{"id":24660,"date":"2019-08-26T12:44:16","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T09:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bondora.com\/blog\/?p=24660"},"modified":"2019-08-26T12:44:16","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T09:44:16","slug":"p2p-boat-rentals-and-crypto-lending-get-boosts-a-major-roadblock-in-india-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/blog\/p2p-boat-rentals-and-crypto-lending-get-boosts-a-major-roadblock-in-india-more\/","title":{"rendered":"P2P boat rentals and crypto lending get boosts, a major roadblock in India, &amp; more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cryptocurrency\npeer-to-peer market continues to grow. In August, P2P crypto lender BlockFi <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/blockfi-raises-over-18m-in-a-round-led-by-paypal-co-founders-vc-firm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raised $18 million<\/a> in its most recent Series A funding round\nas it continues to build its business. The round was led by Valar Ventures, a\nfund headed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blockfi.com\/blockfi-news\/blockfi-raises-seriesa-led-by-valar-ventures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Representatives from both BlockFi and Valar<\/a> are excited at the prospects of the future P2P crypto market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blockchain-1-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"24661\" class=\"wp-image-24661\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cOutside of all the hype\nand volatility of the crypto trading markets, there are teams, like BlockFi,\nthat are building the infrastructure to allow investing in digital assets to\nbecome mainstream. We are excited to help BlockFi build robust \u201cpicks and\nshovels\u201d for this emerging asset class,\u201d said James Fitzgerald, general partner\nat Valar Ventures.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWe\u2019re excited to\ncontinue development at BlockFi that will bring us closer to our vision of a\nworld where access to wealth-building financial products and services are not\nlimited by geography or an individual\u2019s net worth. Our talented team and\nstrategic backers will continue to drive the crypto financial services\ninfrastructure forward to facilitate adoption and value creation in the crypto\necosystem,\u201d stated BlockFi CEO &amp; Founder Zac Prince.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">P2P lenders in India are\ncalling for the country\u2019s central bank to relax its regulations against the\nindustry. All told, 16 P2P lenders banded together to write a letter to the\nReserve Bank of India (RBI) in an attempt to have the regulatory body relax its\nrestrictions on lending and borrowing limits, which is currently capped at Rs.\n1 million ($14,000).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/small-biz\/startups\/newsbuzz\/p2p-lenders-mail-an-sos-to-rbi\/articleshow\/70747495.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The letter<\/a> highlights how difficult it is for lenders in the industry to obtain funding and grow their business because of these restrictions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-letter-1024x682.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24664\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cIn the last 18 months\nsince the guidelines were announced, the biggest challenge being faced by the\nnascent industry is the lender limit of Rs. 10 lakh (Rs. 1 million). This\nsingle issue\u2026is threatening the very existence of the industry,\u201d wrote Rajiv M\nRanjan, secretary, Association of NBFC Peer to Peer Lending Platforms, in the\nletter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cToday, VCs are wary of\ninvesting in the P2P platforms in India, primarily because of the Rs 10 lakh\nlimit per lender,\u201d the association said in the letter. \u201cIn contrast, other\nsimilar platforms which are originating loans and getting these funded through\nNBFCs and banks are operating without any other regulatory oversight and have\nno such obligations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Due to regulations by\nthe RBI, peer-to-peer lenders must first register with the government before\nconducting any business. As a result, there are already a variety of sizable\npeer-to-peer lenders who are registered with RBI, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.i2ifunding.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">i2ifunding<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faircent.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Faircent<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lendenclub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lenden<\/a> among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cars aren\u2019t the only\nform of transportation getting the peer-to-peer treatment. P2P boat rental\ncompany Boatsetter just <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2019\/08\/14\/peer-to-peer-boat-rental-marketplace-boatsetter-raises-10m-as-it-looks-to-grow-globally\/?yptr=yahoo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raised $10 million<\/a> as it looks to grow its business as the\ngo-to service for boat rentals. With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boatsetter.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boatsetter<\/a>, customers can choose from boats for\nfishing, cruising, sailing, and more. At the same time, boat owners are able to\nrent their boat while not in use, making money from their assets in the\nprocess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with the\nfundraising, Boatsetter has struck a strategic partnership with GEICO to offer P2P\nboat insurance in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/leading-boat-rental-marketplace-boatsetter-secures-10-million-in-new-series-a-funding-300901746.html?tc=eml_cleartime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press release<\/a>, GEICO highlighted how this new business is set to grow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/business-1024x682.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24667\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Boatsetter has\nproven to be the leading player in the boat sharing space during a time when\nyounger demographics are driven by experiences rather than material\npossessions,&#8221; said Bill Roberts, CEO of GEICO. &#8220;We are excited to\ncontinue our partnership with Boatsetter as the marketplace continues to expand\nits presence and product offerings that are making boating more accessible to\nnew demographics including younger consumers.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/08\/17\/peer-to-peer-boat-rental\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">buying its competitor Boatbound in 2017<\/a>, Boatsetter quickly became the go-to\noption for P2P boat rentals. This has been great news for boat owners, who on average\nmade <a href=\"http:\/\/www.martinflory.com\/releases\/boa24220.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than $4,600<\/a> from P2P boat rentals in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blockchain could\nsignificantly accelerate P2P electricity trading. According to market research\nfirm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technavio.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technavio<\/a>, the industry\u2019s compound annual growth\nrate (CAGR) for 2019-2023 is expected to be 10%. This growth will be\nsignificantly fueled by the Asia-Pacific region, which is estimated to\ncontribute to 44% of this growth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large factor in this growth is being attributed to advances in blockchain technology, which allows consumers to sell surplus energy to each other, thus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20190819005441\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">creating a more efficient energy market<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lightbulb-1024x682.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24670\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>At present, blockchain\nhas attracted the attention of the power industry with its potential to start\nan energy revolution in which both consumers and utilities will generate and\nsell electricity. For instance, in August 2018, with the support of Australian\nRenewable Energy Agency, the P2P trading of solar electricity started in White\nGum Valley, a residential apartment in Western Australia. This apartment has\nrooftop PV for P2P trading comprising of 63.6 kilowatts (kW) of solar PV system\nwith 160 kW lithium-ion battery energy storage system. It will use Power\nLedger, a blockchain-based technology that will enable residents to sell their\nsurplus energy to each other. Using blockchain technology for P2P energy\ntrading will thus benefit the producers as well as consumers and drive the\ngrowth of the global electricity trading market during the forecast period.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cryptocurrency peer-to-peer market continues to grow. In August, P2P crypto lender BlockFi raised $18 million in its most recent Series A funding round as it continues to build its business. The round was led by Valar Ventures, a fund headed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Representatives from both BlockFi and Valar are excited at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-financial-well-being"],"acf":[],"featured_image":null,"categories_names":["Financial Well-being"],"category_name":"Financial Well-being","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}