Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A large number of recent Ponzi schemes have used decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure to defraud their customers. This article explores the DeFi ecosystem and how fraudsters are able to exploit it to steal from crypto newbies. DeFi is a broad term for financial infrastructure and financial services provided on public blockchains via smart contract technology. Ether ETH eum, Binance Chain, Cardano ADA , and Solana SOL are among the most popular smart contract blockchains, allowing developers to create dApps (decentralized applications) on their network. These dApps can be used for a variety of purposes, but the majority of them are financial in nature, giving rise to the term "DeFi." DeFi development has progressed to the point where token creation templates exist, allowing anyone to create a token in a matter of minutes without any programming knowledge or experience. This opens the door to a Pandora's … [Read more...] about How The DeFi Space Has Become A Massive Breeding Ground For Crypto Ponzi Schemes
Scotia rewards program
Privacy Battle Over Connected Cars Takes An Interesting Turn In California
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin So goes California, and so typically goes the country. And the North American automotive industry along with it. That's possibly the case with California and its battle over data. There is no question the automotive manufacturers want data from hundreds of sensors for a multitude of reasons ranging from warranty reduction, repair prognostics, machine learning of safety-related systems and, yes, advertising revenue. As the former CEO of Ford, Mark Fields, announced to the world in 2016 , "As our vehicles become part of the Internet of things and as consumers give permission to us to collect that data, we'll also become an information company. Our differentiator will be how we use that data to satisfy our customers in ways that they never thought possible in their lives." In fact, it's projected by 2023 that worldwide sales of connected vehicles will surpass 76 million units (70% globally, 90% in the United States) with … [Read more...] about Privacy Battle Over Connected Cars Takes An Interesting Turn In California
5 Credit Score Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Maintaining your credit score requires careful money management and attention to detail. Even the smartest consumers make simple mistakes that can dramatically impact their credit scores. Here are five credit score blunders even savvy people make. Being aware of these may help you avoid an unnecessary decline in your credit score. Applying for Too Many Accounts No matter your credit rating, chances are you get bombarded by loan and credit card offers on a regular basis. Nearly every retail store seems to offer a "special discount" for signing up for their credit cards, on top of all the card offers you receive in the mail each month. In spite of these opportunities, be careful how often you apply for credit offers. Having too many inquiries on your report especially in a short amount of time can negatively impact your credit score. The issue here is not comparing loan offers or credit cards. For instance, if you … [Read more...] about 5 Credit Score Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid
This Week In Credit Card News: More Borrowers Missing Payments; Now You Can Pay With Your Smile
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin More Subprime Borrowers Are Missing Loan Payments Consumers with low credit scores are falling behind on payments for car loans, personal loans and credit cards, a sign that the healthiest consumer lending environment on record in the U.S. is coming to an end. The share of subprime credit cards and personal loans that are at least 60 days late is rising faster than normal, according to credit-reporting firm Equifax. In March, those delinquencies rose month over month for the eighth time in a row, nearing their pre-pandemic levels. [ The Wall Street Journal ] Mastercard Launches ‘Smile to Pay’ System Amid Privacy Concerns Mastercard is rolling out a controversial program that will allow shoppers to pay at the till with a mere smile or wave of the hand, as it tries to secure a slice of the $18 billion biometrics market . While face recognition technology has long raised eyebrows among civil rights groups, the … [Read more...] about This Week In Credit Card News: More Borrowers Missing Payments; Now You Can Pay With Your Smile
Keeping it Real with Real Vision’s Raoul Pal
A super slide for stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies rolled all the way into last week, right up until Friday, when the Nasdaq posted its strongest one-day gain since November of 2020. Despite Friday's gains, the major averages posted losses for the week, with the Dow closing down more than 2% and posting its first seven-week losing streak since 2001. The S&P 500 fell 2.5% and hit its longest weekly losing streak since 2011, while the Nasdaq fell 2.8%. It's been a rough, rough year across capital markets. A full $35 trillion in global market value has been erased since the beginning of the year. That's 14% of all global wealth, including a trillion dollars of losses in cryptocurrencies. To put those losses in perspective, 2008 saw a 19% decline in global market value, and that doesn't include non-financial assets such as housing. Still, perspective is everything, especially for investors who have been invested in the U.S. stock market for at least five years. Believe it or not, … [Read more...] about Keeping it Real with Real Vision’s Raoul Pal
The 50 Highest-Paid Athletes Made Nearly $3 Billion; Here’s A Breakdown Of The Numbers
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Faster, higher, stronger: It’s an attitude that pays off on the field as well as off it. The world’s 50 highest-paid athletes raked in $2.97 billion before taxes and agents’ fees over the 12 months ending May 1, smashing 2021’s record total of $2.76 billion. This year’s list features many more notable numbers, however. Here’s a breakdown. 3: The number of athletes who surpassed $100 million in total earnings over the last 12 months. LeBron James, with $121.2 million, reaches the milestone for the first time on the Forbes athletes list while Lionel Messi ($130 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo ($115 million) are each five-time members of the century club. Only seven other athletes have ever accomplished the feat: Roger Federer, Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor, Neymar, Manny Pacquiao, Dak Prescott and Tiger Woods. 6: The number of athletes in the top 50 who had never appeared on a Forbes athletes list: … [Read more...] about The 50 Highest-Paid Athletes Made Nearly $3 Billion; Here’s A Breakdown Of The Numbers
Pay For Success: The Social Impact Model Mitigating Homelessness And Incarceration In Salt Lake County, Part Two
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By Jolyn Metro, Congressman Ben McAdams, Luke Tuttle In 2017, Former Utah Congressman and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams launched Pay For Success (PFS), a social impact model that incentivizes collaboration between government, service providers, and financial partners to problem-solve in real-time to achieve measurable results. After nearly six years of hard work and early promising outcomes, stakeholders of the Salt Lake County PFS projects have gained important takeaways and insights among Utah jails and homeless populations. This is the first article in a two part series examining lessons learned and recommendations for future success. Watch our contributor page for updates. Homelessness, recidivism, and an overburdened criminal justice system are not unique challenges for cities and counties. But when state and local leaders in Utah experienced alarming increases in rates of incarceration in 2014, they chose a … [Read more...] about Pay For Success: The Social Impact Model Mitigating Homelessness And Incarceration In Salt Lake County, Part Two
20 Top Innovators Building The Chicago Crypto And Web3 Ecosystem
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin From NFTs to token sales and memes, there is no shortage of hype around crypto. Beneath this noise, though, Chicago has been hard at work creating a premier crypto and Web3 ecosystem driven by purposeful public and private leadership. Building on the momentum of being recognized as one of the country’s leading innovation hubs last year, Chicago is uniting the Midwest as the gateway to some of the world’s most cutting-edge innovation in this sector. In addition to homegrown talent, many crypto companies have chosen to locate significant parts of their teams in the Windy City. Chicago is home to over 70+ crypto and Web3 industry innovators, such as Galaxy, Gemini, Stripe, PayPal, and most recently, FTX. Although my firm, HPA , has expertise in this sector and has invested in firms such as Stacked , an investment platform enabling smart crypto investing for everyone, and Glidera, which was acquired by cryptocurrency … [Read more...] about 20 Top Innovators Building The Chicago Crypto And Web3 Ecosystem
Infrastructure 2021: Delivering more sustainable and equitable infrastructure
After 13 grueling years of political debate, Congress passed a bill that enabled some of the largest infrastructure spending in U.S. history—an almost 20% increase over the annual federal public works budget. advertisement The spending created clean energy, jobs, addressed environmental issues (while creating others), and ultimately, while backstopped by Congress, paid for itself. If this sounds too good to be true—it isn’t—because this happened in 1928. The spending was for the Hoover Dam. And while there were other projects part of the “infrastructure stimulus” of that era, this iconic project is a great representation of the good and bad of a meaningful infrastructure spend. Over the past 10 years, infrastructure has become an outsized and unrequited topic—it has featured prominently in presidential campaigns, has been the subject of many (mostly unpassed) bills and hundreds of conferences, and marketed in at least a dozen “Infrastructure Weeks.” Will it be said … [Read more...] about Infrastructure 2021: Delivering more sustainable and equitable infrastructure
‘I Don’t Understand’: Parents Of Slain US Veteran Call Out Biden For Reportedly Giving Aid To The Palestinian Authority
The parents of a U.S. veteran who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist criticized the Biden administration for reportedly providing aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) despite its continued payments to terrorists in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation. Stuart and Robbi Force’s son, a U.S. veteran named Taylor, was brutally stabbed to death in 2016 in Tel Aviv, Israel by a Hamas terrorist whose family benefited from the PA’s martyrdom payment program, which provides cash rewards to terrorists and their families. The Forces spoke on Capitol Hill Wednesday alongside Republican Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn, who introduced the Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act in 2022 and the previous 2018 Taylor Force Act, both of which seek to prevent aid to the PA’s “ pay to slay ” program. (RELATED: ‘What Is The President’s Priority?’: Doocy And Psaki Spar Over Terrorists Crossing The Southern Border) “I don’t understand the reasoning behind resuming the … [Read more...] about ‘I Don’t Understand’: Parents Of Slain US Veteran Call Out Biden For Reportedly Giving Aid To The Palestinian Authority