Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Crypto

Why I bought a Watford FC shirt, when I’m a Spurs fan [bitcoin]

A while ago, I spotted that Watford was sponsored by Bitcoin. They must have made a mint out of that and will be buying up Harry Kane soon, if he’s not already gone somewhere else. Nevertheless, I wanted their shirt. In fifty years, who knows what a football team shirt, sponsored by Bitcoin, would fetch…

Blockchain-inspired risk management to create true trust in Fintech

The core of money is risk. When someone pays you, can you trust that payment is true? If you let them take away your car or computer, can you be certain that the money they offered is real? More than this, in banking, most of what takes place is the bank providing credit. Can they…

FinTech4kids, Part 5, Biometrics and Identity

When I wrote the Captain Cake series and pivoted to be a children’s author as well as a FinTech guy, a friend said that I should write a children’s book about FinTech, which I did. It’s not something aimed at publication as a book, but thought I would share with you what I came up…

FinTech4kids, Part 4, Remittances and Blockchain

When I wrote the Captain Cake series and pivoted to be a children’s author as well as a FinTech guy, a friend said that I should write a children’s book about FinTech, which I did. It’s not something aimed at publication as a book, but thought I would share with you what I came up…

Who do you believe in: the state or the network?

I find so many similarities between what’s happening with COVID and what’s happening with cryptocurrencies. Why? It’s all to do with how they’re regulated. I don’t know about your country, but I’m in between two countries: the UK and Poland. After recently visiting the UK, where COVID rules are so confusing you have no idea…

Banks are becoming bitcoin banks whether they like it or not

For the last more than a decade, all I’ve ever heard bankers say is that bitcoin is a scam, a Ponzi scheme, purely useful for money launderers, paedophiles and terrorists. So, why are banks now offering bitcoin services? For me, this is one of the biggest questions, but the answer is obvious: because customers want…

What currency will you be using in 2121?

Having watched the emergence of cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for a decade, I have made a firm view. Most of the people involved in this space are deluded and naïve; most of the people involved in this space don’t understand the system or how things work in the world; and,…

What’s going on with Elon? [@elonmusk]

UPFRONT STATEMENT: I have crypto, but treat it as an experiment I attended an event in 2016 where Elon Musk was the star speaker. It was a good event, and he made sense. He doesn’t make sense anymore. Back then, I wondered if he was the 21st century’s real-life Tony Stark creating life on Mars…

Value is purely what you believe in

I am taken aback by the rise of ETH, BTC, DOGE and other currencies. What’s going on? Well, some of it is related to hype, notably Elon Musk; some to loss of confidence in fiat currencies, as governments failed during the crisis; some is related to the fact that banks are now jumping on the…

We are witnessing a major change – did you notice?

I don’t know how your life has changed in the last year, but I realised how much mine had when I woke up this morning and thought must go and buy dog food. A year ago, I didn’t have a dog and my first thought would have been I must get to the airport to…