Year: 2020

Hospitality chain startup OYO confirms staff layoffs in India [ET Tech]

Indian hospitality chain OYO Hotels and Homes confirmed that it has laid off part of its Indian workforce. CEO Ritesh Agarwal stated “sustainable growth and profit issue” as the reason behind the decision.

It is estimated that 1,200 employees have been cut in India, in addition to 500 job losses in China, Bloomberg reported last week. The layoffs were detailed in an internal email by founder Ritesh Agarwal to employees on Monday morning, focussing primarily in mid-management, business development, sales and operations roles, and in select technology teams that have become “redundant”.

An article by ET further noted that a top company executive also shared that the intention is to bring the headcount down by another 20 per cent at least and launch another resizing exercise by the end of March.

“As a result, we are asking some of our impacted colleagues to move to a new career outside of Oyo. This has not been an easy decision for us,” said Agarwal.

“Every ‘Oyopreneur’ is important to Oyo and ensuring their well-being both during and after their tenure is our number one priority. I want to thank them for their efforts and apologise for the impact this is causing,” he added.

Also Read: Turkish pricing intelligence startup Prisync to double down on APAC growth initiatives with US$1M funding

Nikkei Asian Review states that Oyo’s losses have widened more than sixfold to US$336 million during the financial year ended March 2019, even as revenues rose over fourfold during the period, with the majority of the company’s expenses attributed to operational expenses. Oyo also faces complaints from a group of hotel operators in the southern city of Bengaluru that has turned into criminal charges on the startup for allegedly withholding money due to unfair fee increases.

Indian B2B agritech startup TechnifyBiz secures US$2M funding from Omnivore [YourStory]

India-based B2B agritech startup TechnifyBiz announces that it has raised US$2 million seed funding from Omnivore, Razorpay founders, the Insitor Impact Asia Fund, and others, YourStory has learned.

The company was founded in 2017 by IIT grads Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal. The B2B agritech startup organises “the non-perishable food commodity market by improving farmers’ linkages with food processors and wholesale buyers”.

The startup’s current investors include angels R Narayan, Founder of Power2SME, and Rajneesh Gupta, Director at Aakash Namkeen (wholesaler of snacks and savouries) as well as agritech incubator Indigram Labs.

The platform currently offers 10 commodities: makhana, cashews, almonds, raisins, walnut, quinoa, chia, pasta, sunflower seed, and watermelon seeds.

Google acquires the second startup co-founded by Irish entrepreneur Mark Cummins [Business Insider]

Google announces that it has bought Dublin-based Pointy, a startup that allows people to find out what their local stores have in physical stock with a small, physical box that plugs into local retailers’ barcode scanners, tracks what they sell, and then displays what they have to potential customers looking up the business online.

Also Read: Why Kubia is not in a rush to apply for Singapore’s digital bank license

The startup is co-founded by Mark Cummins, making it the second company that Google acquires from Cummins, who was once rejected from a job at Google before going on to found his first startup Plink, and selling it to Google in 2010.

According to an article by Business Insider, the deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

SEED Ventures obtains Capital Markets Services Licence, to provide Venture Capital fund management services [Press Release]

SEED Ventures (SV), a venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore, announces that it has been granted a Capital Markets Services licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

With the CMS licence, SV will be able to invest in startups on behalf of its investors via its Venture Capital Fund Management service.

Ian Gan, founder and Chief Executive Officer of SV, said: “This licence is a significant milestone for SV and further entrenches our role in Singapore as a seed-stage VC company. We are delighted to be one of the few VCs to receive approval from the MAS. The licence will enable us to expand our investor base by managing funds from accredited and institutional investors.”

Founded in 2013, SV is heavily involved in entrepreneurship activities in Statutory boards and Institutes of Higher Learning in Singapore such as National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR).
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Picture Credit: OYO

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Akseleran, the P2P lending platform based in Indonesia, announces that it has raised a US$8.6 million in Series A funding led by Beenext, as reported by Tech In Asia.

Joining the round are investors include Access Ventures, Agaeti Venture Capital, Ahabe Group, and Central Capital Ventura, the corporate venture capital arm of Bank BCA.

Akseleran states that it will use the new funds to focus on scaling up the team, technology, and penetrating the underserved Indonesian market.

“We will keep developing tailor-made loan products that suit the needs of SMEs. We want to open more access for everyone to lend to and support the SMEs and get a higher return of investment through a safe and efficient platform,” said Ivan Tambunan, the CEO and co-founder of Akseleran.

Also Read: Akseleran raises US$2.5M funding, will focus on securing OJK licence

Akseleran was first established in 2017 as the equity crowdfunding platform. It claims to have disbursed more than US$71.4 million worth of loans to over 2,000 SMEs.

It raised US$8.5 million in a Series A funding round September last year, but no further details were revealed until it received a license approval from the financial services authority of Indonesia, or known as Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) in December 2019 to provide lending services.

Throughout 2018, Akseleran had channelled a total of IDR210 billion (US$15 million) of loan. By the end of 2019, the company aims to channel up to IDR1.2 trillion (US$85 million).

At the moment the company owns four lending products for businesses: Invoice financing (which contributed to a total of 85 per cent of loan on the platform), inventory financing, capital expenditure, and online merchant financing.

As a P2P lending service, Akseleran claimed to have been able to curb non-performing loan (NPL) rate to 0.5 per cent. The company was able to achieve this number by focussing on mid-size businesses such as oil and gas, retail, and construction.

Also Read: Akseleran launches as Indonesia’s first equity crowdfunding platform, aims to bridge funding gap for SMEs and startups

Teruhide Sato, the managing partner of Beenext, further noted that the majority of SMEs in Indonesia are still underserved by conventional lending providers, excluded from the growth and its benefits without the access to the financial services.

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Image Credit: Akseleran

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Singapore-based online real estate co-investment platform RealVantage has been officially launched. The platform was founded by a team with institutional investment experience to bring accredited investors offshore to be able to acquire, manage, and optimise offshore real estate portfolios.

It seeks to provide access to investment opportunities across various real estate classes and investment strategies that were previously limited to larger, institutional investors. It targets accredited investors and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) to let them get their hands on real estate opportunities in different countries, sectors, and investment spectrums.

Using the platform, investors will be able to select amongst multiple options, such as a stable income-producing office in the UK, a townhouse development project in Australia, or a multifamily asset repositioning project in the USA.

RealVantage was founded by Keith Ong and Mao Ching Foo. Both saw the synergies in bringing together their complementary expertise in real estate and technology as they are veterans in real estate fund management, technology, and data science. Ong and Foo technology to aggregate investors to access larger deals, and deliver investment decision making via data-driven insights.

Keith Ong, CEO, and Co-Founder of RealVantage, said, “We’ve always felt there was a gap in offshore real estate investment opportunities for individual investors; most investors will just buy residential units when they venture overseas. There is actually a myriad of investment opportunities that provide good risk-adjusted returns in different property sectors and investment modes.”

Also Read: Why proptech and real estate tech will be important in Asia

“With RealVantage, investors are allowed to customise their own portfolio of properties according to their individual risk appetites. Our goal is to ultimately unlock a world of institutional real estate investing for individual investors,” Ong added.

Ong has over 20 years in real estate fund management and has spent the bulk of his career at ARA Asset Management, one of the largest Private Equity Real Estate firms in the Asia Pacific, Foo, Co-Founder and CTO of RealVantage, was previously the CTO of Funding Societies, one of the largest P2P crowdfunding lending platforms in the region.

RealVantage said it offers “well-qualified and experienced real estate asset managers quantitative trading and private equity understanding” to maximise investment returns by actively managing cross-border property investments exceeding US$10 billion and has managed assets in excess of US$20 billion across different geographies.

The team applies international practices across the entire investment process, ranging from research, deal sourcing and assessment, as well as asset management, screening and identifying opportunities that fit investment criteria by employing proprietary AI engines to complement their deal origination and evaluation processes.

The deals are subsequently vetted by its internal investment committee made up of industry veterans comprising Anthony Ang, CEO of Sasseur REIT and the former CEO of Fortune REIT, and Richard Tan, an independent real estate advisor and former CFO of Suntec REIT.

Also Read: Proptech is changing the face of real estate in Asia Pacific

Approved deals then are put together into an investment memorandum detailing investment strategy, financial analysis, investment period, and deal terms. These are uploaded onto the platform and made available for investors in guaranteed transparency and disclosure, keeping investors fully appraised of their investments through regular updates on RealVantage’s digital platform, from co-investment until divestment.

RealVantage closed a funding round with angel investors last year. The company also claims to have a presence in Indonesia, with 30 per cent of their total number of investors coming from the country, while the other 70 per cent of investors concentrated in Singapore.

In 2020, RealVantage plans to widen its investor base in Singapore and Indonesia. The platform is also looking to expand its investment opportunities beyond the UK and Australia markets.
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In marketing, the power of influence knows no bounds. Having a celebrity put in a good word about your product or services is guaranteed to rake in sales regardless of the medium or the technology used.

Fast forward to 2018, social media has taken the power of influence into a whole new level. A quick search on your favourite search engine can help you find the right people who can bring your brand further out into your chosen demographic.

However, consumers have become smarter and more sceptical with marketing techniques to the point that they can instantly spot a fake endorser. Audiences now crave for a more intimate connection with the celebrities they look up to.

A study by Forbes showed that audience engagement slows down as soon as a media public figure reaches the 100,000 follower count.

This shows that people prefer to interact with someone who is more grounded and relatable instead of with a public figure who wouldn’t have time to connect personally to a massive crowd of followers.

Also Read: What makes Singapore the marketing hub of Southeast Asia

Nevertheless, influencer marketing takes a huge chunk of a company’s marketing budget because it is a genuine and non-intrusive way of connecting with consumers.

Huge brands have continuously recognised the importance of influencer marketing as 2017 showed a rise in the use of social media influencers by as much as 198 per cent. Getting endorsed by the right endorser would provide a company with a powerful, direct line to their target consumers. Here are some points on why you should still include influencer marketing in your 2018 marketing plans.

Help your brand reach out to your target audience

With influencer marketing, there would be no need to set aside an additional budget to identify your core audience. As long as you choose the right influencer who has already nurtured your target audience on social media, your brand automatically gets a front-row seat to the followers who are already interested in your niche market.

This also takes advantage of the fact that audiences spend a lot of time on social media. If an influencer features your product in one of his social platforms, it creates an instant connection with audiences on sites where the influencer spends the most time on.

Enhances brand awareness

Influencer marketing can exponentially expand your reach and enhance your brand positioning online. Influencers often act as the driving force behind movements and groundbreaking ideas. A mere mention by a social media influencer can expose your brand to new users and even incorporate your brand into hot trends.

Also Read: Influencer marketing is a tricky, sticky situation for small businesses

Most influencers possess the creativity to weave a story into your brand and ultimately introduces your identity and the solutions you offer. Hiring a trendsetting influencer to promote your brand can even show that your company is an innovative leader.

Provides value to your brand and influences purchasing decisions

Influencer marketing embraces the concept of delivering content that educates, inspires, and provides solutions. This aligns with the values of social media influencers whose goals are to provide content that is valuable to their audiences, influencers are already in tune with the needs of their audiences and they want to ensure that their create content that attracts users to their channels.

Online influencers can also drive your sales since consumers

Constantly look up to influencers for advice on what products and services to purchase. A study showed that roughly 40 per cent of respondents purchase a product after they found out that a social media influencer uses it.

Furthermore, 85 per cent of millennials discover new products through social media. Influence marketing is a guaranteed method that drives sales and return of investment.

Builds consumer trust

People respect the content and recommendation of social media influencers and this sense of connection and trust can also affect your branding strategy. Influencers spent years building relationships and credibility with their fans.

Sharing in an influencer’s content can gain the attention of your target audience and put your brand in front of an actively engaging crowd of potential customers.

Influencers are also regarded as experts by their legion of followers. Once a brand is mentioned by an influencer, it creates instant credibility for the company and promotes trustworthiness.

This even becomes more powerful in niche markets where an industry expert is looked up as an authoritative figure. Once an influencer shares your content, it creates powerful brand recognition.

Fills in loopholes in your content strategy

Influencers can improve your marketing strategy and fill in the gaps in your own content. Running out of ideas to put out on your own social media platforms? Then let a social media influencer do that for you.

In fact, working with a number of influencers will guarantee that you’ll never run out of quality content to publish and push to your audience. You reach out to several social media influencers who can create engaging content for you.

Also Read: The reality of influencer marketing in the age of digital content

Influence marketing can also cut through advertising blindness: the tendency of online users to ignore banner ads on websites and social media. Banner ads used to be the prime method of advertising on the internet but several softwares and browsers have been developed to stop them, such as anti-pop-up features.

Influencer marketing creates an opportunity to cut through this ad blindness and provide a non-intrusive way of advertising – by placing your brand in natural, native content.

Builds a winning partnership and a valuable marketing network

Connecting with an influencer doesn’t end with just the content sharing. It can open opportunities for live events and joint-projects that a social media influencer may concoct in the future. Influence marketing can create a long term marketing strategy for any brand and will even grow together with an influencer’s reach.

Take note that content made by influencers have unlimited sharing potential. Unlike a paid advertisement that has a limited reach and timeframe, shareable content provided by an influencer can attract attention repeatedly especially if it goes viral. Imagine such wide and permanent audience reach at a lower cost compared to traditional marketing campaigns.

Influencer marketing is stronger than ever

It has been almost a decade since social media sites took over and it has changed the online marketing landscape for the better. Influence marketing, no matter what form it takes, remains a relevant and important strategy in building brand recognition and raising sales.

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Thailand-based aCommerce, an e-commerce enabler that helps global clients sell their products in the Southeast Asian markets, has raised US$15 million from Indies Capital Partners.

This round comes almost six months after it secured a US$10 million round from existing shareholders including KKR & Co. in July 2019.

The new funds will be used to drive ‘aCommerce 2.0’, which, according to the company, is an initiative to deliver greater value to enterprise brand client. “We are now fully-funded to continue executing on our ‘2.0 strategy’ to reach group profitability and become cash-flow positive in 2020,” said Paul Srivorakul, Co-founder of aCommerce. 

A portion of the capital will also be used to better support the company’s already existing global clients (such as Samsung, Unilever, Nestlé, L’Oréal, Philips, Adidas, and Mars), recruit, and develop a better workforce, focus on core markets and achieve profitability.

aCommerce has also revealed its plans to launch an IPO, says a TechInAsia report.

Founded in June 2013, aCommerce focusses on providing e-commerce technologies and solutions. Its services include performance marketing, channel management, webstore design and operations, content production, order fulfilment and warehousing, delivery and logistics and localised customer care.

Also Read: eCommerce: Revitalising conventional forms of trade in Malaysia

Indes Capital is an asset manager focusing on private credit and equity in Southeast Asia and has invested more than US$1 billion across multiple strategies on behalf of institutional and private investors.

“We appreciate that aCommerce is putting itself ahead of the curve in terms of driving its business to cash flow generation, and only pursuing economically sustainable growth. It is a rare combination of a technology company of scale in Southeast Asia on the path to profitability, whilst still exhibiting strong growth prospects,” said Harold Ong, Managing Director of Indies Capital Partners.

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Image Credit: aCommerce

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has received a total of 21 applications for the five new digital bank licences it announced last year, as on December 31, 2019 (last date). The government will allow only up to five digital banks in the country — two digital full-banks (DFBs) and three digital wholesale banks (DWBs).

The new digital bank licences will allow entities, including non-bank players, to conduct digital banking businesses in Singapore. These are in addition to any digital banks that Singapore banking groups may already establish under MAS’s existing internet banking framework.

Of the 21 applications the market regulator has received, seven are for the digital full bank (DFB) and 14 for the digital wholesale bank (DWB) licences.

The MAS expects to announce the successful applicants in mid-2020.

Also Read: Digital banking in Asia Pacific: What we can expect to happen in 2020

The DFB licence will allow for the consortiums to lend money to other companies and individuals, as well as serve retail customers. DFB can take deposits from and provide banking services to retail and non-retail customer segments. Foreign companies are eligible if they form a joint venture with a Singapore company and the JV meets the headquarter and control requirements.

As for DWBs, they are only allowed to serve SMEs and other non-retail segments. DWBs will be allowed to take deposits from and provide banking services to SMEs and other non-retail customer segments. Both local and foreign companies can apply for this.

In order to successfully obtain a digital bank license, besides compliance with regulatory requirements, technical capability and a sustainable business model, an applicant needs to demonstrate how they can meet the objectives from this initiative as set out by the MAS, including deeper financial inclusion.

Regulatory compliance requires a substantial amount of investment in people and technology. Reporting at every step of the way may not be built into the DNA of non-financial institutional aspirants.

The MAS expects that “the entry of new digital players will add diversity and strengthen Singapore’s banking system in the digital economy of the future. With innovative business models and strong digital capabilities, these players can cater to under-served segments of the market.”

Eligible applicants will be assessed for the following:

The value proposition of the applicant’s business model, incorporating the innovative use of technology to serve customer needs and reach under-served segments of the Singapore market that differentiates it from existing banks. MAS will also consider the ability of the applicant to implement the proposal.

Ability to manage a prudent and sustainable digital banking business, including the level of understanding of key risks in the banking business, and strength of its regulatory compliance and risk management plans. The MAS will also consider the reputation, track record, financial strength and commitment of the applicant’s shareholders.

Growth prospects and other contributions to Singapore’s financial centre, such as the jobs it will be bringing to Singapore, its commitment to develop the skills of the local workforce, the capabilities (including technology) it will be locating in Singapore, the headquarter functions it will be anchoring here as well as its regional expansion plans.

Who are the applicants?

Although the MAS has received 21 applications for the digital bank licence, only a few applicants chose to make it public.

Here is the list of companies/consortiums which announced their applications:

Grab and Singtel; Razer Youth Bank; Beyond Consortium; Ant Financial; iFast Corporation; Hande and Yillion; Sheng Ye Capital, Phillip Capital and Advance.AI; AMTD, Xiaomi Finance, SP Group and Funding Societies; Sea Group; and Enigma Group.

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Image Credit: 123rf Stock Photos

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Visa is acquiring Plaid for US$3.5B, twice its final private valuation – TechCrunch

Visa today announced that it is buying financial services API startup Plaid for US$3.5 billion, in a deal that is expected to close in the next three or six months, TechCrunch reported.

Plaid is a platform that helps developers share banking and other financial information more easily, kind of what Stripe does for payments.

The report named the exit price, which is twice the company’s final private valuation, as “a triumph” for its investors. Plaid has raised a total of US$353.3 million, according to Crunchbase.

Another TechCrunch report stated that Visa, together with Mastercard, had “quietly” participated in a funding round for Plaid earlier.

Apple said to refuse the government’s request to unlock gunman’s iPhones – SCMP

US Attorney General William Barr criticised tech giant Apple on Monday for not giving “substantive assistance” to investigators in unlocking iPhones belonging to the perpetrator of a recent terrorist attack at a US Navy base in Florida, South China Morning Post reported.

The FBI had gotten court approval on probable cause to search the devices belonging to gunman Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.

In a statement, Apple said that it was helping the investigation by providing information about the gunman’s Apple accounts, iCloud backups, and transaction information. It also stated that it has handed over “many gigabytes” of data to investigators, stating that it has provided “all of the information” it has.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news: Visa study says cross-border e-commerce sales poised for explosive growth

Lumitics raises seed funding to track the food wasted by Singapore’s F&B outlets, restaurants – e27

Singapore-based food waste tech startup Lumitics has raised US$557,000 in an oversubscribed seed funding round.

Co-led by the business angel and hospitality industry veteran Franck Courmont and ReadyVentures, the funding round also included Startup-O and Louise Daley (Deputy CEO of Accor Hotels Asia Pacific), who invested in her personal capacity.

With this, Lumitics’s total investment raised to date has exceeded US$743,000.

The startup said it will use the fresh investments for further product development, expand its market share in Singapore, and bring its solution to regional markets.

Capital markets platform iSTOX raises US$5M from Korea’s Hanhwa – e27

Singapore-based capital markets platform iSTOX has secured US$5 million in an investment round from South Korea-based Hanwha Asset Management.

iSTOX is a capital markets platform to support the one-stop issuance, custody, and trading of digitised securities. It is currently enrolled in the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, and it expects to graduate in the first quarter of 2020.

Other key shareholders of iSTOX include Singapore Exchange (SGX), and Heliconia, a subsidiary of Temasek, which focusses on investing in fast-growing companies.

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Enigma Group, a financial services company that specialises in analytical recruitment and executive search in the US, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, today announced that it has led a consortium comprising Singapore-based Qrypt Technologies, 2359 Media and Blockchain Worx to apply for a digital bank licence.

The consortium has submitted an application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a Digital Full Bank license that would allow it to provide a range of financial services and take deposits from retail and non-retail customers.

The Singapore-headquartered group is also said to plan to leverage deep expertise across financial services, experience from its multiple existing licensed financial services operations in Europe, along with emerging technologies to create financial products for the target segments.

“The ability to combine our capabilities to create a sustainable and profitable digital banking business is at the core of our strategy,” said Samuel Heng, the designated Chairman of the group.

“We have assembled a consortium that includes firms led by seasoned executives and have a breadth of expertise that spans financial services, technology operations and digital transformation,” added Malcolm Tan, Founder of Qrypt Technologies and the Gravitas Group.

According to a statement, the proposed digital bank will focus on the underbanked small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector as well as the fast-evolving digital workforce.

In a study conducted by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, over 70 per cent of the adult population in Southeast Asia is either ‘underbanked’ or ‘unbanked’.

Additionally, about 80 per cent of the surveyed SMEs state the need to borrow but lack access to affordable credit despite the region’s high smartphone penetration rate.

Also Read: Embracing Singapore’s digital bank shake up in 2019 and its consequences

Enigma Group has recently signed up to acquire ownership of a UK-based challenger-bank together with its various group companies. It is separately also involved in a Swiss Wealth Management business.

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It is no surprise that Singapore has been seeing a surge of non-banking institutions applying for a full digital banking license over the past few weeks. With strong law enforcement and transparency in the process, the city-state makes a great choice for entrepreneurs to set up their companies in.

However, in an interview with e27, Gleb Shabanov, founder of Singapore-based Kubia, explains why he is not keen on joining the others in the race … just yet.

Instead, the company opted to stay under Major Payment Institution (MPI) regulations.

According to Shabanov, by not applying for the digital banking license today, Kubia –which dubbed itself as a digital alternative to conventional banks– will actually have greater opportunity to compete and win the market.

“After the MAS gives out the results, there is actually a two-year process to set up the operations, the infrastructure, and help the selected companies to establish their business processes,” says Shabanov.

“So according to the guidelines, in the year 2020 and 2021, they are going to establish the framework and enable the companies to test their products around that time,” he adds.

The time that the digital banking licensees take to set up their business will give Kubia plenty of opportunity to grow its own offerings –and potentially, stay ahead of the competition.

“The [two-year] period will actually give us room to improve the product and grow the community around us,” he stresses.

“As the operations are set up during that due time, it will help us understand the principles and basics much better and will be easier for us to recognise the process for licensing.”

Launched in 2018, Kubia combines traditional banking services such as prepaid cards and inter client transfers with affordable remittances.

Additionally, the bank allows customers to open an account with no minimum deposit or additional admin fees. It also provides customers with real bank current accounts and current accounts for corporates.

Can new names compete against bigger names?

Even as the company wait to get a better view of the fintech scene after the announcement of full digital banking licenses, how do they plan to acquire users as a new bank?

Shabanov holds the view that at this time, it is important for Kubia to be more focussed on the development of the user experience and build a strong product, rather than focus on the legalities of forming a fully licensed digital banking community. The investment-banker-turned-entrepreneur aims to focus on building a transparent and customer-centric product.

“We are very consumer-focused. We want to be focused on the product first. You can work a lot on legal and forget about the project. There are examples of companies who spend too much time on legal matters and forget about the product. We want to integrate the best product which is amazing for the customers, and when we get mass adoption it will be easier for us to get further licenses. I would like to be as open with the customers as possible,” he elaborates.

The digital bank has already run its beta test from July to September 2019, which involved users testing the card programme, remittances, P2P transfers, and top-ups.

The founder also discloses plans to launch in the UAE.

Shabanov expresses that the UAE market for remittances is still yet to be tapped into but currently continues to maintain a strong focus in the Singapore market for now.

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Image Credit: Kubia

 

 

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There is no question that the younger generation will adopt cryptocurrency. From Tamagotchis to Neopets and in-game loot and currency, it is apparent that anyone under the age of 45 has spent their childhoods being groomed to see digital assets as having value.

There is seemingly no end to the market that already exists for digital-only assets as the generations that grew up with home video game consoles and internet connectivity continue to join the workforce. Cryptocurrency is the next logical step for generations of people who have spent their entire lives seeing value in digital assets.

This does not mean that cryptocurrency is purely the realm of the young. As society progresses so, unfortunately, do scammers. The older generations are often seen as easy targets for scammers, but they don’t have to be, not anymore.

Cryptocurrency thanks to the unchangeable and secure nature is more resistant to tampering and scams. It can be tracked easily and is difficult to use for money laundering, because of this it is quickly outstripping traditional currencies in terms of security and trust.

As the baby boomer generation heads towards retirement they will suddenly have more time for leisure, and if there’s one thing that the last couple of decades have shown us is that leisure activities are filled with technology even activities you wouldn’t normally think of as requiring technical knowledge.

Most bookings are done electronically for vacations and theme parks and resorts alike are moving towards all-inclusive experiences using digital wristbands, apps, and keycards. Television and movies are moving away from traditional releases and into the realm of digital streaming of content.

The generation that often believes that they don’t know how to use technology has slowly become completely immersed in it. There is no shortage of technology marketed towards the needs of an aging population, from digital assistants to health monitoring devices, and tablets and phones retirement will be filled with technology for baby boomers.

This immersion coupled with the increasingly user-friendly designs behind cryptocurrency means that the older generations are just as prepared to reap all the benefits that cryptocurrency has to offer.

As the world gets smaller and people think more globally in terms of both goods and lifestyle traditional currency is starting to be found lacking by many. Having to exchange paper money every time a border is crossed or calculate and remember exchange rates along with foreign travel fees to use a credit card abroad quickly becomes tedious in an age where people have grown used to streamlined and often hassle-free services.

There is no reason why in an age where you can order a new phone charger, and have it delivered to your office in the center of a city in just a few hours you shouldn’t expect the same freedom and flexibility from your money.

Humanity’s values have evolved over time, just as society has. Originally value was tied to consumable goods and from there value shifted to precious metals and the gold standard and from there to where we currently are with fiat money.

Fiat money means that the money is government-issued currency not backed by a physical commodity but instead holds value simply because of the stability and trust behind the government backing the currency.

For decades the world has accepted value simply because they have been told the value exists and it is a small leap to move from this value for values sake to value based on digital scarcity and data security.

Cryptocurrency is poised to offer modern solutions to modern problems facing our global society and economy, regardless of age. Be it the instability of changing governments, the shift towards a more global way of thinking, or data security in an age where computer science is evolving faster than we ever thought it would cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is ready to offer solutions. Putting our trust in digital assets the same way we did with gold and later government backing is simply the next step in global finance and will creep into our lives the same way that the internet did; quickly, seamlessly, and without effort regardless of age.

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