More flak from the high-speed collision between cryptocurrencies and mainstream finance. Our friends at Finextra report the latest: The Securities and Exchange Commission intends to sue Coinbase over a planned interest-earning product, says the cryptocurrency exchange. Last week, the SEC sent Coinbase a Wells notice warning that it intends to sue in court over the […]
It had to happen. Bitcoin is now the officially accepted currency of a sovereign state. All the usual objections – potential for money laundering, pandering to criminals, wild volatility – have been swept aside. Bitcoin is currently trading at more than $51,000, having hit highs of more than $52,500 in recent days. We take a […]
Regular visitors to our News section will be aware that we see central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a state-sponsored fake cryptocurrency. The beneficial ownership of an account is quite clear – so there’s nothing cryptic about CBDCs. They are merely digital, and the hope amongst central bankers appears to be that consumers will accept […]
Challenger banks, as they were commonly known, are certainly developing their challenge to the mainstream. Witness the results of a new SME business service survey, as reported by our friends at Finextra. The UK’s Starling Bank has shot straight to the top of charts in the latest rankings of business banking services by the Competition […]
Amid the light, a patch of darkness. Even in the booming world of alternative finance, where FinTech is flavour of the month and digital banks appear to be booming all over the place, the news is not universally good. Our friends at Finextra report: Digital bank Monzo has issued another warning about its ability to […]
The march of the cryptocurrencies, monitored and reported regularly in this News section, is relentless. Our Friends at Finextra report the latest: Zodia Custody, a digital asset joint venture operation between Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, has received regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and is now providing commercial services to clients as a […]
As regular visitors to our News section will be aware, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a coming thing. Cynics would say CBDCs are merely a way of distracting consumers from investing in true cryptocurrencies. CBDCs are digital, but not crypto – since they are controlled by central banks. However, they are soon to be […]
The UK government has, quite rightly, been throwing money at the UK economy and its financial sector to ameliorate the drastic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our friends at Finextra report on the latest twist in this particular monetary tale: Starling Bank, Virgin Money and TSB are to be the beneficiaries of a £29.6 million […]
More news reaches us of the attempts to popularise digital accounts with central banks. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are not cryptos, rather an electronic account with a central bank. The latest move, as reported by our friends at Finextra, is for international co-operation between central banks. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Banque […]
The robots may be rising, but the machines are not taking over completely – at least not yet. Our friends at Finextra report on some recent research undertaken by a digital bank: 78% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) call for digital transformation of banking to be balanced with a human element, finds new research […]