Blockchain

Small-business projects in India and Latin America will provide a test of how well an open source blockchain can reduce the fraud that can occur when businesses try to free up capital from outstanding payments.

Tech giants have been experimenting with blockchain technologies for years, and while they haven’t displaced banks, there’s still cause for concern.

Fincross, based on the island of Mauritius, is launching a regulated investment bank for digital assets. It faces tough competition.

Universities are starting to offer courses in bitcoin and other cryptocurrency skills, and that's just the start, according to David Uhryniak, blockchain services leader at Crowe LLP, and Brian T. Zygmunt, a partner at Crowe LLP.

Crypto exchanges are adopting anti-fraud surveillance tools as they attempt to root out pump-and-dump schemes, insider trading and bogus orders.

Figure, the startup headed by Mike Cagney, uses blockchain technology to provide home equity loans in as little as five days. It intends to use the newly raised funds to offer other services, including wealth management.

It creates an auditable, distributed ledger of transactions that cannot be altered or removed, enabling transactions that are valid, authentic, trustworthy and immutable, according to David Uhryniak, a blockchain services leader at Crowe LLP, and Brian T. Zygmunt, a partner with Crowe LLP.

If verdict stands, it could raise ceiling on anti-laundering penalties; better-than-expected results buy Barclays chief more time on current strategy.

Flaws in testing may be real source of Wells Fargo's tech failure; BB&T-SunTrust deal throws talent and deposits up for grabs, threatens banking's middle tier; what JPMorgan Chase's JPM Coin means for Ripple and Swift; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The JPM Coin will be used to expedite payments transfers for its corporate clients; customers of Spain’s largest retail bank will be able to withdraw cash without entering a PIN.