George Bernard Show
Why BANKING 4.0
Chris Larsen Executive Chairman, Co-Founder at Ripple
Why crypto?
Sovereign states & cryptocurrencies
The Library of Congress (LOC) conducts periodic reviews of countries’ stances on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In November 2021, it identified 103 countries whose governments directed their financial regulatory agencies to develop regulations and priorities for financial institutions regarding cryptocurrencies and their use in AML/CFT. So far, El Salvador is the only country in the world that has declared bitcoin to be legal tender but other states might follow this year. Especially in South America where the population is extremely confident in bitcoin and countries are being tormented by hyperinflation.
Central banks & CBDCs
There are now three live retail CBDCs in the world – in The Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean and Nigeria – and one coming soon in Jamaica. There are 28 pilots and 68 central banks have communicated publicly about their CBDC work.
Over 70% of central banks have begun exploring the possibility of introducing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to a new paper, commissioned by the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA), that identifies the GFMA’s critical considerations for the success of potential CBDCs in wholesale markets (wCBDCs). Entitled Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Global Capital Markets Perspective, the report stress that central banks in collaboration with the private sector should continue to explore the role that wCBDCs can play in driving innovati97on and efficiencies in wholesale markets. Also, central banks should take a measured approach in the introduction of wCBDCs and the timeline should be cautious to mitigate any potential transition risk impacting safety and soundness, and financial stability.
wCBDCs are expected to operate alongside legacy instruments and systems, and not to replace them. It is therefore important for wCBDCs to be interoperable with the broader financial market ecosystem.
The use of sandboxes, proof of concept, dialogue with market participants, and pilot programs based on specific use cases will test the application of wCBDCs and help identify the impact on capital markets.
After sufficient analysis of lessons learned, financial institutions and regulators should define a transition period that is reflective of the risks and opportunities, and an effective implementation.
Worldwide crypto-users
In 2021, the number of global crypto owners almost tripled, from 106 million in January to 295 million in December. If we extrapolate a similar rate of increase in 2022, we are on track to reach 1 billion crypto users by the end of 2022.(…) “We expect the number of global crypto owners to reach 1 billion by the end of 2022.” – crypto.com report – Crypto Market Sising
Source: https://triple-a.io/crypto-ownership/
Bitcoin is by far the most well-known and traded cryptocurrency. Exact user figures for Bitcoin are not available, but it is estimated that the global user base of all cryptocurrencies increased by nearly 190 percent between 2018 and 2020 The increase in demographics might have been caused by both a rise in the number of accounts as well as improvements in identification. More accounts in exchanges or wallets became systematically linked to an individual’s identity, which made it easier to estimate the minimum user numbers associated with accounts on each service provider.
How many Bitcoin wallets are there? Blockchain.com wallets, something that makes purchasing Bitcoin possible, reached over 81 million wallet users in 2022.
Crypto as a business
The payments giant Visa said during its earnings call that customers made $2.5 billion in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its fiscal first quarter of 2022. That was 70% of the company’s crypto volume for all of fiscal 2021. Fireblocks, the highest valued digital asset infrastructure provider in the world, said that its customers have amassed $45 billion assets under custody on the platform. Fireblocks is the first company to enable decentralized finance for institutional players. The platform already supports over 800 major institutions.
„The disruption of cryptocurrencies in the financial sector reached the point of no-return and over the next decade every business will become a web 3 business.” – according to Fireblocks
Why is Romania the crypto-country of CEE?
First of all, blockchain technology has already been adopted by the Romanian Government. The IT systems and applications, that were used in the parliamentary elections from December 2020, developed by the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) based on the Decision of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) no. 29/2020, were implemented using blockchain technology.This state-of-the-art complementary solution guarantees the integrity and reinforces the transparency and traceability of the electoral process. Romania is the first EU country to use a voting reporting tool that is based on blockchain technology for national elections – according to Cointelegraph
The Romanian population has a stronger and older love story with blockchain technology, even if they don’t know it, that was born the moment Romanians started buying bitcoin.
According to a study conducted by iSense Solutions back in March 2018, more than half (57%) of Romanians in urban areas have heard of cryptocurrencies. In addition, the study reveals that 8% of Romanian internet users in urban areas have bought cryptocurrencies in the last 12 months. Bitcoin is the most popular digital currency when it comes to purchases – 7% of urban Romanians have bought a Bitcoin in the last 12 months, and 14% intend to buy one in the next 12 months. At that time, four years ago, the study reveals the belief of 30% of respondents that virtual currencies represent the future of means of payment.
One and a half year later, another ING international survey (conducted in September 2019), “From cash to crypto: the money revolution” shows that 12% of Romanians answered positively to the question about having crypto, a higher percentage than the respondents from France or Germany. At that point in time, it seems that Romanians’ interest in crypto was the highest in Europe.
Should banks choose to move into the sector, it’s worth noting that many consumers remain on the fence regarding mixing banking with cryptocurrencies. However, Romanian are among the most open people in Europe (after Turkey) in favor of the idea that banks shoul offer current accounts in cryptocurrecncies.
The most recent study on the notoriety and degree of ownership of cryptocurrencies, from January 2022, reveals important changes among the population, the trend being maintained in terms of adoption. Thus, according to a research conducted by Ipsos at the request of Tradesilvania, 96% of Romanian adults connected to the Internet have heard of cryptocurrencies. Moreover, out of 10 people who have heard of cryptocurrencies, 4 own or have owned cryptocurrencies and 8 intend to purchase cryptocurrencies in the future. This represents a very important change in the financial mindset of the internet users and a high interest in an alternative financial system.
Also, 65% of respondents who own cryptocurrencies agree that the crypto ecosystem represents the future of the means of payment. The Ipsos study also shows that 45% of internet users, aged between 18-55, want Romanian banks to offer crypto services.
Based on both these studies and trading platform estimates, at least half of million Romanians own or trade crypto.
CRYPTO BANKING 4.0
In numbers
Fireblocks
Partners
Powered by
PLATINUM PARTNERS
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
TRADING PARTNER
RESEARCH PARTNER
MEDIA PARTNER
CRYPTO COMMUNITY PARTNER
CONSULTING PARTNER
MOBILITY PARTNER
GALA
The NOCASH Gala, the annual event with the longest tradition in the financial and payment services industry in Romania, will take place this year on May 30, at the Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel.
As we have become accustomed to in recent years, the organizers of the event will come with a „country premiere”. This time it is a competition of projects based exclusively on blockchain technology. Many of them are related to crypto.
A jury of Banking 4.0 international conference partners will decide on the basis of clear evaluation criteria who is the most promising blockchain technology business model.
The winner will receive a package of services worth 2,500 euros, which allows a stand and two invitations to participate in ICT Spring sessions, one of the most important technology events in Europe, which is held annually in Luxembourg.
For the final selection, the organizers have prepared the following short list of projects, representing one of the most interesting business model proposals of the moment:
CLAPART – is a decentralized ecosystem where fans can invest in creative projects and creators can fund their work without artistic compromise.
DEGETHAL – Banking and Crypto on a single platform
LEADERS-TRIBE.COM – Online education platform for kids
OVEIT – Move towards Web 3.0 and the Metaverse by incorporating experiential digital art in the form of AI NFTs
TALKENS.AI – Bring your NFT to life. Own your AI Voice NFT. The Metaverse will be populated by billions of people, Humans.ai created the first 10 000 voices for them.
VESTINDA – Copy-paste your way to crypto investing. Connect your exchange accounts and access top algorithms created by experienced traders for automated & effortless crypto investing.
WENMOON STUDIOS LTD – Realistic games built in Unreal Engine 5 and empowered by Elrond Blockchain bring the gamer in a new era of gaming experience with player-owned in-game assets.
Farm XYZ – Turning Yield Farming into Structured Assets that everyone can use
The registration fee for the competition is 500 euro / project.
Venue
Athenee Palace Hilton
Photo gallery from previous editions
Chris Skinner and Brett King as headliners
Speakers
Advisory board
WHY AN ADVISORY BOARD
This year’s edition comes with a series of innovations, both in terms of thematic content, development format and management structure. For the sixth edition, the advisory board is made of business people with undeniable experience. Thus, we ensure everything we promised will be successfully delivered.
ROLE OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Validate & improve the structure and the content of the event. They provide suport, including by providing speakers.
Agenda
Day one – May 30
08.30 – 09.00 – Registration
09.00 – 09.05 – Welcome Speech – Andrei Burz Pinzaru, Partner Deloitte Legal / Reff &Associates
09.05 – 09.40 – Keynote speech
CBDC Real life pilots and Learnings – Antony Welfare, European CBDC lead and Global Partnerships at Ripple
09.40 – 10.40 – Panel one – CBDCs – the new era of digital money
Moderator: Mirela Ciobanu, senior editor The Paypers
Panelists:
Austėja Šostakaitė – Project Manager of digital euro at Bank of Lithuania
Daniel Eidan – Advisor and Solution Architect at Bank for International Settlements, Innovation Hub
Jean Bucur – Strategy Consultant – Cryptocurrency and Digital Currency Office at National Bank of Romania
Antony Welfare, European CBDC lead and Global Partnerships at Ripple
Jens Glaso – CEO of SPENN Technology
10.40 – 11.20 – Keynote speech
What is Digital “Currency” Transformation – Nicolas Kozakiewicz, Chief Innovation Officer Worldline
11.20 – 11.30 – Coffee Break
11.30 – 12.10 – Keynote speech
CBDC – Implementing a platform for innovation – James Wallis, Vice President RippleX, Central Bank Engagements and CBDCs
12.10 – 12.50 – Keynote speech – Financial Inclusion powered by blockchain
Jens Glaso – CEO of SPENN Technology
12.50 – 14.00 – Panel two – DeFi – the future of finance / regulation of the digital assets
Moderator: Andrei Burz Pinzaru, Partner Deloitte Legal / Reff &Associates
Panelists:
Alfred Taudes – Founder of WU Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics and Scientific Head of Austrian Blockchain Center
Nicolas Kozakiewicz – Chief Innovation officer at Worldline
James Wallis, Vice President RippleX, Central Bank Engagements and CBDCs
Felix Crisan – Co-Founder & CTO / NETOPIA Payments – Head of Research for Elrond
14.00 – 17.30 – Pause
17.30 – 18.00 – NOCASH GALA, XXI Edition Welcome
The awards for excellence in the financial services and electronic payments industry. As we have become accustomed to in recent years, the organizers of the event will come with a „country premiere”. This time it is a competition of projects based exclusively on blockchain technology. Many of them are related to crypto.
18.00 – 19.15 – Blockchain projects competition
Competitors
19.15 – 20.30 – Ceremony Of The Nocash Awards
20.30 – 22.00 – Cocktail
Day two – May 31
08.30 – 09.00 – Registration
09.00 – 09.05 – Welcome Speech – Daniel Mihai, CEO of Coinsby and the founder of Bitmarket
09.05 – 09.40 – Fireside chat
Andrei Burz Pinzaru – Partner Deloitte Legal / Reff &Associates is talking to Beniamin Mincu – CEO at Elrond Network
09.40 – 10.30 – Panel 1 – The advantages of tokenization – NFTs
Moderator Vlad Mercori, CEO at Stakeborg
Panelists
Sergiu Draganus – founder of LUDO
Sebastian Cochinescu – CEO of TailPath.com
Bogdan Almasi – CEO of Assetto & cofounder Ronin
Mihai Dragan – COO Oveit
Avi Cicirean – Founder and General Manager at BRAND MINDS
10.30 – 11.20 – Panel 2 – (Cyber)Security in the crypto world
Moderator Vlad Mercori, CEO at Stakeborg
Panelists
Nic Balaceanu – CEO Lendrise
Alexandru Rizea – CTO at Qoobiss
Florin Nedelcu, CTO at Eternity Cloud
Augustin Jianu, product owner of CertMe
11.20 – 11.30 – Break
11.30 – 11.45 – Crypto adoption in Balkans
Market research presented by Andrei Elvadeanu – Head of Market Strategy at iSense Solutions
11.45 – 12.15 – Keynote speech – Financial Inclusion powered by blockchain
Manda Liviu – Crypto Index – IMPERIUM-Lex
12.15 – 13.00 – Panel 3 – Accepting crypto as a means of payments at merchants
Moderator – Mirela Ciobanu, Senior Editor The Paypers
Panelists
Horia Grozea – Netopia Mobilpay, Head of Sales & Marketing
Cristian Mateescu – CTO at Degethal
Stefan Biji – GoCrypto reprezentantive
Alin Benea – Commercial Manager at Danubius Exim
Stefan Gergely – Head of the Blockchain at Zitec
13.00 – 14.00 – Panel 4 – Investments in crypto & digital assets
Moderator: Andrei Burz Pinzaru, Partner Deloitte Legal / Reff &Associates
Panelists
Andrei Popescu – Founder & CEO at SCX HOLDINGS PTE. LTD
Sergiu Traian Vasilescu – Managing Partner at VDLawGroup
Dan Boabes – Serial antrepreneur & “miner”
Alfred Taudes – Founder of WU Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics and Scientific Head of Austrian Blockchain Center
Carlo Moretti – Founder and CEO of Overdroid
Ștefan Tănase – Senior Accounting And Tax Consultant Within JASILL Accounting & Business
Final Words – Conclusion
Testimonials
“We are in a period in which the idea of an inevitable financial crisis is being promoted and even emphasized. Even in this context, 2022 will be the year in which the crypto market will enjoy an unprecedented popularity. The blockchain will have a very high adoption and many new users will have contact with crypto for the first time. Really good projects will enjoy real success and good development. ``
„In 2020 DeFi was the star, 2021 brought into the limelight NFT, and 2022 will be defined by DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). Besides that, AI in blockchain will also be an important trend globally (...)”.
„Romania will see more and more programmers specialized in blockchain and crypto. Quality professionals and troves of companies will continue to crowd the space, with specialized apps going global. In the 30s, Romania was the largest grain producer and exporter in Europe. Now we have the chance to become the biggest crypto exporter”
“II am advocating for Romania to become a regional crypto and blockchain hub such as Lithuania, Estonia or Malta. At the country marketing level, personally, it seems to me that crypto and tech friendly states have a huge capital gain in image, so we would have to gain both at macro and micro level, at the level of investors, if there were a larger opening to the crypto area.``
``By the end of 2022, I expect to have at least 100 million unique users per month, making it the main gateway to the crypto and Web 3 ecosystem. One of the central themes of 2022 will be the transition to Web 3. This concept refers to a a more decentralized and less censored version of the blockchain-based internet. We will see an acceleration of the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a payment method for various services and products in Romania.``
``2022 will be the year of the ascension of the metaverse. Users will be eager to explore this new world through the prism of NFTs. There is a vacuum in the area of NFTs and metavers and I estimate that we are a short distance away until a player will assert himself locally. This year, the projects of DID (decentralized identities) necessary in the process of adopting blockchain technology at the mass level and those that allow decentralized access based on ``verifiable claims`` will be developed.``
About nocash
NOCASH stands for business consultancy, international events and publishing (original content and analysis)
NOCASH, for the last 20 years, had a significant contribution to the development of the electronic payment in Romania.
NOCASH owns the first and only platform dedicated exclusively to the industry of electronic payments since 2001
Photo Credit: https://ethereumcode.io/