Weekly Roundup

CoinBase Direct Listing
CoinBase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, went public this week, with shares rose by over 33% on the first day of trading

Asia Pacific Retail Investor Partiicipation
Retail investor participation continued to surge in Asia Pacific regions, according to Singapore exchange SGX; in Malaysia it wasreported that account openings over the past year rose by over 270 percent.

Cybersecurity and Source Code Theft
The United States Department of Justice charged a “hacktivist” with source code data theft and leaks.

ESG Investing
Media reported on the biggest ESG mega trends around the world, including cloud computing, resource efficiency, vehicle electrification, clean water, access to finance, and healthcare transformation.

Rise in Artificial Intelligence
It was reported that the future of artificial intelligence requires guidance on sociology.

In the Mix: This Week’s Top FinTech Thought Leader

  • Gary Gensler, was confirmed by the Senate to chair the SEC, where his agenda will likely include cryptocurrency regulation and crypto ETF.
  • Garry Reeder, was appointed CEO of the American Fintech Council (AFC).
  • Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA Research, indicated that SEC approval of a bitcoin ETF is likely to take more than 30 days, and is coming within the next year or two.
  • Kristin Smith, head of the Blockchain Association, indicated that it would join Fidelity, Square,and CoinBase on efforts regarding cryptocurrency regulation.