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At the close of the Bank of England's consultation on the Digital Pound Barry interviews Danny Kruger MP, of the UK Parliament's Treasury Select Committee, who oversee the project, discussed the deep implications of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on financial stability and liberty. While Danny expressed concerns about the potential negative effects, he acknowledged that he and his colleagues on the Treasury Select Committee were not experts on the topic and that there was a general perception that CBDCs were a natural evolution of the digital revolution. Barry and Danny discussed the need for serious consideration at the legislative level regarding the introduction of a digital pound, as it could have implications for financial and economic stability. They also expressed concern about the lack of public engagement from the Bank of England's consultation and emphasized the importance of government and parliament's role in making decisions about the use of a digital pound. Danny and Barry discussed the

Summary Jasmine and Barry discussed the Bank of England's consultation on creating a digital pound. Jasmine expressed her concerns about central bank digital currencies, stating that they allow for too much control and monitoring by the government. Barry and Jasmine discussed the differences between cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies, with Jasmine expressing concerns about the centralized nature of CBDCs and the potential for government control over people's finances. They also talked about the impact of taxation on small businesses and the extractive nature of the economy. Jasmine and Barry discussed the potential risks and benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and how they have been implemented in different countries. They also talked about the possibility of abuse of power and loss of control for individuals once CBDCs become the only form of currency. Barry and Jasmine discussed the lack of media coverage on the restriction of access to cash in Nigeria and the potential da

Barry talks to David Palmer, Blockchain Lead at Vodaphone and  Jamiel Sheikh, Founder & CEO of Chainhaus - a leading advisory, education, events and app studio about the rapid rise of DeFi and the advent of 'Central Bank Digital Currencies' in the week that the Bank of England announced its digital Pound project - closely following the digital Euro. Jamiel Sheikh reveals the activities of central banks around the world and talks about the coming digital battles he sees to establish DeFi - decentralised finance.

In this fascinating conversation with David Palmer, a visionary, who is also the blockchain lead for Vodafone, we range widely across digital transformation, including the fact that we're all increasingly cyborgs living in a digital, as well as physical environment. The potential to increase human joy and human creativity through digital transformation, based on blockchain and DeFi, and the future at not just government level, but at every level, including the future of democracy, and of finance.

So, today we interview. Finexos, the winners of the fair finance hackathon about their solution to the mountain of stress and distress already at a peak before the pandemic and the mental health crisis it is driving. And what can be done. President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Dr Adrian James has predicted: "there is going to be a big surge – we refer to it as a tsunami – of mental illness as a result of the pandemic". Meanwhile according to the FCA 26 million people in the UK showing signs of difficulty in terms of their finances - via an an analysis of bank accounts. "So this is a massive problem. There's £450 billion of unsecured debt out there, where individuals in the UK are reliant on high interest revolving credit, just to meet day to day finances. So our challenge is to disrupt that circle of high interest, low disposable income - and so stress on the individual mental health." Says Steven Bone, chair of Finexos. As he points out this situation fundamentally bad for society - as UK poverty an

What has gone wrong with capitalism? It seems it has taken a wrong turn. But how? Staring at the scenes of the redundant workers leaving Lehman Brothers in 2008 – followed by all the subsequent carnage - started, for me, a decade of thinking and research and that's yet to complete -seeking Humane Economics. Like millions of other people I knew then, in my gut, that something had gone wrong. That we're working harder and longer – yet increasingly ordinary people have trouble making ends meet, and many more live in fear that their jobs could disappear at any moment. The anger over the bank bailouts was palpable. And it's not going away. My guest today is Les Leopold, his book Runaway Inequality was, for me, something of a revelation not only putting flesh onto the bones I have been discovering but giving scale to the enormity of the situation we find ourselves in post COVID. Because he not only documents, from public sources, how this inequality has been growing since the 1980s, but how that it continues to acc

In this episode we will be talking to another big-thinker: Andy Wilkins, founder of Vision4Health about the future of health and health services post Covid. Working with leaders in the field his vision is of a revitalised service that, turned on its head, wraps itself around us as people (rather than patients) rather than, as now, the other way around. That becomes a part of our day to day environment rather than something we visit when unwell – and can detect the warning signs before that happens. The convergence of machine learning and AI, genomics, big data analytics and the internet of things are creating a new context enabling personalised medicine - as a service. Andy's research is looking forward 10 to 15 years and using systems thinking to create a new vision. “There're huge opportunities to sort of hack disease [with] the net result of a population able to spend more time living well... more active and productive, and creative at work. So this will feed through to the economy. And also it has the pot

Professor Ronald MacDonald is a Research Professor in Macroeconomics and International Finance in the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow. His previous positions at the University were Bonar Macfie Chair of Economics (2005-2006), and the Adam Smith Chair of Political Economy (2006-2015). He has consistently ranked in the top 1% of the IDEAS/RePec ranking of economists, and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to Economic Policy. We discuss his report: 'The Post Pandemic New Normal' and it's follow-up calling for a rethink about the UK economy post-covid and discuss his insights and prescription for the #CovidSpring that show some marked similarities to some of the conclusions of humane economics. Including the need to “move away from the shareholder capitalism model” based on “short-termism and value extraction” to a “stakeholder model based on value creation” and discover that while there are string signs that some business leaders are moving in this direction that this is not being re

Before we get fully into gear to explore the #CovidSpring and so the future let's take a glance at the past and the present Covid Winter with a look at the effects of predatory capitalism unleashed via the ongoing story of the Mortgage Prisoners. This is an extraordinary story of the toxic economics we have in action involving the FCA, the British government selling British citizens into a form of modern slavery, trapped with their abusers, who behave without balance or restraint threatening financial ruin and visiting ill heath, mental and physical, on their 'customers' via an as yet unclosed loophole in the law. Despite censure over years culminating in a recent report from the London School of Economics the government continues to evade its clear responsibility to the 250,000 plus mortgage holders (according to the FCA and LSE - more according to many other) - plus family members, with no sign of relief or redress in sight. You can read more about the experience of the Mortgage Prisoners at UKMortgagePriso

Welcome to the #CovidSpring series in which we look through the Covid winter, which we are now enduring, to the coming spring beyond the crisis and harness some of the world's finest minds to together think about what kind of world we want to create. What kind of world we want and need - in search of humane economics. We'll be asking the question: Why is how did our economy become so toxic? Why do we have a plague of crises ranging from climate change and diversity loss through runaway inequality and insecurity that has impoverished millions of people - adding millions more people year on year? To the pandemic itself, and why we failed to take the measures we knew were necessary? Looking to what all these crises have in common - the roots. The mechanisms that have brought this about - around the world. We'll be asking what we need to do to create a more Humane Economics. In the #CovidSpring. Before we dive into that, right at the start, we'll look be taking a look at the reality of international predatory cap

As the masterclass moved online... Dan Green and Sarah Beaumont from Baker Botts explore cryptoassets and stablecoins. Maria Graza Vigliotti talking about her recently launched book - “Executive Guide to Blockchain”- using Smart Contracts and Digital Currencies in your Business. Taweh Beysolow II, Aludra Capital’s chief data scientist, joining us from San Francisco to discuss: How Artificial Intelligence can enhance Digital Asset Investment Strategies.  

What if Libra Was LiveToday? The world was in a different kind of uproar for months after Facebook and their alliance announced Libra. Then it was that senators were foaming at the mouth and it was the central banks that came close to rioting. Amid similar Trump-inspired scenes of protest on the streets of some of the cities of America today what if Libra now existed after all, quietly in some lab somewhere? Well it does – not in a lab but ‘out in the wild’, on thousands of mobile phones downloaded from the app stores. The Strange, but true, story of Moneybrain BiPS This is the strange, but true, story of Moneybrain BiPS. Conceived in England’s, Alderley Edge well before Libra had been heard of by a company regulated by the FCA, but with precisely the same structure and legal underpinnings as Libra itself – including a foundation: the BiPS Foundation.

Today, mid covid-crisis and with banks under increasing criticism I interview Lee Birkett, founder and CEO of P2P platform JustUs who today wrote to the UK Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Business Secretary, asking they open the doors to #Fintech so that business can be helped now, when it's most needed, rather than in a month or two's time - and  too late for many businesses.   Banks don't want competition but in a crisis it's all hands to the pumps and fintech has come together and can deliver at scale and in time to keep business is alive.   It's time for the banks lobbyists to stand aside and allow fintech to do the job that they cannot.   Please:   1. Sign the Petition 2. Join the LinkedIn Group 3. Read, like and share Lee Birkett's  open letter to the PM 

A HiveMind Explores the #NewNormal #BeyondCovid2020   On the 20th of March 2020 life in the UK changed forever when the government, a conservative government to boot, created a safety net for the population as well as for businesses and began to pay the wages of a significant proportion of the population for the duration of the crisis. Around the world the coronavirus is disrupting at least this deeply in many places.   The way forward looks difficult, challenging. But what is also clear is that there is no way back. The definition of normal is suspended. For how many months - we do not know? Initially 3 but it could be 6, 9, 12 or 18. No one really knows.   All we can say for certain right now is the definition of normal will never be the same again. Whenever that day comes we will still be grappling with climate change and many of the other forces we were grappling with before. But there will be a new normal.   Earlier in the week on a day when I had had a stream of phone calls from people asking me for, or

Surrey University have launched an exciting new crowdfunding initiative in concert with the local council and local charities. Surrey's crowdfunding platform Gaggle Connect is hosting a raft of campaigns including one to expand the 'Library of Things' service - which brings a new dimension to the sharing economy. Barry talks to Jim Sears who is programme Director MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation & Senior Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Together with Helen Leech from Surrey library service - who run one of the growing number of LoT services and Benz Thanida a student running their campaign.   Could this be a pattern for the future of Crowdfunding and the Sharing Economy?  

SignOnTheGo is a new Blockchain-Based e-Signature Platform designed for ease of use by SME's and individuals. Bringing simplicity to a service previously only available at a high cost to corporates. Currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/signonthego/signonthego-blockchain-based-e-signature-platform

This episode covers. The team blockchain. Masterclass for February, held on the 17th of February. Where I talk with Anthony Abell. Director and co-founder of Trust Me and T-P X about the property exchanges due to launch this year, which will revolutionise the ownership of property by making it liquid. Amongst other things, it will allow equity release on a much fairer basis and will help to power a whole new market by releasing liquidity around the world.  I talk also to Ferry Tilekens, who is working with a various groups, including government, in the Netherlands to work out the wrinkles in tokenization and normalise it for the economy. There's a huge educational aspect to this, as well as working on the taxonomy.  Finally, John Small, a programmer with over far 35 years experience in finance, supply chains and media and a deep understanding of mathematics and physics, which he brings to the blockchain world with a new insight and a project to go with it - to create something beyond blockchains that you

Barry E James & Jonny Fry talk with Vy Pettit of Vizidox, Phil Cambell of Pepo and Bridget Greenwood from The Bigger Pie

December's TeamBlockchain Masterclass is an eclectic mix with lawyer Charley Kerrigan, who played a role in a milestone-making report that confirms the backing of English law for crypto-assets, digital signatures and smart contracts. Technologist Hock Law, CEO of Ethernom talks about a computer on a credit-card hosting a crypto-wallet while Bob Booth of IBM about adoption of Blockchain. Richard Ells Founder at Electroneum, the cryptocurrency that's up and running in multiple countries and coming the Europe soon and Petr Stransky of icieba.com who is working to bring justice to SME's who often just can't afford to litigate even while suffering grave injustices.

BiPS are breaking new ground streets ahead of Libra and the field and I speak with CEO Lee Birkett about the latest from Moneybrain. With Liliana Reasor founder of SupraFin about opening investing & diversification to all & On Yavin about the Cointelligence Academy - which is now open & free!