LBRY, a blockchain-based file sharing and payment network, has been the subject of a yearslong case by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The government body claims that LBRY’s token, LBC, is a security.
Read MoreReal-time payments provider ACI Worldwide announced these new digital payments options for U.S. federal taxpayers, not for state filings. ACI is the first platform to offer tax payments through Venmo.
Read MoreToday, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The order calls for a holistic approach to crypto across government branches, while also protecting consumers, minimizing volatility, safeguarding national security, and expanding financial inclusion efforts.
Read MoreAgrotoken, an Argentinian startup tokenizing grain by the ton through cryptocurrency, announced that its soy-, corn- and wheat-backed coins will be accepted as collateral by Santander. Agrotoken has also launched a 1,000-farmer test with Santander.
Read MoreMore than 17 million Americans were the victims of fraud on digital wallets or peer-to-peer payment apps in 2020. A large proportion of these crimes took place on Zelle, according to the New York Times.
Read MoreBinance announced this morning that it would launch Bifinity, a payments technology company and fiat-to-crypto payments provider. Bifinity will partner with payments platform Paysafe as well as Checkout.com to scale its operations.
Read MoreOn Saturday, Visa and Mastercard announced that they had suspended network operations in Russia, which prevents cards issued in Russia from working abroad, and disables cards within Russia that were issued outside the country. Amex and PayPal have enacted similar measures.
Read MoreThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into fractional NFTs, in which assets are broken down into tradable pieces. Such NFTs may qualify as securities under the Howey test; investors fund these NFTs with the intention of making a profit.
Read MoreOn Monday, machine-learning solutions provider Stratyfy released UnBias, which helps financial institutions discover and undo bias in their systems. UnBias will be available as a standalone offering.
Read MoreIn an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, the coffee chain’s executives said they would invest in expanding customer use of the Dutch Rewards app. Between 20% and 25% of rewards transactions include stored-value activity, according to the company’s CFO.
Read MoreOn Monday, Equifax started adding “pay-in-four” installment loans to its credit reports. Experian and TransUnion said they would roll out similar developments this year as well.
Read MoreIn 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 MoreVisa and Mastercard have blocked several Russian financial institutions from its payments systems. A run on Russian banks has begun.
Read MoreIn 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 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.
