The CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) didn’t really like that Coinbase started to allow margin trading on their “Coinbase Pro” feature. It was on and poppin’ for a few months, but as of yesterday, margin trades weren’t available on the app anymore. And any current margin positions are set to expire in the next few weeks.
What’s the deal? Coinbase has to register themselves as a commodities exchange before they can allow margin trading again. If you’re a Coinbase OG, you might remember when they had margin trading back in 2017, but then suspended it.
The CFTC specifically had an issue with how assets from the margin trade or contract were delivered, even though Coinbase said they were following the rules and regulations.
Not familiar with margin trading? It’s when someone borrows funds from the exchange to cover the investment they’re making. The trader could ideally increase their profits, but if there was a loss the asset would be liquidated.
When it comes to the CFTC and what they think actual delivery is, it means the buyer has control over the crypto versus the seller. Coinbase was within regulation until the CFTC put out their final “stamp of approval” guidelines this year, so the crypto-trading platform has to register as a commodities exchange since their margin trading is a “product”.
The Come Up Is Real
Okay, okay, so it kinda helps to start a business when you already have 1.26 million YouTube subscribers and about 8 mil on Instagram. Starting a business during coronavirus hasn’t been an easy play for everyone, but Camila Coelho is doing pretty well with her beauty line, Elaluz, that just launched in August.
Before Elaluz, Coelho has not only been known as a successful content creator, but for her fashion line that she launched last June that she decided to sell 100% exclusively through Revolve (a not-so-little lifestyle brand worth $1.4 billion). Her stuff’s seen all the popular content creators these days and international models, actresses… you get the drift. Coelho and Revolve even decided to move into the swimwear category in March despite the pandemic.
Coelho is someone who has had a great come up. She used to shop at Dior, now she sits front row at their fashion shows. She’s walked down red carpets with famous, luxury designers and has had her 15-minutes of fame across all the major women’s fashion mags. Elaluz, which again she just launched in August (August!?) is already sold in Saks Fifth Avenue and online at Net-a-Porter.
Not only has Camila had a great come up (you true entrepreneurs will love this), she didn’t even go to college. She started out as a Macy’s counter associate selling makeup and then started her YouTube channel making tutorials (back in 2010 when everyone and their mother wasn’t doing it yet). Her brand eventually hit the jackpot and now she’s a “staple” in the fashion and beauty industry.
When you have a dream, it doesn’t matter how you get there, amiright? Who else has the same true entrepreneurial spirit (in your eyes) that we should know about? Hit reply and hand over those names!
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Aka money (duh, what else could it be!?). WeGift just raised $8 million in their Series A “extension” (more on that in a second) and are stirring up business for companies with their “incentive marketing platform”. Basically, they make it stupid simple for a business to give online gift cards or other types of digital rewards to their customers.
So what’s the deal with this extension? They already raised with AlbionVC leading the way and existing investors like Unilever Ventures, and then the general partner at AlbionVC, Ed Lascelles, decided to join WeGift’s board.
All that cash is going to IT infrastructure, product development, and strategic partnerships that want to directly integrate their brand with WeGift’s tech. Aron Alexander brought WeGift to life in 2016 with a vision to make the “rewards and incentives industry” (who knew this was its own industry…) completely digital.
That same “industry” is now worth $700 billion to date. And, let’s be honest… all those plastic gift cards? Who needs ‘em! No one likes carrying more cards then they have to, and half the time they get lost in the mail (or in between car seats). Then there’s the plight of what to do with that awkward, remaining balance that just goes to waste.
The other thing WeGift helps with is helping businesses send money to customers. Obviously being on the receiving end of that is pretty easy. But sending customers money? Not as simple as you’d think. They’ve got a cloud, open API running right now to automate incentives and track ROI.
Even if you haven’t heard of WeGift, Samsung, Nike, Uber, Vodafone and Perkbox are some of the big names working with them. They’ve had 317% annual revenue growth this year, so all we have to say is move over grocery store gift card kiosks.
