Samuel Flynn

Clearpool's Q2 2024 report is here, which highlights the protocol's growth across key metrics and milestone achievements over the past quarter. Key Takeaways: — Clearpool launched on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 incubated by Coinbase — Total Loans Originated (TLO) surpassed $550 million as Prime Brokerages entered  — Clearpool launches a yield vault for USDX on Flare Network, with TVL reaching $13 million — Clearpool Prime expanded to Avalanche, with TLO surpassing $50 million — CPOOL holders number saw continued growth, +18% QoQ Dive into the full report here:

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Financial education is hitting social media. eToro has partnered with Elon Musk's X (although this is not their first partnership). Under the deal, the broker will publish a series of financial educational content on the social media platform, through livestream events, video on demand, and audio Spaces. What's more interesting? 1.4 billion posts on X referenced trading or investing topics in 2023 (a 54% jump). 🤔 Is LinkedIn lagging behind? #broker #finance #financialservices #forex #stocks #cfds #socialtrading https://lnkd.in/gR9UpHVs

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Well, Does Jersey Haev A 'Good Opportunity', To Actually. Become A Globally Based, Crypto Hub? Well, Some Crypto Folk, Certainly Seem To Think So... 🇯🇪 🇯🇪 Nathan de la Haye, 26, the young founder of, BlockWise, has officially stated that, Jersey has a "good opportunity" to become a major centre for cryptocurrency based technology. This according to the specialist in digital currency, who furthermore stated that, the island's financial services industry and its clear regulatory guidelines made it an ideal place for cryptocurrency based, businesses. But he also said he believed local companies needed to change their perspective to take advantage of digital currency. He argued that, “alot of people think it's just a get rich quick scheme, and don't really treat it seriously." #CantIgnoreIt... 🚨 🚨 Mr de la Haye explained, companies in Jersey could be cautious about the price volatility of cryptocurrencies. But said, “the size of the industry means you can't really ignore it any more”. The global cryptocurrency market cap, is currently more than $4.2 Trillion. That the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) was open to adopting cryptocurrencies and had provided clear guidance for businesses. “They recognise the potential that this technology can have, so they have put the framework in place”. In 2014, the JFSC approved the world’s first regulated Bitcoin investment fund, GABI Plc. Finance industry leader Jason Laity said this was certainly “a sign of a progressive regulatory environment”. Haye did however stress, the “regulator must tread a fine line” between supporting crypto and making sure the island's reputation remained intact. The island's reputation was “massively important for the financial services industry” and any emerging fast pace sector needed careful regulations. Haye founded BlockWise to consult with businesses in Jersey on crypto technology. In collaboration with, Digital Jersey's Tech Start Up Bootcamp. Having more companies creating new financial products and services related to crypto would be really exciting, and there was certainly a lot of activity in Jersey. So there was no reason why the number of crypto start-ups could not increase. #JERSEYscurrentFOUNDATIONsandSTRUCTUREscouldmakeitaCRYPTOHUB... 👀 👀

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🚨 Tokenisation, stablecoins, staking - what's next for the UK?🚨 Two speeches of note today at the City & Financial Global Tokenisation Summit. 1️⃣ Sasha Mills, Executive Director for Financial Market Infrastructure at the Bank of England, talked about innovation in wholesale financial markets. 2️⃣ Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, talked about the government's plans for crypto, stablecoins and staking. 🤔 What did they say? 1️⃣ Sasha Mills, on innovation in wholesale financial markets: Digitisation has been the combustion engine of financial markets, transforming paper-based systems to computer-based activity, on to the digital systems of today. Tokenisation can further revolutionise financial markets. Not a novel concept – but the real innovation is the type of infrastructure on which that token sits, and what that enables. ✅ Distributed ledgers can reduce the need for a single central party to perform record-keeping on the ledger. ✅ No single point of failure in how critical data is stored. ✅ Cryptographic techniques to secure data can reduce risk by improving the security and integrity of financial transactions ✅ Programmability has facilitated the consolidation and collapsing of the trade and post-trade functions, resulting in reduced settlement risk, and unprecedented efficiency gains in the trade lifecycle. 🤔 What is the Bank of England’s role in this reinvention? ✅ Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS): ➡ allows industry to experiment with developing technologies to issue, trade and settle digitally native securities, and ‘digital twin’ tokenised securities in a safe and secure environment for a range of regulated asset classes. ✅ Innovations in Money: ➡ Money needs to keep up with tokenised assets. BoE considering ways to enhance usefulness of central-bank money as a settlement asset for digital asset transactions. Also considering what additional functionality a wholesale central bank digital currency could bring. ✅ Post-trade settlement: ➡ Traditional processes are sequential and often manual, time-consuming, costly, and operationally risky for all users of financial markets. The tokenisation of securities on distributed ledgers – digital securities – offers the potential to merge trade and post-trade functions, shortening settlement cycles and offering more programmability and automation in financial transactions. 2️⃣ Tulip Siddiq, on plans for crypto, stablecoins and staking: ✅ Government to introduce regulatory regime for cryptoassets. ✅ Stablecoins to be regulated at same time as cryptoassets. ✅ Issuance and custody will be regulated. ❌ No longer a phased approach. ❌ Stablecoins not to be in scope of payment services regulation. ❌ Staking is not a Collective Investment Scheme. ............. 🤔 What's next? ⏩ Expect to see the framework early next year. I'd love to hear your thoughts 👉 #HMT #BoE #innovation #tokenisation #stablecoins #staking

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Brevan Howard’s crypto fund up 35% in Q1 Brevan Howard’s cryptocurrency fund,Brevan Howard Digital, which manages around $1.7bn in assets, returned 34.5% in the first three months of the year, bringing total gains since it debuted in March 2022 to nearly 51%, according to a report by Bloomberg. The fund’s performance is a bright spot for the $35bn hedge fund firm, which has lost money on its macro trades this year. BH Digital’s gains have been driven by a surge in cryptocurrency values with bitcoin up around 50% since the end of March 2022 and the end of Q1 2024. The fund, which invests in liquid cryptocurrencies as well as relative-value and venture capital opportunities in the asset class, gained 44% last year having lost money in 2022. Brevan Howard’s macro trades have fared less well in 2024, and while the firm pared losses last month on wrong-way interest rate bets incurred at the beginning of the year, its flagship $12bn Master Fund remains down around 2% year to date, compared with a 6% gain in the Bloomberg Macro Hedge Fund Index. #crypto #brevanhoward #hedgefund #digitalasset

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This founder bootstrapped his business to a €2.5 BILLION valuation. Jouk Pleiter is the CEO & Founder of Backbase, a global fintech that’s modernizing software and infrastructure for banks worldwide. Founded in 2003, Backbase was bootstrapped to €200M ARR until they raised a single Private Equity round from Motive Partners in 2022, valuing the company at €2.5B. They have now grown to €300M ARR, work with 150 banks, and continue to expand across the world. In this Fintech Leaders episode, we discuss: - Bootstrapping the company - Why they eventually decided to raise external capital - Successful strategies for selling software to banks - Why company leaders should think in five-year chapters - International expansion - Amsterdam as a tech and fintech hub… lots more!

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Revolut seeks $40bn valuation through share sale – FT "...Sources with knowledge of the plans told the FT that the fintech is working with Morgan Stanley to sell about $500 million worth of existing shares, including those held by employees, to reach this valuation. This comes after an investor revaluation earlier this year placed Revolut’s valuation at $25.7 billion, which was still down from its 2021 valuation of $33 billion..." #valuation #sharesale #neobank Financial Times Finextra _________________________________ If you want to immediately see new content that I curate 👉🏻 Ring my bell (🔔) and follow #informationbanker or if you want to get the posts that got noticed in my weekly What’d I miss newsletter, subscribe here: "https://lnkd.in/d5_KvWwu"

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What does 2024’s crypto holder look like? 🤔 As crypto bursts into the mainstream, Zumo teamed up with research company Focaldata to deconstruct the demographics of today’s UK crypto investor. Findings: ➡️Crypto investors are overwhelmingly younger, with 18-24 year-olds (38%), 25-34 year-olds (34%) and 35-44 year-olds (26%) significantly surpassing 45-54 year-olds (15%), 55-64 year-olds (6%) and 65-74 year-olds (2%) as owners of cryptoassets. ➡️The crypto holder base is varied and diverse, with particularly high ownership rates among Black (52%) and Asian (34%) British. ➡️Men remain more likely to hold cryptoassets than women - 23% vs 14%. ➡️City dwellers are particularly partial to crypto investment, with Greater London (39%), the West Midlands (19%) and North West England (18%) all exceeding the all UK average ➡️Crypto investors are likely to be educated, with ownership rates in the degree educated cohort (28%) significantly leading ownership rates among those with below degree level qualifications (13%). ➡️Crypto owners are more likely to vote for progressive or alternative parties, with 24% of 2019 Labour voters and 20% of Liberal Democrats saying they own cryptoassets as against the 18% all UK average.  Looking to engage the next generation of crypto investors? Find out more about Zumo’s embedded crypto-as-a-service solution: https://lnkd.in/e9MqCVhb 

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fundcraft Raises €5 Million Series A Round Led by aperture.co! 💸 📈 fundcraft‘s technology-centric value proposition CENTRALISES and AUTOMATES processes, data, and stakeholder interaction to lower costs and deliver better customer outcomes 🌏 The funding round will be used by fundcraft to expand its product and market reach, as it plans expand into NEW markets, including Spain and Germany 👨‍💻 Victor Martin Garcia, co-founder and CTO said, “The Asset Management industry’s technology stack is antiquated, spreadsheet-driven and inefficient. We look forward to continuing to invest into our custom-built platform and working with best-in-class tech providers where relevant. Our services will disrupt and disintermediate the incumbents in the industry, but it’s our tech that supercharges our digitisation engine.” Find out more on the link below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5YiS3Tb Olga Porro Ben Robinson Julien De Mayer #funding #investment #fundinground

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Project Agorá moves to next phase and opens up call for private sector participation !! launched by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a group of leading central banks and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), is inviting the private sector to join its exploration of how tokenisation can enhance the functioning of the wholesale cross-border payments. #bis #tokenisation #cbdc Bank for International Settlements – BIS

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Incredible interview 🎤 - Former Monzo CPO explains why building the Venmo for cross border needs Stablecoins. Having led product for Monzo, Meta and Deliveroo the key insight is that usability is everything. Stablecoins on Solana are - Fast - Reliable - Cheap Sling Money and Mike Hudack are solving the usability problem in Crypto by doing the hard things like 1. Heavy up front compliance work 2. Building native Crypto and Tradfi integrations 3. Making this truly global "The first major thing we spent money on was our financial crime team" You can find the full thing now but searching for Tokenized wherever you get your podcasts.

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💡 Web3 Weekly Round-up - 02/08/24 🌱 - Probably nothing... 1️⃣ 🇺🇸 U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis announces bill for US Treasury to buy 1 million bitcoins worth $68 billion 2️⃣ 🇬🇧 Bank of England - Tokenisation could allow payments to be embedded more efficiently and deeply into our increasing digital economy 3️⃣ 🇦🇪 UAE's leading crypto exchange M2, enables UAE residents to trade crypto directly with their bank accounts 4️⃣ 🌍 Bitlayer, a layer 2 built on Bitcoin, just raised an $11M Series A at a $300M valuation. 5️⃣ 🇺🇸 Cantor Fitzgerald CEO, Howard W. Lutnick, announced the firm's plan to establish a Bitcoin financing business with an initial $2 billion investment 6️⃣ 🌍 Bernstein analysts project a $20 billion total addressable market in Bitcoin mining hardware over the next five years 7️⃣ 🇮🇪 Central Bank of Ireland announces innovation sandbox theme: combatting financial crime 8️⃣ 🇪🇺 European Central Bank claims the digital euro will offer unprecedented privacy 9️⃣ 🌍 Pantera Capital - women in crypto earn more than men 🔟 🇺🇸 Ignoring quantum threats in CBDC design is reckless - North Carolina Blockchain Initiative #blockchain #ecosystems ❓What else happened? Gradually then suddenly...

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Investa has successfully raised over £700K in its first crowdfunding round, closing early due to overwhelming demand! This funding will fuel the launch of Investa’s zero-commission options trading app, aiming to transform the UK trading landscape. 🚀 Currently, only 2% of UK investors are trading options, compared to 20% in the US, and Investa plans to bridge this gap by making options trading more accessible and user-friendly for all. With more than 500 investors backing the project, the app is set to offer a seamless, commission-free experience for traders on the go. Founded by Alec Beasley, ex-Citi, and Ian Fuller, ex-Freetrade, Investa combines years of expertise from leading financial institutions to build a platform dedicated to investors’ needs. With the crowdfunding campaign already 200% overfunded in less than two weeks, and a total of £1.8M raised so far, Investa is poised to scale its development and marketing efforts ahead of the app launch. #InvestaLaunch #TradingApp #OptionsTrading #CrowdfundingSuccess #InvestmentOpportunities #FintechInnovation #StockTrading Tony Afram Rachel Louie Butterworth Paula Fidder

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A big thank you to Jonny Fry for the invite & encouragement If you’re interested in emerging technologies within finance please follow this man, he’s the big cahuna with a career to back up the title! #cryptofunds #blockchain #capitalraise

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Venture capital investment in the UK artificial intelligence (AI) sector experienced a resurgence in the first three months of 2024, as overall funding stabilized following a global downturn in late 2022 and 2023. Fintech took the lead with $1.4 billion raised, while innovative sectors like quantum computing witnessed increased support. While AI raising increased, crypto funding hit a 3-year low. Despite its historical significance in driving the crypto industry, VC investment has significantly declined, raising concerns about sector sustainability. AI UK Fintech Funding Jumps In 2023, the energy sector took the lead in funding for the first time, albeit briefly, according to research from HSBC/Dealroom. However, fintech swiftly reclaimed its top position in Q1 2024, securing $1.4 billion across 73 rounds. Notable late-stage rounds, including Monzo (£340 million), Flagstone (£108 million), and PPRO (£73 million), contributed significantly to this resurgence. Cutting-edge technological sectors like frontier technology, semiconductors, and quantum computing have also witnessed a surge in support, emerging as top funding recipients in the UK tech landscape during Q1 2024. These sectors, often concentrated in science hubs like Cambridge and Oxford, collectively raised …

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a16z propels crypto innovation with a London startup accelerator, investing $500K and mentorship in promising talents, readying them to overcome the industry's stigma and thrive. @a16z #CryptoStartup #InnovationAccelerator

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The Crypto flywheel! ⚙ 🔝 ETH's ETF and the UK's stable coin have broken two more regulatory barriers and are fueling mainstream adoption by retailers and brands. As part of this movement, crypto cashback is becoming a notable feature, enhancing engagement with a broader audience. This momentum encourages regulators to remove additional regulatory barriers, creating a positive flywheel for innovation! 🚀

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