Cryptocurrency market cap reaches $77bn, surpasses Uber and Airbnb
The cryptocurrency sector has seen massive gains in the past few weeks. Almost every single altcoin has increased in value in one way or another this month. According to coinmarketcap, the overall market cap surpassed $77 billion. To put that in perspective, crypto is valued more than some of the world’s most successful startups such as Uber and Airbnb. It seems that cryptocurrency is becoming the next hot topic among investors and technology enthusiasts alike. With the price premium rising as high as 5-10% in Asian countries, it is evident the demand is there. While it was just Bitcoin that was exhibiting an amazing price rally, soon after the alts […]
CFTC launches NYC-based FinTech Lab
U.S. regulator, the CFTC has created a financial technology laboratory, LabCFTC, intended to promote innovation to improve “the quality, resiliency, and competitiveness of the markets the CFTC oversees,” officials say. LabCFTC, which will be located in New York, also exists to “accelerate CFTC engagement with FinTech and RegTech solutions that may enable the CFTC to carry out its mission responsibilities more effectively and efficiently,” say CFTC officials, who confirm that the initiative was approved unanimously by commission members. The effort reflects the CFTC’s wish to be more accessible to FinTech innovators and “serving as a platform to inform the CFTC’s understanding of new technologies,” officials say. LabCFTC will also be […]
Three regional fintech winners unveiled at Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge in Dublin
Citi has unveiled three winners from its regional Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I) Demo Day held in Dublin last week, garlanding Aid:Tech, Paycode and Pole Star with the T4I Award for innovation. The global program aims to promote accountability and transparency in the public sector and beyond by supporting the effective use of financial technology (fintech) solutions and monitoring technology. It is run by Citi’s internal fintech team, treasury and trade unit, and Citi Ventures, its technology accelerator, investment and collaboration arm. Facebook, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft and PwC are some of the other partners involved in judging the competition. The idea is to support small start-up companies’ applications on beneficiary […]
Robo-advice platform completes £2m funding round
MortgageGym, which according to its creators is the world’s only regulated mortgage robo-adviser, has completed a £2m seed funding round ahead of its launch. The platform has raised over £1.3m in cash and technology development finance through deals with fintech investors Gaby Salem of Wharton Asset Management, China Pacific Capital and Trifecta Capital. MortgageGym expects to announce its strategic distribution partnerships within the next three months, and its official launch is set for the summer. The FCA-authorised service will allow homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, hybrid advice website offering mortgage eligibility matching within 60 seconds, regulated robo-advice and access to live advisers. […]
Skandiabanken allows Norwegians to handle Bitcoin through Internet Banking
Norwegian Skandiabanken now enables customers to handle cryptocurrencies over its internet banking application.Increasing demand for Bitcoin and other altcoins can no longer be ignored. The cryptocurrencies have already made inroads to the conventional financial system, both directly as well as indirectly. As banking institutions continue to adopt blockchain technology, a Norwegian online bank — Skandiabanken has gone a step further to recognize Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies as an investment class. In order to facilitate the use of cryptocurrency among its customers, Skandiabanken has recently announced a new feature that enables users to buy and store Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ether on its online banking platform. The bank is offering the […]
Fintech’s coming to trounce India’s Banks
In the match for India’s financial services future, fintech just scored twice while banks are still struggling to retrieve the ball they scuffed into their own net. It’s just the start of what looks like a bruising battle for traditional lenders. India’s banks, which still dominate the country’s financial landscape, appear to have hardly a kick left in them. Stressed assets without any loan-loss cover now exceed $96 billion, McKinsey & Co. said last week. An overwhelming 91 percent, or $87 billion, of the provisioning gap is at state-run lenders, whose net worth would be wiped out if they took the hit on their capital. Capital Punishment Fully providing for […]
Silicon Valley coins a new means of fundraising
When tech start-up Gnosis raised about $US12.5 million in April, the company didn’t tap the typical Silicon Valley funding network of venture capital firms or wealthy investors. Instead, it auctioned tokens online in a process called an “initial coin offering”. They sold out in 12 minutes. These digital coins are essentially clones of the virtual currency bitcoin, which has come under scrutiny for its use in last week’s global hacking attack. The newer coins are the proverbial next big thing in the world of cryptocurrencies, but also pose big risks to buyers. The digital coins theoretically can be used to one day purchase services from issuers such as Gnosis, which […]
Indian fintech company Paytm raises $1.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank
India’s Paytm said on Thursday it has raised $1.4 billion (£1.07 billion) from Japan’s SoftBank Group in a deal that will help the digital payments startup expand its user base and maintain its lead in Asia’s third-largest economy. SoftBank will also get a board seat in Paytm after the investment, which was made into Paytm parent One97 Communications, according to a statement from the Indian digital payments provider. Paytm announced in February that it has now has over 200 million users of its mobile wallet, which is a popular payment method in India. China’s Alibaba, which counts SoftBank as its biggest investor, already holds a stake in Paytm. To […]
