Fintech Focus Roundup For May 9, 2021

Founder At Miami-Based Accelerator TheVentureCity Talks Returnly Exit, #MiamiTech And More
Affirm, a leader in payments, recently announced it would acquire Returnly, a return and post-purchase payments solution, for $300 million.

Benzinga spoke with Laura González-Estéfani, the founder and CEO of Miami-based TheVentureCity, on her firm’s role in bolstering Returnly growth initiatives and steps going forward.

CME Group Ends In-Person Trade, Successfully Launches Micro Bitcoin Futures
What Happened: Founded in 1848, CME Group is an exchange that builds markets around derivatives like futures, or agreements to buy and sell assets at a particular price and time in the future.

The company has a long-standing history, offering global benchmark products based on interest rates, equity indices, foreign exchange, and commodities. In addition to building products, CME also facilitates and clears trades through its clearinghouse, CME Clearing.

The organization’s move to end in-person trade for most products accelerated around 2015, after open outcry fell to just 1% of total volume. Now, only CME’s Eurodollar options pit will continue to operate.

Takeaway: The move to end in-person trade comes as the pandemic accelerated the digital disruption in finance; by and large, market participants demand the efficiency, transparency, and prospects of growth electronic markets offer.

Adding, CME, in meeting the demands of emerging market participants, recently launched Micro Bitcoin futures, which are 1/10 the size of one bitcoin and 1/50 the size of the standard CME Bitcoin future. The smaller size makes the product easier to consume by smaller participants.

The product, thus far, has been well-received trading nearly 2.5 times as many contracts as the standard Bitcoin future, Tuesday.

Fintech Spotlight: Metromile To Accept Premiums, Pay Claims In Bitcoin
Metromile Inc, an insurance-focused fintech powered by data science and machine learning, announced Thursday it will allow policyholders the option to pay for insurance and receive payment for claims in Bitcoin or U.S. dollars.

JPMorgan, Confluence Expand Partnership, Improve Multi-Asset Portfolio Analytics
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and global tech provider Confluence announced a new development in their partnership to deliver advanced multi-asset portfolio analytics solutions.

Lynk, UBS Group Collab Over Actionable, AI-Driven Insights
Lynk, an AI-driven knowledge-as-a-service platform, and global wealth manager UBS Group AG formally announced a collaboration to help UBS’s institutional clients tap into expert insights during their investment process.

TikTok Superstar Griffin Johnson Explains His Vision To Innovate And Inspire
Influencer marketing, which is on track to become a $15 billion industry by 2022, is a unique way for creators to monetize their content and outreach.

The problem with this industry is both the supply and demand dynamics, as well as an unfulfilling culture, according to some. More and more, creators are being faced with a tough decision, innovate or die.

22-year-old Illinois native Griffin Johnson has done just that. The media influencer, who recently made a pivot into angel investing and entrepreneurship, is not only looking to diversify his earnings but also spread increased value to his highly engaged audience, from his experiences networking with the likes of hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, Miami mayor Francis X. Suarez and others.

In an exclusive interview, Benzinga chatted with Johnson to learn more about his pivot to investing and entrepreneurship, as well as his vision for the future and how he will continue to engage those followers that have been with him since the beginning.