The Inner Loop | n. 164

Finfluencers / Cape / Vitalik on crypto

Australian Fintech and Startups

Expense management company, Cape, raised $33m in a pre-seed round. Link

ANZ minted an Aussie dollar stablecoin, named A$DC. Link

Upstreet, a Fintech that rewards shoppers in fractional shares, raised $3m to disrupt the loyalty market. Link

ASIC ruled that ‘Finfluencers’ providing unlicensed advice could receive jail time. Link

Stockspot had a level-headed and detailed response delving into the nuances of the ruling. Link

My not-financial-advice 2 cents: I feel that ASIC putting necessary safeguards in place for retail investors makes sense, but the ruling feels pretty extreme. I think it will extinguish the potential for influencers to enter the creator economy to promote anything finance-related due to fear of doing the wrong thing (and also is not easily trackable - I can’t imagine the ASIC offices scrolling through endless TikTok videos - yet that would be hilarious to see). I think it also overlooks the experience side of a content consumer. I think ASIC needs to tread the line between suffocating an avenue for financial literacy v.s. over-regulating the whole industry. I’ll use some hypotethical examples to illustrate how delicate this issue is. I’ll use emojis to demonstrate what ASIC finds acceptable:

(a) “ETFs can track different asset classes or individual assets that may generate a return” ✅

(b) “ETFs can track different asset classes or individual assets that may generate a return and I personally invest in the Vanguard Diversified Conservative Index ETF” ❌

If you’re a consumer of Finfluencer content, where do you go next in example A? Do you then Google ETFs and then become overwhelmed with how many there are, or buy into one that’s ultimately riskier than you realise? Or you end up buying something that’s not suited for you? The literacy experience doesn’t end at learning, you need to do something once you’ve learned - and Finfluencers provide a great platform for that (e.g. following someone’s portfolio, like what is done in eToro). It’s not as black-and-white as ‘Finfluencers need an AFSL’ due to the many and varied degrees of financial advice - but it’s also not as simple as ‘promote financial related content and get jail time’.

Ultimately, legal recourse in the face of a major loss is super important, a la this $500,000 case and I hope the above at least sheds some light from the creator side. Overall it’s a vivacious discussion point and one of the reasons I love seeing how a zeitgeist can influence Fintech.

nb: these opinions are mine and not illustrative of my employer, or Vitalik

Big Tech

Must read (long): Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin is worried about crypto’s future. Link

Apple acquired Open Banking company ‘Credit Kudos’. Apple’s cards are only in the US at the minute, and I suspect this could signal an entry to the EU market (facilitated by Open Banking and PSD2). Link

Uber will now allow you to order a taxi via its app in New York. Uber and NYC’s taxi industry has been in a jam since its inception. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Link

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Potpourri

We are 22% of the way throughout 2022. Link

Twitterati: “the shift key is the most useless key on the keyboard. it doesn’t do anything. don’t 2 me” Link

Jimmy’s Notes

Whew it’s been a month or so since the last edition! Nice to be back on the tools. I’ve made up for the hiatus with a ream of trivia you can rip into below.

🔊 Today’s Friday tune goes to … S Club 7. Link 🔊

Trivia

(i) The word ‘snazzy’ is a portmanteau of ‘jazzy’ and what other word?

(ii) Name 2 US states with two sets double letters (It must be the same letter twice in a row, not just two of the same letter anywhere.) Bonus point for all three.

(iii) There are only two European countries that have square flags. What are they?

(iv) Name the scientific terms beginning with the letter A. The part of the body between the chest & pelvis, a mixture of metals like brass or bronze, a liquid solution with a low pH level, the height of a wave, and a 19th century Italian chemist with a very large number named after him

(v) I’m going to ask you 5 questions, but all I really want is the answer to the last question. But you’ll want to pay attention to the first four too, because the last letter in the answer to question 1 is the first letter in the answer to question 2, and so on.

1) Known for his super-human speed and his red suit, Barry Allen is better known as The… what?

2) Sold in an apothecary style bottle, name a premium gin brand from Scotland.

3) The confluence of the Mississippi & Missouri Rivers is just upstream of what American city?

4) The sub-unit of Canada’s currency is the cent. What is the sub-unit of Japan’s currency?

5) The following are all soccer clubs in the top competition of what country? Odd, Molde, HamKan, Jerv, Rosenborg, Sarpsborg 08, Haugesund, Aalesund

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Trivia Answers

(i) Snappy + Jazzy = Snazzy

(ii) Mississippi, Massachusetts, Tennessee

(iii) Switzerland and Vatican City. If you answered the first one, that’s a big plus.

(iv) abdomen, alloy, alkali, amplitude, Avogadro (the Avogrado constant)

(v) (okay, appreciate this was a long one, and yeah it’s meant to be staged so you don’t see the last question, but anyway~)

• Flash

• Hendricks

• St Louis

• Sen

• Norway