~chris-skinner-s-blo | Bookmarks (172)

Things we’re reading today include … The collapse of El Salvador’s bitcoin dream Why 2025 Could Prove a Turning Point for Digital Assets? I’m the CEO of a bank – I regret not saving more into my pension HSBC on the hunt for new UK boss after another leadership reshuffle ‘Money dysmorphia’ searches are rocketing... The post Things worth reading: 6th March 2025 appeared...

It is a wild ride with cryptocurrencies. Rising rapidly with Trump’s presidential campaign – after all, he is the crypto President! – things have gone south badly in the last week. It’s kind of that crescendo from zero to hero to zero again. The rises and falls in cryptocurrency values are a real rollercoaster. For... The post The crypto rollercoaster appeared first on Chris...

Things we’re reading today include … From Skepticism to Active Support: U.S. Creates the Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve – Funds Society What White House Crypto Strategy Means for Payments Innovation Millennials love bitcoin and now the baby boomers are joining in too Trump supporters lose billion as $TRUMP’s value falls of a cliff Dollar risks losing... The post Things worth reading: 5th March 2025 appeared...

We just had the annual Oscar jamboree and congratulations to Anora for its five Oscars, and particular respect to Sean Baker who picked up four personally, something that’s never been achieved before. But Hollywood has an issue. No one knows where the money goes. I’ve just joined some friends to fix that. It came around... The post Fintech and Hollywood: a perfect match appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … The Paypers’ Global Payments and Fintech Trends Report is live – ThePaypers Trump attempts to bail out his wealthy cryptocurrency backers with ‘U.S. crypto reserve’ | Mashable Donald Trump has ‘bailed out’ crypto. The US taxpayer risks being the biggest loser Banking’s critical functions are vanishing into the cloud... The post Things worth reading: 4th March 2025 appeared...

On Friday, for the second month running, UK banks payment systems were down. Last month it was Barclays. This month, it is Lloyds, TSB and Nationwide, and probably more. The issue is a joint one: there is no branch anymore and online help services continually tell you that you are 19th in the queue, and... The post How near are we to Zero Day?...

Things we’re reading today include … Trump orders creation of strategic cryptocurrency reserve Lloyds, Nationwide and Halifax among banks hit by app outage on payday (with quotes from some Chris Skinner guy) The £24m vanity project bound to stay locked in Bank of England’s vaults North Korean hackers ‘took just two minutes’ to pull off... The post Things worth reading: 3rd March 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … European regulation strangulation, part 2 America innovates, China replicates and Europe regulates I often find the maze of European regulations hard to follow and track. It’s ok if you’re tracking one – like that Payment Service Directives and Regulations – but when you’re trying to track many, it’s... The post The Finanser’s Week: 24th February – 2nd...

Microsoft just unveiled a new chip called Majorana1 that it says will enable the creation of quantum computers able to solve “meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades”. Two months ago Google unveiled Willow, a chip that “can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits” and can process a computation “in under five minutes... The post Can you explain quantum computing in a...

Things we’re reading today include … Metro bucks the bank closures trend with plan to open over 100 new branches $300 Billion Gone! What’s Really Happening in the Crypto Market? Trump supporters lose $12bn as president’s cryptocurrency coin collapses FBI fingers North Korea for $1.5B Bybit cryptocurrency heist • The Register February 2025: Top five... The post Things worth reading: 28th February 2025 appeared...

America innovates, China replicates and Europe regulates I often find the maze of European regulations hard to follow and track. It’s ok if you’re tracking one – like that Payment Service Directives and Regulations – but when you’re trying to track many, it’s an ever changing cauldron. Right now, I’m trying to work out with... The post European regulation strangulation, part 2 appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Almost $1 Trillion Loss Rocks Crypto as Trump Excitement Wanes Lloyds Bank overstated interest-bearing deposits to BoE by £44bn Metro Bank sells personal loan book in switch to specialist lending 84% of bank customers would switch for AI-powered insights BNY Teams With OpenAI to Bring ‘Transformational’ AI to Banking... The post Things worth reading: 27th February 2025 appeared...

I recently came into some funds and, being conscious of the financial services compensation scheme (FSCS) limiting bank insurances of deposit accounts to £85,000 (€100,000 EU; $250,000 USA) have had to open new accounts to move things around. In general, the remote account opening experience with newer neobanks is pretty good. On the other hand,... The post Is open banking destroying the customer experience?...

Things we’re reading today include: Bitcoin price down: Cryptocurrency value plunges amid major market worries | The Independent Why is crypto down? Bitcoin value plunges below $90,000 HSBC invests €36m in London fintech ClearScore Is London’s IPO market due a fintech revival? | MoneyWeek German central bank plunges to record €19bn loss BofA CEO: Over-Regulation... The post Things worth reading: 26th February 2025 appeared...

I find times interesting, as so many fintechs had an amazing ride in the 2010s but, in the 2020s, it seems not. Fintech took a hammering in 2023 with investing down 48% compared to 2022, which was also a bad year … … and now we move into 2025 and reflect on 2024 where it... The post Has fintech fallen off a cliff? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Monzo, Revolut, Starling or Chase? The best digital bank accounts, compared | The Independent How Monzo Bank Built a Cost-Effective, Unorthodox Backup System to Ensure Resilient Banking – InfoQ Banks downgrade top sustainability roles Commonwealth Bank boss makes admission about the future of cash | Daily Mail Better Cryptocurrency... The post Things worth reading: 25th February 2025 appeared...

I made this headline immediately challenging for anyone not in my space, as it incorporates all the TLAs (three letter arconyms) to confuse and abuse you. A fascinating release from Europe’s Central Bank announced that they aim to move soon to distributed ledger technology (DLT) settlements for payments last week. What did the announcement say?... The post ECB with DLT and CBDC create RTP...

Things we’re reading today include: ‘Worst hack in history’ as $1.5bn in cryptocurrency stolen | Money News | Sky News HSBC and other banks fined after using chat rooms to discuss gilt trades Four major City banks fined more than £100 million by watchdog Michael Saylor Urges US To Buy 20% Of BTC Supply, Use... The post Things worth reading: 24th February 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Why are CBDCs not working? After many years we have had many discussions of many countries and many banks talking about launching many central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Today, only three countries have a live CBDC: the Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria. Doesn’t that feel a bit strange? Well,... The post The Finanser’s Week: 17th February – 23rd...

After many years we have had many discussions of many countries and many banks talking about launching many central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Today, only three countries have a live CBDC: the Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria. Doesn’t that feel a bit strange? Well, most governments are experimenting with CBDCs and SWIFT, to retain their control... The post Why are CBDCs not working? appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Eurosystem expands initiative to settle DLT-based transactions in central bank money European Central Bank Takes Step Toward Blockchain-Based Payments System – Decrypt European Central Bank’s annual loss hits record €7.9bn SEC rebrands cryptocurrency unit to focus on emerging technologies UK Fintech Investment Fell By Over 25% In 2024, But... The post Things worth reading: 21st February 2025 appeared...

I found a fun meme on Facebook about passwords. Passwords. What??? When I was a lad, we didn’t have passwords and usernames. What has the world become? Well, it’s become a world of people who are dumb and stupid and create passwords that are ridiculous and easily hackable. For example, the world’s most popular passwords are 123456,... The post Why do we trust the network? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include: HSBC net zero goal delayed 20 years, as CEO offered 600% bonus HSBC hit by fresh Hong Kong row: Bank accused of ‘shrugging its shoulders’ in the face of Chinese oppression | This is Money Top 10: Challenger Banks | FinTech Magazine After raising $1 billion, fintech Varo closes another... The post Things worth reading: 20th February 2025 appeared...

I saw a fascinating pair of columns on City AM last week. One was advocating London as the UK fintech unicorn centre of Europe: London named Europe’s ‘unicorn capital’ for fintechs … whilst the other claimed the new UK Labour government policies were scaring fintech founders out of the UK and into Europe, in this... The post The balance between taxation and innovation appeared...