This weekly summary from our 7 experts, brings you insights based on their experience as investors, entrepreneurs & executives.
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Your Editor is Bernard Lunn. He is also the CEO of Daily Fintech and author of The Blockchain Economy and occasional opinion columnist.
Monday Ilias Hatzis our Greece-based crypto entrepreneur (Founder & CEO at Mercato Blockchain Corporation AG and Weekly Columnist at Daily Fintech) @iliashatzis wrote Rise and rise again, until Libras become Lions
After months of criticism, the Libra cryptocurrency project is pivoting. To appease skeptical regulators, Libra is shifting gears from a new global financial system to a more traditional payment network, with digital coins backed by individual fiat currencies, very similar to PayPal. When the Libra Association announced the cryptocurrency last June, it intended to create a single global digital currency that would be pegged by a basket of fiat currencies from different countries. Politicians, regulators and central bankers everywhere were rattled and feared that Libra could undermine their power, control and threaten monetary sovereignty.
Editor note: The Libra pivot looks like bad news for banks and credit card networks and good news for Bitcoin as the only decentralized stateless digital currency.
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Tuesday Efi Pylarinou @efipm our Swiss-based Fintech Adviser, founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory and a Fintech/Blockchain influencer – No.3 influencer in the finance sector by Refinitiv Global Social Media 2019 wrote Digitization in the brokerage business is shrewd – Motif investing is closing
MOTIF Investing, one of the earliest innovators in the digital investing space in the US, is shutting down. Apparently, the communication hasn’t been that great, as some advisors found out from a tweet. Motif portfolios will be moved over to Folio Investing that has been competing with Motif.
Editor note: Sad news. Their fatal flaw, from my perspective when I looked at them over 5 years ago, was that there was not enough incentive for the creator.
Alan Scott Managing Director EMEA at 24 Exchange @Alan_SmartMoney wrote Stablecoin News for week ending Tuesday 21 April 2020
This weekly snapshot is the news that matters in the Stablecoin market, which is getting a lot of attention again because of recent moves by Facebook re Libra.
Wednesday Jessica Ellerm @jessicaellerm, our Australia-based Fintech entrepreneur and thought leader specializing in Small Business and the Gig Economy & CEO/Co-Founder of Zuper, a new superannuation startup in Australia wrote Should Google To Pay Us To Use Their Rumoured Debit Card?
If the rumours that Google will be releasing a debit card in the near future are true, which, let’s be honest, it feels incredibly likely, then this would significantly change the fintech game, and in more ways than Apple’s previous announcement.
Many of us have allowed the slow but sure creep of Google into our lives, so it seems logical we’d eventually accept Google as a financial brand. However while there are lots of reasons why Google would want us to use their debit card (better predictive analysis for ad targeting, new revenue streams etc etc), there will need to be a strong reason for consumers to buy in.
Editor note: The Big Tech entry into Fintech, from Facebook to Apple to Google is happening during strange times in the global economy, forcing some outside the box thinking.
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Thursday Patrick Kelahan @insuranceeleph1, our US based Insurtech expert (a CX, engineering & insurance professional, working with Insurers, Attorneys & Owners who also serves the insurance and Fintech world as the ‘Insurance Elephant’) wrote Insurance- the great water balloon- squeeze here, bulges there
Insurance is not a new business, but its functionality and appearance to the public may be in the post COVID-19 world. Plenty of thought is being given to the future of many types of insurance cover, its underwriting, distribution, and claims, etc. But what about the ‘right now’ for insurance lines during COVID-19 operations? Insurance is a global $5 trillion business, and while there are sectors that will be depressed, business marches on and so does insurance cover. So what factors may be affecting lines of cover, and what is the outlook going forward in 2020?
Editor note: this is a great overview of all the lines of insurance and how they are impacted by COVID-19, a must read for senior executives in Insurance who are figuring out how to navigate through this.
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Friday Sheldon Freedman, Fintech lawyer at Hassans International Law Firm wrote: Security Token news for Week ending 24 April 2020
Editor note: This weekly snapshot is the news that matters in the Security Token market.
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