reacts to the current blockchain mania, many businesses in the community are having discussions on what the future of innovation in the blockchain space looks like. This week's guest: Paul Horbal, Bereskin Parr (@horbal) BIO: Paul Horbal is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Electrical & Computer Technology group and is Chair of the Financial Technology group. His practice focuses on patent, industrial design and technology law, with an emphasis on securing and leveraging ...
Read More
Read More
Reuters | Sharon Lam | Nov 8, 2019 Recession gatecrashes Hong Kong’s fintech party HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong’s economic travails are an unwelcome guest in the city’s fintech party. Enthusiasm for online-only banks was palpable at the Fintech Week conference. Yet months of political unrest have hit small businesses, and the added risks may delay local launches by the likes of Standard Chartered and Tencent. Attendees this week descended on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island for the financial hub’s fourth annual gathering. With appearances from top officials like Financial Secretary Paul Chan to executives at Singapore’s $14 billion Grab and other rising stars, there was plenty of buzz. Hot topics included central bank digital currencies and cross-border payments. See: News on China cryptocurrency and more reforms Virtual banks, as these branchless outfits are known in Hong Kong, took centre stage. Earlier this year, Hong Kong authorities granted eight licenses for such firms to offer payments, deposits and other services, in a long overdue shakeup. HSBC, Bank of China Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank and Standard Chartered account for some three-quarters of the city’s mortgages and two-thirds of retail loans. Online challengers, including a joint venture between Chinese handset ...
Read More
Read More
TLT Solicitors | Daniel Lloyd | Sept 2019 Who is liable when AI goes wrong? Let us take the example of Tesla, whose vehicles have been involved in two similar fatal crashes since 2016. In both cases the vehicle failed to see a lorry cross its path and travelled into the lorry shearing off the top of the car, thereby causing both drivers to suffer fatal injuries. Should Tesla be liable for the crash? At what point should a driver no longer have any liability for what the car is doing? At the moment the Department of Transport in the USA adheres to the automation standards set out by the SAE which run from “level 0” (no automation) to “level 6” (full automation). It is accepted that Tesla’s Autopilot driverless software system is no more than a level 2 or 3 on this scale, both of which require the driver to remain in control of the vehicle when driving. So from a public law perspective at least, Tesla is not being held liable for the two crashes that occurred if, as appears to be the case, the drivers were not in control of the vehicles at the time they crashed ...
Read More
Read More
American Banker | Nov 6, 2019 JPMorgan Chase has long feared that technology giants will act more and more like banks. The firm’s surprising solution: help them do it. The bank has spent the last year developing an e-wallet tailored for companies such as Airbnb, Lyft and Amazon that it says could help online marketplaces and companies in the gig economy defend against getting cut out of the businesses they helped create. In the process, they’ll look a little more like banks. The JPMorgan product would give tech companies the ability to provide millions of customers virtual bank accounts and to offer perks such as car loans or discounts on home rentals to those who keep money stashed there. The more customers use their virtual accounts to pay for services, the less the companies would have to spend on payment-processing fees to third parties such as JPMorgan. See: JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to transform payments business “A company’s biggest fear is that once they establish a commerce-type relationship, they can’t maintain the end user, and they leave the ecosystem because they now have a direct relationship with the seller,” Matt Loos, a managing director ...
Read More
Read More
Markets Insider | Ben Winck | Nov 8, 2019 Robinhood's "infinite leverage" glitch has placed the company back under regulator scrutiny, which could result in a fine, Bloomberg reported Thursday. One person on the WallStreetBets sub-Reddit — the forum where much of the discussion around the glitch has taken place — described the bug as an "infinite money cheat code." The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are the two agencies most likely to investigate the matter. Both have the authority to levy fines for financially-irresponsible behavior. The glitch that allowed traders to borrow limitless amounts of capital was exploited by about 20 users and led to losses of less than $100,000 for Robinhood, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Members of the WallStreetBets subreddit discovered the bug in late October, with one user deeming it an "infinite money cheat code." The bug allowed traders to borrow seemingly-limitless amounts of capital without posting enough cash as collateral. The glitch was exploited by about 20 Robinhood Gold users and led to losses of less than $100,000 for the company, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial ...
Read More
Read More
Betakit | Isabelle Kirkwood Nov 8, 2019 Vancouver-based FinTech startup Grow Technologies, which develops software solutions in the loan management space, has been acquired by Alberta’s ATB Financial. The purchase price was not disclosed. “With the Grow assets and team, we are strengthening that position by accelerating our digital experience for our customers.” Through the acquisition, the majority of Grow’s team members, including founder and CEO Kevin Sandhu (who authors BetaKit’s yearly Canadian Tech Companies to Watch list), will transition to the ATB team. ATB said its customers will begin to use Grow’s digital services within the next few months. Customers will have access to Grow’s digital platform, which was designed to help financial institutions acquire new users and grow wallet share with existing users. “The entire Grow team is excited about a new chapter ahead of us as we look to bring our FinTech solutions and expertise to ATB,” Sandhu told BetaKit. Grow offers a range of cloud-based digital banking solutions spanning retail and business banking. Founded in 2014, the company has developed a variety of software solutions, including account opening and lending for SMEs and retail, a personalized financial health tool, and Finsnap, a bank account data aggregator ...
Read More
Read More
Mavennet and US Department Homeland Security | Patrick Mandic | Nov 6, 2019 WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $182,700 to Toronto-based Mavennet Systems, Inc. to adapt its oil and gas industry blockchain security technology for Custom Border Protection (CBP) to track cross-border oil imports. “Accurately tracking the evidence of oil flow through pipelines and refinement between the U.S. and Canada and attributing oil imports with the accurate composition and country of origin are of great interest to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” said Anil John, S&T’s SVIP Technical Director. “Mavennet’s platform could provide this digital auditability while ensuring broad interoperability by supporting emerging World Wide Web Consortium standards such as decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials.” Mavennet Systems, Inc. Phase 1 award project “Blockchain-as-a-Service for Cross-Border Oil Exchange” will apply the company’s expertise, gleaned from building a platform enabling real-time auditability of the natural gas trading markets in Canada, to address CBP needs for cross-border oil import tracking. Mavennet’s solution will build a generic end-to-end platform that can be used for any type of commodity that includes automation and integrating application program interface, physical measurement and legacy system capabilities. See: President ...
Read More
Read More
FastCompany | Howard Yu and Jialu Shan | Nov 6, 2019 Despite Facebook’s reach, IMD professor Howard Yu and research fellow Jialu Shan break down how its Libra digital currency is no match for legacy financial institutions. To understand the impact of Visa’s and Mastercard’s withdrawal to Libra is to understand their enormous influence in fintech innovation in the Western world. At the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), we track how likely a firm is to successfully leap toward a new knowledge frontier in its effort to prepare for the future. We specifically measure how ready the industry incumbents in the financial sectors are for new areas such as robo-advisers, cryptocurrency and blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobile services and mobile payments, and application programming interfaces (APIs). To achieve a balanced and robust measurement, we take note of the “health” of a company’s ongoing business through its cash flow, operating margins, and rising revenues. But for that healthy cash flow to be effectively deployed into new areas, executives need to see beyond their day-to-day operations and be capable of challenging the long-held assumptions of the industry. This process demands diversity in a company’s workforce, which is represented by gender and nationality ...
Read More
Read More
TechCrunch | Arman Tabatabai | Nov 6, 2019 Over the past several years, ‘fintech’ has quietly become the unsung darling of venture. A rapidly swelling pool of new startups is taking aim at the large incumbent institutions, complex processes and outdated unfriendly interfaces that mar billion dollar financial services verticals, such as insurtech, consumer lending, personal finance, or otherwise. In just the past summer, the startup community saw a multitude of hundred-million dollar fintech fundraises. In 2018, fintech companies were the source of close to 1,300 venture deals worth over $15 billion in North America and Europe alone according to data from Pitchbook. Over the same period, KPMG estimates that over $52 billion in investment pour into fintech initiatives globally. See: How to Value a Fintech Startup With the non-stop stream of venture capital flowing into the never-ending list of spaces that fall under the ‘fintech’ umbrella, we asked 12 leading fintech VCs who work at firms that span early to growth stages to share where they see the most opportunity and how they see the market evolving over the long-term. The participants touched on a number of key trends in the space, including rapid innovation in fintech infrastructure, fintech ...
Read More
Read More
Crowdfund Insider | JD Alois | Nov 5, 2019 Last month, Crowdfund Insider reported on comments by EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, a Commissioner whose portfolio includes Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union, indicating harmonized crowdfunding rules may be forthcoming before the end of the year. In a tweet, Dombrovskis stated there is a “willingness to move forward and find compromises, hopefully still this year” (on investment crowdfunding). Harmonization across all EU member states could dramatically help European SMEs and entrepreneurs access much-needed growth capital. Platforms could operate across national borders with the assurance of a single set of regulations. Currently, investment crowdfunding platforms must adhere to national, member state rules which vary dramatically across Europe. This fragmented ecosystem stands in stark contrast to what the European Union ostensibly seeks to achieve. Capital Markets Union has been a longstanding and obvious policy goal of Europe, but while simple in concept, the reality has been far more difficult to accomplish. The most robust market for investment crowdfunding remains the UK – a country that will sometime soon exit Europe. While the UK platforms will continue to provide online capital formation across the continent, a single set of rules ...
Read More
Read More
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