Couchonomics with Arjun

Tokenised treasuries are a safe bet. They saw a massive 641% jump in market cap last year, hitting $861 million. This shows that more people are looking for low-risk, yield-generating assets in crypto. This report looks into the growth of RWAs in the crypto ecosystem. Here are my main takeaways: 🔶 Fiat-backed stablecoins like USDT, USDC, and DAI dominate the RWA market. They hold 95% market share. 🔶 Tokens backed by commodities, such as XAUT and PAXG, make up just 0.8% of the fiat-backed stablecoin market cap. 🔶 Franklin Templeton is the largest issuer. It controls 38.6% of the total market share. 🔶 Private credit protocols make it easier for real-world businesses to get unsecured loans by using their credit history. Sectors like crypto trading, receivables financing, and fintech are seeing the most benefit from this. 🔶 Real estate tokenisation is becoming more popular with platforms like RealT giving people access to tokenised real estate. 🔶 Some RWA protocols, like Frax Finance and TrueUSD, are starting to issue governance tokens. 🔶 Regenerative finance (ReFi) protocols are emerging. They offer on-chain capital products from institutions. The RWA sector has grown way beyond just stablecoins to include tokenised assets like securities, real estate, carbon credits, and even fine art. #RWA #Fintech #Tokenisation

Insights from the 200 most funded Saudi based startups 💡 Sharing the 2014-2023 Saudi Arabia Founders Report, a comprehensive analysis of the Kingdom's startup ecosystem! This insightful report, produced by MAGNiTT and sponsored by SVC, offers valuable data on founder demographics, education, professional experience, and more. Whether you're an investor, entrepreneur, or policymaker, this report provides crucial insights into the DNA of successful Saudi startups. Dive in to discover trends, benchmarks, and the stories behind Saudi Arabia's thriving innovation landscape. Nabeel Koshak Philip Bahoshy Hosam Arab Abdulmajeed Alsukhan Eyad Albayouk, CPA, CFA Tammer Qaddumi Saleh ALhammad Motaz Hajaj Mohamed Roushdy, MBA #SaudiStartups #unicorns #EntrepreneurshipInSaudi #VentureCapital #innovation #fintech

𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. #Identity is everything. It is key to the inner workings of our societies, governments and economies. Without it, we can only have the narrowest of realities: one without legal agreements, #banking services, or even getting paid. In our digital world, where #software is eating the world, all identity aspires to be #digital too. In reality, it is mostly paper-based, splintered, and prone to error. This paper, published by Deutsche Bank in association with Polygon Labs , explores a natively digital, #sovereign, private identity #infrastructure, that leverages #blockchain and zero knowledge #cryptography. Such identities could underpin our future lives: mostly digital, fully integrated, benefiting from the convergence of Web3, IoT, and AI. Read on…. #digitalidentity #web3 #biometrics #iot #ai #convergence

The digital asset ecosystem is a sea of over 10,000 different cryptocurrencies and tokens. And since our lives are becoming more and more digital, it’s important to get a handle on these digital assets (whether you’re a stakeholder, regulator, or consumer). The report offers a detailed classification of these assets. It breaks them down by traits like convertibility, fungibility, technology, and legal status. Here are my main takeaways: 🔶 Taxonomies provide a structured way to understand the complex nature of digital assets, similar to how biological taxonomy classifies living organisms. 🔶 Digital assets are split into digital and virtual currencies. 🔶 Digital currencies are legally recognised. They represent sovereign currencies like CBDCs issued by monetary authorities. 🔶 Virtual currencies are digital representations of value, not issued by central banks or public authorities, but accepted for payments and can be transferred or traded electronically. 🔶 Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ether, are convertible virtual currencies with value exchangeable for real currency. 🔶 They are fungible. This means each unit is interchangeable with another and not uniquely identifiable. 🔶 NFTs are unique digital assets that are not interchangeable — non fungible. 🔶 Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies (e.g, US dollar), commodities (e.g, gold), or other assets to reduce volatility. 🔶 CBDCs are digital forms of a country’s official currency, issued and backed by the central bank, such as China’s e-CNY. It's super important to understand the specific characteristics of digital assets to make smarter investment decisions and manage risks better. #Fintech #Digital #Assets

What can AI bring to Financial Services? #ai #generativeai #machinelearning #blockchain

8 out of 10 saudis now handle their banking through mobile apps. This shift in how customers deal with banking is just one part of the huge changes happening in Saudi Arabia’s retail banking scene. This report looks into the reasons behind these changes and other emerging trends. Here are my main takeaways: 🔶 The Saudi government is actively supporting the development of new digital banking services to align with the Vision 2030 initiative. 🔶 The demographic shifts play a role too. More women are financially independent, and the tech-savvy youth wants smarter, more personalised banking. 🔶 Customers are getting more comfortable with using AI to help with their financial decisions. About 68% of respondents are okay with AI’s recommendations. 🔶 57% of customers prefer to use digital wallets as a payment method. 🔶 More customers are using financial management tools. 86% want apps that give a complete view of their finances, and 84% are looking for personalized insights. 🔶 Even though people are generally satisfied with their current banks, 44% might switch in the next year for better services and offers. Banks will need to update their systems and use AI in a responsible way to meet these changing customer needs. #Fintech #banking #Digital

This week on the #Couch, we welcomed Pedro Sousa Cardoso, Chief Digital Officer at Emirates NBD. Pedro shared candid insights on how Emirates NBD one of the region's largest banks, is driving innovation and digital transformation. We covered everything from banking and fintech collaboration to the state of banking in the GCC and the evolving role of CDOs. Check out some of Pedro’s most interesting quotes in the carousel below. 🛋️ 👇 #CouchonomicsWithArjun #DigitalTransformation #FinTech #BankingInnovation #EmiratesNBD #Banking #BaaS #BeyondBanking #CDO #Innovation

Say Hello to Digital Gam’eya! 📲 Last week, Ahmed Wadi, Founder and CEO of Money Fellows, joined us on the show. Money Fellows is revolutionizing the millennia-old concept of ROSCAs with their innovative digital approach. We had an engaging conversation about Egypt's fintech landscape, the challenges they’ve faced, their strategies for dealing with competition, and their future plans of becoming a digital bank alternative. مرحباً بـ "الجمعية" الرقمية! في الأسبوع الماضي، انضم إلينا أحمد وادي، المؤسس والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة Money Fellows، في البرنامج. Money Fellows تقوم بثورة في المفهوم القديم لعشرات القرون لجمعيات الادخار والائتمان الدورية (ROSCAs) من خلال نهجهم الرقمي المبتكر. أجرينا محادثة ممتعة حول مشهد التكنولوجيا المالية في مصر، والتحديات التي واجهوها، واستراتيجياتهم في التعامل مع المنافسة، وخططهم المستقبلية ليصبحوا بديلاً للبنوك الرقمية. This episode is now available in Arabic on our YouTube channel! 📺 Thank you to season 3 sponsors: geidea, ToYou | تويو, M2P Fintech, Thunes, Adyen, and Mastercard. #Fintech #Couchonomics #FinancialInclusion #Innovation #MoneyFellows #Egypt

How does a big bank like Emirates NBD stay ahead in the fintech world? 🏦 In our latest episode, we talk with Pedro Sousa Cardoso, Chief Digital Officer at Emirates NBD, about their methods for finding and partnering with new fintechs. From working with local accelerators like Hub71 and DIFC Innovation Hub , Emirates NBD keeps a steady flow of fresh opportunities. Tune in to see how they scout for new technologies and fintech partnerships, pushing the future of banking forward.💡 Thank you to season 3 sponsors: Mastercard, geidea, ToYou | تويو, Thunes, Adyen and M2P Fintech Couchonomics with Arjun #CouchonomicsWithArjun #DigitalTransformation #FinTech #BankingInnovation #EmiratesNBD #FintechTuesdays #TechScouting

How does a big bank like Emirates NBD stay ahead in the fintech world? 🏦 In our latest episode, we talk with Pedro Sousa Cardoso, Chief Digital Officer at Emirates NBD, about their methods for finding and partnering with new fintechs. From Hub71 to Fintech Tuesdays, they keep the flow of new tech opportunities strong. 🦾 Tune in to see how they scout for new technologies and fintech partnerships, pushing the future of banking forward.💡 Thank you to season 3 sponsors: Mastercard, geidea, ToYou | تويو, Thunes, Adyen and M2P Fintech #CouchonomicsWithArjun #DigitalTransformation #FinTech #BankingInnovation #EmiratesNBD #FintechTuesdays #TechScouting