Public Policy Forum | Robert Asselin and Sean Speer | April 4, 2019

Rise of the intangibles

We need a new competitiveness consensus

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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10 Highlights From Goldman Sachs’ June 2021 Digital Asset Thought Piece

June 24, 2021

Lou Kerner on Medium | Jun 20, 2021 In its June cryptocurrency report entitled “Digital Assets: Beauty Is Not in the Eye of the Beholder,” Goldman Sachs’ Investment Strategy Group opined for 60 pages on the cryptocurrency ecosystem with the purpose of providing “ … an objective and balanced view on the role of cryptocurrencies in a portfolio.” While the authors of the Goldman Sachs report believe that “It is likely that blockchain technology will be as high impact in the future as the internet has been over the past several decades,” they see a much more uncertain future for cryptocurrencies and how it will be used by their clients. For all the disappointment, I applaud the effort, and assume they’ll get it right over time. So I suggest serious crypto investors read the entire report. But recognizing that most people won’t read it, here are the 10 points made in the report that I found most telling: 1. Goldman Report Highlights A Wide Spectrum Of Thoughts On The Crypto Ecosystem At one end of the spectrum are proponents whose basic premise is that the U.S. government is on an inexorable march to currency debasement. Hence, the the world needs ...
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BIS Research: CBDCs beyond borders: results from a survey of central banks

June 24, 2021

BIS | Raphael Auer, Codruta Boar, Giulio Cornelli, Jon Frost, Henry Holden and Andreas Wehrli | Jun 24, 2021 CBDCs offer an opportunity to rethink some key features of cross-border payments. Central banks could ease current frictions by factoring an international dimension into their CBDC designs from the outset. For front-end retail uses, CBDCs could allow for use by non-residents in a jurisdiction, or abroad, if central banks permit this option and the transacting parties agree on using the CBDC as means of payment. Some CBDC designs could allow for transfers that are as frictionless as digital messages. Account-based CBDCs that link balances to identification could bring efficiency while mitigating any key risks that digital cash may otherwise entail (Carstens (2021a)). See:  Stablecoins: What’s old is new again – speech by Christina Segal-Knowles An alternative option is for various mCBDC arrangements, which are generally focused on wholesale uses. At least three models exist in principle to facilitate cross- border payments in this way, involving successively greater integration and policy coordination. Our survey finds that central banks are actively considering these cross-border issues around CBDCs. While a slight majority of central banks have not yet come to any firm conclusion on ...
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GOOD NEWS: Canadian securities regulators adopt new nationally harmonized start-up crowdfunding rules

June 23, 2021

CSA | Jun 23, 2021 Vancouver – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today adopted harmonized rules for securities crowdfunding. National Instrument 45-110 Start-up Crowdfunding Registration and Prospectus Exemptions  introduces a single, uniform set of rules that replaces and enhances the requirements currently in effect in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan. “These rules expand the ability of small businesses and start-ups to use securities crowdfunding to gain access to capital,” said Louis Morisset, Chair of the CSA and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. Following stakeholder consultation, the CSA made targeted amendments to improve the effectiveness of start-up crowdfunding as a capital-raising tool, including: Increasing the maximum total amount that an issuer can raise under the crowdfunding prospectus exemption in a 12-month period to $1.5 million (from the current $500,000). Increasing the maximum investment a purchaser can make in an offering to $2,500 (from the current $1,500), with a higher limit of $10,000 if a registered dealer advises that the investment is suitable for the purchaser. Removing barriers preventing federal and provincial co-operatives or associations from using the start-up crowdfunding prospectus exemption. Requiring funding portals relying on the registration exemption to certify on a ...
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New report explores questions of responsible AI innovation in financial services

June 23, 2021

The Alan Turing Institute | Joanna Dungate | Jun 14, 2021 A new report published today (Monday 14 June 2021): AI in Financial Services explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of responsible innovation in the financial services sector. The report was commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as part of The Alan Turing Institute’s public policy programme collaboration with the FCA and has been launched at the accompanying CogX session. The authors hope it will provide stakeholders in the sector with the understanding needed to navigate the evolving AI landscape in pursuit of responsible and socially beneficial innovation. On-demand Video:  FFCON21: May 11 AI and the future of innovation in financial services AI is already having a substantial impact on the delivery of financial services and its role will increase in the years to come. The adoption of AI in financial services is underpinned by three distinct elements of innovation: machine learning (ML), non-traditional data, and automation. Each of these elements can enable significant benefits but also pose challenges that give rise to potential harms. The new report provides an introduction to AI, discusses general challenges and guiding principles for the responsible adoption of AI, and maps ...
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CEBL Becomes The First Pro Sports League In North America To Offer Players Pay In Bitcoin Through Bitbuy

June 22, 2021

CEBL | Release | Jun 17, 2021 The Canadian Elite Basketball League will allow players to receive portions of their salaries in bitcoin, through a partnership with Bitbuy. See:  NBA Top Shot launches in beta with tokenized, collectible highlights The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday that it has entered into a partnership with Bitbuy, a leading Canadian cryptocurrency platform, that will enable the league to pay players a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin. The partnership will be the first of its kind for any professional sports league in North America and comes as the league is set to tip off its third season June 24. “Innovation and delivering a new basketball experience have been a driving force behind our creation of one of the world’s most widely recognized pro basketball leagues,” said Mike Morreale, Commissioner and CEO of the CEBL. “Some of the best players outside the NBA, and some with NBA experience, have joined our league because we make player-first decisions. Our partnership with Bitbuy speaks to our commitment to players, and also to our forward-thinking approach to how we go about our business. We appreciate Bitbuy’s investment in helping us further grow Canada’s official national ...
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Getting tangible about intangibles: The future of growth and productivity?

June 21, 2021

McKinsey & Company | Jun 16, 2021 Companies that master the deployment of intangibles investment will be well positioned to outperform their peers. Investment in intangible assets that underpin the knowledge or learning economy, such as intellectual property (IP), research, technology and software, and human capital, has risen inexorably over the past quarter century, and the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated this shift toward a dematerialized economy. Are we seeing the start of a new stage in the history of capitalism based on learning, knowledge, and intellectual capital? As economies recover from the pandemic, could a wave of investment in intangible assets breathe new life into productivity and unlock more growth potential? See:  [Report] A New North Star: Canadian Competitiveness in an Intangibles Economy The research takes the broader definition of intangibles outlined by economists Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake, who include economic competencies such as advertising and brands, marketing research, organizational capital, and training. This more expansive definition of intangibles appears more relevant to the role they increasingly play in companies, sectors, and economies. Over the past 25 years, the investment share of intangibles has increased by 29 percent Looking in more detail at the different types of ...
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Is Tether a Black Swan?

June 21, 2021

Bernhard Mueller via Medium | Jun 18, 2021 Tether’s USDT stable coin has experienced massive growth since the start of the ongoing bull cycle. There’s now an order of magnitude more USDT in circulation than during the height of the 2017–2018 cycle. This makes it worth re-investigating whether the crypto markets are robust against a potential Tether-related liquidity shock. In this article I attempt to address the following questions: How would a loss of confidence in Tether play out in the short term? Who would get most rekt if a Tether-related crash happens? Would a Tether confidence crisis be a black swan event* that would severely impact the market? * For the purpose of this article, we use “black swan” to refer to a massive event that would surprise most people. After all, 95% of people in the crypto space insist that Tether is fine. If you’re unhappy with that definition feel free to think of it as a white swan event. “What may be a black swan surprise for a turkey is not a black swan surprise to its butcher.”— Nassim Nicholas Taleb See:  A Visual Explanation of Algorithmic Stablecoins The shape of US dollar liquidity in the crypto ...
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Day Trading Tips for Beginners

June 18, 2021

Guest Post | Jun 18, 2021 Day trading was hugely popular back in the 1990s but its popularity waned with the turn of the millennium. Now, it's starting to make a comeback in a big way, with more and more people taking an active interest in these unique forms of trading. Some hope to use it as a side hustle for a little extra money on the side, while others hope to turn it into a career or make enough money to live from. Whatever your dreams and aspirations for day trading happen to be, it's important to take some time, learn about your options and risks, research different strategies, and find all the help you can get before you get started. Becoming a successful day trader isn't something that happens overnight, but with patience and hard work, along with strong stock market analysis and strategy, you can get there. The More You Know The first tip to get off to a good start with day trading is to be willing to learn. As stated in the introduction, this isn't something you can rush into and succeed at without any planning, preparation, or education, and there are a lot of ...
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How blockchain and cryptocurrencies can help build a greener future

June 18, 2021

WEF | Stephen Stonberg | Jun 17, 2021 As with the feverish debate around Bitcoin and its carbon footprint, there has been no shortage of discussion surrounding cryptocurrencies and the energy they consume. But this back and forth around crypto’s environmental impact is missing a glaring point. It is important to recognize that crypto is still in its very early stages, not dissimilar to where the internet was in 2002. The entire space is going through its Amazon moment. The first decade of this cryptocurrency experiment has grown far beyond anybody’s wildest expectations. At the same time, it has allowed those of us in the industry to identify what works and what doesn’t. For example, the proof-of-work consensus algorithms (the mathematical problems that Bitcoin miners must solve) that power the Bitcoin network do indeed require a lot of energy. But what these arguments about Bitcoin’s environmental impact obscure is that the broader crypto ecosystem is in the midst of a shift towards a cleaner, greener, more sustainable future that will result in significantly lower carbon emissions. See:  Ethereum cryptocurrency to slash carbon emissions This can be seen with the launch of Ethereum 2.0 and the move from a proof of ...
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Doug Ellenoff on US Reg CF Increasing Issuer Caps to $5 million: Investment Crowdfunding Will Challenge Traditional Venture Capital

June 17, 2021

Crowdfund Insider | JD Alois | Jun 15, 2021 The US investment crowdfunding industry received a boost this year as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adjusted the securities exemptions that platforms and issuers utilize to raise growth capital online. Along with other improvements, key changes include the adjustment of Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) to allow for the funding of up to $5 million – from a previously anemic $1.07 million, and a boost to Reg A+ to up to $75 million from $50 million. Many, if not most securities crowdfunding platforms, utilize the three main crowdfunding exemptions – Reg CF, Reg A+, and Reg D 506c. Reg D, currently available only to accredited investors, remains the most popular securities exemption in the US powering a $1 trillion private capital market. Recently, Crowdfund Insider connected with Doug Ellenoff, Managing Partner of Ellenoff, Grossman, and Schole – a top legal firm engaged with the Fintech sector, as well as a leading SPAC advisor, for his thoughts on the future of online capital formation. Ellenoff has been engaged with securities crowdfunding since before the JOBS Act of 2012 emerged as the legislative path to legalize raising capital on a digital platform. Counsel ...
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