Page 82 - Innovation Delaware 2018

BY MATT WARD
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
FINTECH
New Trading Platform, Exciting Startups Make Ffor a Dynamic Landscape
“
intech” means, simply, “financial services that are delivered through technology.” It includes online banking, machine learning and artificial intelligence in financial settings, even cryptocurrency.
For investors, innovators and consumers, it spells not just easier access to capital but it is, many say, also lowering the barriers to entry for new businesses. As America’s credit card capital, Delaware is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry. Members of Delaware’s financial community are keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency, blockchain and other technologies that are well on their way to revolutionizing the world of finance — and in the process, making
sure the First State continues at the cutting edge of fintech developments.
Delaware’s financial technology landscape is varied and impressive. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has 10,000 employees in Delaware, a quarter of them focused full-time on technology. The Delaware Board of Trade, based in Wilmington, is a fully automated, auto-execution online trading platform based on new technologies like blockchain and crowdfunding. Startup firm Lyapunov Technologies is generating excitement at the University of Delaware — the two grad students behind it apply robotics engineering principles to financial markets, creating a completely new approach to risk management. Combine all that with Delaware’s rich history in banking and financial services, and
you have a winning formula. ID
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Delaware Board of Trade Holdings Inc.
SHAWN SLOVES
COMPANY TO WATCH
The Delaware Board of Trade (DBOT), based
at Hercules Plaza in Wilmington, operates as a fully automated, auto- execution online trading platform. Founded in part on a $3 million loan from the New Castle County government, the firm is
80 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
bringing new technologies, like blockchain and crowdfunding, to an existing market.
“We’re specifically focused on equities in the over-the-counter (OTC) market,” says SHAWN SLOVES, a DBOT board member. His company,
Fundamental Interactions, provided the blockchain technology that DBOT
runs on; blockchain is the online ledger system that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The OTC market includes low-tier equities (traditionally known as “penny stocks”), but is also
GETTY IMAGES/METAMORWORKS