New venture capital fund Sure Ventures is listing in London for £3.3m, to focus on fintech, internet of things, augmented reality and virtual reality January 19, 2018 London’s public market has welcomed a new venture capital fund to its ranks this morning, as Sure Ventures listed for £3.3m. Sure is set to focus on companies which develop augmented reality, virtual reality, fintech and internet of things (IoT) products. Managed by Shard Capital, which also runs funds under the names of Rubrics Asset [...]
The price of bitcoin has hit highs not seen since 2014 December 13, 2016 The price of bitcoin has hit a near three year high as global and political uncertainty continue to make the cryptocurrency an increasingly attractive safe haven for investors. The price of bitcoin versus the dollar surpassed its 2016 high of $781.31, reaching highs not seen since early 2014 and creeping closer toward the $800 mark. It hit a high of [...]
Post Cambridge Analytica: Four opportunities for a new deal on personal data March 27, 2018 The way information is being collected and sold on the internet is creating stark new power imbalances in our societies. The Cambridge Analytica revelations remind us how easy it now is for unaccountable actors to capture personal data, and abuse that power in ways that could have a profound influence on the outcomes of democratic [...]
Ranked: Here are the 20 wealthiest people in cryptocurrency revealed by Forbes’ first ever Crypto Rich List February 7, 2018 Forbes has compiled its first ever Crypto Rich List to rank the 20 wealthiest people in crypto, saying billion-dollar fortunes have been created almost overnight. Top of the list is Ripple founder Chris Larsen, with Forbes saying his net worth came close to $20bn in early January, as a result of owning 5.2bn XRP – [...]
The price of Bitcoin has just fallen off a cliff after China said it is “monitoring” exchanges January 11, 2017 The price of bitcoin fell sharply today, after it emerged China's central bank is moving to "closely monitor" local bitcoin exchange businesses. The cryptocurrency fell as low as $784.56 in lunchtime trading, before settling just above $800, 10.7 per cent down. The People's Bank of China published a statement this morning saying it had formed a joint [...]
Doubts about ‘value investing’ have returned to their pre-dotcom crash high December 18, 2017 Is legendary investor Warren Buffett losing his golden touch? On our Value Perspective investment blog, we would never dream of suggesting such a thing but type “Buffett losing touch” into Google and you will find plenty of financial commentators have, from time to time, had no such qualms. What is really interesting, however, is not [...]
Independence, innovation, and online voting: How Estonia built itself into a digital paradise February 23, 2018 This Saturday, my native country, nestled in a remote corner of the Earth about 500 miles south of Santa’s village, celebrates its hundredth year of independence. Today, Estonia is probably the most digitally advanced country in the world. As the New Yorker magazine recently put it: “Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. Has [...]
Blockchain technology is set to play a power chord in the music industry by helping to solve copyright issues May 10, 2018 The internet has allowed consumers to create, share and listen to more music than ever before. It has also created headaches for the music industry, specifically over how to keep track of copyrights in a complex global economy and how to accurately allocate royalties to artists and labels. One London-based tech startup, JAAK, hopes to [...]
Bitcoin price surges past $900 mark for first time since December 2013 December 23, 2016 The Bitcoin price has been given a boost of Christmas cheer today after blasting through the $900 barrier after rising more than $100 in the last two days. The price of a single Bitcoin has risen more than 14 per cent in the last three days and only surged past $800 on Wednesday. Yesterday, its market capitalisation smashed [...]
Ex-Barclays boss Antony Jenkins is joining bitcoin wallet startup Blockchain December 13, 2016 The former boss of Barclays, Antony Jenkins, is getting deeper into the world of fintech, joining the board of the largest bitcoin wallet startup in the world, Blockchain. “Blockchain technology has the potential to reinvent the way we use money and contribute to a finance system that’s high quality, low cost, secure, fair and transparent,” said [...]