Banks Ignore Cryptocurrency but Embrace...

Edward Flores

published in Blogs

Apr 03, 2018

Banks Ignore Cryptocurrency but Embrace Blockchain

Banks remain skeptical of, if not outright hostile towards, cryptocurrency. They are inversely bullish, however, about its underlying technology – blockchain. This decentralized, public transaction ledger has been embraced by financial institutions for its transparency, speed, and security (as well as its potential to cut costs), and creative uses are being regularly implemented in different sectors. Now, JPMorgan has announced potential plans to spin-off its blockchain network, Quorum, into an independent company.

Quorum, which shares 95 percent of its software with cryptocurrency Ethereum’s blockchain, is an “enterprise-focused version of Ethereum…ideal for any application requiring high speed and high throughput processing of private transactions within a permissioned group of known participants” aimed at addressing “specific challenges to blockchain technology adoption within the financial industry, and beyond.”

The open-source project began in 2016, becoming part of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) in February of 2017. The EEA, which was developed to further the development of the Ethereum blockchain for business use, counts heavyweights like Santander and MasterCard as members. Since its launch, Quorum has attracted some significant international clients, with users including Microsoft, Genentech, and Pfizer.

Amber Baldet, the former product development lead for the project who recently left to found her own blockchain venture, spoke at March’s EthCC conference about using Quorum to further a spirit of collaboration between different networks. Baldet described the problems faced by blockchain designers as “[not] so far apart,” – in her estimation, differences between developers are based on approach, not overarching goals.

Meanwhile, banks remain hungry for developments related to the technology – continued success means simplifying their business infrastructure, reducing costs, and making processes like securities settlement more streamlined, or payment processing instantaneous.

Talks about turning Quorum into an independent company are in their early stages. Executives are said to be determining if the increased autonomy resulting from a spin-off would allow Quorum to support new open-source projects with additional partners. Brian Marchiony, a JPMorgan spokesman, said in a statement that “[JPMorgan continues]to believe distributed ledger technology will play a transformative role in business, which is why [they] are actively building multiple blockchain solutions…Quorum has become an extremely successful enterprise platform even beyond financial services and we’re excited about its potential.” No matter which fate JPMorgan executives choose for Quorum, banks are ready to continue betting big on blockchain and its transformative powers for their industry.

Related Tickers: MA

Sergey Savastiouk

published in Blogs

Mar 07, 2021

4 Tricks Hedge Funds Use to Get Ahead

If the stock market were Major League Baseball, hedge funds and institutional investors would be the pros on championship teams while everyday self-directed investors (SDIs) are the benchwarmers in the minors.It’s how they get ahead, and it’s why 90% of SDIs lose money trying to play (invest and trade) in the major leagues. The 4 tricks we discuss below are rooted in one common theme: they all use Artificial Intelligence and algorithms to generate data and ideas.

John Jacques

published in Blogs

Mar 22, 2018

A.I. Stock Market Predictions: Head & Shoulders

Statistics for the Head-and-Shoulders Bottom Pattern The days where only hedge funds used algorithms to trade stocks are officially over. Now retail investors can use Artificial Intelligence (A.I. Here’s an example of the algorithm in action: Late last year, Tickeron’s A.I.

Sergey Savastiouk

published in Blogs

Jul 10, 2020

3 Stocks to Buy if Coronavirus Second Wave Hits

By analyzing market trends from the first wave, you can predict behavior for the second. Technology stocks have performed at historic levels this year, but the market is severely overbought.To compensate for that, look at performance during Q1 and Q2, the height of global Covid shutdowns.

Edward Flores

published in Blogs

Feb 06, 2021

How to Become the Millionaire Next Door

The Golden Gate Bridge is always a fixture of these walks too, one of man's most beautiful creations. As we were walking, at one point she turned to me and said, "Man, I'll never have a million dollars."" My girlfriend is 27 years old and works as a graphic designer, making about $75,000 a year.

Alla Petriaieva

published in Blogs

Feb 23, 2021

Is Ethereum’s Bomb about to Explode?

Ethereum’s software is set for an update in October.Until it is finished, participants in the Ethereum blockchain must determine how to delay the difficulty bomb – code that necessitates a steadily increasing amount of computer power to mine blocks and unlock rewards – that is already in place.

Sergey Savastiouk

published in Blogs

Aug 07, 2018

When Is the Next Recession Coming?

However, we also know that economists predicted 22 recessions out of 11 that took place since 1945. Are there real recession signs we should watch for?Indeed, the answer is yes, and here are a few very important ones: The first one is almost obvious and known to everyone – it is the Fed.

Abhoy Sarkar

published in Blogs

May 22, 2020

Central banks have been buying $2.4 billion in assets every hour for the past two months

Some $17.8 billion has been poured into bond markets over the past week, the biggest move in more than three months.Around $3.5 billion has been invested into gold, the second largest on record.

Rick Pendergraft

published in Blogs

Feb 07, 2021

Mid-January Short Interest Report Shows 8 Stocks with Good Fundamentals and High Short Interest

Sergey Savastiouk

published in Blogs

Mar 10, 2021

How to Start Trading Penny Stocks

Penny stocks have long been marginalized within the professional investment community, oftentimes being painted with a broad brush of simply being “too risky.” Leonardo DiCaprio’s depiction of the penny stock peddling conman, Jordan Belfort, in the Wolf of Wall Street certainly didn’t help.Here are four reasons to start trading them now. Reason #1: Let’s State the Obvious -- Penny Stocks are Cheap A single share of Apple Inc. costs over $350.

Abhoy Sarkar

published in Blogs

May 08, 2020

US unemployment rate jumps to 14.7%, the highest in series history

The U.S. economy’s employment fell by -20.5 million in April. The coronavirus crisis led to unemployment rate soaring to 14.7% in the U.S, the highest rate in the Bureau of Labor Statistics-tracked series history that goes back to 1948. However, the figures were better compared to several economists'/analysts' forecasts of 22 million job losses and 16% unemployment rate. Another unemployment measure that includes those who have stopped looking for work as well as those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons also touched an all-time high of 22.8%.