Does safe DeFi require CBDCs?

A BIS conference, streamed live on 4 April 2022, aimed at establishing a common understanding on how DeFi-based markets might evolve from their current state, what role central banks might have, and the potential interaction with Central Bank Digital Currencies.

Crypto: a beginner’s guide

Cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance and blockchain technology—what do these terms really mean? The Economist’s finance correspondents guide us through the key concepts of crypto.

How Covid Changed the Payments Industry

Covid-19 caused clear shifts in payments preferences, changes that continue to reverberate through both banking and the world of nonbank payments providers. The most recent Federal Reserve Payments Study, delving deeply into data from 2019 and 2020, shows clear evidence that the pandemic jump-started migration from traditional forms of payments to a myriad of remote and innovative forms of payments.

Want to find out more? Click HERE.

Why Fintechs won't replace traditional banking

There’s been a lot of talk about whether traditional banks can survive the digital revolution. Industry experts have mused about the fate of brick-and-mortar banks as the pandemic fueled a shift toward digital options, but is the assessment that traditional banks are destined to disappear a fair one?

Find out more and read the full article HERE. 

Battle of the blockchains

To believers, open, public blockchains provide a second chance at building a digital economy. The fact that the applications built on top of such blockchains all work with each other, and that the information they store is visible to all, harks back to the idealism of the internet’s early architects, before most users embraced the walled gardens offered by the tech giants. The idea that a new kind of “decentralised” digital economy might be possible has been bolstered over the past year as the numerous applications being built on top of various blockchains have boomed in size and functionality.

Read the full article from The Economist HERE.

On the Brink of Disaster or Start of a Golden Age?

From Bitcoin to DeFi (in 12 Short Years)...

Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably familiar with Bitcoin. Now, just as crypto disrupted the concept of value, decentralized finance is poised to disrupt finance itself. The populist movement promises huge returns for daring investors. But with DeFi’s promise of inclusion comes risk and uncertainty.

Is there something in this or are people that gullible or just plain stupid?

So the question is - is this the start of a new Golden Age or are we on the edge of Disaster? You be the judge.

Neobanking: Pros, Cons, and How to use them Efficiently for your Business

 

Neobank is a term for banks that exist only in digital form, as an app, web app, or other software solution, and doesn’t have any physical branches. It can work in several jurisdictions and is usually not limited to a single country or region.

In 2020, the number of e-commerce transactions made with digital or mobile wallets reached roughly 45 percent and by 2024 this number is expected to be over 50 percent. 

What does it have to do with neobanks or EMIs? Read the full article HERE.

Building better blockchains is surprisingly hard

According to its fans, crypto is the key to paradise, particularly the financial kind. Greedy intermediaries, such as banks, will be replaced by smart contracts (self-executing rules) that run on blockchains (distributed databases). This will give rise to efficient and innovative financial services, collectively called “decentralized finance” (DeFi).

The foundations of this structure are shaky, however. Today’s blockchains may be masterworks of coding, but they are also fiendishly complex, energy-hungry and, perhaps counterintuitively, centralized. Despite years of work, crypto developers are still trying to fully overcome the trade-offs inherent in the technology. 

Read the the full article in The Economist HERE.

DeFi - Definancializing Productive Activity

As software and hardware engineers around the world are untangling the centralization of the internet, a vocal portion within the enclave of blockchain-based solutions - generally referred to as decentralized finance - or DeFi for short - has emerged. While blockchains provide the building blocks for reliable information and - to a lesser extend value - transport functions - a layer of middleware to the larger concept of cryptographic primitives mapped by protocols, current developments are largely focused on digitally native assets, and their derivatives.

You can read the full article HERE.

Banks and DeFi – like garlic to vampires? Or more like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Alternative money management methods and payment approaches are also gaining speed, complicating the relationship between consumers and their preferred banking methods. With all of this change, where is DeFi’s place in banking? Is there a place for it? Join this must-see PYMNTS TV special as Editor-in-Chief Matt Nesto is joined by Algorand Director of Business Solutions Giuliana Berchicci and Bnext CEO & Co-Founder Guillermo Vicandi to discuss the state of the industry. 

DeFi: Crypto’s ‘Wild West’ of Finance - WSJ

Many are calling decentralized finance, or DeFi, the “Wild West of finance.” This fast-growing industry aims to provide automated banking services for cryptocurrencies to everyone, with no middle men. But DeFi is still in its early stages, which means there are risks. 

 

Decentralized Finance - What it is and what it means

"If you're not into cryptocurrency, then the mere mention of Bitcoin or Ethereum probably makes you want to roll your eyes. However, it's possible you won't be able to ignore the changes that will arise in the world of non-traditional banking for long.

That's because DeFi is currently on a path to disrupt most financial transactions in a major way. But, what is DeFi exactly? Well first, it’s short for “Decentralized Finance”.". So writes Robert Farrington in Forbes magazine.

Find out all about Decentralized Finance; what it is and what it means. Read the full article in Forbes HERE