Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Future

When you realise that finance is science

In recent days, I’ve discovered a lot of theorems and ideas in digital areas where, when you integrate finance and technology, you realise that you are living in a world of rocket science thinking. For example, I am spending a lot of time talking with experts about digital identity and trust, as that’s the theme…

Are stablecoins really stable?

An awful lot of what I read these days is about stablecoins. By way of example, my things worth reading daily update is filled with news about them. Just this morning: Some big US banks plan to launch stablecoins, expecting crypto-friendly regulations Central banks face dilemma over rise of dollar-backed stablecoins Could Britain be about…

Where is fintech going?

I went to a conference the other day where the organiser left a load of beer mats with questions about fintech. I picked them up and decided to write my thoughts. Trust you enjoy this …  What was your ‘aha’ moment that led you into fintech? I never really had a moment, as I’ve been…

The billionaires who control your lives, and Elon’s vision for the future

WARNING: THIS BLOG IS POLITICAL I often talk about the tech billionaires who control our lives. Why blog about this today? Well, a few disturbing developments. One is Elon Musk – you probably already know about his issues – thinking of launching a new American political party; but the other, and more intriguing, is an…

The Finanser’s Week: 30th June – 6th July 2025

This week’s main blog discussions include … Designing our next banknotes: Notey McNoteFace? The Bank of England launched a platform yesterday for anyone to suggest who should be on Britain’s next generation of banknotes. Here’s the verbatim: As we begin to design the next series of banknotes, we invite you to share your views on potential…

Designing our next banknotes: Notey McNoteFace?

The Bank of England launched a platform yesterday for anyone to suggest who should be on Britain’s next generation of banknotes. Here’s the verbatim: As we begin to design the next series of banknotes, we invite you to share your views on potential themes. Our banknotes have celebrated notable historical figures since 1970, when William Shakespeare…

Everything you do today will be forgotten tomorrow

“All the work I’ve done in my life will be obsolete in a few years.”  Steve Jobs This statement is pretty fundamental to life as we know it. Everything you do is worth nothing tomorrow. It is only worth something today. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why…

If you’re Wise, London has lost its shine

There are many fintechs I follow closely: Stripe, Adyen, Klarna, Nubank, Ant Group to name just a few. London and the UK in general has been at the centre of all of this, and is home to almost 30 fintech unicorns, with many more rising. The thing is that, as these firms mature, things change….

Jamie Dimon on AI, regulators, leadership and stuff

You may not have spotted it but Jamie Dimon, the CEO and Chair of JPMorgan, who was dressed down in t-shirt and jeans, made a recent appearance at a tech summit on AI organised by Databricks. The 40-minute interview is over here on YouTube, and took the form of a fireside chat with Ali Ghodsi,…

Are you fit to lead your bank if you don’t understand tech?

I would love to walk into a bank’s boardroom with my opening slide explaining: “Step confidently into the future of Web3 with Zond, a quantum-resistant Layer-1 blockchain* engineered to transcend today’s security limitations and safeguard your dApps, from DeFi protocols to NFT marketplaces, while powering the next generation of smart contracts in tomorrow’s digital economy.”…