Financial Technology – Page 2

Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday

3Dec

By adminNo Comments

World

Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday

This year’s Black Friday might not have been marked by stories of mobs of shoppers like in past years, but it made up for that drama digitally.In-store U.S. retail sales on Black Friday rose 1.1% over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, and e-commerce sales were up 8.5%. That might help give a second wind to digital payments stocks whose shares have struggled at times in the postpandemic era. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

2Dec

By adminNo Comments

Money

Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday

This year’s Black Friday might not have been marked by stories of mobs of shoppers like in past years, but it made up for that drama digitally.In-store U.S. retail sales on Black Friday rose 1.1% over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, and e-commerce sales were up 8.5%. That might help give a second wind to digital payments stocks whose shares have struggled at times in the postpandemic era. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Celsius Details Plan to Focus on Bitcoin Mining Post Bankruptcy

1Dec

By adminNo Comments

World

Celsius Details Plan to Focus on Bitcoin Mining Post Bankruptcy

Nov. 30, 2023 7:43 pm ET|WSJ ProCrypto lender Celsius Network provided details Thursday of its plan to only mine bitcoin when it emerges from bankruptcy, a scaled-down business that reflects guidance from regulators. Earlier in November, Celsius received approval from a bankruptcy court in New York to create a new company built around Celsius’s bitcoin-mining business, staking activities and monetizing of illiquid assets that was going to be managed by Fahrenheit, an investor group backed by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington that included US Bitcoin.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

The Cost of Doing Business With China? A $40,000 Dinner With Xi Jinping Might Be Just the Start

28Nov

By adminNo Comments

World

The Cost of Doing Business With China? A $40,000 Dinner With Xi Jinping Might Be Just the Start

Updated Nov. 28, 2023 12:17 am ETBroadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinping’s table for the Chinese leader’s recent dinner in San Francisco with the heads of American businesses. Tan had a lot more at stake—a $69 billion deal he was waiting on China to approve.For months, Chinese regulators wouldn’t clear the U.S. chipmaker’s bid to buy enterprise software developer VMware, leading Broadcom to put off its date for completion of the deal—first announced in May 2022—three times. Beijing had held up previous mergers involving U.S. companies. Intel’s planned acquisition of Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor, for more than $5 billion, was scuttled in August after Chinese regulators failed to approve it.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reser...

Black Friday Spending Was Strong. How People Pay for Gifts Is Upending Retailers.

27Nov

By adminNo Comments

World

Black Friday Spending Was Strong. How People Pay for Gifts Is Upending Retailers.

Updated Nov. 26, 2023 2:50 pm ETRetailers aren’t just having trouble getting shoppers to buy sweaters and other holiday items this season. Store credit cards are also a tougher sell.The cards, which typically can only be used at a particular chain, have been a lucrative source of revenue for retailers as merchandise sales have slowed. But the stream is drying up as Americans carry fewer cards and increasingly finance purchases with buy now, pay later providers. Interest rates surpassing 30% on some retailers’ credit cards aren’t helping, according to analysts.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

26Nov

By adminNo Comments

World

Black Friday Spending Was Strong. How People Pay for Gifts Is Upending Retailers.

Updated Nov. 26, 2023 2:50 pm ETRetailers aren’t just having trouble getting shoppers to buy sweaters and other holiday items this season. Store credit cards are also a tougher sell.The cards, which typically can only be used at a particular chain, have been a lucrative source of revenue for retailers as merchandise sales have slowed. But the stream is drying up as Americans carry fewer cards and increasingly finance purchases with buy now, pay later providers. Interest rates surpassing 30% on some retailers’ credit cards aren’t helping, according to analysts.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Binance and the End of Crypto’s Dream to Escape From Government

24Nov

By adminNo Comments

World

Binance and the End of Crypto’s Dream to Escape From Government

On Nov. 21, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money-laundering laws. Its CEO has stepped down, and the company will pay $4.3 billion in penalties. While the eye-watering fine is getting the headlines, it’s the details of the agreement that really redefine the relationship between government and crypto.U.S. authorities describe this as a watershed moment for crypto’s compliance with American law. They’re right—and crypto only has itself to blame. Crypto’s creators aspired to create a decentralized money system, with no entry points for state oversight and surveillance. But the crypto economy has become increasingly centralized around exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. While these exchanges allow customers to store and convert money...

Why Stamping Out Crypto Bros Could Help Bitcoin

24Nov

By adminNo Comments

Money

Why Stamping Out Crypto Bros Could Help Bitcoin

Such is the wackiness of the crypto world that a regulatory crackdown might actually revive investor optimism.Earlier this week, Binance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations and agreed to pay a criminal fine of $50 million. Then, his company will pay $4.3 billion to, among other things, settle civil allegations related to sanctions evasion.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Binance Guilty Plea Shows What Crypto’s Really About

23Nov

By adminNo Comments

Money

Binance Guilty Plea Shows What Crypto’s Really About

Nov. 22, 2023 12:27 pm ETSo it turns out that of the two largest crypto exchanges, one was a fraud and the other was a money launderer. Whoever could have guessed?Skeptics of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have had their prejudices reinforced. The two main use cases—fraud and crime—have been exposed to the public in dramatic fashion, so now all we have to do is sit back and wait for the inevitable collapse in value.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Inside Binance’s Guilty Plea and the Biggest Fine in Crypto History

22Nov

By adminNo Comments

World

Inside Binance’s Guilty Plea and the Biggest Fine in Crypto History

Updated Nov. 22, 2023 4:18 pm ETThe king of crypto’s largest outlaw empire told employees for years that he would never turn himself in. But on Tuesday, a jittery Changpeng Zhao showed up in a Seattle federal court to plead guilty to violating U.S. money-laundering rules.“I’ve not caused problems before, I’ve never been a criminal. And I’ve never been into a courthouse before. So this is new to me,” Zhao told a judge.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8