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“The task is to think what nobody has yet thought, about which everybody sees”

February 26, 2021

Scott Galloway | Feb 26, 2021 “The task is...not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.” ― Erwin Schrödinger Just as life is not about what happens to you, but about how you respond to what happens to you, insight is not a function of data, but of how you perceive the data. Plotting data in different ways is illuminating, even fun, and it can lead one to discover stories. And while “stories” often connotes fiction, stories can also be true, and can even create truth. The best way to predict the future is to make it. And, just as history is the stories we (i.e., the victors) tell ourselves, stories can shape the future by giving people a path, an inspiration, or a goal. One inspiration for those stories is data … and different ways of looking at the data. Just read the last paragraph and it’s clear I’m insecure re my intellect, or have an edible hangover. The answer is yes. See:  The Enterprise Automation Imperative—Why Modern Societies Will Need All the Productivity They Can Get Anyway, I love 2x2 matrices, and ...
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Economic performance associated with digitalization in Canada over the past two decades

February 26, 2021

Stats Canada | Huju Liu | Feb 24, 2021 Introduction While Canada has embraced digital technologies rapidly and broadly over the past two decades, there is no doubt that the adoption of digital technologies has been amplified and accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. A massive number of people have transitioned to remote work. Consumers have had to turn to online platforms to purchase merchandise. Business have had to use online platforms to sell their products and services and serve their customers facing mobility constraints. Wide digital adoption has leaped forward several years in a matter of weeks during the COVID-19 crisis (Baig et al. 2020), and these changes are likely here to stay even after the pandemic (UNCTAD 2020; Bloom 2020). Economic performance associated with digitalization The digitally intensive sector experienced higher growth in labour productivity over the past two decades than the non-digitally intensive sector (Chart 1) From 2002 to 2019, labour productivity grew 22.1% cumulatively in the digitally intensive sector, compared to 6.3% in the non-digitally intensive sector. During the first decade up to 2009, labour productivity grew modestly in the digitally intensive sector, by about 6%, while it basically remained flat in the non-digitally ...
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Middle-aged crypto-king Anthony Di Iorio wants people to create something positive

February 26, 2021

Financial Post | Joe O'Connor | Feb 24, 2021 Anthony Di Iorio, co-founder of Ethereum, is plotting a way out of cryptocurrency to tackle a project he hopes will help change the world for the better Anthony Di Iorio wears the same thing every day, call it his uniform: a white t-shirt, which he orders in bulk at $10 a pop, blue jeans and white sneakers. The outfit isn’t a fashion statement, rather, it’s a time-saving measure, since he tends to have a million thoughts reeling through his mind when he wakes up in the morning and the last thing he needs to worry about is figuring out what to wear. So, a white t-shirt and jeans it is. As for those morning thoughts, numbered among them lately are being sure to visit regularly with his 70-year-old-plus parents, Lino and Lynne, pondering how to fix corporations that only care about the bottom line, occasionally fretting about his own personal safety and working on his “white paper,” which he plans to have peer reviewed. The paper details Di Iorio’s next big idea. It is something the 46-year-old is not ready to discuss quite yet, but he hints that the project to ...
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Square buys 3,319 more Bitcoin at an average price of $51,236 for another $170 million investment

February 25, 2021

The Verge | Nick Statt | Feb 23, 2021 3,319 coins at an average price of $51,236 per coin Square has just made another colossal investment in bitcoin, more than tripling its last investment in the cryptocurrency with a $170 million purchase of tokens. The digital payments company, which is run by vocal bitcoin advocate and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, disclosed the investment in its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday. See:  TESLA Coin Now Appears on CoinMarketCap. Is Elon Revving the Engine Up? The company purchased about 3,318 bitcoins at an average price of $51,236, which signals remarkable confidence in bitcoin as it reaches record heights and invites renewed skepticism about its stability. “Aligned with the company’s purpose, Square believes that cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment, providing a way for individuals to participate in a global monetary system and secure their own financial future,” reads the company’s press release announcing the purchase. “The investment is part of Square’s ongoing commitment to bitcoin, and the company plans to assess its aggregate investment in bitcoin relative to its other investments on an ongoing basis.” Square first announced a major bitcoin investment in October of last year when it purchased $50 ...
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Canadian researchers develop CBDC digital currency proposal for Bank of Canada

February 25, 2021

York University | Feb 16, 2021 A proposal submitted to the Bank of Canada by a team of academic researchers from Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto (U of T) on what a central bank digital currency framework could look like in Canada has been selected as one of three proposals to be developed by the bank into a full report. The bank is undertaking research to potentially launch a digital currency alongside the country’s banknotes, and invited universities to play a role in this innovation by entering the Model X Design Challenge. The challenge was meant to encourage the development of “foundational ideas” for a central bank digital currency business model and system architecture (known as “Model X”), according to the bank. While no decision has been taken to issue a central bank digital currency, the Bank of Canada notes “it is working to design and develop one, along with a business model, as a contingency.” A central bank digital currency is a digital unit of payment, comparable to digital coins such as Bitcoin, but that is issued and backed by a central bank as opposed to a private network. It has similar characteristics to cash, ...
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Versabank to Launch VCAD, World’s First Bank-issued, Deposit-based Digital Currency

February 24, 2021

Versabank  Release | Feb 24, 2021 VersaBank Partners with Stablecorp to Complete Development of Digital Currency Offering – Will Create Significant New Low Cost Deposit Source for VersaBank as it Experiences Record Loan Growth LONDON, ON, Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - VersaBank (TSX: VB) ("VersaBank" or the "Bank"), a North American leader in business-to-business digital banking and technology solutions for cybersecurity, today announced it plans to launch a strong encryption based digital currency (cryptocurrency) represented one-to-one by a Canadian dollar bank deposit with the Bank, to be known as VCAD.  VCAD is expected to be the first digital currency to represent a fiat currency, as well as the first in the world digital currency issued by and backed by deposits with a North American bank.  As such, VCAD will offer the highest level of stability and security amongst all digital currencies in the market today. See:  A Brilliant Fintech Future – Banking on Stablecoins VersaBank has entered into a strategic partnership with Stablecorp, a joint venture between Canada's leading crypto asset manager, 3iQ, and Mavennet, a Canadian leader in blockchain development, to commercially launch VCAD. VCAD is based on VersaBank's proprietary banking software and the digital currency issuance processes for VCAD will ...
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Mastercard and Island Pay launch first digital currency card

February 24, 2021

Fintech Magazine | William Girling | Feb 18, 2021 Finance giant Mastercard has teamed up with Island Pay to deliver a world first: a digital currency-linked payment card backed by a central bank Held together by Central Bank of The Bahamas, the collaboration will enable people to use an official digital currency called ‘The Bahamas Sand Dollar’ for purchases via a prepaid card. Transactions carried out with the card are automatically converted from digital to fiat currency and will be legal tender for goods and services on the islands (of which there are 700), as well as around the world. See:  It’s instant – I get a message, and it’s received: Central bankers comb for crypto clues as Bahamas launches ‘Sand Dollar’ It is hoped that the Sand Dollar will create a more financially inclusive economy, promote more diverse purchasing methods, and facilitate government disbursements. The same value and protections will apply as the Bahamas’ traditional currency. Modernising payments in the Bahamas The Sand Dollar was originally trialled in 2019 and went on to become the first digital incarnation of a national currency in circulation late last year. Mastercard’s virtual testing environment allowed developers to chart the issuance, distribution and ...
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The Outer Space Men are Landing at Liquid Avatar

February 24, 2021

KABN | Cara Buckspan | Feb 24, 2021 Company launches integrated Liquid Avatar, Augmented Reality and NFT media program of iconic 1960's toy and collector brand. TORONTO, ON and  NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 2021 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. / Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (CSE:KABN)(OTC Pink:TRWRF)(FRA:4T51) (the "Company") (www.kabnsystemsna.com), a North American fintech solutions company specializing in empowering individuals to manage, control and generate value from their biometrically-verified Self Sovereign Identity ("SSI") through its Liquid Avatar (www.liquidavatar.com) platform, is pleased to announce that the Company has partnered with the iconic toy brand, The Outer Space Men (www.theouterspacemen.com). The Outer Space Men is a toy and collector brand that spans over half a century of celebration as both a vintage and modern collectible assembly of action figures. The OSM were first created when man's greatest achievement was to land on the moon during the infamous Space Race of the 1960's. The Outer Space Men characters will be used for a series of integrated media programs for Liquid Avatar. The integrated campaign, expected to launch in early spring 2021 will feature a series of limited edition 2D and 3D Liquid Avatar digital icons available in the Liquid Avatar Marketplace ...
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Bitfinex and Tether Fined $18.5M and Banned from Operating in New York

February 24, 2021

Bitcoin.com | Jeffrey Gogo | Feb 23, 2021 Bitfinex and Tether have been banned from operating in New York and must pay a fine of $18.5 million as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG’s) office over a case dating back to 2019. In a statement on Tuesday, NY Attorney General Letitia James accused the two entities of hiding severe losses from investors. “Bitfinex and Tether recklessly and unlawfully covered-up massive financial losses to keep their scheme going and protect their bottom lines,” said James. See:  Are Stablecoins Better Than Bitcoin? She continued: “Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie. These companies obscured the true risk investors faced and were operated by unlicensed and unregulated individuals and entities dealing in the darkest corners of the financial system.” Per the statement, an NY Attorney General’s investigation found that the companies made false statements about the backing of tether, with Bitfinex using Tether’s funds to clandestinely cover an $850 million financial hole at its bank Crypto Capital in Panama. Tether published a statement on Tuesday “admitting to no wrongdoing.” It argued: The Attorney General’s Office concluded, in ...
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How banks are using AI to create smart trading platforms and identify client needs

February 23, 2021

Investment Executive | Fiona Collie | Feb 22, 2021 Financial services firms are using AI to create smart trading platforms and identify client needs Technology is everywhere in the financial services industry, and banks have been building their artificial intelligence (AI) bona fides in recent years. Components of AI include natural-language processing, which uses technology to analyze the spoken and written language, and machine learning, which uses algorithms to analyze and learn from large amounts of data. See:  Top 12 AI Use Cases: Artificial Intelligence in FinTech Since 2016, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has focused on AI through its dedicated research division called Borealis AI. In October 2020, Borealis AI and RBC announced the launch of Aiden, an AI-driven electronic trading platform for institutional investors. Aiden uses “reinforcement learning.” For every trade [Aiden] makes, it also justifies why it just did that,” Agrafioti said. “And that gives people confidence and trust that they understand the context of the algorithm they’re seeing.” a form of AI based on behavioural psychology that either rewards or penalizes an algorithm when it makes a decision. This is the same type of machine learning used for AlphaGo, a Google-owned computer program that beat a human ...
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