What’s Happening In FinTech? 19.03-26.03

It is Friday meaning that we take you through the most important fintech developments. This week has been big on cryptocurrencies so if you are interested in news covering bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, stay with us to find out the latest news. We look at Fidelity that just applied to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. We take a look at experts’ opinion baby boomers jumping into crypto, and bitcoin prospering without becoming major currency. Apart from that, we take a look at the news from the British regulators that say that the young crypto investors do it “for thrills”. What else are we talking about? Greenwood raises $40 million while Blockchain raises $300 million and much more.

Galaxy Digital Founder Predicts Baby Boomers Will Jump Into Crypto

Mike Novogratz, the founder of a crypto company Galaxy Digital, spoke out about who will be the next one to jump into the cryptocurrencies. According to him, it is the baby boomers who will enter the market now as cryptocurrencies are more mainstream and banks are starting to offer a broader variety of products.  

“It could be as much as a trillion dollars comes over the next year from that giant group of wealth,” said Novogratz.

This month, Morgan Stanley started offering bitcoin funds, including Galaxy Digital to its wealthy clients. 

“The money will start coming in early next month,” Novogratz said. 

Novogratz believes that it is not even a way to pay but more of an asset to store value. 

“If you’re worried that the U.S. is printing too many dollars…you’re going to shift some of your savings into bitcoin,” he says. 

Greenwood Raises $40 Million 

The digital banking startup, Greenwood, targeting Afro-American and Latino consumers and businesses, announced yesterday that it raised $40 million in its latest funding.

The funding came from the U.S financial institutions such as Trust Financial Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc.PNC Financial Services Group Inc, Mastercard Inc, Visa Inc, FIS, Banco Popular, as well as several venture capital firms such as SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund, also participated in the round.

Greenwood plans to use the investment to launch its first product and continue to innovate its business.

Greenwood was launched in October with the goal to provide easily accessible banking services for the Black and Latino communities in the United States, aiming at closing the wealth gap that these communities are often facing. Greenwood will offer a variety of services such as non-predatory loans, the option to round up purchases and donate to organizations to advance the communities. 

Founded by entrepreneur Glover, alongside Civil Rights leader Andrew J. Young and rapper and activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render, so far Greenwood has gathered more than 500 000 users that are on the waitlist. 

“This multi-generational wealth gap problem will take an all hands on deck solution,” said Glover, noting that the startup’s mosaic of new large investors could help it advance its ambitious goal. “It will take collaboration and community to advance racial equality and financial empowerment.”

Cryptocurrency News: Fidelity Applied To Launch A Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund 

On Wednesday, Fidelity applied to launch an exchange-traded fund to track the bitcoin performance. 

According to the preliminary filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust would hold bitcoin and value its shares based on prices from other major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as  Coinbase and Bitstream

“The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital assets,” Fidelity said in a statement to Reuters. 

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Cryptocurrency News Analysis: Can Bitcoin Prosper Without Becoming A Major Crypto?

LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin doesn’t need to become a widely-used form of payment to succeed and could prosper solely as a store of value, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci said on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, during Reuters Digital Assets Week 2021, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, said that bitcoin does not necessarily need to become a major form of payment to prosper. He believes that bitcoin can work through being solely a store of value. 

“For bitcoin to be successful … it doesn’t have to become the global currency,” Scaramucci said. “It could just be a store of value, and then you end up transferring your bitcoin into the various currencies that you want to transact in,”

“I don’t believe that Jesus and Moses got together and had a baby, and the baby was bitcoin – that’s not me. I see the risks of bitcoin, it is a volatile asset,” Scaramucci said.  “I’m a bitcoin investor. I was once a bitcoin skeptic.”

Cryptocurrency News: Tesla Can Now Be Bought For Bitcoin

On Wednesday, Elon Musk announced exciting news saying that Tesla can be bought for bitcoins. 

“You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin,” Musk said on Twitter. The option is so far only available in the United States. However, Musk announced that other areas will follow later this year. 

While most companies that let customers pay with bitcoin will then use payment processors to convert it into a physical currency such as dollars and proceed it to the company. However, Musk announced that the bitcoin paid to Tesla will not be converted into physical currency. He did not give details on how the bitcoin payment would be processed, but it is a major bitcoin news. 

Most mainstream companies such as AT&T Inc and Microsoft Corp that allow customers to pay with bitcoin typically use specialist payment processors that convert the cryptocurrency into, say, dollars and send the sum to the company.

Blockchain.com Raises $300 Million 

After raising $300 million in its latest funding round, the cryptocurrency startup Blockchain.com is valued at $5.2 billion. 

The round was led by DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and VY Capital.

Blockchain.com offers digital wallets for storing cryptocurrencies, as well as retail trading, and a series of other features.

Blockchain.com offers digital wallets for the storage of cryptocurrencies as well as retail trading and other services for larger investors.

Feedzai Raises $200 Million In An Investment Round 

The FinTech group Feedzai announced on Wednesday that it has raised another $200 million in an investment round led by KKR investment company that valued the startup at more than $1 billion. 

Apart from KKR, Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures also participated in the round.

Feedzai is developing AI and ML technology that assists banks and other financial institutions in spotting and preventing payments fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities. 

The company, whose engineering and product operations are based in Portugal, will use the money to speed up its global expansion and expand its product range, it said.

“Financial crime moves fast, 2020, and the global pandemic accelerated that even further,” said Nuno Sebastiao, CEO, and chairman of Feedzai. “To stay ahead, the product and research need to be faster, and that is what we’re investing in.” He added that acquisitions were an option.

Some of the most notable clients of Feedzai are Citigroup Inc, Fiserv Inc and Banco Santander, as well as SoFi.

UK Financial Watchdog Says Young Crypto Investors Do It “For Thrills”

The British Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday that young people are turning to online apps to invest in high-risk crypto because of being thrill-seeking.

The FCA announced that the research shows that a much younger and more diverse group of people are involved in high-risk investments. The risk continues although both the UK and EU regulators have issued warnings to the consumers, informing them that highly volatile investments like bitcoin can lead to them losing all their money. 

“The research found that for many investors, emotions and feelings such as enjoying the thrill of investing, and social factors like the status that comes from a sense of ownership in the companies they invest in, were key reasons behind their decisions to invest,” the FCA said in a statement.

“We are worried that some investors are being tempted – often through online adverts or high-pressure sales tactics – into buying higher-risk products that are very unlikely to be suitable for them,” said Sheldon Mills, the FCA’s executive director for consumer and competition.

Coinbase Pays $6.5 Settlement Fee 

On Friday, The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that the digital asset exchange Coinbase Inc paid $6.5 million to settle charges it reported misleading transaction data that hypothetically could lead to inflating the apparent trading volume on its professional GDAX platform.

The regulator fined the company for the “wash trades” in Litecoin and bitcoin by one of the former Coinbase employees on GDAX. 

“The settlement order today does not include any finding of harm to any Coinbase customer,” a Coinbase spokesman said. “While Coinbase neither admits nor denies the CFTC’s findings, we firmly believe that Coinbase has always aimed to create a reliable and secure trading environment for the benefit of our customers.”

Remember to come back next week to find out the latest news in cryptocurrencies, startups, and fintech. Meanwhile, you may want to check out these:

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