Tech
Large financial institutions are adopting cryptocurrencies and blockchain: what does the technology offer SMEs?
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On June 15, BlackRock announced that it had done so filed an application with the SEC for a spot bitcoin ETF, followed shortly by a deposit from Fidelity. Both companies’ statements include the use of crypto exchanges for market surveillance. Bloomberg estimates that 30 applications for spot bitcoin ETFs have been submitted to date, and with Blackrock’s record losing streak of 575-1 on ETF proposals, the suspense is killing people more than a Netflix thriller.
EDX Markets, a new cryptocurrency exchange supported by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, launched in the US last week after developing its technology over the past nine months. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Powell noted last week that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, have “resistance capacity,” a timely statement, as bitcoin once again proves popular in the market as a hedge against uncertainty and reaches the $30,000 mark first reached in January 2021.
On May 9, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Deloitte and more than 30 companies announced the Cantonal Network, a new global blockchain network of networks for financial market participants and institutional assets. The Network is the financial services industry’s first interoperable privacy-enabled blockchain network designed for institutions focused on tokenizing real-world assets using DAML from Digital Asset, a member of the Network and the technology provider for the Network.
The big financial institutions are coming, and with the West Coast in tatters following the sensational collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on the heels of the sensational collapse of FTX, sparking a wave of corporate bankruptcies, the big financial institutions appear to be arriving at speed.
PMI: low optimism
THE Small business optimism index hit a Minimum 10 years in April as the recession looms, which is helping to drive technological solutions to power this core segment of the economy.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) represent a huge segment of the U.S. economy, contributing 44% of GDP and half of the approximately $370 billion in overall technology spending. SMBs are businesses with fewer than 1,000 full-time equivalent employees and account for nearly half of employment in the United States
SMEs are facing a serious new generational challenge in obtaining financing, with the US Federal Reserve having steadily raised interest rates for over a year now. In May, rates reached their highest level in 16 years exceeding 5%. for the first time since 2007, and are expected to rise another 25 basis points this month as part of the Fed’s fight to rein in soaring inflation and effect of the “fiscal stimulus” or excessive money printing during COVID-19.
The US economy was modeled after this model interest rates close to zero for a generation. Cheap money has also been the fuel for rampant early-stage digital startups, and higher inflation is making digital innovation a game for those with much deeper pockets. High inflation threatens SMEs some reports that small business bankruptcies are on the rise, victims of the credit crunch.
Regulatory uncertainty in cryptocurrency markets is increasing the costs of doing business in the United States as the SEC continues litigation against major players, including Coinbase and Binance. Europe, Dubai and Hong Kong have launched new regulations on cryptoassets and the UK has legislated a historic and epic Financial Services and Markets Bill with provisions for cryptoassets.
Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets outside the United States are rapidly moving into the next chapter, from a theater of innovation to an engine of economic growth. During this turmoil, there are a couple of areas in the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets that SMEs would be wise to do their homework on: the increasingly mature crypto payments space and the emerging tokenized financing space.
SMEs: cryptocurrencies and payments
Blockchain payments are a good place to start as smaller companies often incur disproportionately high fees and operational costs. THE increase in credit card swiping feesthey represent the third highest expense for SMEs and, combined with rising interest rates and credit costs, this puts smaller businesses in a vicious cycle.
In 2020, PayPal has launched a service to enable users and merchants to make low-cost crypto transactions. Recently, the company filed its own quarterly report to the SEC, disclosing its cryptocurrency holdings. The Fintech giant had cryptocurrencies and related assets worth $943 million as of the first quarter of 2023, marking a 56% increase in the company’s holdings compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 when it had $604 million.
Stablecoins like Circle’s USDC provide businesses with a way to avoid market-driven cryptocurrency volatility. Converting from stablecoin to fiat is also simple nowadays as platforms like Coinbase offer free USDC-USD outboard Services.
Layer-2 platforms, such as Polygon, are further improving participation by enabling faster transactions with reduced processing times. This is a key feature for financial firms like Franklin Templeton and Hamilton Lane, which he joined the network recently. Likewise, other Web3 solutions like Uniswap’s Permit2 are minimizing gas fees for end users. Together, faster transactions and lower fees provide the scalability SMB projects need.
Emerging solutions are also enriching the onboarding experience for smaller companies that pose challenges due to prohibitive costs and complicated KYC procedures. Robinhood, the popular trading platform with 23 million funded accounts and 15.9 million active users, recently launched Connect. It allows existing customers to convert fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies at a minimal cost and without additional or new KYC.
“By educating and encouraging small businesses to use blockchain technology, we can help improve their operations and how they interact with consumers and their communities. We hope that blockchain technology can help SMEs reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve security. As more and more small businesses adopt blockchain technology, it will become increasingly important to offer tools that offer a simple and familiar user experience,” says Moira Noiseux, CEO of CornerMarket, a Web3 app focused on working with small businesses to introduce the many benefits of blockchain technology.
Metis, a Layer-2 solution, aims to help startups and small businesses adopt blockchain. It offers a user-friendly, no-code environment for SMBs to achieve uninterrupted security, unlimited scalability, and unlimited profitability. Additionally, platforms such as Metis and CornerMarket support various assets, including stablecoins, which provide smaller companies with a viable alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, see high transaction costs due to network congestion.
SMEs: tokenization, financing and beyond
Larry Fink of BlackRock it came out forcefully advocate tokenization as “the next generation for markets.” BlackRock estimates that tokenization of private market assets will open markets worth $290 trillion. Boston Consulting Group predicts that approximately $16 trillion in assets, most of them illiquid, will be tokenized by 2030.
SMBs are a big area of interest as markets look to tokenize direct investments, secondary investments, real assets, credit and venture/growth segments, bringing private market companies onto digital platforms that offer greater transparency for price discovery, underwriting, trading and financing. Ultimately, SMEs get better, cheaper and faster access to liquidity and investors get (better) access to a whole new world of investments.
tZERO, Securitize and Polymath are market leaders in this space, to name a few. These platforms transform private market securities through the use of smart contracts on the blockchain and create digital stocks that can be traded on alternative trading systems (ATS). In April, INX launched the Greenbriar tokenbecoming the latest platform to convert traditional shares of a public company into fully regulated tokenized securities.
Apple’s GarageBand provided musicians with a platform to record their own music without the need for a studio, producer, engineer, entourage, or the middlemen and costs of the music industry. Whether the musician’s final product is good enough or true to the market is left to the arbiter of discretion, the consumer. A lot of great bands and albums have come out of garages. Many large companies grew out of garages, most notably Apple and Amazon.
The promise of blockchain and decentralized technologies, whether through payments, raising capital, improving supply chains or improving decisions through improved data, is that they are designed to put control in the hands of the user, in this case the SME, and reduce dependence on traditional intermediaries and friction points while reducing costs through greater digital efficiency – this is the heart of the Web3 vision.
If SMBs can be enabled with real use cases of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, we will have initiated the 21st century economic transformation of Main Street and Wall Street.
Tech
Hollywood.ai by FAME King Sheeraz Hasan Promulgates a Complete Ecosystem that Unites Web3, Cryptography, AI and Entertainment for Spectacular Global Tech Innovation
The one and only FAME King Sheeraz Hasan is launching Hollywood.ai, a revolutionary platform designed to integrate the cutting-edge realms of Web3, cryptocurrency, AI, finance and entertainment. This revolutionary initiative is set to create a seamless, interactive and intuitive ecosystem where the world’s leading technology luminaries can collaborate on innovations, ultimately redefining the future of digital interaction.
Hollywood.ai represents the convergence of the most complex technologies of all time. Fusing Web3 principles, cryptocurrency utilities, AI advances, and financial machinery, Sheeraz’s platform aims to become the nucleus for innovation and modernization. It provides a high-tech environment where technology and creativity collide harmoniously, paving the way for new paths in the digital economy.
A defining feature of Hollywood.ai is the integration of cryptocurrency into the AI ecosystem, transforming AI into a tokenized asset with full cryptographic utility. Sheeraz’s novel approach presents new avenues to leverage the myriad capabilities of AI in the financial realm, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for developers and users alike. Through the amalgamation of AI and cryptocurrency, Hollywood.ai is paving the way for an incredibly interconnected digital space unlike anything seen before.
The platform’s design emphasizes the undeniable symbiosis between various technology sectors. Under Sheeraz’s careful orchestration, Web3 technologies facilitate decentralized collaboration, while AI tools offer enhanced potential for data analytics, content creation, and audience engagement. Additionally, the inclusion of financial innovations ensures rapid mobility of both monetization and investments, providing a holistic environment that meets the ever-evolving demands of the technology and entertainment segments.
Sheeraz’s Hollywood.ai is poised to become the premier hub for industry leaders, developers, and creators to support and empower the next generation of digital experiences. This initiative aspires to drive the emergence of new tools, applications, and services that set new standards for advanced engagement and interaction.
Known for making the impossible possible, Sheeraz envisions a future where global audiences actively participate in designing the next A-list stars from scratch. Hollywood.ai will allow users to watch their creations evolve from simple concepts to 3D talents that can act, sing and perform just like human actors.
The Hollywood.ai platform leverages AI technology to deliver personalized fan engagement, real-time sentiment analysis, and informed content creation. By combining cutting-edge AI capabilities with Sheeraz’s deep understanding of celebrity branding, Hollywood.ai gains immense control over public figures.
Undeniably, FAME’s number one strategist Sheeraz Hasan continues to cement his reputation as a pioneer in the fields of FAME and technology. The power and influence of this latest development brings him closer to total world domination.
Tech
Online Broker Futu Offers Cryptocurrency Trading in Hong Kong, With Nvidia and Alibaba Stock as Rewards
Futu Securities International, Hong Kong’s largest online broker, has launched retail cryptocurrency trading in the city, offering shares of Alibaba Holding Group AND Nvidia as a reward in an attempt to attract investors. Futu has begun allowing Hong Kong residents to trade Bitcoin and ether, the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies, directly on the brokerage platform using Hong Kong or U.S. dollars, the company announced Thursday.
The online retail broker said last month that it had received an upgrade to its securities license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), allowing Futu to offer virtual asset trading services to both professional and retail clients in the city.
Futu’s move comes as Hong Kong seeks to boost its attractiveness as a business hub for virtual assets, with the city government launching a series of new cryptocurrency policy initiatives over the past two years, including a mandatory licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges.
In addition to offering cryptocurrency trading on its flagship brokerage app, Futu is also seeking a cryptocurrency trading license for its new PantherTrade platform. That platform is among 11 in Hong Kong that are currently “deemed licensed” for cryptocurrency trading, an arrangement that allows them to operate in the city while they await full approval from the SFC.
Hong Kong’s progress in becoming a crypto hub has encountered various challenges, including exit of the major global platforms and relatively low trading activity for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds offered on local stock exchanges.
Futu is now offering a series of incentives to potential investors, amid a cryptocurrency bull market that has seen the price of bitcoin rise 45 percent this year.
Hong Kong investors who open accounts in August and deposit HK$10,000 (US$1,280) over the next 60 days can receive HK$600 worth of bitcoin, a HK$400 supermarket voucher or a single Chinese stock. e-commerce giant Alibaba. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
By holding 80,000 U.S. dollars for the same period, users can get 1,000 Hong Kong dollars in bitcoin or a share of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chip maker Nvidia, whose shares have risen more than 140 percent this year.
A Futu representative said the brokerage firm will also waive cryptocurrency trading fees starting Thursday until further notice.
Futu is the first online brokerage in Hong Kong to allow retail investors to buy cryptocurrency directly on its platform. SFC rules require it to offer this service through a tie-up with a licensed cryptocurrency exchange. Futu is partnering with HashKey Exchange, one of only two licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, according to the representative.
Futu’s local rival Tiger Brokers also said in May that it had begun offering cryptocurrency trading services to professional investors on its platform following a license update. The SFC defines professional investors as those with more than HK$8 million in their investment portfolios or corporate entities with assets exceeding HK$40 million.
Tech
Tech Crash: $2.6 Trillion Market Cap Vanishes as ‘Magnificent 7’ Prices Stumble
A group of seven megacap tech stocks, often called the Magnificent 7, have lost more than $2.6 trillion in value over the past 20 days, or an average of $125 billion per day over the period. In total, these stocks have lost “three times the value of the entire Brazilian stock market.”
This according to the economic news agency Letter from Kobeissiwho noted on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Magnificent 7 batch “is worth as much as Nvidia’s entire current market cap in 20 days,” with Nvidia itself having lost $1 trillion from its high.
Source:Letter from Kobeissi on the X
The group, which includes Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, has undergone a significant correction: in the last 20 days Nvidia has lost 23% of its value, or about $800 billion, while Tesla has fallen 19%, losing $164 billion.
Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta all posted losses of between 9% and 15%, losing between $257 billion and $554 billion in market capitalization, wiping out a total of $200 billion more “than every single German stock market tock combined.”
Tech titans, which have outperformed the broader S&P 500 index since the market bottom of 2022, are now facing a reckoning as investors grow increasingly wary about the sustainability of their meteoric rise, with Nvidia taking the lead soaring 110% since the beginning of the year and over 2,300% in the last five years.
Earnings reports from these companies, starting with Microsoft and culminating with Nvidia in late August, will be closely watched for signs of weakness. Their performance could set the tone for broader market sentiment, with implications for everything from cryptocurrency to other high-risk assets.
Their poor performance comes after a leading macroeconomist, Henrik Zeberg, reiterated his forecast of an impending recession that will be preceded by a final wave in key sectors of the market, but which can potentially be the worst the market has seen since 1929the worst bear market in Wall Street history.
In particular, the Hindenburg Omen, a technical indicator designed to identify potential stock market crashes, began flashing just a month after its previous signal, raising concerns about a possible impending stock market downturn.
The indicator compares the percentage of stocks hitting new 52-week highs and lows to a specific threshold. When the number of stocks hitting both extremes exceeds a certain level, the indicator is said to be triggered, suggesting a greater risk of a crash.
Featured Image via Disinfect.
Tech
Trump Fights for Cryptocurrency Vote at Bitcoin Conference
To the Bitcoin Conference 2024 In Nashville, Tennessee, former President Donald Trump delivered a keynote speech.
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, used the platform to appeal to the tech community and solicit donations for the campaign. During the conference, He said:
I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I take the oath of office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-crypto crusade will be over… If we don’t embrace cryptocurrency and Bitcoin technology, China will, other countries will. They will dominate, and we can’t let China dominate. They are making too much progress as it is.
Trump’s speech focused heavily on cryptocurrency policy, positioning it as a partisan issue. He said that if reelected, he would fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, a statement that drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. This statement marked a stark contrast to Gensler’s tenure, which has been characterized by rigorous oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.
The former president outlined several pro-crypto initiatives he would undertake if elected. These include transforming the United States into a global cryptocurrency hub, keeping all government-held Bitcoin as a “national Bitcoin reserve,” establishing a presidential advisory council on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and developing power plants to support cryptocurrency mining, emphasizing the use of fossil fuels.
Trump’s current embrace of cryptocurrencies represents a reversal from his stance in 2021, when described Bitcoin as a “scam against the dollar.” He also noted that his campaign has received $25 million in donations since accepting cryptocurrency payments two months ago.
The event featured other political figures, including Republican Senators Tim Scott and Tommy Tuberville, as well as Democratic Representatives Wiley Nickel and Ro Khanna. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke at the conference.
Trump’s appearance at Bitcoin 2024 reflects growing support for his campaign from some tech leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
While Trump has described the current administration as “anti-crypto,” Democratic Congressman Wiley Nickel said Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a “forward-thinking approach to digital assets and blockchain technology.”
This event underscores the growing political importance of cryptocurrency policy in the upcoming presidential election.
Kamala Harris and Democrats Respond on Cryptocurrencies
In a strategic move to repair strained relations, Vice President Kamala Harris’ team has initiated a dialogue with major cryptocurrency industry players. This outreach aims to restore the Democratic Party’s stance on digital assets and promote a more collaborative approach.
THE Financial Times reports that Harris’s advisors have reached out to representatives from industry leaders like Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple Labs. This move comes as the cryptocurrency community increasingly supports Republican candidate Donald Trump, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with the current administration’s cryptocurrency policies.
THE disclosure follows a letter from Democratic lawmakers and 2024 candidates urging the party to reevaluate its approach to digital assets. Harris’s team stresses that this effort is less about securing campaign contributions and more about engaging in constructive dialogue to develop sensible regulations.
The move is part of a broader strategy to reshape the Democratic Party’s image among business leaders, countering perceptions of an anti-business stance. Harris’ campaign aims to project a “pro-business, responsible business” message.
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