Tag / finance

by geoffreykfcheng

The Rise of DeFi: Adapting to the New World of Digital Assets

A growing number of developers and entrepreneurs are seeking to rebuild and decentralise the financial system using blockchain – databases distributed over many computers around the world and kept secure by cryptography. With huge shoes to fill, can DeFi lay the foundations for a decentralised economy?

Short for decentralised finance, DeFi is an umbrella term for financial services offered on public blockchains like Ethereum. Like traditional financial institutions, DeFi applications allow anyone in the world to borrow, lend, earn interest, and trade derivatives. With the help of smart contracts, agreements can be automatically executed and individuals can transact peer-to-peer without trusting centralised intermediaries such as banks and brokers. The DeFi space has seen exponential growth and it is becoming too big to ignore for governments and financial institutions. According to blockchain research firm Blockdata, a trillion dollars could flood into DeFi if the world’s 100 biggest banks invested as little as 1% of assets under management.

Around the world, regulators begin to turn their attention to cryptocurrencies. Some countries have shown a positive attitude toward crypto, while others wield the crackdown hammer. Earlier in September, El Salvador has become the first country to accept bitcoin as legal tender. In the US, the SEC is reportedly investigating Uniswap Labs, the development firm behind the biggest decentralised crypto exchange. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler also warned that DeFi projects aren’t immune to oversight. On the other side of the world, the People’s Bank of China issued a notice that deemed all crypto transactions to be illegal. However, this isn’t the first time that China has ‘banned’ crypto. Despite the recent ban, traders are able to find alternative ways to invest.

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Where does DeFi go from here? Feel free to discuss and share your opinions in the upcoming meeting titled “The Rise of DeFi: Adapting to the New World of Digital Assets“.

Date: Oct 12th, Tue; 19:00-21:00
Location: Salon 10 (Arbuthnot Rd., 10)
Tickets: HKD30

The meeting will be conducted in groups of 4 people to follow current government regulations for gatherings.

ARTICLES TO READ / VIDEO TO WATCH:
Forkast News: Institutional DeFi poised to become a $1 trillion industry, Blockdata says – https://forkast.news/institutional-defi-trillion-dollar-industry-blockdata/

The Block: How the SEC’s reported Uniswap Labs investigation could signal a new era of enforcement – https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/116633/how-the-secs-reported-uniswap-labs-investigation-could-signal-a-new-era-of-enforcement

Cointelegraph: Derivatives DEX dYdX beats out Coinbase’s spot markets by volume amid China FUD – https://cointelegraph.com/news/derivatives-dex-dydx-beats-out-coinbase-by-volume-amid-china-fud

Henri Arslanian Youtube Channel: What is DeFi? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCYwhWePqh4


FURTHER READING:
Forbes: Bitcoin Mining Uses A Higher Mix Of Sustainable Energy Than Any Major Country Or Industry – https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2021/07/06/bitcoin-mining-uses-a-higher-mix-of-sustainable-energy-than-any-major-country-or-industry/?sh=de0633d4cc93

The Economist: Why it is wise to add bitcoin to an investment portfolio – https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/09/25/why-it-is-wise-to-add-bitcoin-to-an-investment-portfolio

The Tokenizer: DeFi and tokenization together reshape the financial system – https://thetokenizer.io/2021/03/10/defi-and-tokenization-together-reshape-the-financial-system/

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If you decide to join the meeting, please come prepared – read more on the subject, take notes, write down some thoughts and points that you would like to bring for the discussion and share with the group.

We will not have a speaker on the topic, so your self-preparation is key for an intelligent and quality discussion within small groups of 4 people.

Fee: HKD30, it is also suggested that every attendee buys a drink as a courtesy to the venue.

The Economic Club is a community of intellectually curious people in Hong Kong. Learn more about the Economic Club on https://www.econclubhk.org/

by geoffreykfcheng

Celebrating Quantifeed’s 8th Anniversary

(Originally published in Quantifeed on June 18, 2021)

It’s Quantifeed’s 8th anniversary! At Quantifeed. we are helping financial institutions provide sustainable, transparent, and affordable wealth management to everyone. As we celebrate our eighth anniversary, we share eight trends that are shaping digital wealth management.

1. The Rise of ESG and Sustainable Investments

  • Compared with the global average, half of all investors in APAC countries, excluding Oceania and Japan, make climate-minded investments decisions.
  • ⁠90% of large institutions⁠ have significantly increased ESG investments in response to COVID-19.

2. Hyper-Personalized Recommendations

  • Hyper-personalized recommendations become the norm as open banking enables wealth managers to gain a holistic view of consumers’ financial situations.
  • 93% of FIs see an opportunity for growth in offering tailored investment plans.

3. Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

  • Intergenerational wealth transfer will bring an estimated $50 Trillion into the hands of millennials who seek alternatives to their parents’ financial advisers for wealth management decisions.
  • 21% of wealth advisers have a digitally-savvy marketing strategy geared towards younger clients who may prefer high-risk investments.

4. Retirement Income Solutions

  • Retirement income solutions are in huge demand as ageing populations in many countries are growing. New solutions will help retirees improve their lifestyle without the fear of running out of money during retirement.
  • 77% of participants seek help to live comfortably through retirement.

5. Infrastructure Upgrades

  • Demand for personalization, more transparency and lower fees will put pressure on product manufacturers and intermediates to modernize their infrastructure. Expect disruption to the mutual fund vehicle as well as settlement, clearing and custody processes.

6. A Wealthcare Ecosystem

  • Boundaries between banking, wealth management and insurance services are becoming increasingly blurred. Digital challengers and other service providers will compete for the same consumers and offer holistic services that range from savings, investments and insurance.

7. Alternatives and Digital Assets

  • Digital platforms are pushing the boundaries and enabling access to new investment classes such as alternatives and digital assets. Greater access, new investment opportunities, improved controls and suitability.

8. Digital Becomes Mainstream

  • Digital becomes mainstream as wealth managers blend human expertise and technology to create propositions that cater to all market segments. By 2030, millennials will hold five times as much wealth as they do today.