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Web3, the Metaverse, and the Lack of Useful Innovation
So far, the year 2022 has certainly looked like a deflating technology bubble. After a decade of rising market caps, stocks for formerly hot “tech” companies fell far below their recent highs. By September 2022, exercise equipment maker Peloton was down 90 percent from a year before; ridesharing company Lyft had fallen 70 percent; videoconferencing firm Zoom, 70 percent; electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, 60 percent; Meta (or Facebook), 60 percent; Netflix, 60 percent; the gory list goes on. Many recent new technologies have simply failed to meet expectations.
African tech innovators at forefront of change from fintech to agritech
African tech innovators at the recent Africa Money & Defi Summit in Accra, Ghana proved that they are at the forefront of change on the continent, from fintech to agritech.
"Africa has the ability to leapfrog into decentralized finance (Defi) and smooth over the difficulties of cross-border finance through blockchain and web3," said participant PayBox co-founder David Boye-Doku.
Fintech giants face uphill battle
One of the biggest news stories last week was that Plaid laid off 260 employees, or about 20% of its workforce. This may have come as a surprise to many, but not to all of us.
Rumblings about Plaid laying off some 200 people started as far back as late May. At that time, when asked, the company denied it was letting go of any workers. But as the year wore on, and the macro-environment grew more challenging, it felt like it was inevitable that Plaid — which was valued at $13.4 billion last year — would join the long list of fintech giants letting go of workers.
FTX’s collapse coincides with more crypto regulation in Africa
Until it collapsed this month, FTX was becoming a force for normalizing cryptocurrencies in Africa, through marketing campaigns that enlisted entertainers, and investments in startups like Chipper Cash. Now that it has left a trail of losses for companies and individuals, Africa’s financial regulators will sense an opportunity to place stricter constraints on crypto’s adoption.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Fintech Hype Meets Reality in the Remittances Market
Fintech has become one of the most popular topics among policymakers and experts. It usually comes with the qualifier “disruptive”. Thus, the hype is easy to understand: fintech would upend the financial system due to its disruptive nature, as it would allow financial services to be completed faster, cheaper, and more efficiently.
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SEC issues new guidance requiring companies to disclose cryptocurrency risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission released new guidance Thursday, requiring companies that issue securities to disclose to investors their exposure and risk to the cryptocurrency market.
Bank Morgan Stanley to cut 1,600 jobs
Bank Morgan Stanley is cutting about 1,600 jobs or roughly 2% of its global workforce, joining other big banks in making reductions as the economy slows.
The news comes after chief executive James Gorman warned that the bank would see "modest" job losses.
UK Includes Crypto Assets in Financial Services Reform Package
The UK government today announced a package of more than 30 reforms to financial regulation, including the extension of tax breaks for investment managers to cover crypto assets.
Dubbed the “Edinburgh Reforms,” the measures are designed to replace EU regulation covering areas such as disclosure for financial products and include relaxing ring-fencing capital rules to lighten the burden on smaller banks.
Curve secures $1 billion credit facility from Credit Suisse
All-in-one card and financial app Curve has secured a $1 billion credit line from Credit Suisse to support its instalment transaction product Curve Flex as it scales across the UK, the EU and the United States
Payments giant Stripe jumps into Web3 with tool that helps companies turn cash to crypto
Payments processing company Stripe on Thursday announced a so-called “fiat-to-crypto on-ramp” to make payments easier for Web3 companies.
The service, which crypto companies can use to let their customers exchange dollars for crypto, will also handle fraud, compliance, and know-your-customer (KYC) checks, according to a company blog post.