Fintech Daily Digest

As more people and places say 'No' to cash, apps like Venmo and Zelle are emerging as the new dominant payment methods in the United States.

A year and a half after cryptocurrency investors started touting the benefits of turning traditional investments into digital "security tokens," progress has stalled.

Facebook plans to test its GlobalCoin crypto-currency and digital payments system by the end of 2019 and launch in about a dozen countries by Q1 2020. Facebook is expected to outline plans in more detail this summer, and has already spoken to Bank of England governor Mark Carney and US Treasury officials about operational and regulatory issues. The firm is also in talks with money transfer firms including Western Union.

AT&T will now accept online bill payments through crypto payment processor. AT&T becomes the first major U.S. mobile carrier to provide a crypto payment option to customers.

The Bank of Russia will review a proposal to create a gold-backed cryptocurrency, which could be used for mutual settlements with other countries, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said on May 22. More: http://tass.com/economy/1059727"

Mastercard has introduced its Innovation Engine, an API based plug-and-play digital platform that enables issuers and merchants a simplified path to rapidly deploying digital capabilities and experiences to their customers. It will deliver unique and digitally integrated solutions and consumer experiences through a single connection.

Suncorp ran Watson silently alongside its consultants for six months, with the AI returning the most accurate insurance claims assessments.

This paper discusses potential strengths and weaknesses of ML-based credit assessment

Coin Metrics has released a report detailing discrepancies in Ripple's escrow reporting system. The Blockchain analysis firm described these discrepancies as contradictions that required some explanation.

Coinbase Commerce, the crypto exchange's zero transaction fee merchants payments offering, has added support USD Coin. Merchants can accept It without geographical limitations or the need for a traditional bank account.

CULedger, a blockchain consortium and credit union service organization, has chosen enterprise software firm R3's Corda blockchain to underpin its forthcoming cross-border payments product.

Stablecoins have hit an all-time high with over $4B USD-pegged tokens now on the blockchain. While Tether dominance remains, new stablecoins that came to market recently have made leapfrogs of progress.

Cryptocurrency lending startup BlockFi is almost halving the interest rates it offers on ether (ETH) deposits, while some bitcoin (BTC) rates will increase slightly.

Around 11PM EST on May 16th, a sell order for around 5,000 BTC appeared on the Bitstamp order book. Over the next 15 minutes, the BTC price on Bitstamp continuously fell - skewing the entire market and triggering hundreds of millions in long liquidations.

Cryptocurrency research firm Diar has indicated that institutional traders recently registered record high volumes on bitcoin (BTC) derivatives exchanges.

By using VAR-SVAR Granger causality and Student's-t Copulas, we find that Ethereum is likely to be the independent coin in this market, while Bitcoin tends to be the spillover effect recipient.

Beijing startup Waterdrop, backed by social media giant Tencent, is seeking new financing at a valuation of more than $1B to fend off its better-capitalized rival, Ant Financial, in the emerging field of health care crowdfunding.

How are fiat-backed stablecoins adapting their strategies to remain competitive?

Crypto startup Circle has laid off roughly 30 people, or about 10% of its staff. The company - which owns the USDC stablecoin in partnership with Coinbase - is looking to cut costs.

In a court transcript Tether admits that it invested some of its reserves in bitcoin. David Miller, an attorney for Bitfinex said: "Tether actually did invest in instruments beyond cash and cash equivalents, including bitcoin."