NCFA Fintech Confidential October 2021 (Issue 4)
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) and partners are excited to present Vol. 1 Issue 4, FINTECH CONFIDENTIAL, a digital pop-up of the 7th annual 2021 Fintech & Financing Conference and Expo (FFCON21) held virtually from May 11-13 and co-hosted by NCFA and Toronto Finance International (TFI). As global economies strive to contain the latest Covid outbreak and recover fragile sectors, fintech innovators continue to ‘BREAK BARRIERS’, the main theme of this year’s conference, and the second year in partnership with TFI, reflecting the growth and emerging challenges that the Canadian Fintech industry must navigate to achieve mass adoption and scale. It’s been another unprecedented year with covid accelerating trends such as bitcoin’s institutionalization, the growing power of retail investors, the 2nd round of Open Banking consultations and the advisory committee’s recommendations to the federal government, payment modernization efforts, adoption of harmonized Crowdfunding regulation, AI roadmap, emergence of digital identity as a ‘right’ and core data infrastructure (ie., vaccine passports), growing support for Purpose (not just shareholder profit), green finance solutions tackling shared global problems such as SDGs and climate change, EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion), and regulatory push back and a firm ‘line in the sand’ for Big Tech. FFCON21 was a successful event attracting over 100+ thought leaders, 75 partners, 500+ attendees, an NFT charity fundraiser in partnership with CanadaHelps for front line workers, and our second annual 2021 Fintech Draft competition -- a pitching event inspired by sports league drafts and designed to identity emerging high growth fintech ventures. A hearty congratulations to the winners: Agryo (Overall) and Copia Wealth Studios (People’s Choice)! Thank you to all the partners, speakers, attendees, volunteers, and the entire organizing team for making ‘Breaking Barriers’ an impactful and amazing online experience and for being part of Canada’s fintech and funding community. We hope you enjoy reading this special edition of Fintech Confidential.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) and partners are excited to present Vol. 1 Issue 4, FINTECH CONFIDENTIAL, a digital pop-up of the 7th annual 2021 Fintech & Financing Conference and Expo (FFCON21) held virtually from May 11-13 and co-hosted by NCFA and Toronto Finance International (TFI).
As global economies strive to contain the latest Covid outbreak and recover fragile sectors, fintech innovators continue to ‘BREAK BARRIERS’, the main theme of this year’s conference, and the second year in partnership with TFI, reflecting the growth and emerging challenges that the Canadian Fintech industry must navigate to achieve mass adoption and scale.
It’s been another unprecedented year with covid accelerating trends such as bitcoin’s institutionalization, the growing power of retail investors, the 2nd round of Open Banking consultations and the advisory committee’s recommendations to the federal government, payment modernization efforts, adoption of harmonized Crowdfunding regulation, AI roadmap, emergence of digital identity as a ‘right’ and core data infrastructure (ie., vaccine passports), growing support for Purpose (not just shareholder profit), green finance solutions tackling shared global problems such as SDGs and climate change, EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion), and regulatory push back and a firm ‘line in the sand’ for Big Tech.
FFCON21 was a successful event attracting over 100+ thought leaders, 75 partners, 500+ attendees, an NFT charity fundraiser in partnership with CanadaHelps for front line workers, and our second annual 2021 Fintech Draft competition -- a pitching event inspired by sports league drafts and designed to identity emerging high growth fintech ventures. A hearty congratulations to the winners: Agryo (Overall) and Copia Wealth Studios (People’s Choice)!
Thank you to all the partners, speakers, attendees, volunteers, and the entire organizing team for making ‘Breaking Barriers’ an impactful and amazing online experience and for being part of Canada’s fintech and funding community. We hope you enjoy reading this special edition of Fintech Confidential.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
FEATURED<br />
You might not yet have heard of social tokens<br />
or creator coins, but it’s very possible that you<br />
heard the news of Lionel Messi changing<br />
football clubs from Barcelona to Paris Saint-<br />
Germain. Well, millions of dollars of his $40M<br />
signing bonus were paid in $PSG tokens<br />
issued by social token platform Socios. Those<br />
tokens allow fans to interact with the team by<br />
earning rewards, participating in select club<br />
decisions, and accessing unique merchandise<br />
and experiences.<br />
But what are social tokens?<br />
Social tokens allow brands, whether individuals<br />
or organizations, to include their fans and<br />
community in a dedicated tokenized economy<br />
that facilitates:<br />
- Direct monetization<br />
- Community engagement and loyalty<br />
- Governance<br />
Social media platforms can take 5-30% of<br />
content creators’ tips and payment tools like<br />
Venmo charge 3% commission. However,<br />
creator coin platforms like Rally are able to<br />
charge 0% for direct digital payments to creators.<br />
Amazing platforms like Patreon, Substack,<br />
YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch have enabled<br />
creators to build business models on top of their<br />
communities and content, but in addition to<br />
expensive commissions, there is always the risk<br />
of de-platforming and censorship, potentially<br />
eliminating a particular revenue stream entirely.<br />
On the pure donation side, even Twitter and<br />
Clubhouse are now offering in-app tipping.<br />
While there exist great tools like Gumroad<br />
for monetizing downloadable content and<br />
products, content creators need more choices<br />
for direct digital payments that are independent<br />
of any specific content platform or merchant<br />
account. Social tokens facilitate low to no-fee<br />
fiat and crypto transactions between creators<br />
and their communities.<br />
The ability to hold a balance of a creator’s token<br />
creates an opportunity for deeper engagement<br />
and customer/fan loyalty. Platforms like Discord<br />
and Clubhouse or tools like WordPress can<br />
confirm a user’s token balance through APIs<br />
and provide token-gated access to content,<br />
events, and VIP discussion channels. Fans can<br />
earn rewards by contributing to, supporting and<br />
evangelizing the community.<br />
If you have explored NFTs at all, this may<br />
sound familiar, as the ability to bake in early/<br />
VIP access to special content, merchandise,<br />
online and offline events, and other benefits is<br />
exactly the same with creator coins. The third<br />
utility allows for token holders to participate<br />
in the decision process around a brand or<br />
organization. Maybe you want to pick the color<br />
7
Change language