LitePay CEO Says We Might Be Thinking About Crypto All Wrong
Crypto enthusiasts, beware!
The digital assets shouldn’t be used as a “get rich quick” scheme, according to LitePay CEO Kenneth Asare. They’re also not meant to replace traditional currencies or investments like stocks.
What blockchain technology is, though, is the “internet of money”. Asare compares it to the 1990s, when internet systems were being built.
“This is the very beginning of a new way of sharing and transferring value,” he told Cheddar Tuesday. “This is the first part of a very long road that goes from 300 million people being able to be banked to everybody with a cell phone being able to be banked, which is literally 5 billion people today.”
Asare’s comments come days before cryptocurrency Litecoin is set to roll out its payment processor LitePay to 41 countries. The service target individuals who are “unbanked” but who have access to a cellular device. The new system can ease volatility in the market by automatically converting crypto into local fiat currency.
But Asare points out that current volatility shouldn’t make players in the market nervous, since cryptocurrency, like the internet two decades ago, is still in its early stages and may need some time to iron out fluctuations.
“This would be like in 1990 talking about how the early internet companies were or were not working,” he said. “They were onto something, and now we can look back and see that we have all of these products that have been built on top of it.”
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-internet-of-money-and-future-of-crypto-commerce).
NFT platform OneOf has partnered with Duke University's athletic program to create a special men's basketball NFT collection ahead of Mike Krzyzewski's final home game as Duke head coach this Saturday. Matt Marino, VP of Sports & Lifestyle at OneOf, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he takes viewers through the offerings available for collectors and his company's other pursuits in the sports collectibles space.
The pandemic, chip shortages, and now war. Automakers around the world have been getting slammed, and it now seems like things could get worse. Several car manufacturers have announced they are halting sales or shutting down factories in Russia after nations around the world moved to tighten sanctions against the country. Lisa Whalen, Auto and Mobility Analyst for Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains what we're learning about cryptocurrencies during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and says that there's not a simple, clean narrative that can be reached.
Shared EV service Revel raised $126 million in a Series B round. Revel first came on the map in 2018 with its shared electric moped service in New York City, which has since expanded to other cities on the east coast. The company also operates an all-Tesla ride-hailing service in Manhattan.
Now, it is looking to expand its network of EV fast-charging stations, which the company calls super-hubs. Frank Reig, CEO of Revel, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
There will soon be another, lower-cost subscription option for Disney+ — but with commercials. Disney will launch the new ad-supported tier for its streaming service in the U.S. later this year and internationally in 2023, but so far there is no word on an exact launch date or price for the new service option. Tal Chalozin, co-founder and CTO of online ad tech company Innovid, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the news could mean for the next chapter of the streaming wars. "I wouldn't say that are worried about subscriber growth, but they have big goals to fill," he said. "They need to go to the mid-market or the longer tail. An ad model, always proven that that that's the way to go to mass market in television."
Steve Blank, adjunct professor at Stanford University and founding faculty at Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, joins Cheddar News to discuss technology's role in modern war.
Katie Hotze, Founder and CEO of Grocery Shopii, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's creating a platform that allows for personalized meal planning and recipes into a grocer's eCommerce platform, and her learnings from one of her very well known investors: Lance Bass.