Industry Insights

Refocus, Rediscover, and Reorient Your Business

While COVID-19 continues to spready globally, CEOs have started to consider retooling their firms. Bain highlights three messages that CEOs are sharing with their companies and their commitment to refocus, rediscover and reorient.

Cartan Connections Issue #7

The Banque de France has reported that it has used an in-house developed blockchain that used a central bank digital currency to settle an issuance of digital financial securities. Zoom has purchased identity management firm, Keybase, to strengthen the security of their video communications platform. Finally, according to the FATF, there has been an increase in COVID-19 related crimes, such as fraud, cybercrime, and exploitation of government funds.

Economic Substance and the Emerging Distributed Company

According to the Oxford English dictionary, substance can be defined as any of the following:

1. A type of solid, liquid or gas that has particular qualities;
2. The quality of being based on facts or the truth; or
3. The most important or main part of something.

Cartan Connections Issue #6

Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange and capital markets technology company, has partnered with blockchain solutions platform, R3, to build virtual assets marketplaces. In the Cayman Islands, a proposed set of bills was published to form a regulatory framework pertaining to virtual asset service providers in order to promote the development and use of innovative financial services. Meanwhile, Bitwise Asset Management demonstrates empirically how an allocation of Bitcoin to a traditional 60/40 portfolio almost always increases the value of the entire portfolio.

Cartan Connections Issue #5

According to Marc Andreessen, what we haven't done and are failing to do now specifically is the widespread inability to build. There are outstanding people everywhere that can build directly, or help other people to build, or teach other people to build, or take care of people who are building. Every step of the way, we should be asking the question: what are you building?

Cartan Connections Issue #4

As today's workforce becomes more cloud-centric and mobile, a zero trust network security model may be more appropriate. PwC completes its third CFO pulse survey since the beginning of the lockdown. Alliance members of Financial Innovation Now become approved to distribute U.S. Government loans to small businesses.

Introducing Algorand COVID-19 Data

In response to COVID-19, the Algorand Foundation created a survey to enable individuals to directly report their real-time COVID-19 status anonymously. In our continuing effort to promote transparency and an open economy, we have built a tool to monitor the COVID-19 account for survey transactions and store all responses in an easily accessible data file.

Cartan Connections Issue #3

Unprecedented circumstances have forced companies to respond quickly and with a lack of preparation. McKinsey and the Harvard Business Review highlight actions taken by companies around the world and how managers can effectively support remote employees. Meanwhile, momentum for central bank digital currencies continues as the Republic of the Marshall Islands select Algorand to develop its digital currency.

Cartan Connections Issue #2

Is blockchain technology moving to the mainstream? The building blocks continue as the Sverige Riksbank launches an e-krona pilot project while KPMG highlights four critical foundations for continued growth in this ecosystem.

Cartan Connections Issue #1

Will 2020 be the year of Central Bank Digital Currencies? As global jurisdictions continue to contemplate the role and future of central bank digital currencies, Australia launches a five-year blockchain roadmap and the Bahamas' modernization initiative continues with the introduction of the "Sand Dollar".