Issue #336 November 4th, 2021

Meghan Bobrowsky talks about this new digital space, the “metaverse”: this new virtual world is attracting billions from tech giants like Facebook and Epic Games. Will this new world be the future of human interactions?

Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, speaks with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Technology about how Microsoft is joining the metaverse: at the Microsoft’s Ignite conference the company announced the launch of over 90 new services where the metaverse world will find its place.

Adam Belding, Chief Technology Officer at Calastone, the largest global funds network, talks about the possibilities the funds industry will lose if it will not follow the digital asset revolution. Today, any illiquid asset - even a house - can be tokenized and made liquid thanks to the knowledge of fintech and crypto-related companies. But blocks remain.

Gen Z people are getting closer to FinTech, maybe unconsciously. The gaming industry, that finds in this generation its best target, is developing ever more innovative features and platforms thanks to fintech companies and cryptos, and that’s enough for Gen Z to do their own research on the topic.

Visa makes another big investment. Once again, the payments giant partners with fintech and crypto companies and start-ups to create innovative payments solutions. This time the partnership involves BlockFi and Deserve: the result of this cooperation is a credit card with crypto rewards, which mixes the best features of financial technology and cryptocurrencies.

Another big investment for Bitpanda: after Matthias Bauer-Langgartner and Irina Scarlat, the FinTech company now hires Joshua Barraclough, former global head of fintech and co-head of digital innovation at JPMorgan. It looks like a cooperation between banks and cryptos: a bank executive versed in digital economy and a crypto company that wants to attract more institutional investors. What will the outcome be?

At the Hong Kong FinTech Week Mu Changchun, head of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Institute, pointed out that the digital yuan, known as e-CNY, experienced a surge in transactions. The country hasn’t always had a positive relationship with cryptos, but this digital currency is totally supported by the Chinese bank.

David G.W. Birch quotes Matt Harris and makes an interesting reflection on the revolution that finds in fintech its core. If today cash is less important, we may reach a point when even money will be useless, because our transactions will be made up of assets.

Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, reveals at the Hong Kong FinTech Week conference that Hong Kong’s FPS (Faster Payment System) has surpassed 700,000 transactions a day, after only three years from its launch.

Covid-19 has proved that people react very well to fintech-driven financial solutions. That’s because they are faster and more inclusive than their traditional counterparts, banks. What about the future of these traditional institutions?

American Express keeps an eye on digital solutions, and launches a checking account designed for U.S. SMEs: high-yield, low fees and security are some of the characteristics of this new product.