Q4 capital newsletter no. 1
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
_”CRYPTO IS A FAR BETTER WAY TO TRANSFER VALUE THAN PIECES OF PAPER, THAT’S FOR SURE”
ELON MUSK
Q4 Capital participated at the Global LNG Forum in Milan on 19-21 February 2019. Well done for the organisers ALJ Group for putting together a top class event that created solid business opportunities.
Q4 Capital is a consultancy company, which advises corporations, financial institutions and funds about business opportunities using disruptive technologies of blockchain, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality. Q4 Capital is in London, Geneve and Vilnius.
Q4 – BLOCKCHAIN
J.P. MORGAN CREATES DIGITAL COIN FOR PAYMENTS
J.P. Morgan became the first U.S. bank to create a digital coin representing a fiat currency. The JPM Coin is based on blockchain technology enabling instantaneous transfer of payments between institutional accounts. When one client sends money to another over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and immediately redeemed for the equivalent amount of U.S. dollars, reducing typical settlement time. Over time, JPM Coin will be extended to other major currencies. The JPM Coin creators say that the coin differs from other cryptocurrencies in a way that JPM Coin is 1:1 redeemable in fiat currency held by JPMorgan (meaning, U.S. dollar or other representing currency). The JPM Coin works on a permissioned blockchain, designed specially for J.P. Morgan with the participants being exclusively institutional clients that have passed J.P. Morgan KYC test: banks, broker dealers and corporates.
Q4 – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
LEVI’S HAS HIRED AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER
Levi’s jeans company, which counts 146 years of operations, has hired its first artificial intelligence officer. The former Vodafone’s chief data and analytics officer was hired to work at Levi’s and she will be focusing on data, analytics and artificial intelligence in order to strengthen the company’s business ventures. Levi’s has been embracing digital technology already: it has teamed up with Google to create a smart jacket that has a Bluetooth device, which allows for the wearer to be able to control music, screen phone calls or get directions with a touch of a button. Levi’s has also launched a virtual stylist program on its website that uses Artificial Intelligence Chatbot- talking robot- virtual assistant- that can advice customers with choosing the best jeans. The virtual assistant is programmed to ask questions, such as ‘How do you like your jeans to fit through your hips?’ and considers factors such as leg shape and length to give the best recommendations for jeans.
Q4 – INVESTMENTS
GLOBAL FINTECH INVESTMENTS TO REACH $112 BN
According to a new fintech (technology that seeks to improve financial services) report by KPMG, investments in the fintech industry have reached a record high last year. In total, $112 billion was been invested into companies focusing on innovating the financial sector using technology. This is a sharp increase in investments in the fintech industry compared to last year, when ‘only’ $51 billion was invested. KPMG predicts that during the year of 2019, payments will be a key growth area, winning the attention of investments in the fintech industry. This is because the new PSD2 regulations in Europe have come into effect, which allow for third party providers to access customers’ bank accounts with their permission. It is expected that PSD2 will increase competition for financial products and services.
Across the fintech industry, traditional financial and banking players will increasingly face competition of tech companies, from startups to giants such as Google, Alibaba and Microsoft, which are entering the financial services industry having a distinct advantage- possession of the new gold of today: customer data.
THIS WEEK WE SUPPORT
Binance and Changpeng Zhao: For his relentless strive to build the best product and conquer the world, while not forgetting to connect to society and give back: for pursuing the Binance pilot program in Uganda as part of a plan to feed one million students across Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda.
Changpeng Zhao, Founder & CEO, Binance and Emile Delam, Partner, Q4 Capital