It was interesting reading as the UK issued its Brexit plan last Thursday. A 98-page white paper outlines the details of what Britain is asking for in leaving the European Union. Most of it is unworkable, but then Brexit itself is likely unworkable. After all, no MPs can agree what they want out of Brexit;…
There’s an argument raging that few have heard. The argument is whether it is the rebirth or death of banks. Many vote for the latter, but the former seems to be winning. Banks are reborn. Ten years since the financial crisis hit, many of the banks that received seismic shocks a decade ago are thriving…
If you didn’t catch the big news of yesterday, it was the first public firing of a robot. In this case, a bank’s chatbot, Amelia. Amelia was launched last year by Swedish bank Nordnet, with the aim of speeding up customer onboarding and improving customer satisfaction. Apparently, she achieved neither and so was sacked for…
I find it quite surprising to see statistics around ICOs, such as the fact that $13.7 billion has been raised by ICOs so far this year alone. $13.7 billion! In what? Well, the 10 biggest ICOs this year are: Telegram: $1.7 billion Dragon: $320 million Huobi: $300 million Bankera: $150.9 million Orbs: $118 million Envion:…
I picked up Bloomberg’s Business Week in the airport lounge at the weekend. It always has interesting reading, but this one stood out because of the front-page cover. Of course, it should have occurred to me that Brexit was a great way to make money, and the article outlines how hedge fund managers made millions…
I haven’t blogged about cryptocurrencies and blockchain for a while, as it’s been a bit too much for a while. There’s massive coverage everywhere, but what’s the reality? The reality is that a lot of this is nascent change. There are young tycoons making millions, whilst naïve bandwagoners are losing millions. From a $20,000 end…
The main blog headlines this week are … MPs battle over blockchain Conservative MP Eddie Hughes has just written a 36-page white paper extolling the benefits of blockchain for Britain, which was published yesterday Unlocking Blockchain: Embracing new technologies to drive efficiency and empower the citizen, by FREER. FREER is a major new initiative from…
Whilst in New Zealand, I had an interview with the country’s most respected business paper: National Business Review. The subsequent article is behind a paywall but, as they sent it across to me, I feel it’s worth sharing here. The battles for the future of fintech The future of financial services will be decided in…
Conservative MP Eddie Hughes has just written a 36-page white paper extolling the benefits of blockchain for Britain, which was published yesterday Unlocking Blockchain: Embracing new technologies to drive efficiency and empower the citizen, by FREER. FREER is a major new initiative from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA, a UK think-tank dating back to…
