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☆ Chinese-Owned Bitcoin Mines Are Using up America's Energy, Electricity
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Concerns about the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal activity resulted in an effective ban on crypto mining and transactions. After a massive public outcry at the end of 2021, mining companies in Kazakhstan were effectively cut off from the grid. Today, the US makes up about 40% of the global hashrate — up from 17% during China's 2021 peak — making America the biggest hub for bitcoin mining. However, in recent years, bitcoin mining has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of private companies. Given how much energy bitcoin mining consumes, it's worth questioning whether its presence in the US is really worth the trade-off.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Zoe Liu, hasn't, pushback, haven't, Jeremy Fisher, Fisher, Gladys Anderson, Kelley Sayre, Stephanie Marsh, Marsh, Gavin Newsom, would've, Donald Trump, Trump, Satoshi Nakamoto, Saifedean Ammous, Cheyanne Diehl, wasn't, Biden, Joe Biden, Liu Pengyu, America Organizations: Council, Foreign Relations, Mining, Cambridge, Goodyear, Sierra, Environmental, New York Times, Tech, Gov, Securities and Exchange Commission, July's Bitcoin, SEC, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, Nasdaq, Embassy, EV, Sierra Club, City Council, Digital Locations: China, Kazakhstan, America, Utah, West Virginia, Akron , Ohio, Rockdale , Texas, Murphy , North Carolina, Massillon , Ohio, Bono , Arkansas, Vilonia , Arkansas, Akron, California, Nashville, Massillon, Ohio, Chinese, Massillon's City, In Arkansas, Wyoming, Washington, Harrison , Arkansas

No joint accounts Albert Cash Account review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user." The Albert Cash Account is a good free account that processes your direct deposits up to two days early. No joint accounts Albert Savings Account review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user." The Albert Savings Account has strong savings tools. About AlbertAlbert is a digital financial platform with a cash account, savings account, and auto-investing tools.

Persons: Albert, Albert Cash Albert, Albert Cash, Albert Albert, You'll, Albert doesn't, Wealthfront Organizations: Albert, Sutton Bank, Albert Savings Albert, Smart Savings, Apple, Google, Better, BBB

☆ Achieve financial wellness: Be happier, wealthier and more financially secure
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Cnbc Make It Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Too much or prolonged financial stress can hurt your health and relationships, and if you don't address it, your existing financial troubles can snowball. Our new online course, Achieve Financial Wellness: Be Happier, Wealthier & More Financially Secure, will give you the tools you need to get your money life in order and feel confident about your future. Yanely Espinal, a director of educational outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance and member of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board, who noticed a gap in the education system and has made it her mission to educate young people about how to achieve financial wellness. Kamila Elliott, CEO of wealth management firm Collective Wealth Partners and member of the CNBC Digital Financial Advisor Council, who advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on their financial planning, tax and investment needs. The most important step on your journey toward financial wellness?

Persons: We'll, You'll, Emmie Martin, Brad T, Yanely, Kamila Elliott Organizations: CNBC, CNBC Digital Financial, Finance, Financial Wellness Advisory Board, Wealth Partners

☆ There's a 'stealth erosion' in global US dollar reserves, but there's no dominant replacement yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe US dollar is in a state of "stealth erosion," the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, wrote in a report on Tuesday. This effect masked the shift of central banks and governments out of dollar reserves. Instead, the shares of "non-traditional reserve currencies" have risen, according to the IMF. These include the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, South Korean won, Singaporean dollar, and Nordic currencies. AdvertisementThe dollar's decline in FX reserves doesn't appear to be about sanctionsThe IMF's report comes amid ongoing discussions about de-dollarization.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, International Monetary Fund, Business, US Federal Reserve, IMF, Canadian, South Korean, greenback Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Here are some big money blind spots you need to avoid, advisors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Here are some of the biggest financial blind spots, according to several certified financial planners on CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council. 1. Credit scoresConsumers often don't understand the importance of their credit score, said Kamila Elliott, CFP, co-founder and CEO of Collective Wealth Partners based in Atlanta. The average person with a credit score between 760 and 850 would get a 6.5% interest rate, according to national FICO data as of April 1. The latter's monthly payment would cost $324 more relative to the person with a better credit score — amounting to an extra $116,000 over the life of the loan, according to FICO's loan calculator. "Ten out of 10 people couldn't explain how the tax withholding system works," said Ted Jenkin, CFP, CEO and founder of oXYGen Financial based in Atlanta.

Persons: Kamila Elliott, Wills, Barry Glassman, I'm, Glassman, Elliott, That's, Ted Jenkin, Uncle Sam, Jenkin Organizations: Getty, Digital Financial, CFP, Wealth Partners, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Wealth Services, Westend61, Collective Wealth Partners, Business, Employers, Workers Locations: Atlanta

☆ Singapore's Sea Limited posts first profitable year amid efforts to defend market share against Lazada, TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Limited on Monday posted its first profitable year amid efforts to defend market share against Alibaba -owned Lazada and TikTok. Net income in 2023 was $162.7 million, as compared to a net loss of $1.7 billion in 2022. Sea's e-commerce arm Shopee made a "meaningful gain in market share" in 2023 despite "intensified competition in Southeast Asia," the firm said on Monday. Sea also said Shopee's market share in the region has "solidified" and the firm intends to "maintain our market share in 2024." Tokopedia merged with TikTok Shop in Indonesia to form an enlarged Tokopedia entity, in which TikTok will take a controlling stake of 75.01%.

Persons: Forrest Li, Li, Sea's, Shopee Organizations: Alibaba Locations: MariBank, Singapore, Sea's New York, Southeast Asia, Indonesia

☆ Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1 billion class-action lawsuit for endorsing worthless NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a $1 billion class action lawsuit for his promotion of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. Ronaldo and Binance didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. Notably, Ronaldo is still promoting the company, including posting a Binance ad as recently as November 28 on his X account, which has 110 million followers. Celebrities suedOther celebrities have also been the target of similar lawsuits. He also agreed to pay a $50 million criminal fine and a $150 million civil penalty.

Persons: Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo “, Ronaldo, Binance didn’t, Binance, “, Gary Gensler, Kim Kardashian, Celebrities, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Brady, Bundchen, Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, Jr, cryptocurrency, Charles Whitehead, ” Whitehead, ”, Changpeng Zhao, ” Zhao, – CNN’s Jennifer Korn, Allison Morrow Organizations: New, New York CNN — Soccer, ” Securities, Exchange, SEC, Cornell Law School, CNN Locations: New York, Florida

☆ Southeast Asia is on the cusp of a 'supercharged' digital payments revolution, PwC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Widespread mobile ownership, together with rapid digitalization after the pandemic, helped spur the expansion of digital financial services in Southeast Asia, said PwC. PwC"This enhanced availability and convenience of digital payments will see the bulk of the regional population leveraging mainstream digital financial products, such as e-wallets, further expediting the expansion of financial services," said PwC. watch now"Consumers are adopting digital financial services at a rapid pace. Cash is no longer king, as digital payments now make up more than 50% of the region's transactions," a recent Google, Temasek and Bain & Company report wrote. "In some regions such as Southeast Asia, [digital payments via e-wallets] are already more common than physical card payments and set to dominate point-of-sale [systems] overall," wrote Dan Jones and Alex Walker of OliverWyman.

Persons: PwC, hawkers, —, Cash, Dan Jones, Alex Walker of OliverWyman Organizations: Banking, Getty, Careem, Mercado Libre, Temasek, Bain & Company Locations: China, East Asia, Shanghai, Banking Asia, Asia, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Paytm, India, AliPay, Latin America

☆ Southeast Asia's digital economy – from e-commerce to online media – is set to hit $218 billion in 2023, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The yearly report analyzed the five main sectors of Southeast Asia's digital economy – e-commerce, travel, food and transport, online media and digital financial services. The report also revealed revenue in Southeast Asia's digital economy is expected to hit $100 billion this year, growing 1.7 times as fast as the region's total transaction value. "Southeast Asia's digital economy is really in the midst of an unprecedented pivot towards profitability. Despite investors being pickier, "dry powder" increased to $15.7 billion at the end of 2022, up from $12.4 billion in 2021. "This shows that there is fuel available to propel Southeast Asia's digital economy to the next stage of growth," the report said.

Persons: Carlina, Hoong, Chadha, Fock, CNBC's JP Ong Organizations: Google, Temasek, Bain & Company, Companies Locations: Asia, Southeast, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, East Timor, Papua New Guinea

Worldline's (WLN.PA) stock slide, which saw around $4 billion wiped off its market value, is the latest wake-up call. COMMISSIONS CUTRevenue growth has suffered at payments firms as inflation has force European consumers to spend less, while investors fret about the euro zone slipping into recession. Some analysts say payments firms have also been caught napping, after a period of growth during COVID lockdowns. In a further sign of investor wariness, venture capital investment flows into European payment firms have also dried up. Now, it may leave private equity investors to pick up the pieces for payment service firms, analysts said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paul Charpentier, Bryan Garnier, napping, Jefferies, Hannes Leitner, Leitner, Charpentier, wariness, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley, Worldline, Bryan Garnier's Charpentier, Elizabeth Howcroft, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, PayPal, Holdings, Companies, Barclays, Reuters, Spain's Banco Sabadell, Fidelity National Information Services, CVC Capital Partners, CVC, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Nexi, Europe

☆ With China playing catchup with the U.S., these 3 charts show the top countries for fintech in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

UK has second-biggest number of top fintech firmsThe U.S. was home to 65 of the top fintech companies, according to CNBC's list of world's top 200 fintech companies. In the U.S., some of the top global fintech companies on Statista's list include names like Stripe, PayPal and Intuit . Stateside, meanwhile, the largest fintech unicorns are Stripe ($95 billion), Chime ($25 billion), Ripple ($15 billion), Plaid ($13.5 billion), Devoted Health ($12.6 billion, and Brex ($12.3 billion). Other leading ecosystems for fintech unicorns include India, on 17 unicorns, and China, on eight. Standing in 8th place is Mexico, with five fintech unicorns, Singapore, also with five, and the Netherlands, which has four in total.

Persons: Ed Jones, Starling, Tencent, Statista, Andreessen Horowitz, Wise, Vlad Tenev, Group's, —, Nick Parmenter Organizations: AFP, Getty, CNBC, Statista, Ant Group, Plaid, Visa, Mastercard, European Union, Apple, Google, Sequoia Capital, PayPal, Intuit, Financial, Authority, Consumers Locations: U.S, Beijing, China, Silicon, Europe, Ukraine, Covid, India, France, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Netherlands, Statista

☆ Fintech VCs are readying their checkbooks as cash-strapped startup founders run out of options
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fintech funding has been on a decline from 2021's peak levels, but VCs see signs of a rebound. VCs are itching to get back to dealmaking as they see early signs of a rebound in the fintech industry. Cash-strapped founders who didn't want to fundraise in a down market and get valuations slashed are running out of options and time. They dominated the fintech market in the past several years, but the shine is wearing off, Shriner said. Fintech VCs will get to spend more time on due diligence, looking beyond so-called "vanity metrics," Fernandez said.

Persons: Cash, didn't, Mark Peter Davis, Davis, We're, Tripp Shriner, Robert Ruark, Ruark, B2C, VCs, Shriner, — crowdedness, Stephanie Choo, Marcos Fernandez, KPMG's Ruark, Fintech, Fernandez Organizations: Interplay, Investors, Point72 Ventures, KPMG, Tiger, Portage Ventures, Fiat Ventures Locations: dealmaking, VCs, overvaluations

☆ CNBC's top 200 global fintech companies: The complete list
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

From China's Ant Group to Sweden's Klarna, here is the complete list of the world's top 200 fintech companies. CNBC partnered with independent research firm Statista to establish a transparent overview of the top fintech companies. Statista analyzed over 1,500 firms across nine different market segments, evaluating each one against a set of key performance indicators, including revenue, user numbers, and total funding raised. The final list includes some of the biggest companies in the sector — Ant Group, Tencent, PayPal, Stripe, Klarna and Revolut — as well as several up-and-coming startups seeking to mold the future of financial services. The categories include:NeobankingDigital paymentsDigital assetsDigital financial planningDigital wealth managementAlternate financingAlternate lendingDigital banking solutionsDigital business solutionsYou can search by country, category, or company name to see which firms made the cut.

Persons: Statista, Revolut — Organizations: CNBC, Tencent, PayPal, Neobanking, Digital

☆ From banking giants to lending up-and-comers — here are the world's top 200 fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Statista identified 40 firms as top digital payments companies. While digital payments is often the area that draws most investor buzz, lending generates more money in financial services. Statista identified 25 fintech companies that fall into the category of top alternate lending firms. They include American small business lending firm Biz2Credit, Irish e-commerce lending company Wayflyer, and Latvian loan refinancing startup Mintos. Digital business solutions

Persons: Monzo, there's, Statista, Afterpay, It's, Binance, eToro, Equity crowdfunding, hasn't, Peter Hazlehurst Organizations: JPMorgan —, Orange, Digital, U.S, SEC, European, Education, Equity, Republic, Tech, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, CNBC, Solaris Locations: fintech, Europe, Nigeria, Orange, Africa, Terra, U.S, Cayman Islands, American, Latvian, U.K

☆ Intesa CEO: bank to expand in wealth management thanks to technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, July 11 (Reuters) - Thanks to cost-saving investments in technology, Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) plans to grow its market share in wealth management without having to make any acquisitions, Chief Executive Carlo Messina said on Tuesday. Presenting a new digital financial advisory service for private banking customers, weeks after launching the group's new digital bank for mass-market clients, Messina said Intesa was increasingly acquiring fintech features. In a similar fashion, Intesa said it was lunching Fideuram Direct, using technology to serve younger and less demanding private banking clients. "We can imagine for example the son of one of our private banking customers as a Fideuram Direct customer," he said. Fideuram Direct, the new digital service, has already 60,000 clients and 2.5 billion euros in AUMs, Intesa said.

Persons: Intesa, Carlo Messina, Messina, Tommaso Corcos, Corcos, Valentina Za, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir Organizations: MILAN, Thomson Locations: AUMs

So what's hot in fintech right now? One area fintech companies are getting excited by is an improvement to online checkout tools. Callan Carvey, global head of operations at Cleo, said the firm's AI connects to a customer's bank account to get a better understanding of their financial behavior. "A job that typically would take around one or two weeks can now be completed in 30 minutes, right. Several fintech executives CNBC interviewed spoke of how they're not interested in launching products tailored to crypto as the demand from their customers isn't there.

Persons: MacKenzie Sigalos, hasn't, they've, Starling, Richard Davies, Davies, Niklas Guske, —, B2C fintechs, David Singleton, Guske, dazzled, Cleo, Callan Carvey, Carvey, Teo Blidarus, Taktile's, Hiroki Takeuchi, Takeuchi, Changpeng Zhao, they're, Jack Zhang, Zhang, Prajit Nanu, cryptocurrencies, Banks, Nanu Organizations: Bank, fintechs, CNBC, Business, Allica Bank, B2B, Tiger, Schroders Capital, Atom Bank, Schroders, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, cryptocurrencies Locations: Amsterdam, MacKenzie Sigalos AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, British, Atomico, U.S

☆ Tala: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

That's up from $2.7 billion to more than 6 million people the year before, as the popularity of digital financial services continues to grow in the wake of Covid. Tala offers micro-loans between $10 to $500 for consumers and small businesses through its smartphone app. The financial sweet spot for Tala aims to create a more equitable financial system in emerging markets including Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico and India. Last November, Tala launched a new app with digital wallet features that moves beyond lending. Customers receive credit to their Tala wallet to manage money without fees, and eliminating the need to go to a remittance center for their money.

United Airlines — The airline lost 0.9% in the premarket after it announced a net loss for the first quarter. The company reported $11.43 billion in revenue, slightly above the $11.42 billion estimated. The company posted earnings per share of $1.35, which fell below the $1.41 consensus estimate from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Ally Financial — The digital financial services company's shares were down 1.3% after its first quarter earnings and revenue missed Wall Street's expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.23, topping against a consensus estimate of $1.20 per share, according to FactSet.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts expect these five stocks to fetch attractive returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Meta PlatformsWeakness in digital ad spending due to macro pressures has hit social media giant Meta Platforms (META) over the recent quarters. SoFi TechnologiesNext on our list is fintech firm SoFi Technologies (SOFI), which offers digital financial services to over 5.2 million members. The acquisition is expected to drive SoFi's mortgage growth and operational efficiencies and broaden its mortgage product offerings. (See SoFi Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)PVHApparel company PVH (PVH), which owns popular brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, delivered better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. The analyst sees "an attractive risk reward profile" in PVH stock based on the company's earnings growth potential and current valuation.

☆ It's becoming increasingly clear that fintech has a fraud problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"With fast growth comes fast fraud," Frank McKenna, a longtime fraud expert who works with banks, lenders, and fintechs, told Insider. Cash App only requires a zip code, debit-card number, and either an email or phone number to create an account. Cash App's alleged fraud problem could also be the result of its large, active customer base, which numbers some 44 million, according to the company's 2022 annual report. The fact that Cash App offers peer-to-peer payments exacerbates the fraud issue, according to McKenna, the chief fraud strategist at Point Predictive, an anti-fraud software company. Digital-only bank Chime has had its own issues with fraud, Jason Mikula, a fintech analyst and consultant, told Insider.

☆ BUSD: US regulator orders Paxos to halt new issues of Binance-branded stablecoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —New York’s top financial regulator has ordered a crypto company to stop minting a major stablecoin, widening a clampdown on the embattled digital assets sector. Paxos also said it would “end its relationship” with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. It did not say why the regulator had ordered it to stop issuing BUSD. Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said overseeing crypto assets was a key priority for 2023. According to crypto advocates, the growing global clampdown could undermine the ecosystem for digital assets.

☆ UK digital pound: 'Britcoin' could arrive in the second half of the decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Central banks around the world are considering whether to issue digital currencies as more parts of the economy move online. In the United Kingdom, £10 of a digital pound would be worth £10 in cash. Central bank digital currencies could make online spending more convenient, ease cross-border transactions and boost competition among providers of digital financial assets. Another fear is privacy, since digital currencies would give governments new insights into how people are spending their money. Eleven countries, including The Bahamas and Jamaica, have already launched central bank digital currencies.

☆ French clients file complaint against Binance over social media marketing practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Tassilo Hummel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The complaint does not automatically mean French prosecutors will open a formal investigation following the complaint. The complaint, seen by Reuters, says Binance carried out marketing campaigns on social media platforms such as Instagram and Telegram when its official registration as a digital financial service was still pending with French authorities. The lawyers did not give the names of the Binance clients behind the complaint, citing privacy rules. News website Mediapart which first reported on the French complaint, cited Zhao as saying that "Binance has not been promoting its offers in France before it was allowed to". Binance has marketed itself globally, enlisting hundreds of so-called "Binance Angels" as volunteers across the world countries to promote the exchange to local crypto traders on social media.

☆ Why Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Jimmy Fallon and other celebrities are getting sued over crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Tom Brady, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and baseball Hall-of-Famer David Ortiz are just some of the big names facing lawsuits from investors as the crypto world crumbles in the wake of FTX’s fall from grace. The backlash started earlier this month, when a class-action suit was filed against celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber and Serena Williams for promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. None of the celebrities named in the lawsuits immediately responded to requests from CNN for comment. Investors in FTX are not expected to be able to recover their money, the company’s CEO testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday. And after the crypto market bust and a round of lawsuits, celebrities may think twice about what they endorse in the future, too.

SoFi pitches itself as a digital financial services company with 3.9 million members as of Q1 2022. Heightened financial and risk controls mean that SoFi's crypto activities "pose significant risks to both individual investors and safety and soundness," the lawmakers said. Investor education material from SoFi warns that a cryptocurrency offered on SoFi's crypto platform, Dogecoin, has "no special use case or features." The letters to regulators and SoFi come as crypto markets weather their worst crisis yet. Lawmakers have demanded an explanation from SoFi on its risk management, credit, financial and compliance systems by Dec. 8.

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