Learn more: www.superstables.com

What Superstables does (in plain English)

• Stablecoin Fiat, both ways: Turn USDC into EUR (to IBAN) or EUR into USDC (to your wallet). On-chain stablestable swaps (e.g., USDC EURC) are live as well.
• Wallet or bank settlement: Choose on-chain delivery or a bank payout—same interface, same receipt trail.
• Low basis points, upfront: Quotes show best net rate (fees, gas, slippage included) before you confirm.
• Finance-ready: Roles and approvals, invoices and statements, CSV/API exports—easy to reconcile.
• Compliance in the background: Policy-aware routing, KYC/KYB and sanctions screening via regulated partners, and a full audit trail for every transaction.

Why it matters now

Stablecoins move value globally in minutes. The challenge for most businesses isn’t speed – it’s doing it cleanly: region-appropriate assets, screened flows, predictable settlement, and documentation you can actually file. Superstables wraps crypto-speed in finance-friendly controls so operators and auditors can both sleep at night.

How it works (three steps)

1. Request a live quote for your route (e.g., USDC → EURC, or USDC → EUR to IBAN).
2. Confirm and settle to a wallet or bank account, with clear timing expectations.
3. Reconcile using the receipts and statements generated automatically (or pull them via API).

Who uses it

• PSPs & marketplaces moving cross-border funds.
• Corporate treasuries managing USDEUR exposure.
• Fintechs & exchanges needing dependable stablecoin rails.
• Funds/market makers that want fast, policy-clean settlement.

What’s live vs. what’s next

• Available today
• USDC EURC on-chain with tight spreads.
• USDC → EUR to IBAN (SEPA) via regulated payout partners.
• Two-way conversions between stablecoins and EUR/USD (where supported), with receipts and exports.

On the roadmap

• Broader asset coverage: Adding major USD/EUR stablecoins beyond USDC/EURC, enabled by region and policy.
• Conservative savings in USDC and EURC: deposit, convert, and allocate to transparent, low-risk yield with clear withdrawal rules.
• Crypto payments: fiat-in → stable-out and stable-in → fiat-out, with real-time tracking from initiation to settlement.
• More corridors & redundancy: additional payout partners and rails for higher uptime and faster posting.
• Safety, in one paragraph
• Superstables is built with policy-aware routing (region, asset, counterparty rules), peg monitoring (automatic safeguards during stress), and licensed partners for bank payouts. Every action produces an audit-ready trail -quotes, route decisions, fees, counterparties, and settlement references – so finance and compliance teams aren’t left guessing.

Get started

If your team needs reliable, low-bps conversion between stablecoins and EUR/USD, either on-chain or to your bank, Superstables keeps it simple and compliant.
www.superstables.com

The post Superstables: Stablecoin FX for Institutions – Wallet or Bank, Low Bps appeared first on ChipIn.

According to their announcement, blockchain-based music research and analytics platform Viberate (whose native token VIB is listed on Binance, Bittrex, OKEx, and Uniswap) will be launching a special NFT featuring the rights to a live performance and other exclusive content by one of its founders, renowned Techno DJ and producer UMEK. 

The drop will happen on April 29 in partnership with the Blockparty digital asset marketplace, and marks the launch of the world’s first “live gig NFT”. UMEK’s offer will include five different NFTs: three exclusive remixes of his influential 1999 track “Lanicor”, one livestream performance, and one live gig. The buyers of UMEK’s tokens will therefore purchase the rights to one of his original remixes, book him for an exclusive online event, or book him for a real-life live performance.

UMEK’s upcoming drop is the first to explore new possibilities for musicians to secure and manage their future bookings once live events return. Vasja Veber, Viberate co-founder and UMEK’s manager, explains further: “We’ve been actively involved in the crypto scene for the last several years. Our platform includes blockchain and we have our own token (VIB), so tokenizing the rights to a live performance seemed not only the logical next step in the evolution of NFTs, but also an exciting opportunity to explore how the live music industry could handle bookings in the future.”

Viberate and Blockparty plan to use the drop to test the entire “live gig NFT” concept. If it proves to be successful, Viberate plans on providing the option of gig token minting to nearly half a million music artists in its database, along with minting artist ID NFTs through a secure verification process. These ID NFTs will then act as a certificate of authenticity, reassuring the buyer that the contents indeed come from a verified artist, not someone offering other people’s work.

UMEK’s NFT drop will launch on Blockparty on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 8:00 pm GMT+1 (3:00 pm EST).

The post Viberate and Blockparty to Launch First-Ever Live Gig NFT appeared first on ChipIn.

Gibraltar, December 22th 2019 – tap is a one-stop-shop crypto app that includes an aggregated crypto exchange (spanning several exchanges to deliver optimum prices), safe crypto storage through insured custodianship, a payment card and all the normal alt-banking features that help tap fulfill its aim to be a truly unified crypto banking solution.

The listing on Bittrex is part of a coordinated mass rollout of the Tap Project. As part of this rollout, Tap released an MTO on the STP network on 19th December, the app was made available on Google Play on 20th December and iStore on 22nd December will list on Bittrex on 23rd December and expects to complete the in-principle approval requirements and move for a full DLT authorization by early 2020.

With an estimated 42m crypto wallet users with a monthly increase of 735k users per month from Q2 to Q3 2019 the potential market for a unified and trusted crypto banking solution is huge. Tap aims to position itself as the best solution by offering several features that offer both convenience and peace of mind. These features include easy on/off ramps from fiat to crypto with integrated fiat banking and one-touch exchange to crypto, safe storage through our partnership with BitGo who provide the cold wallets with a $100M cold storage insurance and with a DLT in-principal approval by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, multiple exchanges allowing tap to always deliver competitive prices and no FX charges on the TAP payments card allowing global travel without customary punitive banking charges.

Once tap receives a full DLT authorization by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, tap is well-positioned to become the only regulated unified crypto banking solution offering with multiple exchanges in one app.

Arsen, the founder of tap, said: “From the beginning, we always wanted to separate ourselves from other crypto projects by combining the listing of the token with a ready to go product. We chose Bittrex as the exchange to list our token as we have always seen them as genuine exchange and trusted with real crypto adopters as customers”

The post tap, the first one-stop-shop crypto app lists on Bittrex on 23rd Dec appeared first on ChipIn.

Mike Butcher, Editor at Large for TechCrunch said: TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin once again brought some of the most exciting companies on stage to talk about their success including Hovhannes Avoyan, PicsArt’s CEO admitting that a sponsorship deal with Kim Kardashian pushed the photo editing app get to 150M users as well as key Ethererum researcher, Justin Drake, predicting Ethererum 2.0 would launch before Facebook’s Libre cryptocurrency. The other highlight of TechCrunch Disrupt is seeing the winner of Startup Battlefield, with Scaled Robotics winning this year’s cup. 

Here are some exclusives from the Disrupt stage you may have missed: 

Klarna CEO announced on stage the opening of a Tech Hub in Berlin and also said “maybe” of taking the company public next year 

Sebastian Siemiątkowski, Founder and CEO of Klarna, speakers on the stage of TC Disrupt Berlin about why there isn’t more consolidation in fintech and the enormous relevance of customer service and transparency in finance, which large banks do not yet offer. He also announced that they are going to launch a Tech-Hub in Berlin with more than 500 employees. 

On the new tech hub, Sebastian Siemiatkowski said: “……we’ve just created this new amazing office here in Berlin. And we’re going to continue to hire a lot of people in Berlin, but not like product engineering and kind of continuous. So we’ve had already amazing successes, building great products here and we want to continue doing that going forward…. 

“So in Germany, we have about 30 million users, which, you know, takes us about 10 million ahead of that American wallet thing, which is quite cool. So Germany is a super important for us. But right now, what’s exciting is the US. So right now we’re adding customers at a pace that will be about, you know, six months, 6 million customers on an annual basis in the US right now. So the US is really taking off and that’s also super exciting to see.” 

On going public next year, Sebastian Siemiatkowski said: 

“Yeah, I don’t know, maybe it could happen. It was kind of funny, because I was reading an interview with Michael Moritz, who’s on our board, and he was saying that we were going to stay private forever. So, I don’t know, it’s hard for me to know that what’s true anymore. People are reporting different things about Klarna.” 

Succeeding in the Streaming Era with Efe Cakarel (MUBI) MUBI has been in the streaming business since before Netflix, and has successfully built a service that caters to specific needs in a useful, novel way. The company’s CEO talked about the maturation of the streaming market, and what it takes to build a lasting business in an increasingly crowded space. MUBI has been distributing films, including theatrical releases, and now it’s also joining up to produce its first films 

Atomico VCs say that everybody cares in Europe about where the startup dollars are coming from Four VCs of the London-based venture capital firm Atomico, took the stage together for the first time, to talk about a wide range of issues. Among the many things discussed with the four were direct listings, secondary investments and the firm’s sweet spot, which, despite its global reach, largely remains on pan-European companies and largely startups needing Series A-stage funding. 

Hiro Tamura, Partner, Atomico said: “I think the world is waking up to the fact that European venture has comparative performance today with U.S. venture returns. There’s research in that area that’s relatively authoritative. 

As a function of that, yes, you’re right [that this is an issue]. Pension funds in Europe have roughly $4 trillion under management, and a billion dollars [invested last year in venture firms] is a three-fold increase from the year before, so it is material. But as you say, if you think about the $4 trillion that they are managing, it could probably be put to good use deploying capital into venture capital funds that are looking to change the world in a positive way, because that is what impacts the pensioners who are behind that capital. [So] hopefully we’ll continue to see that trend because there’s more to do there.” 

GetYourGuide widens its horizons, will expand its Originals short tours into day trips and more CEO Johannes Reck talks about the next steps in their strategy to expand touchpoints with users and grow and diversify their business. Get Your Guide needs to find ways of keeping existing and new users returning to its own platform, rather than simply tacking on its tour packages while organising other aspects of their vacation. Get Your Guide continues to break ground on changing the conversation around travel, building its own content rather than relying on others to fulfil its vision. 

Scaled Robotics – Winner of Startup Battlefield Berlin 2019 

At the very beginning, there were 14 startups. After two days of incredibly fierce competition, TechCrunch announced a winner for the Startup Battlefield. Scaled Robotics were crowned the winner of Startup Battlefield Berlin 2019. Scaled Robotics has designed a robot that can produce 3D progress maps of construction sites in minutes, precise enough to detect that a beam is just a centimeter or two off. Supervisors can then use the software to check things like which pieces are in place on which floor, whether they have been placed within the required tolerances or if there are safety issues like too much detritus on the ground in work areas. 

Samsung has sold 1 million Galaxy Fold smarthphones 

At TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin, Samsung Electronic’s President Young Sohn revealed the company had sold 1 million foldable Galaxy Fold smartphones. Estimates from October pegged sales at that time at 500,000 units. 

“And I think that the point is, we’re selling [a] million of these products,” Sohn said. “There’s a million people that want to use this product at $2,000.” 

The post TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2019 Highlights appeared first on ChipIn.

After 2 successful Indiegogo campaigns in 2015 and 2017 Innovative Brands is back with a brand new product range; the Lucis 3.0, ultra-powerful Dutch-design LED mood lamps that have some game-breaking features including; wireless phone charging and full power bank functionality. 

There is a lot to like about this portable little light. Designed to provide instant ambiance to any space, you can bring this splash-proof lamp and unpack it to light up any dark corners, picnics under the stars, or beside the bed.

“With the new series of Lucis Lamps, we continued our search towards creating the perfect cordless LED lamp that can set the mood anywhere, anyplace, anytime. Our 3.0 product line features both the Simple & Twist models that are centralized around intuitive function, portability and the sharing of both power and light ’’ says co-founder and designer Simon Koop. “Our new models were greatly influenced by the notion that people should connect and find each other, we wanted to create a truly social mood lamp that combined clean looking Dutch-design and great functionality to create the perfect setting’’. 

The Lucis 3.0 Lamp & Qi Wireless Charger is a first-class piece of tech that immediately draws the eye and the versatile nature of its performance capabilities is sure to appeal. This excellent device comes in three different styles

• Simple 
• Simple Power 
• Full Color Twist 

that combines top-class Dutch-design with unparalleled functionality. Whether using indoor or outdoor; you can set the mood wherever you go.

Unpacking

The Lucis 3.0 Full Color Twist comes in a very nice box and with everything you need, including a bottle connector & hanging hook to hang the light using the Tripod connector. I’ve managed to charge and have everything set up within a couple of hours. If you want to use the light with one of the attractive stands Lucis is offering, you need to order them separately.

Powerful Light & Innovative Functionality

The Lucis 3.0 Simple is equipped with powerful LEDs that have a maximum output of 180 lumens. The lamp is easy to use thanks to the elegant touch sensors that control the brightness of the lamp. The lamp is aesthetically similar to its counterpart; the Lucis 3.0 Simple Power, which is equipped with a powerful 8000 mAh battery and provides 88 hours of continuous light. This simple but powerful addition to the new roster includes some features that were not available in previous versions. Lucis introduces the charging of mobile phones as well as the full power bank functionality for 3 models of the 3.0 product line.

The company introduced another brand new feature with the Lucis Twist. Simply turn the top of the lamp to adjust brightness and color and create a nice ambiance. The Lucis 3.0 Full Color Twist is the first lamp to be equipped with this mechanism. This rotating lamp has the same charging and power bank functions for mobile phones as the Simple Power.

In addition, Lucis is back with a brand new line of accessories that improve adaptability and make the lamps a bright addition to any interior design. All new accessories are fully functional for each model thanks to the same ¼ connector, so the user can fully customize the accessories.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the Lucis 3.0 Full-Color Twist

A lamp with a ‘Twist’

The Lucis 3.0 Full Color Twist is equipped with strong RGB full-color LEDs and has a maximum output of 250 lumens. This lamp features all the functionalities of its siblings combined with the full-color spectrum capable of producing over 16 million colors. These colorations can be enjoyed using the 5 dynamic light programs that set the perfect mood for any situation.

Set the mood, with a twist, anywhere, anytime

The creators of Lucis claim it can last for up to 88 hours on a single charge and I must say it lasted well beyond that time frame (on the lowest setting). I am not overly concerned about the interiors of my house, but I realized that gadgets like Lucis can bring a sense of distinct design and personalization and a few people who visited me were immediately drawn to it.

High-Quality Material

All the Lucis 3.0 Mood Lamps & QI Wireless Chargers are crafted from the best grade materials and built to the highest standards possible. This includes top-quality matte plexiglass upper housing and a solid aluminum ring which means this device is the ideal portable lamp and they are splash-proof so you don’t have to worry about a little rain when using them outdoors. There is a tangible sense of quality to this product that helps to set it apart from the competition.

Unique Touch Sensors

Lucis is equipped with 2 touch sensors for quickly adjusting the brightness. It comes with 5 light programs, which you can easily switch between using a little button.

Power Bank & Wireless Charger

The all-new Lucis series is a fully functional power bank for charging your devices via USB and Qi-Wireless Charger. Just turn the lamp around and place it on top of your smartphone. We’ve tested it a few times and it worked perfectly. The only slight drawback is that you need to switch between wired and wireless charging manually by pressing a small button.

About Lucis / Innovative Brands

Innovative Brands designs, develops, produces and brands consumer products. The company builds high-end solutions for its clients through a worldwide production and distribution network. As a Holland-based company, Innovative Brands has strong Dutch design roots with the highest quality standards. The head of design has more than a decade of expertise designing sports cars for Spyker. The sourcing and production department of Innovative Brands has several years of experience working with production facilities in markets worldwide.

The post Lucis 3.0 Full Color Twist Review – Powerful, Portable & Rechargeable appeared first on ChipIn.

• Top investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and digital service providers gathered in London for the eleventh edition of the NOAH Conference
• Speaker highlights included Hanno Renner, Co-Founder & CEO Personio, Gilles Despas, CEO Scout24 Switzerland, Catherine Faiers, COO Auto Trader Group, Anne Boden, CEO Starling Bank

With a mixture of panels, fireside chats and company presentations, leading experts from various companies took to the main stage on both conference days. NOAH founder and CEO Marco Rodzynek opened the event with a keynote speech and also took part in several fireside chats as discussion partner, with a special focus on creating a personal atmosphere and effective dialogue.

The Workshop Stage on the first day of the conference was also very popular, with topics including the fight against climate change, the power of PR and how to bridge the gender gap.

“The participants’ response to the NOAH Conference London has been great. In general, the fantastic community that has gathered over the last two days at Old Billingsgate next to the Tower Bridge confirms how important it is to keep in touch if you want to be successful in the business world with an idea and a company. The audience couldn’t have been more diverse for such an event – and everyone is united by the need to learn from each other and to work together. These people make the vision of the NOAH Conferences a reality. A reality that we want to deepen and further develop at the upcoming conferences 2020 in Berlin and Zurich and, of course again, in London,” says Marco Rodzynek, founder and CEO of NOAH Conference.

In parallel to the program on the main stage and the workshops, more than 80 selected young companies were able to pitch on the startup stage and thus take advantage of the opportunity to meet relevant VCs and business angels in this environment.

About NOAH Conference

NOAH is Europe’s premier growth conference for leaders in the digital ecosystem. Since 2009, NOAH’s conferences in London and Berlin have developed into annual highlights, known for their unparalleled networking between entrepreneurs, investors and senior corporate executives as well as best-in-class presentations from Europe’s digital business leaders.

Past keynote speakers include Al Gore, Peter Altmaier, Klaus Hommels, Eric Schmidt and CEOs of corporate giants such as Daimler, UBER, Auto1 and N26. Over 70% of Europe’s unicorns have presented on a NOAH stage, many of which already long before reaching that status. NOAH is also the place for young startups to find investors for their angel round to Series B. At each event over 80 handpicked startups pitch on a dedicated startup stage.

Well over 100 successful fundings, announced shortly following NOAH Startup stage appearances, since 2016 demonstrate the impact of platform. Top B2B service providers and industry partners round out the conference experience by providing the best resources for companies to master their operational challenges. Current key partners include LGT, Permira, Porsche and Wirecard. In 2020, the NOAH Conference invites participants to three thematically different events:

NOAH Conference Berlin (June 4-5, 2020) will present a unique discussion platform for CEOs and founders from established companies as well as disruptive contenders from a number of key industries.

NOAH Conference Zurich (September 22-23, 2020) is focused on bringing together the leading Swiss and European digital companies, investors and family offices.

NOAH London (November 4-5, 2020) is focused on connecting capital with up-and-coming companies and helping service providers to find relevant customers.

More information on www.noah-conference.com.

The post NOAH Conference 2019 Highlights – NOAH attracts over 1,500 attendees to London appeared first on ChipIn.

To exemplify these themes, CoinMarketCap has invited a range of speakers who will expand the range of discussion into related industries, focusing on adoption. For example, Aliza Knox, MD of Cloudflare APAC, and Brett Gibson, Partner of Initialized Capital (founded by Alexis Ohanian of Reddit), will be sharing their unique perspectives on the crypto industry.

Some familiar and respected names within the industry will also be gracing the event as speakers, including Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, Samson Mow, Chief Strategy Officer of Blockstream, and Mance Harmon, Co-founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph, among others. (You can find the full list of speakers here.)

Previously, CoinMarketCap had revealed that its enigmatic founder, Brandon Chez, will take the stage for the first time, together with Sunny King, the equally anonymous and incognito creator of the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

“We are floored by the support and enthusiasm that we have had from all parts of the crypto and blockchain ecosystem for an honest, accessible conference focused on adoption and liquidity,” said Spencer Yang, VP of Special Projects at CoinMarketCap, who is leading the event, “We made event tickets free for all, so that anyone who wants to learn will be able to do so with no barriers to their education.”

The Capital will also be streaming live on the site for interviews conducted on-site by DataDash, one of the most popular YouTube influencers in crypto, focusing on technical analysis; its stage will be hosted by IvanonTech, also an influencer, most famous for his daily updates and educational initiatives in the space.

About CoinMarketCap

Since 2013, CoinMarketCap has been the premier price-tracking website for cryptocurrencies. It is the most referenced and trusted source for comparing thousands of crypto entities in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency space by users, institutions, and media. CoinMarketCap firmly stands for accurate, timely and unbiased information, enabling each end user to draw their own informed conclusions from CoinMarketCap data.

The post CoinMarketCap announces its first-ever large scale conference with an exciting speakers line-up appeared first on ChipIn.

The setting of our Summit is an important reminder of why we convene. Built in 1952 from the limestone and marble of the destroyed Reich Chancellery, Funkhaus was designed as a place to record and distribute propaganda for the German Democratic Republic.

But next week, Funkhaus will serve as a place to build and distribute technology that will help bring about a new era of social and economic possibilities; a technology that eliminates the trust necessary for state and corporate power, and instead firmly aligns our future with the Truth.

We’re coming together to reconstruct and improve the web, in a way that honors its original vision: a permissionless and distributed network of information and assets that will allow for better human cooperation and organization. As you prepare for this year’s Summit, we ask for you to consider yourself not as an attendee, but as an active participant in the IRL coordination of a thousand of your peers working towards the same goal.

Here’s a quick guide detailing how you can get the most out of Web3 Summit:

Venue: Funkhaus Berlin is located at NALEPASTRASSE 18, 12459 Berlin

Attendees need to find their own form of transportation. Shuttles will not be provided.
Public transportation: Funkhaus can be reached via M21 tram or Bus 365.

Ticket Entry: Please be sure to have your QR code available in order to gain entry into the Summit.
Agenda: We have 3 days of content planned across 3 stages. Our agenda currently lists Main Stage and Studio 5 talks. The content will consist of technical presentations, workshops and Hackerspace talks.

Hackerspace: Our Hackerspace will be the home base for 8 nodes this year; full of talks, workshops, challenges, hacks. It will be OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY during the event, so plan to stay for late-night pizza!

Pop-up node: Want to organize an impromptu workshop or presentation? We’ll have a dedicated pop-up node for last-minute coordination that you can sign up for on-site. Go to the back corner of Studio 2/Hackerspace and find the area labeled “Pop-up node” to write your name into a time slot and make sure you show on time!

Job Exchange: Looking to expand your team? Seeking to contribute to interesting new projects? Want to launch something brand new? Join us on Tuesday from 6-8pm in the Hackerspace to meet project teams, collaborators, and co-conspirators.

Job Board: Come prepared to post what you’re hiring for and check out what’s been posted.
#Web3Summit: use the Summit hashtag to let people know about any workshops or presentations you may be hosting. We’ll help spread the word via @Web3Summit.

We are faced with a unique and near-perfect alignment of time and technology to make fundamental societal changes. Now is the time to rise to the challenge. So rest up. Read up. Come armed with knowledge to give, ideas to share, and a readiness to do the work.
We couldn’t be more excited to see what you bring to Web3 Summit.

The post Web3 Summit Berlin 2019 – Highlights Web3Summit appeared first on ChipIn.

The report states that the two most common forms of money today, cash and deposits, will face tough competition and could even be surpassed. The IMF also said policymakers should be prepared for disruption from big tech companies and fintech start-ups.

We’ve contacted experts & leaders in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space to find out their thoughts on the report.

Nick Cowan, CEO of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) Group, geared towards establishing a trusted financial services group for the new digital era, said:

“The concept of digital currency is now firmly embedded in the mainstream, a trend that is set to gain increasing traction according to the latest report from the IMF. The report acknowledges several scenarios that could play out in the future, from coexistence between digital currencies and traditional money, to a total digital takeover. It is important to remember that the rise of bitcoin and digital assets has been fueled, in part, due to growing dissatisfaction with the status quo of traditional finance and the associated problems such as transaction delays, unnecessarily protracted processes, and frustrating intermediary fees. As long as these issues are prevalent, the allure of digital currency will be strong.

The IMF report also notes that regulation of e-money issuers must be prioritised in order to protect customers and avoid risks to financial stability. Here in Gibraltar we are familiar with the merits of a purpose-built Distributed-Ledger-Technology (DLT) regulatory framework. Receiving our DLT licence has enabled the GSX Group of companies to provide our users with the highest standards in digital asset trading, investor protection, and security.”

Christophe De Courson, CEO of Olymp Capital, one of the earliest investment fund managers dedicated to the blockchain and digital asset class in Europe, said:

“Given the IMF is tasked with securing financial stability and working to foster global monetary cooperation, it makes sense why this paper was published. Across the globe countries are tackling inflation, expensive remittances, and financial exclusion. Digital currencies, in particular stablecoins, are being explored by private sector firms with the aim of solving these issues. It’s becoming increasingly evident that they may succeed, as the report correctly points out — big tech firms and fintech start-ups are “experts at delivering convenient, attractive, low-cost and trusted services to a large network of customers.”

Not only is this causing disruption for traditional financial players but it is also forcing them to take heed of the space. Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, recently said that the bank is observing ‘with great interest’ initiatives in the private sector which aim at developing networks within which stablecoins would be used in transactions involving ‘tokenized’ securities or goods and services. This IMF report highlights both the looming reality for legacy institutions and the potential for major disruption from fintechs”.

Dave Hodgson, Director and Co-founder of NEM Ventures, the venture capital and investments arm of the NEM blockchain ecosystem, said:

“The IMF report provides a balanced overview of the current situation, and I agree with their conclusion that e-money and digital currencies will continue to disrupt other the financial industry. Traditional finance, in particular, has become bloated, inefficient and inappropriately costly, and frankly it’s time for a change.

Digital currencies allow for the efficient and cost effective transfer of value between two parties, and aren’t reliant on national borders. This makes them largely resilient to attempts at national control and manipulation, while also removing systemic inefficiencies within the current financial systems, namely with layers of intermediaries. I can receive an Amazon parcel from the USA to Europe, faster than I can remit funds via Swift to pay for them; that’s not good enough.

I believe that mainstream adoption is imminent of both digital and crypto currencies – we’re already witnessing thousands of young retail consumers selecting challenger banks (largely e-money). This is direct result of improved service offerings, customer service and price points. Several cryptocurrency companies are now starting to cross over into traditional digital money by offering banking (IBAN, Debit card etc) services such as Wirex, Coinbase and Crypterium. It’s also worth noting that in Asia the concept of digital money is well established with services such as Alipay and Wechat.”

Sebastian Higgs, Director at Vo1t, which combines cutting-edge system design with cybersecurity best practices to create the world’s most secure cold storage vault for digital assets, said:

“The recent IMF report brings to light the many advantages of digital currencies, and what the future may look like in this space. For companies and businesses who make numerous international payments or operate in economies with weak domestic currencies, it may make sense to hold digital currencies.

With cryptocurrencies, the friction of moving between assets is already low, and I believe this will disappear almost entirely with the development of interoperability. Depending on whether you need to prioritise cost, privacy, smart contract execution, or even adhering to restrictions imposed by the merchant, digital currencies offer more flexibility to the user and will continue to rival traditional finance.

Of course, as a caveat, this is dependent on where you are: for instance, China won’t accept a Facebook crypto project so you may need to hold that coin, as well as a WeChat coin.”

The post IMF Report: The Rise of Digital Money | Reactions from Industry Leaders appeared first on ChipIn.

Social Alpha Foundation (SAF), the not-for-profit, grant-making platform which provides no-strings funding to companies and projects utilising blockchain for social impact, has announced the appointment of Yoshiyuki Yamamoto and Joseph Thompson.

Yamamoto, the Former Special Advisor for UN Engagement and Blockchain Technology, will serve as Advisor, while Thompson, CEO and Founder of AID: Tech, the world’s first company to deliver international aid using blockchain technology, will join as Vetting Committee Member.

Commenting on the appointments, Nydia Zhang, Co-founder and Chairman of Social Alpha Foundation, said: “Yoshi and Joseph bring a tremendous amount of experience and expertise in the areas of international aid, governance and humanitarian relief to Social Alpha Foundation and are pioneers in their respective fields. We are thrilled to have them on board and are confident that they will both contribute to our mission of making the world a better place by using blockchain technology.”

As an Advisor, Yamamoto will be responsible for strategic partnership introductions and recommending grant recipients, donors and patrons, while also raising awareness of SAF’s mission to utilise the power of blockchain for social good. This includes harnessing global distributed networks and building communities that can change the world together.

Yamamoto said, “It is clear that the benefits of blockchain technology are manifold: research has shown that blockchain applications have already begun to demonstrate proven social impact, particularly in the health, financial inclusion, energy, climate and environment, as well as philanthropy sectors.”

“In the context of democracy and governance, blockchain stands to improve the integrity of electoral processes and transform citizen participation by allowing for a more legitimate voting process. This is in addition to the increased security blockchain offers where government data exchanges is concerned, whereby data is less liable to being hacked without a central system. I look forward to joining Social Alpha Foundation, where we can empower pilot projects to make all of these ideals a reality,” he continued.

Yamamoto joins SAF’s high-calibre advisory board made up of some of the blockchain industry’s most esteemed figures, including Sandra Ro, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council; David Lee, Professor for Fintech and Blockchain at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS); Joyce Tam, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs; Duncan Fitzgerald, Partner at PwC; and Jacqueline Chow, Executive Committee Member of the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC).

Meanwhile, as Vetting Committee Member, Thompson’s role will focus on reviewing grantee applications and determining the awarded funding for successful projects. Under his stewardship, AID:Tech aims to increase transparency and reduce global illicit outflows from developing countries due to fraud and corruption. Thompson was named as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Pioneer for Blockchain Technology at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2017.

Thompson said, “AID:Tech’s vision is very much aligned with Social Alpha Foundation’s, in that we believe that blockchain must go beyond business to realise its full potential. Blockchain technology stands to reduce fraud, increase transparency and efficiency, as well as bring a wide range of economic services to the often forgotten populations in remote, underserved regions. I am excited to be joining Social Alpha Foundation at a time when blockchain has demonstrably moved beyond the hype, and to support projects looking to drive innovation using blockchain for the betterment of society.”

About Social Alpha Foundation

Social Alpha Foundation (SAF) is a not-for-profit, grant-making platform which focuses on supporting blockchain education and outreach to empower communities to utilize blockchain technology for social good. Founded in Hong Kong in 2017 by Nydia Zhang and Jehan Chu, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Kenetic, SAF provides no-strings funding to companies and projects that educate communities on blockchain for social change. SAF also gives grants to non-commercial blockchain applications that focus on improving public health, education and the environment.

Successful applicants will receive financial grants ranging from US$10,000 to US$150,000 with no interest charged and no repayment obligations. Funding for grants will be raised in cryptocurrency from individuals and commercial projects that have executed successful token sales, creating a channel for donors to adopt corporate social responsibility practices.

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