文献信息：
文献标题：INTERNET FINANCE: DIGITAL CURRENCIES AND ALTERNATIVE FINANCE LIBERATING THE CAPITAL MARKETS（互联网金融：数字货币和替代金融解放资本市场）
国外作者：Kim Wales
文献出处：《Journal of Governance and Regulation 》, 2015,4(1):190-201 字数统计：英文2505单词，13427字符；中文4405汉字
外文文献：
INTERNET FINANCE:
DIGITAL CURRENCIES AND ALTERNATIVE FINANCE
LIBERATING THE CAPITAL MARKETS
Abstract This article discusses how the sudden shift in policy reform and innovation has the potential to liberate the financial markets. The economic potential of internet finance is beginning to take hold across the capital markets as industries like Peer –to –Peer Lending, Equity and Debt based Crowdfunding and virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies which are types of digital currency are quickly transforming the way businesses are being financed. From borrowing and lending, buying and selling securities, to conducting wire transfers internationally, these innovations are creating a new class and generation of investors will source investments opportunities. Helping institutions and governments assess risks and manage performance in order to determine where to deploy capital; and showing signs of lessening the inequality gap. Following the neolithic agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution, this new revolution will enable more people to access financial services in less traditional ways, especially the unbanked world with its huge potential. These new financial opportunities, such as peer – to - peer (P2P) lending, will be discussed and examined, and we will stress how they can allow people to bypass
current barriers in the global economy. We conclude by arguing that all these developments, energized by the efforts of innovators and entrepreneurs, have the potential to radically transform the world in which we live, while promoting the core values of industrialized societies including democracy, capital formation, sustainability, and equality without solely relying on tax increases.
Key Words: Internet Finance, Digital Currencies, Capital Markets, Alternative Finance
Introduction
The way we do business is being revolutionized. There is decreasing trust of traditional banks, mainly due to the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis and the string of scandals that has affected banks reputation since then, including the LIBOR interest rate rigging scandal, money laundering, high risk lending and tax evasion. As access to traditional funding becomes more elusive and as more and more people join the ranks of the “unbanked,” it is clear that new ways of creating business, job and capital, in a more equitable way must be found. And indeed, an economic revolution is underway, which is radically transforming the financial ecosystem, via emerging technologies, changing legislation, and alternative funding mechanisms.
Barriers in the Global Economy
Kendall and V oorhies (2014) note that in some countries, “the most important buffers against crippling financial setbacks are financial tools such as personal savings, insurance, credit, or cash transfers from family and friends. Yet these are rarely available because most of the world‟s poor lack access to even the most basic banking services.” In addition, Webber (2014) notes that the World Bank calculatesthat about 75% “of the world‟s poor is unbanked,” amounting to roughly 2.5 billion people who are unable to access any banking services. These unbanked people are often reliant on “a patchwork of informal and often precarious arrangementsto manage their financial lives.”
However, “technology and new business models are beginning to shape different
types of business finance and funding” available across the globe [Vistage(2013)], especially in developing countries. For instance, 75% of Kenyans now have mobile banking services, while in Brazil basic banking transactions are now available at local shops [Webber (2014)].
But while the „unbanked‟ are increasingly being served in developing countries, Webber (2014) notes that inclusion in traditional banking services is becoming more problematic in the EU and US: The Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a global network of policymakers, reported that there are “58 million people in the EU without bank access and another 92 million are „underserved‟ – having access, say, to just one bank while in the US, nearly 10 million households are believed to be outside of the formal banking system.”
Increasingly, the wealthy are being relied upon to redirect investment dollars towardemerging growth companies through different types of incentives and new funding models, however understanding the new range of financial services and means of access will be „challenging” but important for all involved [Vistage(2013)]. In particular, understanding the important differences between the huge range of finance and funding options available – from bank lending to crowd-sourced funding to microfinance to private equity and venture capital – is a challenge, but will be fundamental for business leaders, emerging growth companies and investors as they consider their place in the economic equation. At the same time, as I have written in an earlier paper, it is also important that average working class individuals are also given the chance to take advantage of these new investment and financing opportunities [Wales(2014)].
Maney (2013) says that the world is undergoing a third revolution (following on from the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution), and this is a very apt description. Humankind‟s collective knowledge is being aggregated and disseminated and is increasingly allowing complete access to the surge of universal information and we all have the abilityto connect with almost everyone on the planet
[Maney(2013)]. Democratization of the capital markets with financial and investment products such as securities based crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending (P2P), Bitcoin
and more -- in parallel -- with technological advances on the Internet, social media, and the smartphone have all equally revolutionized the way that we do things. This new revolution, started in the developing world, will enable more people to access financial services in less traditional ways. These new financial opportunities, such as peer to peer (P2P) lending and bitcoin will now be discussed in turn.
Dawn of a New Era: P2P and the Crowd
In recent years, peer-to-peer lending has attracted borrowers and lenders that had been displaced by the banks. The “new normal‟ in this sea of change is leveraging networks of social capital, better known as “the crowd” to infuse the money needed into a company in order to start, grow or sustain its practice.
According to the Small Business Administration, recovering is continuing in both “borrowing and lending conditions”, although recovery is slower for smaller firms.Unfortunately, businesses have experienced a downturn in their financial position, which has made securing funds from banks very difficult duringa time of increasing financial regulation. This is reflected in a number of studies into small business lending over the last few years.
The New York Federal Reserve regularly surveys small business owners regarding “their needs and experiences,” in order to gauge the credit environment, and in the. April/May 2012 survey, 544 small businesses participated. The feedback from the survey indicates that “the recent drop in lending ma y be due in part to weaker firms self-selecting out of the credit market”: about two- thirds of the participants did not apply for any financing, and half of these respondents did not do so because they feared their applications would be declined. Participants also reported “higher denial rates” for microloans than for loans of higher amounts, suggesting that the demand for microloans is there.
Oxfam‟s (2014) report into global economic inequality stated that a mere 1% of the global population controls almost half of the global wealth. Furthermore, this 1% owns $110 trillion which is 65 times the combined wealth of the “poorest 3.5 billion people,” the 85 richest people own the same as the combined total wealth of the
bottom 50% of the global population, and 70% of the populationreside in countries where “economic inequalityhas increased in the last 30 years”. These statistics emphasize the fact that there is a disproportionate amount of capital not making its way into the hands of “the crowd” as well as the difficulty of gaining access to that capital.
History illustrates that during periods of radical change, it took two world wars to shift the economy [Piketty(2014)]. Now inequality is rising back to pre- 1915 war levels. According to Piketty (2014), this should be counteracted via global tax on wealth or similar measures.While here we agree on the inequality rise, I submit that wealth inequality could improve naturally through advances in technology and the democratization of capital under the umbrella of “internet finance” rather than through fiscal policy alone.
Globally, peer – to – peer platforms originated an estimated $70 billion in 2014. Yet, these loans only make up a small portion of the total number of small business loans [Eavis(2014)]. In the first quarter of 2014, banks lent a total of $291 billion to small businesses, according to FDIC figures, while in contrast, US P2P lending platform, Prosper Marketplace originated over $3 billion of loans on platform as of 1Q2015. As of the 2014, Peer – to – Peer Lending (Debt) originated $11 billion in loans in the U.S., $56 billion in China and $5.6 billion in Europe in 2014, respectively. These numbers are projected to double by the end of 2015.
Mobile banking
Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular and its applications have the “potential to encourage financial discipline in even more effective ways” [Kendall and Voorhies (2014)] Mobile banking has three advantages over traditional banking models, which can also be translated for primary and secondary markets [Kendall and V oorhies (2014)]:
—Mobile transactions are virtually free. Counter services at financial institutions make up most of the routine bank costs, however, with mobile banking, the same transactions can be made with little or no cost to the financial institutions or mobile
service providers, and by extension those servicing transactions within the primary and secondary markets.
—These mobile transactions create huge amounts of data, “which banks and other providers can use to develop more profitable servers and even substitute for traditional credit scores (which can be hard for those without formal records or financial histories to obtain) ”. Over time, there will be an emergence of mobile ratings agencies that will assist entrepreneurs and investors to overcome this hurdle in the primary and secondary markets.
—Mobile platforms operate in real time, allowing instantaneous account information, messaging and new services sign up.
Digital Currency: the case of virtual and crypto currencies
Digital currency businesses are now proliferating with $350 million invested by venture capitalist in 2014 and $230 million invested the year prior. For a moment, let’s explore how the crypto currency, Bitcoin could transform financial markets, by serving as a catalyst for capital formation, especially in underserved regions like Africa and Haiti, which are in dire need of banking facilities and access to capital and technology like blockchain is beginning to serve as the backbone infrastructure for the movement of currencies.
Bitcoin is currency that can be traded internationally and anonymously, and because it is a decentralized digital currency, there are no fees, government regulation, and oversight by banks and government-backed securities [Pagliery (2014a)].
Five years after its introduction, Bitcoin is among the most studied and traded financial products. Bitcoin payments occur peer-to-peer with no administrator and this cryptocurrency is now a popular form of digital currency. A number of top investors support this digital currency (including, for example, Marc Andreessen and the Winklevoss twins). Merchants see Bitcoin with favor because of its lower fees when compared with credit cards, and the fact that fees are paid by the purchaser and not by the vendor. However, Bitcoin has also been quite volatile so far and has been subject to intense scrutiny by governments.
Indeed, last year the bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, collapsed, which raised questions regarding “the security of investing in a virtual currency that isn ’t regulated by governments” [Vaishampayan (2014)]. However, other players, such as SecondMarket, created a new, and more secure, bitcoin exchange and launched a Bitcoin Investment Trust.
There is an excellent and potentially revolutionary opportunity to incorporate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin into products such as crowdfunding platforms and mobile-enabled platforms that could serve the unbanked, underserved, and the emerging middle class, who represent well over 2 billion people worldwide. $90 billion a year is spent by this population on alternative services such as check cashers and payday loans [Schutte (2014)] and they struggle to obtain the financing, beyond limited microfinance opportunities, to create businesses. Creating value for this segment of the population could be very exciting if social capital and technology are leveraged properly.
Bitcoin could be used for remittances, liquidity access to cash, and credit for frontier and emerging countries.
Conclusion
The world is embarking upon a new economic revolution. Institutional market making may become a profession of the past as the democratization of capital is being driven more and more by retail investors. The catalyst for this phenomenon originated in the global economic recession. Unemployment, while going down, is till a problem, and interest rates remain at historic lows of almost zero percent while startup and emerging growth companies find it difficult to raise capital via traditional avenues.
Start-ups are major job creators (small firms created 65% of new jobs in the US between 1993 and 2009), but they aren’t getting the funding to remain operational.
2.5 billion people are unbanked [Chaia et al (2010)] while over 2 billion are living on less than $2 a day. With all of the global resources, it is hard to understand why the wealth disparity gap continues to increase in the 21st century with 1% of the
population controlling over 50% of the world’s wealth.
On April 5, 2012, President Barack Obama signed into legislation The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), igniting a change to 80- year-old securities laws while spurring a changing of the guards globally and enabling the democratization of the capital markets. Technological advances such as Web 3.0, social capital, smartphones and mobile technology, and Bitcoin are fueling this economic revolution. This revolution is also known as “frictionless capitalism”, a term coined by Bill Gates in 1994, in his book, The Road Ahead, which suggests a new generation of internet companies are innovating to find ways of reducing friction within the internet economy. I will take this thought one step further and propose that the internet is becoming the new industrial network where we can connect with one another directly allowing for advances in creating “frictionless labor markets.”
As these examples show, a new economic revolution has the potential to disrupt social and capital norms. Every aspect of life will be transformed due to the interrelated nature of the ecosystem because increased activity in one part of the ecosystem spurs an increase in activity in others.
I conclude by arguing that all these developments, energized by the efforts of innovators and entrepreneurs, have the potential to radically transform the world in which we live, while promoting the core values of industrialized societies including democracy, capital formation, sustainability, and equality. A brave new world of business and finance, which is more equal and fairer, is just around the corner.
中文译文：
互联网金融：数字货币和替代金融解放资本市场
摘要本文讨论了政策改革和创新的突然转变是如何解放金融市场的。互联网金融的经济潜力开始在资本市场上占有一席之地，因为像P2P 贷款、股权众筹、债务众筹、虚拟货币和数字货币类型的加密货币，正在迅速改变企业融资的方式。从借贷、买卖证券到国际电汇，这些创新创造了一个新的阶层，一代投资者将获
得投资机会。帮助机构和政府评估风险和管理绩效，以确定在何处部署资本；并显示减少不平等差距的迹象。继新石器时代的农业革命和工业革命之后，这场新的革命将使更多的人能够以不太传统的方式获得金融服务，特别是具有巨大潜力的无银行账户。这些新的财务机会，如P2P 贷款，将被讨论和审查，我们将强调它们如何能够让人们摆脱当前全球经济中的障碍。最后，我们认为，所有这些发展，在创新者和企业家的努力下，都有可能彻底改变我们所处的世界，同时促进了包括民主、资本形成、可持续性和平等在内的工业化社会的核心价值，而不仅仅依靠增税。
关键词：互联网金融，数字货币，资本市场，替代金融
引言
我们做生意的方式正在发生革命性变化。传统银行的信任度日益下降，主要是由于2008年金融危机的余震以及此后影响银行声誉的一连串丑闻，包括伦敦银行同业拆借利率操纵丑闻，洗钱，高风险贷款和逃税。随着获得传统资金的机会变得越来越难以捉摸，越来越多的人加入到“无银行账户”的行列，很显然，必须要找到一种新途径，以更加公平的方式创造商业、就业和资本。事实上， 一场经济革命正在进行，它正在通过新技术、改变立法和替代筹资机制来彻底改变金融生态系统。
全球经济中的障碍
肯德尔和伍里斯（2014）指出，在一些国家，“抵御严重金融挫折的最重要缓冲是金融工具，如个人储蓄、保险、信贷或家庭和朋友的现金转账。然而，这些的可用性都不大，因为世界上大多数穷人甚至连最基本的银行服务都得不到”。此外，韦伯（2014）还指出，世界银行估计，“世界上的穷人大约有75％没有银行账户”，这相当于大约有25亿人无法获得任何银行服务。这些没有银行账户的人往往依赖于“东拼西凑的非正式的、经常不稳定的安排来管理他们的财务生活”。
然而，“技术和新的商业模式正在开始形成遍布全球的不同类型的商业融资和资金”[威斯特奇（2013）]，特别是在发展中国家。例如，75％的肯尼亚人现在都有移动银行服务，而在巴西，基本的银行业务在当地商店就可以买到[韦伯
（2014）]。
当发展中国家越来越多地服务于“无银行账户”时，韦伯（2014）指出，在欧盟和美国，传统的银行服务越来越有问题：全球的政策制定者金融包容联盟报告说，“在欧盟，约有5800万人没有银行业务，另外有9200万人认为服务水平低下——在美国，有的人只在一家银行有业务，将近1000万个家庭被认为在正规的银行系统之外”。
越来越多的富人正在通过不同类型的激励措施和新的融资模式，将投资资金转向新兴的成长型公司，虽然了解新的金融范围和准入渠道将是“具有挑战性的”，但对所有参与者来说都是重要的[威斯特奇（2013）]。特别是，了解巨大的融资渠道和资金选择之间的重要差异——从银行贷款到大众融资，从小额信贷到私人股本和风险投资——都是存在挑战性的，但对于商业领袖、新兴的成长型公司和投资者来说，考虑到他们在经济等式中的地位，这将是至关重要的。同时，正如我在较早的一篇文章中所写的那样，普通工薪阶层也有机会利用这些新的投资和融资渠道，这一点同样重要[威尔斯（2014）]。
梅尼（2013）说，世界正在经历第三次革命（继新石器时代的农业革命和工业革命之后），这是一个非常贴切的描述。人类的集体知识正在被聚集和传播，全球通用信息被越来越多的人掌握利用，我们都有能力与地球上的每一个人建立联系[梅尼（2013）]。资本市场的金融和投资产品民主化, 如股权众筹、P2P 贷款、比特币等等，同时，随着互联网技术的进步，社交媒体和智能手机都同样革命性地改变了我们做事的方式。这场始于发展中国家的新革命，将使更多的人能够以不太传统的方式获得金融服务。这些新的金融机会，如P2P 贷款和比特币，将依次被讨论。
新时代的曙光：P2P 与大众
近年来，P2P 贷款吸引了那些被银行排除在外的借款人和贷款人。在这变化的浪潮中，“新常态”，或者更好的称呼为“大众”，正在利用社会资本网络，为公司注入所需的资金, 以便启动、发展或维持其业务。
根据小企业管理局的统计，在“借贷条件”下，经济复苏仍然在继续，虽然小企业复苏的步伐较慢。不幸的是，企业的财务状况出现下滑，在金融监管日益
文献信息：
文献标题：INTERNET FINANCE: DIGITAL CURRENCIES AND ALTERNATIVE FINANCE LIBERATING THE CAPITAL MARKETS（互联网金融：数字货币和替代金融解放资本市场）
国外作者：Kim Wales
文献出处：《Journal of Governance and Regulation 》, 2015,4(1):190-201 字数统计：英文2505单词，13427字符；中文4405汉字
外文文献：
INTERNET FINANCE:
DIGITAL CURRENCIES AND ALTERNATIVE FINANCE
LIBERATING THE CAPITAL MARKETS
Abstract This article discusses how the sudden shift in policy reform and innovation has the potential to liberate the financial markets. The economic potential of internet finance is beginning to take hold across the capital markets as industries like Peer –to –Peer Lending, Equity and Debt based Crowdfunding and virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies which are types of digital currency are quickly transforming the way businesses are being financed. From borrowing and lending, buying and selling securities, to conducting wire transfers internationally, these innovations are creating a new class and generation of investors will source investments opportunities. Helping institutions and governments assess risks and manage performance in order to determine where to deploy capital; and showing signs of lessening the inequality gap. Following the neolithic agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution, this new revolution will enable more people to access financial services in less traditional ways, especially the unbanked world with its huge potential. These new financial opportunities, such as peer – to - peer (P2P) lending, will be discussed and examined, and we will stress how they can allow people to bypass
current barriers in the global economy. We conclude by arguing that all these developments, energized by the efforts of innovators and entrepreneurs, have the potential to radically transform the world in which we live, while promoting the core values of industrialized societies including democracy, capital formation, sustainability, and equality without solely relying on tax increases.
Key Words: Internet Finance, Digital Currencies, Capital Markets, Alternative Finance
Introduction
The way we do business is being revolutionized. There is decreasing trust of traditional banks, mainly due to the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis and the string of scandals that has affected banks reputation since then, including the LIBOR interest rate rigging scandal, money laundering, high risk lending and tax evasion. As access to traditional funding becomes more elusive and as more and more people join the ranks of the “unbanked,” it is clear that new ways of creating business, job and capital, in a more equitable way must be found. And indeed, an economic revolution is underway, which is radically transforming the financial ecosystem, via emerging technologies, changing legislation, and alternative funding mechanisms.
Barriers in the Global Economy
Kendall and V oorhies (2014) note that in some countries, “the most important buffers against crippling financial setbacks are financial tools such as personal savings, insurance, credit, or cash transfers from family and friends. Yet these are rarely available because most of the world‟s poor lack access to even the most basic banking services.” In addition, Webber (2014) notes that the World Bank calculatesthat about 75% “of the world‟s poor is unbanked,” amounting to roughly 2.5 billion people who are unable to access any banking services. These unbanked people are often reliant on “a patchwork of informal and often precarious arrangementsto manage their financial lives.”
However, “technology and new business models are beginning to shape different
types of business finance and funding” available across the globe [Vistage(2013)], especially in developing countries. For instance, 75% of Kenyans now have mobile banking services, while in Brazil basic banking transactions are now available at local shops [Webber (2014)].
But while the „unbanked‟ are increasingly being served in developing countries, Webber (2014) notes that inclusion in traditional banking services is becoming more problematic in the EU and US: The Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a global network of policymakers, reported that there are “58 million people in the EU without bank access and another 92 million are „underserved‟ – having access, say, to just one bank while in the US, nearly 10 million households are believed to be outside of the formal banking system.”
Increasingly, the wealthy are being relied upon to redirect investment dollars towardemerging growth companies through different types of incentives and new funding models, however understanding the new range of financial services and means of access will be „challenging” but important for all involved [Vistage(2013)]. In particular, understanding the important differences between the huge range of finance and funding options available – from bank lending to crowd-sourced funding to microfinance to private equity and venture capital – is a challenge, but will be fundamental for business leaders, emerging growth companies and investors as they consider their place in the economic equation. At the same time, as I have written in an earlier paper, it is also important that average working class individuals are also given the chance to take advantage of these new investment and financing opportunities [Wales(2014)].
Maney (2013) says that the world is undergoing a third revolution (following on from the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution), and this is a very apt description. Humankind‟s collective knowledge is being aggregated and disseminated and is increasingly allowing complete access to the surge of universal information and we all have the abilityto connect with almost everyone on the planet
[Maney(2013)]. Democratization of the capital markets with financial and investment products such as securities based crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending (P2P), Bitcoin
and more -- in parallel -- with technological advances on the Internet, social media, and the smartphone have all equally revolutionized the way that we do things. This new revolution, started in the developing world, will enable more people to access financial services in less traditional ways. These new financial opportunities, such as peer to peer (P2P) lending and bitcoin will now be discussed in turn.
Dawn of a New Era: P2P and the Crowd
In recent years, peer-to-peer lending has attracted borrowers and lenders that had been displaced by the banks. The “new normal‟ in this sea of change is leveraging networks of social capital, better known as “the crowd” to infuse the money needed into a company in order to start, grow or sustain its practice.
According to the Small Business Administration, recovering is continuing in both “borrowing and lending conditions”, although recovery is slower for smaller firms.Unfortunately, businesses have experienced a downturn in their financial position, which has made securing funds from banks very difficult duringa time of increasing financial regulation. This is reflected in a number of studies into small business lending over the last few years.
The New York Federal Reserve regularly surveys small business owners regarding “their needs and experiences,” in order to gauge the credit environment, and in the. April/May 2012 survey, 544 small businesses participated. The feedback from the survey indicates that “the recent drop in lending ma y be due in part to weaker firms self-selecting out of the credit market”: about two- thirds of the participants did not apply for any financing, and half of these respondents did not do so because they feared their applications would be declined. Participants also reported “higher denial rates” for microloans than for loans of higher amounts, suggesting that the demand for microloans is there.
Oxfam‟s (2014) report into global economic inequality stated that a mere 1% of the global population controls almost half of the global wealth. Furthermore, this 1% owns $110 trillion which is 65 times the combined wealth of the “poorest 3.5 billion people,” the 85 richest people own the same as the combined total wealth of the
bottom 50% of the global population, and 70% of the populationreside in countries where “economic inequalityhas increased in the last 30 years”. These statistics emphasize the fact that there is a disproportionate amount of capital not making its way into the hands of “the crowd” as well as the difficulty of gaining access to that capital.
History illustrates that during periods of radical change, it took two world wars to shift the economy [Piketty(2014)]. Now inequality is rising back to pre- 1915 war levels. According to Piketty (2014), this should be counteracted via global tax on wealth or similar measures.While here we agree on the inequality rise, I submit that wealth inequality could improve naturally through advances in technology and the democratization of capital under the umbrella of “internet finance” rather than through fiscal policy alone.
Globally, peer – to – peer platforms originated an estimated $70 billion in 2014. Yet, these loans only make up a small portion of the total number of small business loans [Eavis(2014)]. In the first quarter of 2014, banks lent a total of $291 billion to small businesses, according to FDIC figures, while in contrast, US P2P lending platform, Prosper Marketplace originated over $3 billion of loans on platform as of 1Q2015. As of the 2014, Peer – to – Peer Lending (Debt) originated $11 billion in loans in the U.S., $56 billion in China and $5.6 billion in Europe in 2014, respectively. These numbers are projected to double by the end of 2015.
Mobile banking
Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular and its applications have the “potential to encourage financial discipline in even more effective ways” [Kendall and Voorhies (2014)] Mobile banking has three advantages over traditional banking models, which can also be translated for primary and secondary markets [Kendall and V oorhies (2014)]:
—Mobile transactions are virtually free. Counter services at financial institutions make up most of the routine bank costs, however, with mobile banking, the same transactions can be made with little or no cost to the financial institutions or mobile
service providers, and by extension those servicing transactions within the primary and secondary markets.
—These mobile transactions create huge amounts of data, “which banks and other providers can use to develop more profitable servers and even substitute for traditional credit scores (which can be hard for those without formal records or financial histories to obtain) ”. Over time, there will be an emergence of mobile ratings agencies that will assist entrepreneurs and investors to overcome this hurdle in the primary and secondary markets.
—Mobile platforms operate in real time, allowing instantaneous account information, messaging and new services sign up.
Digital Currency: the case of virtual and crypto currencies
Digital currency businesses are now proliferating with $350 million invested by venture capitalist in 2014 and $230 million invested the year prior. For a moment, let’s explore how the crypto currency, Bitcoin could transform financial markets, by serving as a catalyst for capital formation, especially in underserved regions like Africa and Haiti, which are in dire need of banking facilities and access to capital and technology like blockchain is beginning to serve as the backbone infrastructure for the movement of currencies.
Bitcoin is currency that can be traded internationally and anonymously, and because it is a decentralized digital currency, there are no fees, government regulation, and oversight by banks and government-backed securities [Pagliery (2014a)].
Five years after its introduction, Bitcoin is among the most studied and traded financial products. Bitcoin payments occur peer-to-peer with no administrator and this cryptocurrency is now a popular form of digital currency. A number of top investors support this digital currency (including, for example, Marc Andreessen and the Winklevoss twins). Merchants see Bitcoin with favor because of its lower fees when compared with credit cards, and the fact that fees are paid by the purchaser and not by the vendor. However, Bitcoin has also been quite volatile so far and has been subject to intense scrutiny by governments.
Indeed, last year the bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, collapsed, which raised questions regarding “the security of investing in a virtual currency that isn ’t regulated by governments” [Vaishampayan (2014)]. However, other players, such as SecondMarket, created a new, and more secure, bitcoin exchange and launched a Bitcoin Investment Trust.
There is an excellent and potentially revolutionary opportunity to incorporate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin into products such as crowdfunding platforms and mobile-enabled platforms that could serve the unbanked, underserved, and the emerging middle class, who represent well over 2 billion people worldwide. $90 billion a year is spent by this population on alternative services such as check cashers and payday loans [Schutte (2014)] and they struggle to obtain the financing, beyond limited microfinance opportunities, to create businesses. Creating value for this segment of the population could be very exciting if social capital and technology are leveraged properly.
Bitcoin could be used for remittances, liquidity access to cash, and credit for frontier and emerging countries.
Conclusion
The world is embarking upon a new economic revolution. Institutional market making may become a profession of the past as the democratization of capital is being driven more and more by retail investors. The catalyst for this phenomenon originated in the global economic recession. Unemployment, while going down, is till a problem, and interest rates remain at historic lows of almost zero percent while startup and emerging growth companies find it difficult to raise capital via traditional avenues.
Start-ups are major job creators (small firms created 65% of new jobs in the US between 1993 and 2009), but they aren’t getting the funding to remain operational.
2.5 billion people are unbanked [Chaia et al (2010)] while over 2 billion are living on less than $2 a day. With all of the global resources, it is hard to understand why the wealth disparity gap continues to increase in the 21st century with 1% of the
population controlling over 50% of the world’s wealth.
On April 5, 2012, President Barack Obama signed into legislation The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), igniting a change to 80- year-old securities laws while spurring a changing of the guards globally and enabling the democratization of the capital markets. Technological advances such as Web 3.0, social capital, smartphones and mobile technology, and Bitcoin are fueling this economic revolution. This revolution is also known as “frictionless capitalism”, a term coined by Bill Gates in 1994, in his book, The Road Ahead, which suggests a new generation of internet companies are innovating to find ways of reducing friction within the internet economy. I will take this thought one step further and propose that the internet is becoming the new industrial network where we can connect with one another directly allowing for advances in creating “frictionless labor markets.”
As these examples show, a new economic revolution has the potential to disrupt social and capital norms. Every aspect of life will be transformed due to the interrelated nature of the ecosystem because increased activity in one part of the ecosystem spurs an increase in activity in others.
I conclude by arguing that all these developments, energized by the efforts of innovators and entrepreneurs, have the potential to radically transform the world in which we live, while promoting the core values of industrialized societies including democracy, capital formation, sustainability, and equality. A brave new world of business and finance, which is more equal and fairer, is just around the corner.
中文译文：
互联网金融：数字货币和替代金融解放资本市场
摘要本文讨论了政策改革和创新的突然转变是如何解放金融市场的。互联网金融的经济潜力开始在资本市场上占有一席之地，因为像P2P 贷款、股权众筹、债务众筹、虚拟货币和数字货币类型的加密货币，正在迅速改变企业融资的方式。从借贷、买卖证券到国际电汇，这些创新创造了一个新的阶层，一代投资者将获
得投资机会。帮助机构和政府评估风险和管理绩效，以确定在何处部署资本；并显示减少不平等差距的迹象。继新石器时代的农业革命和工业革命之后，这场新的革命将使更多的人能够以不太传统的方式获得金融服务，特别是具有巨大潜力的无银行账户。这些新的财务机会，如P2P 贷款，将被讨论和审查，我们将强调它们如何能够让人们摆脱当前全球经济中的障碍。最后，我们认为，所有这些发展，在创新者和企业家的努力下，都有可能彻底改变我们所处的世界，同时促进了包括民主、资本形成、可持续性和平等在内的工业化社会的核心价值，而不仅仅依靠增税。
关键词：互联网金融，数字货币，资本市场，替代金融
引言
我们做生意的方式正在发生革命性变化。传统银行的信任度日益下降，主要是由于2008年金融危机的余震以及此后影响银行声誉的一连串丑闻，包括伦敦银行同业拆借利率操纵丑闻，洗钱，高风险贷款和逃税。随着获得传统资金的机会变得越来越难以捉摸，越来越多的人加入到“无银行账户”的行列，很显然，必须要找到一种新途径，以更加公平的方式创造商业、就业和资本。事实上， 一场经济革命正在进行，它正在通过新技术、改变立法和替代筹资机制来彻底改变金融生态系统。
全球经济中的障碍
肯德尔和伍里斯（2014）指出，在一些国家，“抵御严重金融挫折的最重要缓冲是金融工具，如个人储蓄、保险、信贷或家庭和朋友的现金转账。然而，这些的可用性都不大，因为世界上大多数穷人甚至连最基本的银行服务都得不到”。此外，韦伯（2014）还指出，世界银行估计，“世界上的穷人大约有75％没有银行账户”，这相当于大约有25亿人无法获得任何银行服务。这些没有银行账户的人往往依赖于“东拼西凑的非正式的、经常不稳定的安排来管理他们的财务生活”。
然而，“技术和新的商业模式正在开始形成遍布全球的不同类型的商业融资和资金”[威斯特奇（2013）]，特别是在发展中国家。例如，75％的肯尼亚人现在都有移动银行服务，而在巴西，基本的银行业务在当地商店就可以买到[韦伯
（2014）]。
当发展中国家越来越多地服务于“无银行账户”时，韦伯（2014）指出，在欧盟和美国，传统的银行服务越来越有问题：全球的政策制定者金融包容联盟报告说，“在欧盟，约有5800万人没有银行业务，另外有9200万人认为服务水平低下——在美国，有的人只在一家银行有业务，将近1000万个家庭被认为在正规的银行系统之外”。
越来越多的富人正在通过不同类型的激励措施和新的融资模式，将投资资金转向新兴的成长型公司，虽然了解新的金融范围和准入渠道将是“具有挑战性的”，但对所有参与者来说都是重要的[威斯特奇（2013）]。特别是，了解巨大的融资渠道和资金选择之间的重要差异——从银行贷款到大众融资，从小额信贷到私人股本和风险投资——都是存在挑战性的，但对于商业领袖、新兴的成长型公司和投资者来说，考虑到他们在经济等式中的地位，这将是至关重要的。同时，正如我在较早的一篇文章中所写的那样，普通工薪阶层也有机会利用这些新的投资和融资渠道，这一点同样重要[威尔斯（2014）]。
梅尼（2013）说，世界正在经历第三次革命（继新石器时代的农业革命和工业革命之后），这是一个非常贴切的描述。人类的集体知识正在被聚集和传播，全球通用信息被越来越多的人掌握利用，我们都有能力与地球上的每一个人建立联系[梅尼（2013）]。资本市场的金融和投资产品民主化, 如股权众筹、P2P 贷款、比特币等等，同时，随着互联网技术的进步，社交媒体和智能手机都同样革命性地改变了我们做事的方式。这场始于发展中国家的新革命，将使更多的人能够以不太传统的方式获得金融服务。这些新的金融机会，如P2P 贷款和比特币，将依次被讨论。
新时代的曙光：P2P 与大众
近年来，P2P 贷款吸引了那些被银行排除在外的借款人和贷款人。在这变化的浪潮中，“新常态”，或者更好的称呼为“大众”，正在利用社会资本网络，为公司注入所需的资金, 以便启动、发展或维持其业务。
根据小企业管理局的统计，在“借贷条件”下，经济复苏仍然在继续，虽然小企业复苏的步伐较慢。不幸的是，企业的财务状况出现下滑，在金融监管日益