Fintech Focus For August 11, 2021

Quote To Start The Day: “Digital Assets are here to stay. Enabled by distributed ledger technologies, digital assets including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins as well as tokenized form of other assets will be an important part of the financial ecosystem."

Source: Mike Demissie

One Big Thing In Fintech: Global markets are volatile due in part to changing market structure and fundamental drivers like the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Typically, risk-off assets like cash, are the go-to during uncertain times, but with recent improvements in technology and regulation, alternative investments have witnessed a boon.

Alongside this movement to alternative assets, Ark7, a tool to buy shares of hard assets like real estate, launched an investment platform.

As part of the development, Ark7’s cofounder and CEO Andy Zhao spoke with Benzinga.

Source: Benzinga

Other Key Fintech Developments:

• DQIFI introduces a product suite.
• Ex-SEC director leaves Coinbase.
• DuniaPay looking to stablecoins.
• Plastiq looks to cut merchant fee.
• MX named to Forbes Cloud 100.
• Synctera signed on new partners.
• Rapyd plans to enable PromptPay.
• UBS joins a fintech repo platform.
• BUSTA added GameFi platform.
• LedgerEdge taps Eventus for DLT.
• Sensibill, CAARY partner on tech.
• Robinhood adds Say for $140M.
• Teller Finance is migrating NFTs.
• Blaze and Spence Labs partner.
• Biconomy adds transaction tech.
• Pintu adds $35M in new funding.
• Sable tapped Wise for payments.

Watch Out For This: ​​On August 10, the Senate passed H.R. 3684, a landmark infrastructure package months in the making that in its final steps became a flashpoint over cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.

The language that now passed would identify anyone who provides "any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person" as a broker for the purposes of IRS reporting. The crypto industry immediately voiced concerns that beyond the target cryptocurrency exchanges, that language would potentially render such parties as miners, stakers, node operators and software developers responsible for reporting tax information of crypto users. That is not technologically feasible.

Source: Block

Interesting Reads:

• Auto loans are easier to come by.
• Roku adds original programming.
• SpaceX to acquire Swarm Tech.
• Bankers want WFH or they quit.
• Pico plans to go public via SPAC.

Market Moving Headline: Impact investing, a rapidly growing segment of sustainable investing, aims to channel money toward companies that have a positive impact on the world in which they operate ― and to deliver outperformance for investors in the process.

Source: BlackRock