Posts tagged Codefi
War over Money reaches new heights, as Libra opts into regulation, China launches national blockchain, and Financial Stability Board raises alarm
War over Money reaches new heights, as Libra opts into regulation, China launches national blockchain, and Financial Stability Board raises alarm

This week, we look at cash -- blockchain cash. The war for money is just starting to ramp up, as Facebook Libra explains its new regulated plan, the Chinese national Blockchain Service network goes live, Ethereum stablecoins reach historic market caps in the billions, and the Financial Stability Board recommends to go heavy on global stablecoin arrangements. In 2008, Bitcoin threw a rock through the window of the financial skyscraper, and today we are starting to see the cracks. As the US government runs out of $350 billion in small business bail-out money and gets ready to print more, where do you stand?

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stablecoins, covid pandemic, macroeconomics, China, small business, central bank / CBDC, regulation & complianceLex SokolinChina, Libra / Diem, Ethereum, USDT, USDC, Blockchain Services Network, Fabric, Ant Financial, CCP, ConsenSys, Codefi, MetaMask, Infura, Financial Stability Board
Square's Robinhood competitor and Robinhood's Square competitor are rented from API providers, delegating billions
Square's Robinhood competitor and Robinhood's Square competitor are rented from API providers, delegating billions

I look at two mental models explaining why and how financial APIs have led to the creation of billions in enterprise value. The driving news is that Square Cash is competing with Robinhood in free trading, powered by trading API company DriveWealth. Last week, we saw that Chime, Robinhood, and Monzo were powered by payments API company Galileo. Should these enablers be worth the billion-dollar valuations of their clients? Are APIs inevitable technology progress? Or are we just seeing venture financing spilling desperately into a rebundling play to find profitability?

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embedded finance, neobank, digital investingLex SokolinTink, Codefi, Hydrogen Platform, Revolut, OCC, DriveWealth, Galileo, Plaid, The Bancorp, Green Dot, Current, Metropolitan Commercial Bank
Fintech has democratized access to existing financial products, but not changed how they are manufactured
Fintech has democratized access to existing financial products, but not changed how they are manufactured

But nothing feels fundamentally different. Yes, we have some new brands that live on our phones. But when sliced across deposits, volume, or assets under management, the public companies still do the lion's share of the financial work. With open banking, incumbents are likely to win even more, powering Apple's credit card for example. The core reason for this, I think, is that Fintech has democratized access to existing financial products. It has not really changed how those products are manufactured. Only by transforming how things are made and the value chains to deliver them can you build the Google, Netflix, Spotify, or Uber of the next generation.

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crypto, enterprise blockchain, decentralized financeLex SokolinConsenSys, Codefi