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Feb 28 2021

Here’s how the Purpose Bitcoin ETF differs from Grayscale’s GBTC Trust

Since 2017, investors have been anxiously awaiting a Bitcoin ETF approval as the existence of such a fund was an important symbol of mass adoption and acceptance from the realm of traditional finance. 

On Feb. 18, the Toronto Stock Exchange hosted the official launch of the Purpose Bitcoin ETF and the fund quickly absorbed more than $333 million in market capitalization in just two days.

Now that the long-awaited Bitcoin ETF is here, investors are curious about how it will compete with Grayscale Investments GBTC fund. On Feb. 17, Ark Investment Management founder and CEO Cathie Wood said the likelihood that U.S. regulators will approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has gone up.

Although exchange-traded funds (ETF) and exchange-traded notes (ETN) sound quite similar, there are fundamental differences in trading, risks, and taxation.

What is an exchange-traded fund?

An ETF is a security type that holds underlying investments such as commodities, stocks, or bonds. It often resembles a mutual fund, as it is pooled and managed by its issuer.

ETFs have become a $7.7 trillion industry, growing by 65% in the last two years alone.

The most recognizable example is the SPY, a fund that tracks the S&P 500 index, currently managed by State Street. Invesco’s QQQ is another EFT that tracks U.S.-based large-capitalization technology companies.

More exotic structures are available, such as the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ($SCO). Using derivatives products, this fund aims to offer two times the daily short leverage on oil prices.

What is an exchange-traded note?

Exchange-traded notes (ETN) are similar to an ETF in that trading occurs using traditional brokers. Still, the difference is an ETN is a debt instrument issued by a financial institution. Even if the fund has a redemption program, the credit risk relies entirely on its issuer.

For example, after Lehman Brothers imploded in 2008, it took ETN investors more than a decade to recoup the investment.

On the other hand, buying an ETF gives one direct ownership of its contents, creating different taxation events when holding futures contracts and leveraging positions. Meanwhile, ETNs are taxed exclusively upon sale.

GBTC does not offer conversion or redemption

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust Fund (GBTC) is the absolute leader in the cryptocurrency market, with $35 billion in assets under management.

Investment trusts are structured as companies — at least in regulatory form — and are ‘closed-end funds.’ Thus, the number of shares available is limited and the supply and demand for them largely determines their price.

Investment trust funds are regulated by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), therefore outside the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authority.

GBTC shares cannot easily be created, neither is there an active redemption program in place. This tends to generate significant price discrepancies from its Net Asset Value, which is the underlying BTC fraction represented.

An ETF, on the other hand, allows the market maker to create and redeem shares at will. Therefore, a premium or discount is usually unlikely if enough liquidity is in place.

An ETF instrument is far more acceptable to mutual fund managers and pension funds as it carries much less risk than a closed-ended trust like GBTC. Retail investors may not have been aware of the possibility that GBTC trades below net assets value. Thus the recent event might further pressure investors to move their position to the Canadian ETF.

To sum up, an ETF product carries a significantly less risk due to greater transparency and the possibility to redeem shares in the case of shares trading at a discount.

Nevertheless, the impressive GBTC market capitalization clearly states that institutional investors are already on board.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Here’s how the Purpose Bitcoin ETF differs from Grayscale’s GBTC Trust

Source

Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: 2017, Adoption, ARK, Billion in Assets, bitcoin, bitcoin etf, Bitcoin Price, Bonds, btc, ceo, Commodities, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Currency, debt, Derivatives, ETF, ETNs, Event, events, exchange, finance, founder, fund, Futures, Grayscale, html, index, institutional investors, investment, Investment Management, Investments, market, market capitalization, markets, more, note, occ, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Oil, opinions, other, pension funds, product, Products, research, retail, retail investors, risk, S&P, S&P 500 INDEX, said, SEC, securities, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), security, shares, stock, Stocks, Technology, Toronto, trading, Trading101, Trust Fund, u.s., Yahoo

Feb 27 2021

Fintech Blend Explains how its Digital Lending Platform Supports Data Connectivity so Borrowers can Connect to Asset, Payroll, Tax Accounts

San Francisco-based Blend, which claims to offer market-leading digital lending technology that makes the process of acquiring a loan simpler, faster, and safer, notes that in the increasingly competitive lending sector, it’s now more important than ever to work with technology that provides your clients the best user experience (UX) possible.

According to Blend, an “obvious” choice may be a “targeted point solution” — they are often marketed as offering services that are “specialized” for the mortgage sector. However, when you are trying to piece together “fragmented” experiences across multiple point solutions, you’re probably failing to offer the “seamless, end-to-end process” that consumers have started to expect from service providers, Blend noted.

Blend recommends that lenders may look for a tool that “goes beyond the basics” — one that is capable of growing with their organization, can offer flexibility, improve continuously, while supporting “long-term agility.” The Blend team writes in a blog post that if you’re looking to “maximize the positive effects of transformative technology for customers now while setting up your organization for a successful future, a unified mortgage lending solution can offer the right capabilities.”

Blend points out that “consistency” and “continuity” are essential to “the success” of a mortgage lending product or solution. They also mentioned that with a more cohesive platform, your team and clients may “rely on a dependable, streamlined journey instead of a disjointed experience across multiple systems.” As noted by Blend, a unified platform “integrates easily across existing technology stacks, offers a holistic view of customer touchpoints, and streamlines document collection into one hub.”

The Blend team added:

“With Blend’s Digital Lending Platform, applicants can complete conditions by connecting their financial accounts, utilizing mobile document upload, and providing signatures through e-sign tools. Through one portal, we provide a sense of stability and security by delivering a seamless experience across the board.”

Blend claims that no matter how “impressive” or “efficient” your mortgage lending platform might be, your actual results will be “hindered by an application experience that fails to meet customer needs — a fantastic back-end won’t have any impact if borrowers don’t complete the application, after all.”

While commenting on how to offer the “best” application experiences, Blend notes that their product specialists recommend the following:

  • Conversational interfaces with “clear, easy to understand guidance and language”;
  • Embedded data connections that “provide applicants with easy access to their information, speeding up the application process and minimizing manual data entry”;
  • User-centered design with “answers to common questions built into the process”;
  • Intelligent metrics that “gather insights into how consumers interact with the application, so lending teams can focus on continual improvement”;
  • Rapid document requests “to help accelerate the loan cycle”;
  • Omnichannel services that “meet consumers where they are and allow loan teams to seamlessly start applications over the phone, in person, or send a link to borrowers to complete on their preferred device”

The Blend team further noted that loan officers, processors, and underwriters may get “weighed down by manual work.” When mortgage lending solutions are able to leverage automation to provide greater efficiency for lending teams, “time opens up to handle more loans and focus on building customer relationships,” Blend explained.

The Fintech firm also mentioned:

“Blend’s Digital Lending Platform features data connectivity, which allows borrowers to connect to their asset, payroll, and tax accounts. When applications are completed, our platform helps identify any potential red flags to surface issues and reduce manual downstream work. Blend’s intelligent automation prompts the borrower with questions for further explanation and can create a gift letter template to quickly review, edit, and sign — all within the same process and portal.”

Blend also mentioned that strong insights are “the foundation for building a strong strategy and positioning your financial institution well for any market condition.” By using analytics and reporting tools, lenders are able to identify “process bottlenecks” and “team inefficiencies” well before they can “negatively impact the bottom line.”

When selecting a reporting tool, Blend suggests looking at the reporting dashboard to quickly check “high-level insights and metrics within a helpful hub.”

They also suggest looking at interactive reports to “track trends over time with pre-built data visualizations.” Additionally, you may check out generated reports “when you need a finer-tuned analysis with tailored information incorporated, this feature allows you to create and download customizable reports.”

You may also view the reporting API to “achieve even deeper customization with an API that enables your team to securely import data into your tool of choice.”

Blend concludes:

“Our full Mortgage Suite can help you deliver a seamless digital mortgage experience through a single platform — powered by automated verification and workflows, a seamless application experience, and the reporting tools your organization needs to thrive.”

As covered, Blend has also explained how relationship banking can be “reframed” for an “increasingly digital” environment following the COVID outbreak.

Source

Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: analysis, api, automation, Banking, blend, blog, connectivity, data, data visualizations, Design, digital, digital lending, end-to-end, Environment, fintech, Future, information, lending, LINE, market, Mobile, more, mortgage, Mortgages, online lending, outbreak, payroll, product, red, San Francisco, security, Strategy, tax, Teams, Technology, United States, us, user experience, ux, verification, view, work

Feb 26 2021

Southeast Asian Fintech Grab to Create 350 New Jobs in Singapore during 2021 to Support Business Growth and Development Plans

Southeast Asian Fintech firm Grab has revealed that it will be creating about 350 new jobs in Singapore during 2021 in order to support its ongoing growth and development plans.

These new roles and requirements aim to support the Fintech company’s expansion of products and services to support the digitalization of micro SMEs and also the delivery of digital financial services across the Southeast Asia region. Grab is also committed to the development of the “digibank” which will reportedly be led by a Grab-Singtel consortium.

Grab’s announcement to hire more workers has come at a time when the company has signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG).

Per the terms of the MOI, Grab will be working cooperatively with IMDA and DISG to grow its main line of products and also its engineering teams’ capabilities via the support of talent development programs like the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA).

These programs are designed to enhance the technical skills of experienced professionals and offer practical, hands-on training to those who are interested in exploring different roles in the technology industry.

Some of these new hires will be specialists focused on AI, cybersecurity, data science, software development, and product management and design.

Grab stated that it will also be providing various employment opportunities in key areas like finance, operations, legal, public affairs and business development.

Tan Hooi-Ling, Co-founder, Grab, stated:

“As a Singapore-based tech company, Grab fully supports the development of the tech ecosystem here. We are building products that positively impact millions across Southeast Asia, and we want to continue deepening our R&D capabilities and push the boundaries of innovation, right here at our strategic base. This is only possible with the support of Grabbers across different business functions, who are continually learning and adapting to new technologies and customers’ requirements.”

Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive, IMDA, noted that in order to secure its digital future, Singapore “must be the place where companies choose to build unique digital products that cater for global markets.” Hong also mentioned that this is “the only way that Singapore can sustainably capture value and differentiate ourselves in the digital economy.”

He added:

“We are pleased to partner Grab, to strengthen Singapore’s tech ecosystem in these two key areas – to build our local talent in product development, and grow Singapore as the base for high-end R&D in tech.”

Source

Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: 2021, accelerator, AI, AIM, Asia, business, Co-founder, company, cybersecurity, data, data science, Design, digital, digital financial services, economy, employment, Engineering, expansion, finance, financial services, fintech, Future, General News, Global, grab, grab financial services, imda, innovation, Jobs, legal, lew chuen hong, LINE, linkedin, markets, Media, more, new hires, product, Products, science, Singapore, Software, Southeast Asia, tan hooi ling, tech, Technology

Feb 26 2021

Blockchain and crypto will challenge current finance, Nigeria VP says

Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, delivered a speech at an economic summit on Friday in which he spoke positively of crypto and blockchain. 

“There is no question that blockchain technology generally, and cryptocurrencies in particular, will in the coming years, challenge traditional banking, including reserve banking, in ways that we cannot yet imagine,” Osinbajo said on Friday during the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, Bankers’ Committee Economic Summit. “We need to be prepared for that seismic shift, and it may come sooner than later,” he said.

The Nigerian vice president also noted the broadness of the crypto industry, mentioning decentralized finance, or DeFi, in the mix. “Decentralized finance, using smart contracts to create financial instruments, in place of central financial intermediaries, such as banks or brokerages, is set to challenge traditional finance,” he said. 

Osinbajo’s speech, which included a number of other points, is posted on his YouTube channel. The Nigerian vice president also tweeted out a video clip highlighting of some of his crypto comments from his talk.

“The point I’m making, is that some of the exciting developments we see call for prudence and care in adopting them and these have been very well-articulated by our regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:

“But we must act with knowledge and not with fear. We must ensure that we are in a position to benefit and in a position to prevent any of the adverse side effects, or any of the possible, even criminal, acts that may arise in consequence of adopting or taking any of these options.”

The comments come in contrast to recent developments in Nigeria. Earlier in February, Nigeria forbade banking interactions with crypto exchanges, as per a ruling from its central bank. The CBN’s governor also called crypto assets illegitimate. Bitcoin recently traded at a significant premium in the region.

Blockchain and crypto will challenge current finance, Nigeria VP says

Source

Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: Bank, Banking, Banks, bitcoin, blockchain, Central Bank, crypto, cryptocurrencies, decentralized, decentralized finance, defi, Exchanges, finance, government, nigeria, other, president, said, smart contracts, Technology, video, vp, youtube

Feb 25 2021

Philippines based Moneybees, an OTC Cryptocurrency Service, Launches New Outlets to Support Local Bitcoin, Ethereum Transactions

Moneybees, which claims to be the very first over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency service in the Philippines, has announced that it’s launching three new outlets this month.

The outlets are being opened to accommodate the growing demand for OTC transactions among Filipino cryptocurrency traders and investors, according to a release shared with Crowdfund Insider.

The update revealed that the large volume of crypto transactions has come at a time when the Bitcoin (BTC) and larger digital asset market continues to set all-time highs.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $50,000 at the time of writing, after briefly surging as high as $58,000. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and in terms of adoption, is currently trading at just over $1,600 after briefly crossing the $2,000 mark.

The present crypto market bull run has seen hundreds of billions of dollars in capital entering the market within weeks. The BTC market cap had managed to exceed $1 trillion but has now retraced to around $936 billion (at time of writing). Ethereum market cap presently stands at around $186 billion (and had surpassed $200 billion recently).

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno had noted late last year that the institution had recorded 59 billion worth of digital currency transactions during H1 2020 (in the Philippines).

Moneybees is focused on banking the crypto industry by teaming with money changers such as Tivoli Money Exchange, an institutional money changer service that was founded in 1983.

Moneybees is now able to serve more clients who need to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies via  Tivoli’s Trinoma, Glorietta, and Okada branches.

As mentioned in the update:

“This partnership with Tivoli brings a total of 7 outlets for Moneybees where their customers can cash out their trading gains from exchanges that don’t have peso cashouts like Binance, Bittrex, Bitstamp, etc. Users can transact as high as P5,000,000 in one day.”

Paulo Del Puerto, CEO of Moneybees, noted that “the partnership with Tivoli is a great step for us to fulfill our mission of making crypto more accessible in the Philippines by providing a familiar and secure way of buying and selling crypto via OTC.”

Launched in 2017, Moneybees is now an established cryptocurrency over-the-counter service in the Philippines. The company aims to make the exchange between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies a lot more accessible. It offers the technology to local money changer businesses with physical outlets so they are able to carry out digital currency transactions at their shops, without having to deal with the risk of excessive market volatility.

Moneybees reportedly supports nearly all crypto users who are using Binance, Bitmex and other exchange services.

Paulo Del Puerto added:

“With the rising demand for cryptocurrency trading and investment, we aim to facilitate 2 Billion pesos worth of transaction volume in 2021. To serve more customers, we’re also looking at opening more outlets in malls around the Philippines and partner with major market players in the remittance and money exchange industry. We target to open 100 outlets by the end of the year.”

Moneybees is “duly registered” with the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and with the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as “a Remittance Agent with Virtual Currency Exchange (VCE) service.”

Moneybees confirmed that it only works with government-licensed or approved remittance centers and money changers in order to facilitate financial transactions. The company plans to further expand its services nationwide by working with even more outlets in major cities in the country.

(Note: to view the list of locations of Moneybees outlets, you can check here.)

Source

Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: 2017, 2020, 2021, Adoption, AIM, Asia, Banking, Binance, bitcoin, BITMEX, bitstamp, bittrex, Blockchain & Digital Assets, btc, Businesses, Cash, ceo, Cities, company, crypto, crypto trading, Crypto Transactions, crypto-assets, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Currencies, Currency, digital, digital asset, digital assets, digital currency, ETH, ethereum, exchange, Exchanges, financial transactions, gains, investment, market, money, Money Laundering, moneybees, more, note, otc, other, over-the-counter, partnership, paulo del puerto, Philippines, risk, Southeast Asia, step, target, Technology, the philippines, tivoli money exchange, trading, transaction, Transactions, us, view, virtual currency

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