Today in FinTech: Patent Pending; Crypto Counsel; US CBDC Perks; Crypto Lending Stakes
In today’s FinTech news, a British firm filed a patent to protect its digital wallet technology, and a community bank steals a compliance chief from Robinhood. Plus, APIs are used to collect data by team members while professional race cars are competing.
Tintra Seeks UK Patent to Protect Digital Wallet Linking Tech
Tintra Plc filed a U.K. patent application to protect its technology that links digital wallets with common ownership across different platforms and accounts. The intellectual property (IP) was created as part of Tintra’s rapid research and development program, Project Revolution, which the company CEO said “... crystalized our mission in one place for the first time.”
Cross River Bank Hires Crypto Compliance Chief From Robinhood
Former Robinhood executive Benjamin Melnicki joined Cross River Bank last month as the chief compliance officer (CCO) for its cryptocurrency team. Cross River is a New Jersey community bank catering to FinTechs. Melnicki left Robinhood in December where he served as CCO for crypto. Before Robinhood, he was compliance chief for Grayscale Investments, and before that, Ripple.
F1 Teams Deploy APIs for Edge on Track, in Stands
Iddo Gino, founder and CEO of RapidAPI, told PYMNTS that technology plays a role in every industry, even Formula One (F1). Members of the race team carry tablets to collect data delivered through application programming interfaces (APIs). Each car produces gigabytes, if not terabytes, of data during every minute of the race.
Fed Chair: CBDC Could Preserve Dollar’s Standing
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at a Fed board conference in Washington, D.C., that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be a help to the U.S. dollar, both in amplifying its strength and maintaining its international standing. He said the Fed is examining if the U.S. payments system will be improved by an American CBDC.
Collapse of Crypto Lending Platform Celsius Points to Bigger Problems
After crypto lender Celsius halted withdrawals on June 13, Babel Finance followed on June 17 and Finblox limited withdrawals to $1,500 per month. Crypto lending and borrowing platforms generally offer investors interest rates too good to be true. But in an unregulated landscape, the stakes are high.