Press Releases from Qato Consulting Limited - Marco Quacken (11 total)
NFTs: But is it art?
One of the topics that has kept popping up throughout the last year has been non-fungible tokens (NFTs), these funny little bits of cryptology that, in the eyes of the evangelical, have the potential to replace money, change the nature of commerce, and revolutionise the very functioning of the financial markets. Many other people are scratching their heads wondering if they really as good as all that and even if…
Is this the dawning of the age of the metaverse?
Most of the time, people not involved with a specific sector can ignore the buzz words that seem to inevitably spring up around an interesting idea. The trick is to wait for them to reach the point where it looks like they might get to a critical mass and become important to a wider audience. The metaverse is one such word, something that’s just starting to become visible in the…
Will CBDCs bring balance to crypto?
Crypto’s independence is the answer to several of humanity’s challenges, but its freedom also attracts scams that earning criminals billions each year. Is there a way for society to enjoy the benefits the emerging digital currencies while reducing the risk of fraudulent behaviour? Some say that central bank digital currencies hold the answer, but there is a risk that they don’t solve the issues, simply change the nature of the…
Will you accept crypto becomes when will you accept crypto?
Crypto has achieved many things in its short life. It has been lauded as the next big thing while simultaneously being pilloried as an accident waiting to happen (or being an accident in the middle of happening). Regulators have spoken out against it at the same time as small investors have flocked to it. Pages and pages of content have been written explaining why this time, crypto is going to…
Crypto for non-cryptonians
The breathless press releases, the excitement, the hype, the highs of the bull markets, the lows of bear markets, the tweets and the regulators’ concerns; the crypto sector has provided plenty of debate over the last few years. Unless you are directly involved in it, asking a question can feel like a multitude of superhero comic fans are giving you a half an hour, panel-by-panel account of what happened in…
The buy now, pay later revolution
The buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector highlights something that has been widely discussed over the last few months: the ability of start-ups to challenge incumbents by being more nimble, less constrained by legacy technology and, frankly cheaper. The looming questions are how can the sector do what it does so cheaply and why hasn’t it attracted more interest from the regulators?
According to a report by comparison site Finder (https://www.finder.com/uk/buy-now-pay-later-statistics),…
What are the challenges for crypto, the blockchain and NFTs?
Technology constantly evolves. Sometimes it’s an almost imperceptible, iterative change that you only notice when you look back at a photo from five years ago and realise how big your phone was. Sometimes, it’s a great leap forward, the change from fax machine to internet, from DVDs to streaming services. The development of the interlinked worlds of crypto, the blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) mean that we could be in…
Where next for crypto, the blockchain and NFTs?
Crypto, the blockchain and most recently non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been at the centre of attention in both technology circles and more widely. Are they a hype bubble that is set to explode ignominiously all over exuberant investors or do they have something interesting to contribute economically or even socially?
In the first of two articles, I’m going to discuss the interlinked world of crypto, the blockchain and NFTs from a…
How history will influence the future of the financial services
When you look at the financial services, there is a tendency to think that the past and yesterday are interchangeable. It is not really the case. The financial services move forward through hundreds of incremental improvements every day, coupled with the occasional seismic change that is often mandated by a scandal, a regulator or even a pandemic. What we had before the Covid-induced lockdowns was totally different to what was…
SPACs - Eternal innovation in the financial markets
The financial markets are always changing, moving forward, evolving. They change in response to several factors including investor demand, regulatory pressure, competition and, most of all, someone, somewhere having a bright idea. There are lots of little everyday ideas, but every once in a while, someone has a big idea that catches on and starts to play a big role in activity. Over the last couple of years, special purpose…
The global economy’s double challenge
It is difficult to think about the weather tomorrow when you are navigating a storm right now. The trouble is that that is the situation that various sectors of the global economy find themselves in. They need to be managing a fast-changing environment while simultaneously looking ahead at which strategic investments are going to help ensure that they either stay at the top of the market if they are already…
