Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

World Bank issues second tranche of blockchain bond

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD rated Aaa/AAA) has raised an additional A$50 million for its Kangaroo bond due August 2020 - the first bond created, allocated, transferred and managed through its life-cycle using distributed ledger (blockchain) technology.

20 August 2019

News/Blockchain

Binance preps stablecoin project

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled plans to develop stablecoins and digital assets pegged to fiat currencies around the world.

19 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

Fnality makes senior management hires

Fnality International (Fnality), delivering the means of payments on-chain for tomorrow’s financial markets, is pleased to announce key additions to the senior management and advisory team.

19 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

MineHub and Amphora partner to streamline trading operation

MineHub, the innovative blockchain technology that is digitalizing the mining and metals supply chain, is pleased to announce a partnership with trading, risk management and CTRM provider Amphora, where they will work together in order to assist their customers in streamlining trading operations and risk management. The partnership will see MineHub's platform act as a connectivity layer between Amphora's existing clients.

19 August 2019

News/wholesale

ICE unit Bakkt to launch Bitcoin futures contracts next month

Intercontinental Exchange's new Bakkt subsidiary has received the regulatory green light to start offering custody and physically delivered Bitcoin futures contracts.

19 August 2019

News/payments

Ripple to give away 1 billion XRP through Coil monetization platform for creators

Ripple is pumping one billion of its XRP cryptocurrency (about $262 million) into Coil, a platform bidding to help writers and artists monetize their content on the internet.

15 August 2019

News/retail

Barclays and Coinbase go separate ways

Barclays and Coinbase have ended their relationship, leaving the cryptocurrency exchange temporarily outside of the UK's Faster Payments Scheme (FPS), according to reports.

15 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

R3 to open new Dublin office

R3, the enterprise blockchain software firm, announces plans to open its second European office in Dublin in 2020, as part of its rapid expansion plans.

14 August 2019

News/Blockchain

Singularity Studio and PICC FS forge AI and blockchain pact

PICC Financial Services, the wholly-owned fintech arm of People’s Insurance Company of China, and Singularity Studio have signed an MoU to open a new accelerator in Beijing to promote the development of AI and blockchain-based services for the insurance market.

14 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

Marco Polo brings onboard first logisitics partner for pilot transaction

LBBW and Commerzbank have once again executed a trade transaction between Voith and KSB SE, via the Marco Polo trade finance network, built on R3’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, Corda.

14 August 2019

News/Blockchain

China's central bank nears release of own digital currency

The People's Bank of China is "almost ready" to launch its own digital currency, a senior official says.

14 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

BTG Pactual joins Post-Trade Distributed Ledger organising committee

The Post-Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group, which brings together major post-trade industry participants and regulators to drive the transformation of distributed ledger technologies within the post-trade landscape, welcomes BTG Pactual the Brazil based investment bank to its organising committee.

13 August 2019

Company update/retail

Atomic Wallet joins Foundation for Interwallet Operability

Atomic Wallet, the decentralized multi-currency wallet that uses atomic swaps, has joined the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO) in a move to increase convenience for existing crypto users and accelerate mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.

13 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

Chinsay facilitates first-ever paperless trade for iron ore

Cargill and Rio Tinto in collaboration with Chinsay, Voltron, essDOCS, R3 Corda, HSBC, and BNP Paribas reduce contract issuance time by almost 98%.

13 August 2019

News/Blockchain

New Zealand backs salaries paid in cryptocurrencies

New Zealand based companies can now legally pay their employees in cryptocurrency, establishing the controversial asset class as a mainstream form of payment.

13 August 2019

News/Blockchain

ASB Bank takes stake in distributed ledger startup TradeWindow

New Zealand's ASB Bank has taken a stake in early-stage supply chain tech startup TradeWindow.

12 August 2019

Finextra TV/Blockchain

Making way for a hybridisation of the blockchain world with the traditional

Gabrielle Patrick, Founder & CEO, Knabu, speaks to Hannah Wallace from Finextra at Money 20/20 Europe about the state of play with blockchain, which emerging models within the blockchain ecosystem are exciting people most and what challenges businesses are facing in the adoption of blockchain.

09 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

IFinancial to deploy Tatum blockchain API platform

Following the launch of Tatum’s revolutionary Blockchain API Platform, International Financial System Ltd (“iFinancial”) have agreed to a global partnership with Tatum Limited (“Tatum”).

09 August 2019

Company update/startups

Definer.org wins Detroit fintech challenge

Less than two years after being conceptualized, Minneapolis-based digital lending & borrowing platform DeFiner.org has beat out 17 other Fintech startups to win one of the industry’s most coveted prizes.

08 August 2019

Company update/Blockchain

Civic Wallet to use Onfido everification kit

Onfido, the award-winning global identity verification platform, today announced a partnership with Civic, the premier blockchain identity and payment solution provider, to power the company’s Civic Wallet, which will be available this fall.

08 August 2019