The development of cryptocurrency has been deemed as a revolutionary alternative to the current financial system. Although one of the hallmarks of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized, effective regulation ensures legitimacy. Furthermore, even though the blockchain is extremely secure, humans are still involved in exchanges, trading, and international coin offerings (ICOs).
Facebook recently announced a “blockchain powered currency” called Libra which appears to be a potentially game changing development in payments. Although there is scepticism and uncertainty, Facebook’s Libra initiative is something to be encouraged and applauded. With the caveat that FB needs to be watched very carefully as it has over the years proclaimed in its various mission statements that it wants to “move fast, break things, build things and add stable infrastructure”.
The U.S. legislative body has set congressional hearings after several lawmakers raised concerns hours after social media giant, Facebook, announced its entry into the digital currency market via Libra.
The Chinese government has invested billions in the telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei. In addition to being the world’s second largest smartphone manufacturer, the Chinese company supplies low-cost telecom equipment to much of the world, including many rural wireless providers in the U.S. A recent trade ban on Huawei’s equipment endangers the health of many small telecom businesses that operate in rural areas.
The fintech sector is making global news every day. New initiatives and innovations, from technology to advanced financial processes, stock and commodity trading, and more are the currency of this transformation.
Fintech has disrupted the financial industry positively. It has, among other things, allowed for faster and safer transactions and improved related processes across a range of sectors. Naturally, the question now is, where is fintech headed in the future? What other disruptions should we expect?
The trade finance landscape continues to change, and with that, comes opportunity. We took a review of the key 5 changes in 2019, and what this means for the industry.
The growth of e-commerce has seen an increase in the volume of delivery orders. The pervasiveness of smartphone technology and effortless internet access has given a boost to the online… read more →
The banking and finance landscape has changed considerably in the last couple of decades. At a consumer level, access to banking services has shifted to online and app, leading to the demise of high street bank branches.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, blockchain works as an incorruptible digital ledger that records various transactions, which have taken place in a particular asset, whether it be cryptocurrency or smart contract.
Since its introduction in 2009, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency types have changed the financial world as a whole. Due to the limitless capabilities and untapped potential of the blockchain technology,… read more →
After a lot of media hype around various cryptocurrencies last year, blockchain seems to have disappeared from the public imagination again. That said, in the background, it continues to shape… read more →
Before there was software available for people to do their taxes, there was only one way to submit a tax return – on paper. After some time, the number of… read more →
Europe’s alternative finance market has exploded over the last 5 years, now worth an estimated €7.7bn according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The UK alone has grown by… read more →
In recent years, the trade finance landscape has seen immense change, driven by a multitude of factors, including policy, consumers, technology and protectionism. A few years ago we were debating… read more →
