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How can BlockFi offer such a high rate? In addition to charging interest on the loans it makes to consumers, it lends cryptocurrency to institutions like Fidelity Investments or Susquehanna International Group that use those assets for quick and sometimes lucrative cryptocurrency arbitrage transactions, passing on high returns to customers. And because BlockFi is not officially a bank, it does not have the large costs associated with maintaining required capital reserves and following other banking regulations.

From Crypto’s Rapid Move Into Banking Elicits Alarm in Washington – The New York Times:

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Chime, a “neobank” serving millions, is racking up complaints from users who can’t access their cash. The company says it’s cracking down on an “extraordinary surge” in fraudulent deposits. That’s little consolation to customers caught in the fray.

From A Banking App Has Been Suddenly Closing Accounts, Sometimes Not Returning Customers’ Money — ProPublica:

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It’s easy to see why Chime has caught on. Opening an account takes minutes. Chime’s app is intuitive and easy to use. The service welcomes customers with spotty credit histories and doesn’t require a credit check. It has no monthly fees and keeps other charges to a minimum.

From A Banking App Has Been Suddenly Closing Accounts, Sometimes Not Returning Customers’ Money — ProPublica:

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Decentralized finance is an umbrella term for a host of fintech products that function in a decentralized manner, without the need for an intermediary. The most known example of this is a cryptocurrency, with transactions recorded into a digital ledger called the blockchain, validated by a decentralized network of computers.

From Decentralized Finance: The Illusory Savior of the Underbanked:

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“Crypto is the new shadow bank,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts said in an interview. “It provides many of the same services, but without the consumer protections or financial stability that back up the traditional system.”

From Crypto’s Rapid Move Into Banking Elicits Alarm in Washington – The New York Times:

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Questions of identity, which are crucial to fighting financial fraud, could be addressed by flipping the old script. Instead of starting with specifics — collecting the identity of individuals — law enforcers could take the broad view, said J. Christopher Giancarlo, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, using artificial intelligence and data analysis to monitor suspicious activity and working back to track identity.

From Crypto Banking and Decentralized Finance, Explained – The New York Times:

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DeFi cuts out the third parties that U.S. financial regulators rely on to ensure market integrity. Licensed operators like banks and brokers play a quasi-governmental role in traditional finance, collecting and reporting data to the authorities, including information on capital gains on investments made by their clients, to ensure taxes are paid. Their participation in the market depends on following lots of rules.

By contrast, DeFi programs are unregulated apps created by coders interested in capital markets. Users’ assets can and have been hacked, and not all of the operations are built in good faith. “Rug pulls,” when developers abandon programs after investors contribute significant assets, are notorious in DeFi.

From Crypto Banking and Decentralized Finance, Explained – The New York Times:

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According to the World Bank, the cost of sending $200 to countries in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 9 per cent of the transaction value in the first quarter of 2020, the highest of any world region, and can go into double digits in some places.

On peer-to-peer crypto networks, however, these fees are typically about 2-5 per cent, according to LocalBitcoins. Average transaction fees for bitcoin were below $3 in August 2021, according to data provider BitInfoCharts, while for ethereum they ranged between $8 and $44 over the same period.

From Cryptocurrencies: developing countries provide fertile ground | Financial Times:

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Apple said today it has so far secured two states, Arizona and Georgia, to bring digital driver’s license and state IDs.

Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah are expected to follow, but a timeline for rolling out wasn’t given.

Apple said in June that it would begin supporting digital licenses and IDs, and that the TSA would be the first agency to begin accepting a digital license from an iPhone at several airports, since only a state ID is required for traveling by air domestically within the United States. The TSA will allow you to present your digital wallet by tapping it on an identity reader. Apple says the feature is secure and doesn’t require handing over or unlocking your phone.

From Apple secures first states to support digital driver’s licenses, but privacy questions linger | TechCrunch:

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Evans and Partners analyst Matthew Wilson says there is a long-term risk that Apple’s popularity with the young in particular leaves banks relegated to being disenfranchised manufacturers.

From It’s ‘Silicon Valley vs the banks’: Apple’s big threat in finance:

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