BlockShow, one of the largest blockchain events in the blockchain and crypto industry, will curate discussions around blockchain and cryptocurrency for a five-day hybrid online and offline event hosted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The event runs from Dec. 7–11 and the attendees will have 24-hour online access to the conferences. As a “Knowledge Partner” of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2020, BlockShow will bring some of the best blockchain leaders to discuss blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. The discussions spanning blockchain and crypto are expected to expose the global fintech community to this new technological landscape. And it will …

Italy's largest payments firm Nexi has struck a deal with its rival, SIA, to create a digital payments behemoth with a market cap of 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion). It's estimated the new entity will take a domestic market share of 70%. According to a report from Reuters on Oct. 5, the all-share agreement will give Nexi roughly 70% of the newly merged company, with SIA having an equity value of 4.6 billion euros ($5.4 billion). Nexi’s private equity owners Advent, Bain Capital and Clessidra will own 23% of the newly created fintech group. On the eve of the deal's …

Africa is the home to 1.2 billion people and what has been described as the world’s largest trade area — the African Continental Free Trade Area. Africa is forging a new path to driving development, and access to financial services will play a significant role in its economic growth. The need to provide improved systems for poverty reduction, if not alleviation, is further accentuated when one considers that 416 million Africans live in extreme poverty, and access to financial services is right at the heart of the solution. In a review of the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth, …

Shenzhen’s stock exchange, one of the biggest exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, announced that they have co-launched a blockchain solution for trading with unlisted private-sector companies. This new platform was created as part of the Beijing Regional Trading Center. The report also indicated that the platform will be co-piloted with the Beijing Fourth Board Market, or BFBM — the city’s regional equity market. Both groups expect to “reduce the cost of information asymmetry, standardize corporate equity management, and better play the function of market equity financing” by integrating blockchain technology. Ge Yimiao, inspector of the Information Center of the China …

The adoption of digital assets in traditional legacy systems is moving fast. In the middle of the year, the digital asset custody industry saw welcome developments when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency officially announced that all nationally chartered banks in the United States can provide custody services for cryptocurrencies. The move, while positive for the ecosystem, is yet to be accompanied by a rigorous assessment of its technological infrastructure, like asking questions such as: Where are these newly acquired digital assets stored? One thing is clear: We have entered a new paradigm of finance that requires a …

The newly established XRP Ledger Foundation has raised $6.5 million from Ripple, Coil, and GateHub. This non-profit and open-organization was been set up with a goal to accelerate the development of the XRP ledger, the blockchain upon which the XRP token runs. All the three platforms that have put up the funds were built upon the XRP Ledger. According to reports, the foundation aims to improve and develop the XRPL infrastructure and promote scalable and sustainable practice on the platform. The foundation also seeks to create an objective list of checkboxes to evaluate validator performance and support the development of …

It is no longer news that decentralized finance provides crypto holders with a myriad of opportunities to earn passive income. While this is a known fact, I believe that it does not tell the whole story. Although DeFi’s narrative has successfully captured the attention of crypto investors, there are not enough educational materials out there that encapsulate the workings of the growing horde of protocols responsible for DeFi’s astronomical rise as the new “poster child” of the crypto market. Some argue that the fast-paced nature of this emerging sector makes it almost impossible to identify and track income-generating opportunities. Conversely, …

The cryptocurrency market is still in its infancy, and the overpowering sense of possibility is strong. The range of attitudes toward crypto is generally broad, but recent surveys shed light on certain inclinations one way or another. On one hand, we see beginners who venture into projects they fail to fully grasp, and on the other, we see aspirants to crypto investing who question their capability of getting involved. At one end of the spectrum are the crypto dilettantes, where interestingly, understanding and confidence tend to be inversely correlated. Last year, Dutch bank ING interviewed around 10,500 people in Europe …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to focus on bringing blockchain technology to their financial services, along with the needed regulatory upgrades to keep the burgeoning fintech industry clean. Related: Not like before: Digital currencies debut amid COVID-19 For example, on Sep. 10, Switzerland — a global center for the wealth management industry, housing around $2 trillion or 27% of global offshore wealth — passed a reformed Blockchain Act that includes a new set of laws and regulations to support the growth of blockchain and decentralized finance companies in the country. Related: Why Switzerland is becoming a “crypto nation” …

Over the years, we have seen a lot of trends such as initial coin offerings, initial exchange offerings, security token offerings, decentralized autonomous organizations and many more, but none of these have become the mainstream. The concept of decentralized finance undoubtedly has its merits, but as the factors that sank the predecessors remain, we have reason to conclude that DeFi is not for long. The window of opportunity has shrunk for several reasons: firstly, because of fraud within the space; secondly, the readiness of regulators to “save” the market from violators by imposing old-fashioned red tape and new restrictions; thirdly, …

SBI Holdings, Japanese financial giant and a major blockchain-focused institution, is reportedly planning to set up a blockchain-based digital stock exchange. Yoshitaka Kitao, president and CEO at SBI Holdings, announced the company’s plans to collaborate with Osaka Prefecture to establish a new global financial hub. The new international financial center is will purportedly be located in Osaka and Kobe, Nikkei reports on Sept. 2. SBI is planning to launch a digital stock exchange based on blockchain technology. The exchange is expected to attract global fintech companies and contribute to the development of the financial hub. Kitao emphasized that the establishment …

The Australian government’s Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has released a draft report citing blockchain technology more than 50 times. The report is in response to Australia’s first recession in 30 years as a result of COVID-19, which was confirmed in the June quarter’s negative growth announced on September 2. The document makes numerous recommendations about how the nation can “embrace technology and become globally competitive” said committee head Senator Andrew Bragg. He added: It is my hope this interim report can be seen as a series of quick wins: new jobs and more choices. There …