Comments from Anthony Ginsberg, Managing Director of GinsGlobal Index Funds
Qualcomm has reported a drop in its adjusted earnings per share to 78 cents, but it was not as high as most analysts were expecting. The company was expected to provide a much gloomier report than it did, based off its Q2 numbers.
The company’s shares were up around 3% in after hours trading, while earnings are expected to trail last year’s figure.
Qualcomm’s large investment into 5G has proven fruitful for the San Diego-based semiconductor maker. We believe it will be a leader in the Internet of Things and benefit from the explosion in Cloud Technology too – since companies active in this sector will be dependent on 5G technology.
It’s likely 5G wireless networks will usher in a range of new possibilities for businesses. Health-care startups could use the speed and power of 5G to conduct remote surgery. 5G is predicted to be 100 times faster than the current generation of wireless. Qualcomm Inc.’s venture-capital division is setting aside $200 million to invest in 5G wireless startups – an indication of its commitment to this area.
Qualcomm is partnering with US phone carriers such as Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. – in the race to roll out 5G offerings. In September, Qualcomm announced new mobile platforms that will power lower-cost 5G phones – making them far cheaper than the current $1000 plus cost. This includes new Series 6 and Series 7 chips.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm is both working and competing with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. over 5G intellectual property and to supply 5G-compatible chipsets to smartphone makers as they introduce 5G-enabled phones.
We expect the US-China trade war to simmer down – now that Phase 1 is expected to be agreed to imminently. Qualcomm has previously been hurt by possible trade war worries. Qualcomm will likely be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a reduction in the trade dispute with China. Its share price has already started to show signs of recovery.
The importance of 5G
In the delivery of healthcare – 5G will be of tremendous economic benefit – especially in the areas of telematics and wearables – tracking how people are living. Healthcare accounts for almost 20% of the US GDP – so any efficiency drivers in this area will be widely adopted.
We believe wireless and 5G represent the future of business digitization. Qualcomm is well positioned to benefit from these significant trends. We expect early 5G innovations could occur in enterprise business settings next year.
About GinsGlobal
GinsGlobal Index Funds provides a wide variety of index-linked investment products. These include traditional Index Funds (mutual funds), Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Principal Protected (Capital Guaranteed) index notes. GinsGlobal has pioneered a common-sense investment approach that has challenged the fund management industry by offering customers a transparent and low-cost way to invest in any asset class whether it be stocks, bonds, real estate or alternative (hedge) investments.
Alliance between EWPN and Wnet sees increased benefits on both sides of the Atlantic for women in fintech and payments
Amsterdam and Atlanta – 07
November 2019 – The European Women Payments Network (EWPN) and the U.S.-based
Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) share a mission to create
better opportunities for women and the men that advocate for them in the fintech
and payments industries. As a result of their like-minded goals to improve
inclusion and diversity, the two organisations today announced they are coming
together to allow their respective members to share the benefits of both
networks. Members of both organisations can
learn more by visiting EWPN and Wnet.
Through the new alliance, EWPN and Wnet will publish dedicated landing
pages where members can access each organisations’ extensive intelligence,
networking opportunities events, and programming. EWPN, launched in 2015 to champion
diversity and inclusion in fintech and payments, serves over 1,000 individual
members and 11 corporate members. Wnet, launched in 2005, serves over 3,000
women each year in the U.S., through events, information and knowledge sharing,
and networking opportunities.
“This exciting alliance will see EWPN and Wnet working together,
leveraging both networks for the benefit of all our combined members”,
explained Martha Mghendi-Fisher, Founder of EWPN. “Both networks are dedicated
to improving prospects for all women in the payments industry, increasing
inclusivity and diversity. Sharing our insights, knowledge and membership will
make us both stronger and allow us to bring about change as quickly as possible”.
Members will also have access to each organisation’s workshops and networking events in
various U.S. and European countries throughout the year, as well as mentorship
programmes. In addition, individual members of EWPN and Wnet may become
members of the other organisation at a discounted rate, even if their employer
is not a corporate member or sponsor.
Wnet
Executive Director Lisl Dutterer announced the collaboration news on stage at
the 2019 Wnet Leadership Summit “Leading
in a Changing World“,
the premier payments industry event designed by and for women leaders and the
men who advocate for them.
“By working together, Wnet
and EWPN are creating global change and the opportunity for more women to lead in
the payments industry”, said Dutterer. “Wnet has been extending our member
benefits to women around the globe, and we are excited for the opportunity to
work with EWPN’s leadership to accomplish that goal. Sharing our insights,
knowledge, and experience will make our organisations stronger and is another
effort to bring about positive change across the global payments ecosystem”.
The European Women Payments Network (EWPN) is focused on championing the
skills and expertise of women in the burgeoning FinTech and payments sectors.
In particular, through mentorship, leadership programmes, networking events and
workshops, EWPN is providing the opportunity for women to learn, network, share
and celebrate their achievements.
Each year EWPN holds the only Pan-European
Conference specifically focused on women
working in FinTech & Payments. The conference brings together women from
all over Europe for a full-day event, featuring interactive panels, deep-dive
workshops, and plenary sessions with industry female leaders.
About
the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet)
The Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) is the premier professional organization for women in payments and the men that advocate for them, providing personal enrichment no matter what stage members are in their careers. The organization provides world-class national and regional programming, fosters networking and promotes mentoring to help members achieve greater personal success, influence and professional parity. Founded in 2005, Wnet is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization serving thousands of women in payments annually. For more information about national and regional events and programming, or to become a member, please visit www.wnetonline.org.
Note from editor: see also this article about Promoting Women
Visit booth
at GOTO Copenhagen 2019 18-20 November 2019
London, November 2019 – Since launching in 2015 as the
first ever non-bank to provide Virtual IBAN accounts, Banking Circle has been
delivering ground-breaking FinTech solutions to help increase financial
inclusion. As a next-generation provider of mission-critical financial services
infrastructure, Banking Circle is continually growing its team and recruiting
innovative developers to build market-leading solutions.
Now the multi-award-winning financial utility, which
started life in a small Copenhagen office, is seeking new talent to join the
team based in Denmark. Michel André, Chief Technology Officer of Banking
Circle, commented: “When Banking Circle launched it had just three employees,
but has grown at a tremendous pace with the global team now comprising over 200
people, including more than 50 already based in Copenhagen.
“However, to continue developing so rapidly and
delivering solutions which offer true value to businesses around the world, we
need to grow our team and bring in new talent with diverse experiences and new
ideas.
“We are excited to be attending GOTO Copenhagen 2019
later this month and look forward to showing budding and experienced developers
how they can be part of improving SME financial inclusion around the world,
which in turn boosts economies. Not only is Banking Circle a great place to
work, but it is a FinTech pushing for and inspiring change in the global financial
industry today.”
As Chief Technology Officer, Michel André heads up the
Banking Circle technology team based in Copenhagen. He has more than 20 years’
experience as a financial services developer, designing and redesigning a wide
range of existing and new trading and risk management systems to increase
scalability and throughput.
To find out more about Banking Circle, visit its booth at
GOTO Copenhagen, or www.bankingcircle.com.
About Banking Circle
Banking Circle is a
next-generation provider of mission-critical financial services infrastructure
leading the rise of a super-correspondent banking network. Banking Circle
empowers banks and financial tech businesses to support customers’ trading
ambitions – domestic and global – whilst reducing risk and the operational cost
of transactions. Banking Circle solutions are
increasing financial inclusion by helping thousands of businesses transact
across borders in a way that was previously not possible.
In 2013 Saxo Bank formed a
new entity, Saxo Payments A/S, with the purpose of using Saxo Bank’s core
capabilities within the non-cash payments market. In October 2015 the company
launched the Banking Circle – its ground-breaking product for payments and FX
to the Financial Tech industry. In October 2017, the company launched its new
identity for Banking Circle, to reflect its position as a financial utility
servicing Financial Tech businesses and banks. In September 2018, Banking
Circle was acquired by EQT VIII and EQT Ventures, in partnership with Banking
Circle’s founders.
Domiciled in the
European Union, Banking Circle specialises in providing global banking services
including accounts, payments, lending and foreign exchange services to
financial institutions, including FinTechs, banks, acquirers, payment service
providers, FX brokers, money transfer businesses, e-wallets, and alternative
payment providers.
For further information and interviews please contact
the Banking Circle Press Office:
Royal Academy of Engineering and leading consumer brands join forces to change the face of engineering, after AI reveals misrepresentation of the profession online
Major brands, leading businesses and high-profile engineers have come together in a bid to change the online image search results for the word ‘engineer’
Over 100 organisations and counting1 including the BBC, Facebook, ITV, Transport for London, Ocado, Rolls-Royce and National Grid have signed a pledge to address the misrepresentation of engineers and engineering online and in popular culture
The Royal Academy of Engineering employed an Artificial Intelligence algorithm trained on online image search results for ‘engineer’ to generate artificial images of what it learned a typical engineer looked like – the majority of images generated were of a white man wearing a hard hat
6 November is This is Engineering Day – a national awareness day in Tomorrow’s Engineers Week to celebrate the unsung contribution that engineers make to our lives, and to call upon media, image providers, recruiters and advertisers to paint a more representative picture of the profession and those who work in it
Amazon’s Alexa2 will answer questions about engineering and This is Engineering Day
Major brands, leading businesses and high-profile engineers have come together in a bid to change the online image search results for the word ‘engineer’, as an AI programme trained on the results of an online search for images of engineers found that it vastly misrepresents the profession.
The announcement comes on This is Engineering Day, part
of a nationwide campaign led by the Royal Academy of Engineering – and
supported by a range of brands and engineering companies – to change the
misrepresentation of engineering online, celebrate the contribution of
engineers, and encourage more young people to consider a career in the
profession.
Original AI generated image
Enhanced version
To test the representation of the profession online, an AI machine learning model, otherwise known as a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), analysed over 1,100 images of engineers sourced online,3 and generated images based on this given dataset. The images generated by the GAN showed how narrowly an engineer is typically portrayed online: the majority of the generated images were of a white male wearing a hard hat. An online search, conducted by the Royal Academy of Engineering on 21 October 2019, found that 63% of images on the first page of the search results were of a person in a hard hat4, despite the fact that only a small minority of professional engineers wear hard hats most of the time.
The
Royal Academy of Engineering has created This
Is Engineering Day, which takes place in Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, to radically change this
narrow stereotype, and celebrate the varied and vital roles that engineers
play, from developing medical technologies like brain scanners and clean energy
solutions, to powering the social media platforms and smartphones we rely on to
keep in touch every day.
Over
100 brands across the UK that depend on engineering – including the BBC,
Facebook, ITV, Transport for London, Ocado, Rolls-Royce and National Grid – have
signed a pledge5 to increase
the public visibility of more representative images of engineers and
engineering, and helped create a new library of free to use images of engineers
that better represent what engineers and engineering really look like (www.flickr.com/thisisengineering/)6. This has been developed to encourage
website owners and image users to deploy a more diverse range of images when
showcasing engineers and the industries in which they work.
The
campaign’s partners and supporters will also be challenging this
misrepresentation on social media and through a range of different activities
and events on This is
Engineering Day including:
Amazon Alexa2 will answer questions about ‘This is Engineering Day’ and the role of engineers, and Amazon will run engineering-focused tours and STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) workshops in its fulfilment centres on 6th November
Network Rail showcasing real images of engineers on 60 screens across 15 stations in the UK, and across the Virgin train network
Facebook and Ocado creating and promoting new engineering video content featuring its engineers
Google hosting an engineering takeover at its Portsmouth Digital Garage on 6 November
Many
of the emerging and in-demand jobs identified by the World Economic Forum7 are
engineering jobs, yet every year the UK is short of up to 59,000 engineers,
while only 12% of the engineering workforce in the UK are female, and 9% are
from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Research
from EngineeringUK8 shows that more needs to be done to raise awareness of
engineering careers and encourage young people to consider the profession. Over
three quarters (76%) of young people aged 11-19 and 73% of parents do not know
a lot about what those working in engineering do.
Dr
Hayaatun Sillem, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:
“Engineers play a profoundly important role in shaping the world around
us – from designing our cities and transport systems, to delivering clean
energy solutions, enhancing cybersecurity and advancing healthcare – but that’s
simply not reflected in online image searches.
That’s why on This
is Engineering Day I’m appealing to anyone who uses or promotes
images of engineers to join us in challenging outdated and narrow stereotypes
of engineering. We want to ensure that engineers are portrayed in a much more
representative way, and that we help young people see the fantastic variety of
opportunities on offer.
Engineering is everywhere, and This Is
Engineering Day gives us
an opportunity to shine a light on the people who make possible so many
features of modern life that we take for granted. I hope that by inviting
the public to discover a different side to engineering, we will be able to
inspire more people from all parts of society to choose a profession that
shapes our world.”
The This is Engineering free public image library is available now at www.flickr.com/thisisengineering/ for media, photo, advertising agencies and the general public to view and use in projects, articles, campaigns and on social media. The library and This is Engineering Day are part of the This is Engineering campaign, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering to give more young people, from all backgrounds, the opportunity to take up engineering careers. More information on the campaign can be found at www.ThisisEngineering.org.uk, @ThisisEng on Twitter and @ThisisEngineering on Instagram.
1 – Brands involved in the
campaign include Google, Amazon, Facebook, Ocado, Ferrari, Anglian Water,
Heathrow, Network Rail, TfL, Virgin Media, BBC, ITV, EDF Energy, Science Museum Group,
as well as the list of corporate partners below, as well as professional
engineering institutions and many UK universities.
2 – Amazon’s Alexa, will answer
the below engineering and This
is Engineering Day questions:
‘Alexa, Tell me about This is Engineering Day?’
‘Alexa, How can I get involved with This is Engineering Day?’
‘Alexa, When is This is Engineering Day?’
‘Alexa, What does an engineer look like?’
‘Alexa, Tell me a fact about engineering’
‘Alexa, What is This Is Engineering?’
3 – The Generative
Adversarial Network was trained by Stylianos Moschoglou, a PhD student in
Machine Learning at Imperial College London and Machine Learning Scientist at Facesoft.io. Due to the GAN image being too low
res and pixilated for print purposes, a digital artist has retouched the image,
without changing the likeness.
4 – Researchers at the Royal
Academy of Engineering analysed the search engine image results for “engineer”
to assess what is being shown as representative images of engineers and
engineering. The assessment took place on 21st October 2019 using Chrome
extension “Fatkun” to search for the term ‘engineer’ on Google.
Accepting that statistically the vast majority (as much as 95%) of online
visitors rarely search beyond the first page in Google searches, only the first
results page of 452 images was assessed. The results were downloaded to a
library and counted manually. The results revealed most images (63%)
featured hard hats.
6 – The new public photo library,
which has been contributed to by some of the biggest brands in the world, will
be sent to stock image providers, website owners, media, advertisers, and
recruiters to encourage them to use these real images of engineers to help
increase visibility around the profession – www.flickr.com/thisisengineering/
8 – Research carried out by
EngineeringUK. Data from the 2019 Engineering Brand Monitor captured in Jan –
Feb 2019, based on a sample of 2,514 pupils aged 7-19, 1,023 educators, and
1,810 members of the public
About This is Engineering
About This is Engineering
This is Engineering is a campaign to raise awareness of the breadth of careers in
engineering and help address the significant engineering skills and diversity
shortfall that is holding back growth and productivity across the UK economy.
The campaign aims to give more young people, from the broadest possible
backgrounds, the opportunity to take up an exciting, engaging, rewarding and in
demand career.
This is Engineering is led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, in collaboration with
EngineeringUK. The campaign has been made possible thanks to the generous
support of the Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and our corporate
partners. More information about the campaign is available at www.thisisengineering.org.uk and @ThisIsEng on Twitter
As the
UK’s national academy for engineering and technology, we bring together the
most successful and talented engineers from academia and business – our Fellows
– to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society.
We
harness their experience and expertise to provide independent advice to
government, to deliver programmes that help exceptional engineering researchers
and innovators realise their potential, to engage the public with engineering
and to provide leadership for the profession.
We
have three strategic priorities:
Make the UK the leading nation for engineering innovation and businesses
Address the engineering skills and diversity challenge
Position engineering at the heart of society
We
bring together engineers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, business leaders,
academics, educators and the public in pursuit of these goals.
Engineering
is a global profession, so we work with partners across the world to advance
engineering’s contribution to society on an international, as well as a
national scale.
About EngineeringUK
EngineeringUK is a not-for-profit
organisation, which works in partnership with the engineering community to
inspire tomorrow’s engineers and increase the talent pipeline into engineering.
EngineeringUK leads engagement programmes The Big Bang and Tomorrow’s
Engineers, creates inspiring engineering careers resources and produces a body
of research including the flagship State of Engineering report.
AboutTomorrow’s Engineers Week
Tomorrow’s Engineers Week
(#TEWeek19) takes place from 4-8 November 2019 and aims to change perceptions
of engineering among young people, their parents and teachers and to inspire
future engineers. Tomorrow’s Engineers Week is led by EngineeringUK, a
not-for-profit organisation which works with the engineering community – employers
and professional institutions – to inspire tomorrow’s engineers. To find out
how to get involved, visit www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/teweek
This is Engineering is a campaign to raise awareness of the breadth of careers in engineering and help address the significant engineering skills and diversity shortfall that is holding back growth and productivity across the UK economy. The campaign aims to give more young people, from the broadest possible backgrounds, the opportunity to take up an exciting, engaging, rewarding and in demand career.
Volvo
Buses has received the largest single order for electric buses in Europe. Volvo
Buses will deliver 157 electric articulated buses to Transdev starting in 2020.
The buses will operate on a number of routes in Gothenburg. With their
introduction, emissions and noise will be significantly reduced, and the
electric buses will be able to operate in sensitive areas or zones with special
restrictions.
“It is
immensely gratifying that we have secured Europe’s largest ever single order
for electric buses – no less than 157 buses. Volvo is a pioneer in
electromobility and sustainable public transport. We have a holistic system
perspective for cities that encompasses vehicles, services and charging
infrastructure. We focus on solutions that offer high reliability and high
service levels for route operators and passengers. This large order confirms
that electric buses are already recognised as a sustainable and financially
viable solution for demanding high-capacity public transport needs,” says Håkan
Agnevall, President of Volvo
Buses.
“Transdev is
today Europe’s leading operator of electric buses and we know what challenges
there are with the transition to electric propulsion. We’ve therefore been
extremely thorough in choosing a partner with a holistic approach, a partner
that will be able to deliver both buses and charging infrastructure on time and
with excellent uptime. Being able to announce that we have chosen Volvo as our
partner for city bus operations in Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg is of course
particularly satisfying,” says Gunnar Schön, CEO of Transdev
Sweden.
All of the
buses will be of the recently launched 7900
Volvo Electric Articulated model. The Volvo Electric Articulated can carry
150 passengers with an energy consumption that is 80 per cent lower than that
of a corresponding diesel bus. The Volvo Electric Articulated combines high
passenger capacity with low operating costs. The buses will be charged at
quick-charge stations along the route, using the industry common charging
interface OppChargeTM, in order to ensure the most efficient operation
possible. In addition to the electric buses, the order includes 27 Euro VI
buses for regional operations, running on biodiesel.
“For us as a
mobility supplier, it is vital to always be able to offer passengers good
service and functional vehicles, but it is also important that our drivers have
a good working climate. New buses, in particular quiet electric buses, not only
result in cleaner cities – they also improve the everyday working environment,”
explains Gunnar Schön.
“Electromobility
creates new exiting opportunities for urban planning since we now get
emission-free and quiet public transport that can operate closer to the city’s
residents. Volvo aims to be a leader
in increased electrification and to be a partner for cities that wish to
implement long-term sustainable public transport solutions for their
inhabitants,” concludes Håkan Agnevall.
Gothenburg,
November 5, 2019 For further
information, please contact: Joakim Kenndal, Manager Media
Relations, Volvo Bus Corporation,
Phone +46 739-02 51 50 or
e-mail joakim.kenndal@volvo.com
One gamer will kickstart a lifelong gaming career with one of esports’ oldest teams.
Unikrn Offers the Best Job in Gaming A USD50,000 Salary for New Streaming Talent
November 5, 2019 — Unikrn, the world’s
longest-operating esports-first betting operator, is seeking an ambitious gamer
to help build an audience in 2020. The winning streamer will be given a 6-month
partnership with Unikrn and $50,000 to stream full-time and build an audience.
Anybody can apply for the unprecedented opportunity at unikrn.com/best-job.
Streaming is one of Earth’s fastest-growing entertainment sectors, but
more than 99% of Twitch streamers are unpartnered and have no way to monetize
their passion. Nearly 4,000,000 broadcasters have streamed every month in 2019,
with only about 35,000 partnered broadcasters. With over 50,000 average live
channels in any given moment, breaking into the industry is harder than ever
before.
“Becoming a professional streamer requires a lot of luck,” said Mike
Dalton, VP Marketing for Unikrn, “We believe that for every streamer who builds
an audience, there’s three gamers with amazing potential to offer the community
something fresh who just never get an opportunity to be noticed.”
The awarded contract will include a 6-month period to represent Unikrn
as an official streamer for Unicorns of Love, one of gaming’s most beloved
fan-focused esports franchises, and a $50,000 stipend.
Unikrn was awarded as the best Esports Bookmaker of the Year for 2019,
its first full year of operation with its own wagering licenses, and has
options for fans to enjoy gaming both with and without gambling. Its wagering
options include Unikrn UMode, the world’s only way to bet on your own success
in online matchmaking games.
“The Unicorns of Love family is
changing today,” said Jos Mallant, UOL’s Owner, “We can’t wait to welcome a fan
into our clan to stream or compete in 2020.”
Streamers may enter the search until Nov 30, 2019.
ABOUT
UNIKRN
Established
in 2014, Unikrn is one of the world’s leading esports companies, building
extensive crossroads through betting, content and gaming. Unikrn began
operations with its fully-owned IOM licenses in November, 2018 and was awarded
EGM Esports Bookmaker of the Year 2019. Unikrn has been a leading endemic
bookmaker in esports and video games for years and has patent-pending
technologies and completely unique gaming experiences.
Those
unique experiences include Virtual CS:GO & SFV, skill-based betting on online
matchmaking, streamer better, esports and sports bookmaking, daily gaming
giveaways and an online casino, each available as regulator approved.
In the typical Internet infrastructure, people and their devices were somehow mere end-users of applications; however, users, along with the expansion of the Internet, started establishing tighter interactions with their devices and – through them – with other individuals. The concept of the Internet of People reflects the active roles that humans are playing and is also the answer created to solve the new types of interactions.
So what is the Internet of
People?
Internet of
People, also known as IoP, is the connection between people through the Internet
and other technologies. It resembles a digital cooperative, which offers open-
source and decentralized infrastructure. It uses blockchain and advanced
peer-to-peer technologies to enable people to communicate and do business
without compromising their privacy and free from third-party censorship.
The advantage of the Internet
of People’s decentralization
The goal of
IoP is to eliminate the middlemen during our online activity, enabling us to perform
perform any transaction or sharing information with our consent freely. The decentralization
that IoP offers saves us from data breaches or misuse of our data. It is well
known that companies gather and the excessive amount of data from the users
and, frequently, they sell it, re-direct it, or use it for means users don´t
even know.
Besides the
systematized rupture of our privacy, another issue is that as companies don´t always
store users´ data with the required level of security, our information and
identity are at risk of being publicly exposed. The same way IoP enables
authorized information sharing, it also enables device-to-device connection
without a central server routing the connection, which ensures privacy.
The origins of IoP
Internet of
People project was founded by Luis Fernando Molina with the financial support
of Lan Tschirkly, who abandoned it in June 2017. When Molina discovered the Bitcoin,
he decided that he would take advantage of the underlying technology to solve
the problem humans face of “unlimited concentration of power.” Molina, with Tschirkly’s support,
first created a group of tech-savvy adventurers created the “Fermat Community,”
which later split into IoP and Fermat Community.
The technology behind IoP
IoP uses a
combination of Proof of Work and Proof of Stake systems, combined the so-called
SHA256 algorithm, an algorithm that transforms data into text and uses unique
digital signatures that need to be proved by one of the above mentioned proof
systems. The good news is that the most common devices, from a PC to a
smartphone can mine IoP tokes, without the need for sophisticated hardware or
software.
The future of IoP
Although
the numbers for IoP don´t seem appealing enough to invest on it yet, it’s
underlying concepts of freedom and decentralization, along with the solution it
presents to data privacy and security as growing needs, may indicate that there
are great chances of development and global growth for IoP.
The time for big companies and institutions to decide whether to bet on it or not is soon to arrive. Would you bet your two cents into it?
Blockchain technology finds its origin in the digital
coin named Bitcoin. It was invented
primarily to sustain it. Although blockchain is tightly associated with Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies, these are just the top of the iceberg.
Currently, blockchain technology is being used in other commercial applications, and annual growth of 51% is expected for 2022 in several markets, including financial institutions and Internet of Things (IoT).
What is blockchain
technology, and what makes it secure?
A blockchain is a list of digital records or blocks of
data that are stored in a linear chain that is constantly growing. It´s a kind
of digital general ledger than can be shared with many users and that keeps
record of every transaction. Each block contains encrypted data, for instance
of a Bitcoin transaction, and is linked to the specific user that made it.
There´s no way to alter the data in them since they are time-stamped and
connected to the previous block.
The security of blockchain relies on the fact that it
can be updated only with the agreement of all the participants and the system
itself.
The information of the whole chain is kept in each
node, so each participant has an exact copy of the entire chain. If someone
wanted to attack the service, he should overturn or nullify every node in the
net given that just one operative node is enough for all the information to be
available.
As new records are created, these are verified and
validated by the nodes and added to a new block that is linked to the chain.
Once added, this block becomes unalterable. For a transaction to be accepted
and added, some specific digital signatures or requirements must be met. For
example, people that use the crypto-currency Ethereum, must meet several
conditions to demonstrate that they have that crypto-currency and can operate
with it.
Why is blockchain useful for?
As it is a peer-to-peer network, where transactions
are time-stamped, and that enables managing all the information exchange among
the users in an autonomous way, without the need for an administrator, it is an
excellent tool for all types of businesses. Any information that needs to be
kept intact and available can be safely stored in a blockchain.
Many industries, such as transport, fintech, and
sanitary services, to mention just a few, are taking advantage of this
technology that streamlines processes, improving productivity.
Challenges organizations or companies could face with blockchain
Thanks to blockchain, the operative models and
business-making models of the companies and organizations could undergo a total
transformation with the adoption of blockchain technology. Many organizations
are using blockchain technology for their transactions. Still, if it were
massively adopted, one of the challenges that governments of extremely
controlled sectors will have to solve is the lack of regulation.
Blockchain is complex, and it takes a longer time to
process any transaction. It can take hours to complete a transaction. And the
more it grows, the slower it gets. This could be an obstacle for specific
industries.
Despite the above, the biggest challenge that blockchain technology faces is the reluctance of private and public sectors, along with the skepticism of the potential users who, as with each new technology, need time to learn, get used, and trust.
The world’s first open banking
business Lending-as-a-Service platform has completed a £1.5m funding round led
by Hambro Perks, the leading UK early-stage venture firm.
Martin McCann CEO Trade Ledger
London, 30 October 2019 – Trade
Ledger, the ground-breaking business lending platform, which automates
commercial lending processes for global banks and alternative finance
providers, today announces strategic investment in a £1.5M round led by Hambro
Perks, to further accelerate revenue growth.
Established in 2016 and now
operating on three continents, Trade Ledger’s unique lend-tech platform
automates all types of digital business finance, helping bank and non-bank
business lending organisations alike to fast-track economic growth through
process automation and scaling of business credit operations. Trade Ledger uses
financial data APIs (often referred to as Open Banking), Machine Learning,
Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation technologies to enhance
or replace old and costly legacy bank systems for origination, credit
decisioning, take on and loan management, enabling new cutting-edge working
capital solutions for business customers. The resulting new lending solutions
can reduce the time-to-cash from 90 days which is the industry average to 4
minutes and are better tailored to the working capital needs of modern
high-growth businesses.
Trade Ledger’s co-founder, Martin
McCann, and his team believe that transforming business lending operations
through the Trade Ledger Lending Platform is the single biggest area of
opportunity for commercial banks and financial services organisations to
benefit from Open Banking in the near future. “There is a £1.2 trillion gap in
credit that businesses need to optimise growth which is why we created this
lend-tech”, explained McCann. “We believe that only by reimagining new types of
credit services only possible with this lend-tech, can banks solve this massive
business problem profitably and at scale globally. By leveraging open trade
data via APIs alongside other enterprise-grade enabling technologies, financial
institutions can drive significant operational efficiencies and product
innovation within their internal operations and dramatically increase market
share.”
“My co-founder Matt and I launched
Trade Ledger in 2016 to improve the business customer’s experience in their
financial supply chain, by helping banks re-imagine the entire process”,
continued Martin McCann. “With the increasing threat of big technology firms
like Google, Amazon and Alibaba bridging the gap between traditional financial
services and the supply-chain eco-system, incumbent banks and lenders must
start thinking about how they remain relevant. Trade Ledger is currently the
only true platform in the world that can help them do this at a global scale in
the business lending sector.”
George Davies, Partner at Hambro
Perks added: “We are delighted to be backing Trade Ledger as Martin, Matt and
the Trade Ledger team continue to develop market-leading tech that benefits
businesses around the world. Hambro Perks is committed to supporting brilliant
founders and teams that are building global businesses, and we believe that Trade Ledger has enormous global
potential. We are
very excited about Trade Ledger’s rapid growth and to support Martin and Matt
as they tackle the barriers that have created such a vast undersupply of
working capital for businesses across the globe.”
The Trade Ledger Platform provides a complete innovation layer that masks the clunky traditional corporate business banking environment and delivers an excellent consumer-like experience. Trade Ledger supports compliance with new regulatory requirements through aggregation and normalisation of better credit risk data whilst underpinning the wider commercialisation of open data and adoption of new banking business models to generate new revenue streams. The platform orchestrates value in the lending ecosystem by moving organisations from process-led engagement to an automated data-driven lending model.
About Trade Ledger
Trade
Ledger (www.tradeledger.io)
is the world’s first open banking lending platform that gives banks the ability
to assess business lending risk in real-time. This will enable banks to address
the £1.2 trillion of undersupply in trade finance lending globally while
providing high-growth companies with the working capital needed to sustain
growth.
About Hambro Perks
Hambro Perks (www.hambroperks.com) is a London based venture
firm that backs and builds leading technology companies. Founded by Dominic
Perks and Rupert Hambro CBE, Hambro Perks invests at an early stage and helps
companies to scale with capital and strategic support. The firm invests from
both its permanent capital and Co-Investment EIS Fund that is open to high net
worth investors and is soon to launch other funds. Hambro Perks has backed more
than 40 businesses such as the digital pharmacy Echo, the geocoding system
What3Words, and the Muslim matchmaking app Muzmatch.
