The Week in Fintech
My top three fintech news of the last week and why.
Crypto companies are increasingly turning towards sports to tap into a more mainstream audience. Crypto.com especially created buzz through their viral Super Bowl advertisement which resulted in millions trying to access the apps within a minute of its airing. This follows their $700 million deal last year to rename the Staples Centre as the Crypto.com Arena. The company launched a $100 million campaign across 20 countries, starring Matt Damon. It has also inked sponsorship deals with major sporting properties including Formula 1 and the UFC. In a competitive market, Crypto.com is trying to differentiate itself by close association with sports. While some have raised eyebrows at their over the top, aggressive marketing spend, it has certainly led to them capturing a major share of voice in trending spaces.
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领英推荐
?The Winter Olympics 2022 is serving as a pilot for China’s new digital currency, the e-CNY. According to reports, the currency is being used to make payments worth around 2 million yuan per day. Apart from software wallets, many athletes and visitors are also using hardware in the form of e-CNY payment cards, for which a handful of special automatic teller machines (ATMs) have been set up at various important venues at the Games, by a state-controlled commercial bank, Bank of China. This is a crucial experiment for the Chinese digital currency which is being watched closely by most of the world. The smooth working and high volume indicates initial success, especially as it is being used by athletes from all around the world and through various methods such as smartphone apps, physical cards and wristbands.
?UK tax authorities made their first seizure of NFTs in a tax crackdown when they seized three non-fungible tokens in a case involving fraud of public coffers worth 1.4 million pounds. Apart from this around 5000 pounds worth of crypto assets were also seized. This step issued a clear warning against using crypto assets to hide money, as reemphasized HMRC as well in a public statement.?