This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
With companies hailing from Singapore, Australia, and India, as well as Europe and the U.S., FinovateAsia Digital is a great opportunity to find out more about fintech innovation in the APAC region. Our all-digital fintech conference – June 22 and June 23 – is also a good way to learn how companies outside of Asia have successfully built relationships and gained market share within the area.
Here’s a look at the current roster of companies that will demonstrate their latest solutions at FinovateAsia next week. There’s still plenty of time to get your ticket; register today and join us next week for our two-day, deep dive into fintech in Asia.
Australia-based Amber offers a Bitcoin accumulation app that allows users to dollar cost average, and offers auto-buy-the-dip, auto-withdraw, and self-custody features.
Crayon Data, headquartered in Singapore, offers the world’s first AI-led platform that enables businesses to create highly personalized experiences for their customers.
Bangalore, India-based FinBit.io offers open banking technology that enables financial institutions to transition from outdated financial APIs to smart and compliant APIs based on open banking specifications.
Headquartered in Fairport, New York, QuickFi offers the world’s first, 100% digital equipment financing platform that enables business equipment financing in three minutes.
Strands offers white label, AI-driven fintech solutions for banks and financial institutions around the world.
A look at the companies demoing at FinovateAsia Digital on June 22, 2021. Register today and save your spot.
Amber is an Australian-based Bitcoin accumulation app. It makes it easy to Dollar Cost Average (DCA), auto-buy-the-dip, auto-withdraw, and accumulate the hardest money, scarcest asset on Earth.
Features
Auto-accumulate Bitcoin
Spend your Fiat
Borrow Fiat against your Bitcoin
Why it’s great With Amber you can collect Bitcoin and self custody it without having to think too hard about it.
Presenter
Aleks Svetski, CEO & Founder Svetski is a controversial writer, researcher, keynote speaker, and scholarship recipient who pursued entrepreneurship instead of textbooks. He founded Amber in 2018, the world’s first Bitcoin-only DCA app. LinkedIn
With bitcoin and cryptocurrencies enjoying renewed interest, it’s worth noting that many fintech fans encountered their first bitcoin-related businesses through Finovate conferences.
Here’s a look at some of the companies that have brought their bitcoin and crypto-powered innovations to the Finovate stage.
OpenCoin – FinovateSpring 2013 – The company now well-known as Ripple was introduced to Finovate audiences back in 2013. At FinovateSpring that year, Chris Larsen – CEO of a startup called OpenCoin – introduced its virtual currency and distributed open source payment network. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Ripple currently has more than 300 financial institutions who leverage its RippleNet blockchain network to power real-time payments.
KlickEx – FinovateAsia 2013 – New Zealand-based KlickEx unveiled its asset-backed and algorithmic cryptocurrency for institutional and retail users at FinovateAsia in 2013. The company, founded in 2009, recently announced a partnership with the National Reserve Bank of Tonga to launch a new national payment system.
Coinbase – FinovateSpring 2014 – Among the bigger names in bitcoin and cryptocurrency to have demonstrated their technology at Finovate conferences is San Francisco, California-based Coinbase. Debuting at Finovate with its Instant Exchange in 2014, Coinbase has grown into one of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency market with more than 35 million verified users and more than $320 billion in total volume traded on its platform.
AlphaPoint – FinovateEurope 2015 – With more than $350 million in monthly trading volume and 20 digital currency exchanges operating in 15 countries, AlphaPoint is a leading fintech exchange platform provider for digital currencies. The company demoed version two of its digital currency exchange platform at FinovateEurope in 2015.
CoinJar – FinovateEurope 2015 – Australia’s largest and longest-operating bitcoin company, CoinJar demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2015. The Best of Show-winning firm was the first in its market to offer a bitcoin debit card that enabled cardholders to use the cryptocurrency for everyday purchases.
Bitbond – FinovateEurope 2015 – Berlin, Germany’s Bitbond offers a global P2P bitcoin lending platform that enables anyone with an Internet connection to both get loans as well as invest their savings for interest. The company demonstrated its AutoInvest functionality, which facilitates and automates fund allocation in a portfolio, at FinovateEurope 2015.
itBit – FinovateSpring 2015 – New York-based itBit demonstrated its bitcoin trading platform at FinovateSpring in 2015. The company’s technology enables both institutional and retail investors to buy and sell bitcoin. Rebranded as Paxos in the fall of 2016, the company has since highlighted its work in private blockchains and distributed ledger technology.
Blockstack.io – FinovateFall 2015 – Best of Show winning Blockstack.io offers a hosted and licensed enterprise blockchain platform that enables financial services companies and others to build applications on their own private blockchain. The San Francisco, California-based company, founded in 2015, was acquired by Digital Asset Holdings for an undisclosed sum before the end of the year.
ArcBit – FinovateFall 2015 – With a pledge to leverage bitcoin and blockchain technology to bring banking to the underbanked, ArcBit, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2015, offers a mobile wallet specifically designed to give bitcoin owners full control over their cryptoholdings.
Coinalytics – FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 – Our developers conference, FinDEVr is one way that many bitcoin and crytocurrency innovators were able to bring their innovations to the public. Coinanalytics, which offers an end-to-end intelligence platform for the bitcoin industry, is an example of the kind of company developing solutions to make bitcoin a better opportunity for payments, financial services, and IoT.
BlockCypher – FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015 – Another alum of our developer’s conference, BlockCypher offers companies a cloud-optimized, enterprise-grade blockchain platform that enables them to build reliable blockchain apps. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company was founded in 2014.
Gem – FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015 – Founded in 2014 and based in Venice, California, Gem demonstrated its API which provides a comprehensive security solution for bitcoin apps – without taking control over funds. With a few lines of code, Gem enables developers to provide an interface to their bitcoin apps that gives users better funding options.
Ledger – FinovateEurope 2016 – Headquartered in Paris, France and founded in 2015, Ledger designs trusted hardware solutions for bitcoin and blockchain apps. The company’s solutions, including the Nano X and Nano S, provide cryptocurrency owners with a secure, portable way to take and manage their digital assets wherever they are.
Stratumn – FinDEVr New York 2016 – Enterprise blockchain technology company Stratumn provides firms with the infrastructure and tools they need to to build, deploy, and run blockchain. The company presented the high performance, proof-of-existence engine of its development platform at our developer’s conference in 2016. Jerome Lefebvre took over as CEO of the company from co-founder Richard Caetano in the fall of 2019.
Plutus.it – FinovateEurope 2018 – London-based Plutus demonstrated its Tap & Pay and Debit Card solutions that enable consumers to pay with bitcoin or Ethereum at any contactless point of sale. Founded in 2016, the company currently supports more than 26,000 Plutus accounts and credits its users for acquiring more than $100,000 in rewards via its Pluton Rewards program.
Amber Labs – Finovate MiddleEast 2019 – Best of Show winner Amber Labs is a bitcoin exchange, wallet, and micro-investment app in one. Headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and founded in 2017, Amber Labs offers a mobile first, automated investment platform for retail customers looking to buy and sell bitcoin.
Our second FinovateMiddleEast conference is in the books! And after a full day of live fintech demos, our attendees have made their voices heard as to which fintech innovations are most deserving of Best of Show honors. Congratulations to all of our demoing companies for their hard work, and a hearty thanks to our attendees for their votes in our Best of Show competition.
With that, here are the winners of Best of Show at FinovateMiddleEast 2019:
Amber Labs for its Bitcoin Bank, where people anywhere in the world can get all the benefits of a robust, global financial network, without the technical and jurisdictional restrictions, nor the inherent asymmetries, associated with the modern banking system. Video.
efigence for its EFI4 Digital Banking Platform, a seamless digital banking experience that guides retail banking customers through the complexity of the banking world using a three-screen environment. Video.
In addition to all of the companies that demonstrated their technologies live on stage at FinovateMiddleEast this week, we would like to thank our partners and sponsors for their participation and support. We also extend a special thanks to our Strategic Partner, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Finance, whose guidance in this our second FinovateMiddleEast has been invaluable.
Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The two companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2019 conferences are below:
A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateMiddleEast on November 20 and 21, 2019 in Dubai. Register today and save your spot.
Amber Labs is a university-backed, automation-focused bitcoin exchange, wallet, and micro-investment app – all in the palm of your hand. It is optimized as an on-ramp today and evolving into a global Bitcoin bank tomorrow.
Features
Fastest retail-focused Bitcoin gateway in the world
Bitcoin-denominated banking and financial products (payments, subs, loans)
Why it’s great Amber is building a next generation bank and financial application on Bitcoin – an open, internet-based central banking protocol. This is being done whilst generating real revenue and profits today.
Presenters
Steph Verin, Marketing
Alex Svetski, CEO & Founder Svetski is a university dropout, Bitcoin advocate, and a financial markets and tech entrepreneur. Privately, he is a writer and researcher in the fields of economics, physics, technology, anthropology, math, and engineering. LinkedIn
