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

Mastercard adds crypto, open banking and ESG consulting services

Mastercard is expanding its consulting services with new practices dedicated to open banking, open data, crypto and digital currencies, and ESG.

15 February 2022

Company update/markets

FQX and SIX Digital Exchange to collaborate on blockchain-based short-term debt instruments

Switzerland’s SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the world’s first fully FMI licensed digital asset exchange, and FQX, a SIX Fintech Ventures portfolio company, have agreed to collaborate to enable the use of FQX’s blockchain-based short-term debt instruments, eNotes™, on SDX.

15 February 2022

News/sustainable

JPX investigates digitally tracked green bonds

Japan Exchange Group (JPX) is looking into the issuance of "digitally tracked green bonds" as a way of raising funds for its carbon neutrality ambitions.

15 February 2022

Company update/regulation

Blockchain payments outfit ZTLment plays in Danish regulatory sandbox

Together with ZTLment ApS (ZTLment), the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) has examined the use of the technology for a specific business model in the DFSA's regulatory sandbox, FT Lab.

14 February 2022

News/crypto

Binance invests $200m in Forbes

Crypto and blockchain giant Binance has made a $200 million investment in Forbes, the business media brand it sued for defamation in 2020.

11 February 2022

Company update/payments

UAE-based blockchain payments startup Pypl raises $11 million

One of the region’s fastest growing FinTechs, Pyypl (pronounced “People”), announces it has closed a US$ 11 million series A financing round with participation from a diverse group of international family offices and HNWI’s.

10 February 2022

Company update/people

From financial services to blockchain and crypto: How executives are making the switch

Today, Heidrick & Struggles, a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, in partnership with the Global Blockchain Business Council, have launched a study titled, From Financial Services to Blockchain and Crypto: How Executives Are Making the Switch.

10 February 2022

Company update/people

Algorand Foundation names Staci Warden as CEO

The Algorand Foundation today announced the appointment of Staci Warden as its Chief Executive Officer.

10 February 2022

Company update/markets

Charles River and LedgerEdge collaborate to provide DLT-based bond liquidity and trading

Charles River Development, a State Street Company, today announced a collaboration with LedgerEdge to provide investment firms with access to corporate bond liquidity from the LedgerEdge ecosystem via the Charles River Inventory Hub and Order and Execution Management System (OEMS).

09 February 2022

News/payments

Fnality completes TestNet transaction with Santander and NatWest

Banking consortium Fnality is one step closer to launch after two major European banks successfully conducted a proof of concept showcasing the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in offering near-instant settlement in capital markets and payments.

09 February 2022

Company update/markets

CSOP Asset Management completes blockchain-based OTC trade processing prototype

CSOP Asset Management Pte. Ltd. (‘CSOP’) and leading Singapore FinTech firm Hashstacs Pte Ltd (‘STACS’) today announced the completion of their Over-the-Counter (‘OTC’) Derivatives Trade Processing prototype, built by STACS on its Distributed Ledger Technology (‘DLT')-based platform, Vetta.

09 February 2022

Company update/markets

ADB builds prototype for blockchain-based cross-border securities settlement

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a project to make cross-border securities transactions in Asia and the Pacific more efficient and secure through the use of blockchain technology.

09 February 2022

News/crypto

Crypto.com bids for global expansion with Worldpay support

Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has called in Worldpay as a blockchain validator and provider of global merchant acquiring services.

09 February 2022

News/crypto

Boston Fed makes digital dollar code progress

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and MIT researchers investigating the technicalities of a CBDC have designed a system capable of handling 1.7 million transactions a second, without using distributed ledger technology.

04 February 2022

News/sustainable

WildEarth NFTs show conservation is about supporting people as much as wildlife

In a bid to help protect endangered animals, British TV channel, WildEarth, has launched its own NFTs. Crucially, 40% of the primary sale proceeds go to local custodians of the land on which the animals live. In an exclusive interview with Finextra, Graham Wallington, co-founder, CEO, WildEarth, explained the philosophy behind this approach: nature can look after itself – it just needs a home. The real mission is to ensure local populations have an economic incentive to not poach.

04 February 2022

News/payments

Ripple partners Modulr to improve payments into UK and Europe

Blockchain and crypto giant Ripple has joined forces with British firm Modulr to enable "seamless" payments into the UK and Europe from the rest of the world.

02 February 2022

News/markets

LuxSE admits security tokens issued by SocGen

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has listed its first security tokens registered on a public blockchain.

31 January 2022

Company update/regulation

SEC approves blockchain-powered exchange BSTX

On January 27, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order (the “Order) approving the creation of BSTX as a trading facility of BOX Exchange. BSTX, a joint venture of tZERO Group, Inc., and BOX Digital Markets LLC (“BOX Digital”) will be the first fully-automated, price/time priority execution exchange for trading securities that is both regulated by the SEC and leverages private blockchain technologies.

28 January 2022