In a joint statement on Saturday, the U.S., U.K., E.U., and others announced that they would move to exclude “selected Russian banks” from SWIFT, the international payments system. The group of countries has also frozen assets belonging to Russia’s central bank in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read MoreMykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, called on crypto exchanges to block Russian and Belarusian accounts following the invasion of Ukraine. Exchanges like Kraken and Binance pushed back at the demand.
Read MoreThe National Bank of Ukraine imposed several temporary restrictions to avoid economic panic and collapse. The PFTS Stock Exchange also suspended trading on Thursday.
Read MoreHours into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania encouraged “disengaging Russia from SWIFT,” the international payments system. Polish and UK officials echoed these calls as well.
Read MoreFinancial regulators told banks that they must prove that the use of AI in loan applications does not discriminate against minorities. The move follows growing concerns over systeming racism in banking.
Read MoreIn a settlement with regulators, BlockFi agreed to register with the SEC and pay $100M in federal and state fines. It plans to launch an SEC-approved crypto interest-bearing security.
Read MoreIndia’s state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) announced yesterday that it would sell 5% of its shares to raise $8B. If approved, it would be the largest IPO in the country’s history.
Read MoreRegulators in the U.S. and U.K. have voiced greater interest in reigning in BNPL providers. Consumer rights groups warn that consumers do not realize that they’re assuming debt through these services.
Read MoreForbes announced this morning that Binance is buying a $200M stake in the publication. Binance previously sued Forbes for defamation, and then voluntarily dropped the suit.
Read MoreState representative Jason Powell introduced a bill to Tennessee’s state legislature that, if passed, would allow the state to invest in crypto and NFTs. It would do so by amending the state government’s list of “permissible investments.”
Read MoreThrough public-private partnerships, conferences, and communities, the state has encouraged cross-pollination between academic institutions, investor communities, regulators, and regional talent pools. Last year, Massachusetts saw a record-breaking $3.1B raised in fintech venture funding.
Read MoreAfrican startups raised between $4.3B and $5.2B in 2021. Between 53% and 62% of that funding went to fintech.
Read MoreThe London-based crypto payments platform has officially launched in the U.S. Wirex was the first to let customers make payments through prepaid Visa debit cards that are linked to crypto wallets.
Read MoreClimate fintech funding rose to $1.2B in 2021, according to CommerzVentures. Carbon accounting attracted the most funding, raking in $410M last year.
Read MoreAs much as early-stage fintech startups benefit from free, early access to data, data providers and financial institutions can benefit from offering it. It’s a symbiotic relationship that helps each party and ultimately advances the entire financial services industry in the process.
Read MoreThe Financial Revolutionist is weekly newsletter and blog focused on the torrid pace of financial innovation. Today, thanks to the exponential rate of technological change, explosion in global trade and new regulations ushered in by the Great Financial Crisis, a new financial revolution is under way. In this battle, virtually every aspect of the greater financial services sector is subject to rigorous challenge. With the Financial Revolutionist, we are aspiring to create a boots-on-the-ground and highly opinionated assessment of important financial innovation developments in the past week.
