*By Tanaya Macheel* Abra, a five-year-old crypto company that has historically been focused on remittances, is starting to look like a fintech app itself; it will soon give users the ability to use their bitcoin to invest in traditional assets “like Apple, Amazon, gold and the S&P 500," according to a customer email it sent late Tuesday. The minimum investment is five dollars and Abra will waive fees on traditional stocks and ETF investing for the rest of 2019. If successful, Abra might actually succeed in truly “democratizing financial services” — the mantra of fintech startups that once sought to disrupt the old guard of the banking industry that maintained its wealth and power on consumers’ reliance on them. Abra, a crypto exchange and digital wallet startup, is available in at least 155 countries and supports the buying, storing and now investing of 30 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies. Bill Barhydt, Abra’s CEO, has been vocal about his vision for Abra to become a sort of crypto bank, where users can act as custodians of their own money, whether it’s bitcoin or dollars or other crypto and fiat currencies, and whether it’s investing, credit or simply transferring money between two people. Traditional and even upstart digital banks haven’t figured out how to be a truly global, borderless bank in that sense, thanks in large part to regulatory requirements that vary from market to market and can sometimes be burdensome for the banks. Abra is particularly innovative among crypto and fintech startups because it allows users to store bitcoin as their currency of choice. And as bitcoin as of now isn’t considered “real money” Abra [isn’t subject to the same regulations] (https://cheddar.com/videos/abra-ceo-aims-to-upend-banking-sector-with-crypto-backed-synthetic-money) or licensing requirements as banks. There’s no shortage of investing apps in fintech. CommonBond, Swell, and Invstr are just a few variations of the hugely successful Robinhood app. Even Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, has introduced YouInvest as its answer to the popular trend. Robinhood and Square’s Cash App both have crypto buying and selling services, but neither app has enabled users to use their crypto funds for other services. For example, Robinhood requires users to connect a bank account to trade stocks or cryptocurrency, and Cash App users can’t yet use their crypto funds to pay for purchases using their Cash Card.

Share:
More In Business
Starbucks’ Change Flushes Out a Debate Over Public Restroom Access
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
Trump Highlights Partnership Investing $500 Billion in AI
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Load More