News & Updates

We always seem to do this at this time of year, take a pause. reflect on the good and bad from the past year and how these experiences will shape the forthcoming year.

We must remember that time and the passing of time is a human construct, and so the real anniversaries are more around our accomplishments and achievements more than a linear marker in time such as New Years Day, birthdays or other anniversaries. Somehow though I always find myself ‘ahead of time’ and being pigeonholed as ‘too early’!

For some people an achievement that could be measured as a year’s worth of work can be compressed into a few weeks, whereas for others the same ‘output’ takes much longer. This doesn’t devalue the accomplishment and end product or output in my opinion, often the slower delivery builds better outcomes.

The last 3 years for me have been about building. With banxlocal.uk for example, we still build what will be the biggest shift in financial services delivery that the UK (and world) has seen, where access to banking is put, for the first time, into the hands of the customer. Has this tken longer than planned to deliver – hell yes! The world has taken such a long time to catch up with our vision – VC’s and Angel’s saying we’re too early, has hurt our progress, no doubt. 2026 though does finally feel like we will see our first branch(es) opened and the world finally awake to the incredible hole the service will plug for millions of people.

Back in 2022 I worked on a Digital Identity solution project, again this was too early and the world wasn’t ready, however, this topic, is going to be in 2026, a cornerstone of the digital assets space, and instrumental in the delivery of TVVIN – what started life as a tokenisation of precious metals project – that is now an entire ecosystem for transformation of stores of value/wealth, payments, banking and much more.

On a personal note, breaking my ankle and sustaining a head injury were low points in the year. My ankle won’t be ‘fixed until well into the new year, but I’m looking forward to 2026, and frankly I’m pleased to be saying goodbye to 2025!

In my last post, I wrote about the “wild weekend” that crypto experienced in October just before the clocks went back to GMT — a sharp and sudden drop in trading values for BTC and other cryptocurrencies that seemed also to signal that ‘Winter is Coming’! Since then, the situation hasn’t improved. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is hovering just below $90k, and market sentiment suggests further declines rather than recovery.

This reality has led many of us to question whether tokens or coins without any underlying value truly represent the future we once imagined.

Shifting Focus: Stablecoins and Real-World Assets

Over the past few weeks, my attention has shifted toward the stablecoin and real-world asset (RWA) space. In my view, this segment of blockchain technology is fundamentally different from the speculative world of crypto coins.

Fiat-backed stablecoins are gaining traction, with obvious use cases such as atomic cross-border payment rails. Meanwhile, RWA tokens are increasingly being used as a store of value, tracking traditional markets and asset classes that tend to be less volatile.

Guernsey’s Growing Interest

Guernsey’s evolving stance toward this space has sparked a wave of activity—meetings, dinners, and roundtable discussions focused on stablecoins and RWAs. These topics are now finding their way into broader business agendas across the island.

I was also pleased to attend the inaugural meeting of the Guernsey Blockchain Members Club (GMBC). The event brought together a diverse cross-section of the business community to discuss everything from the club’s founding principles to its potential role in shaping blockchain use cases for Guernsey’s benefit.

What’s Next?

I’ll share more details about the project I’m working on in a future post. The timing will likely coincide with the formal application for licensing to the GFSC.

The next phase of this project involves digital identity—a concept I explored back in 2021 when the world wasn’t quite ready for it. Today, with growing demand for atomic settlements, robust solutions for atomic KYC/AML are essential. After all, there’s little point in enabling instant programmable money if identity verification still takes days.

Watch this space for updates on all of the above. Exciting times ahead!

This weekend’s crypto crash, triggered by President Trump’s surprise announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, was one of the most violent in the industry’s history. Between Friday night and Saturday morning (10th–11th October), over $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, wiping out $560 billion in market value across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and countless altcoins. Bitcoin plunged from its recent all-time high of $126,000 to under $105,000 before recovering slightly. Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin saw similar or worse declines, with some altcoins briefly losing over 90% of their value.

This flash crash was not just a financial event—it was a stark reminder of how fragile and exclusionary our systems can be when they prioritize speculation over substance. Millions of traders were caught off guard, and many retail participants, especially those using high leverage—were left exposed. The speed and scale of the collapse revealed deep vulnerabilities in centralized exchanges, price oracles, and synthetic token markets.

In moments like these, I’m reminded why I work in this space, not to chase volatility, but to build technology that serves people.

At banxlocal.uk and through my broader ventures, I focus on human-centric blockchain solutions. That means designing systems that are inclusive, accessible, and grounded in real-world utility. Too often, financial and tech platforms are built for the few—those with capital, technical fluency, or physical ability to navigate complex interfaces. The rest are left behind.

I believe innovation must be empathetic. Whether it’s ensuring our platforms are usable by those with visual impairments or making tokenised equity offerings understandable to non-technical investors, the goal is always the same: build for everyone.

This weekend’s crash also underscores the importance of resilience. While markets may recover, the human cost, lost savings, shattered trust, and emotional stress, is harder to quantify. That’s why I advocate for transparent governance, education-first onboarding, and community-driven design in every blockchain product I touch.

Technology should empower, not intimidate. Finance should include, not exclude.

As we move forward from this turbulent moment, let’s not just rebuild the market. Let’s rebuild it better—with people at the centre.

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Last week marked the inaugural Digital Assets Conference (https://digitalconferenceguernsey.gg/), bringing together visionary speakers, dynamic panel discussions (including one which I had the pleasure of joining), and the event was capped off a spectacular Red Arrows display which we had the pleasure of viewing from the rooftop offices of Artemis Fiduciaries at Admiral Plaza. The energy and ambition in the conference were palpable – a clear signal that Guernsey is stepping confidently into the future of finance.

This week, the focus shifted further. I was part of a highly constructive session at the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, where the commitment and appetite to embracing blockchain and evolving our legacy financial services infrastructure was evident. The GFSC is making bold strides to ensure Guernsey remains relevant and competitive in the global financial landscape.

Looking ahead, we’re excited for Tekex#33 (https://www.tekex.co) on Thursday evening, which promises to be a great convergence of minds judging from recent events, with some excellent businesses being showcased.

The upcoming Chamber of Commerce (https://guernseychamber.com/) lunch on October 1st. Where I, alongside the other members of the Guernsey Innovation Board (https://innovateguernsey.com) will be sharing the roadmap for fostering an innovative ecosystem — and more importantly, to listen to feedback from the wider business community on where our collective focus should be. There’s still time to grab a ticket for this – available on the chamber website!

Guernsey is building momentum. It’s a privilege to be part of the journey.

Summer arrives and everyone starts talking about taking time off and going away. In my line of work though holidays often mean just working from somewhere else! The fast pace of the technology sector means it never sleeps, and whilst the attraction of ‘switching off’ is appealing, the reality is that I don’t do this.

Since my last post I have gathered a couple of new clients, all of whom have their specific requirements from me. I’m looking forward to working in a few new areas.

Additionally I’m getting my teeth into my roles on the Guernsey Innovation Board, and the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce. A first step I’ve taken is to start to put together a series of breakfast meetings – initially titled ‘Blockchain Decoded’ which will essentially be a ‘myth busting’ and soft introduction for people to learn and share experiences.

I attended a great session hosted by Locate Guernsey this month, where the Innovation Board heard from new settlers to the island and their observations on innovation needed.

Some exciting months ahead for 2025, which has been a tough year, but increasingly I think the hard work put in will pay off as we start the journey towards 2026!

Not going to lie, June has been hard work!

Lots of things that were meant to be easy, turned out to be time consuming, expensive or both!

My hectic travel schedule of the first part of 2025 has now abated somewhat; however, June started with some key meetings meaning a couple of trips to London.

The Guernsey Innovation Board work is developing, and I’ll share more about the work streams and my role in the coming months, in addition to this I was elected as a board member of the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce, which is an accolade I’m very proud of too…

The last week I then had some respite to the hard work the month threw at me as my son had his speech day and leavers day ball at school in the UK. He’s finished his A-Levels and now heads out into the big bad world!

I’m not going to write much more for this update besides reinforcing my eternal optimism remains and that the world works in ways that none of us will ever understand but we must live here and make our worlds as perfect as possible.

As a resident of Guernsey these days I try to connect on every level. I sadly didn’t get back to the island for Liberation Day on 9th May, but did arrive in time to celebrate my 60th Birthday on the island I now call home.

I was delighted earlier in the month to announce my appointment to the Guernsey Innovation Board. The composition of the board is truly excellent, with industry leaders, education figureheads and people like me!

The remit of the board is to stimulate innovation (no surprise) but the big question is ‘What is Innovation?’

For me, as a digital and future thinker, this is everything from a state operated (or decentralised) stable coin (not fiat backed), to digital ID and medical records arein scope, however the more people I speak to, the more I understand how broad innovation is – whether its education, energy, transport or agriculture all topics are ‘on the agenda’.

Guernsey is a small (well tiny) jurisdiction, that needs to care about itself, nobody else will! It needs energy, food and connectivity controls putting in place. We see regularly shop shelves being empty simply because the weather was too bad for the boat/plane to arrive. Imagine if there was a world crisis – where would Guernsey be on the list of those needing assistance?

I’m up for the challenges, and there will be many. I have written before that I didn’t see me being politically involved in my chosen community again – 12 years as a councillor in UK was a long and often hard slog. However, Guernsey can be agile and nimble and has much of the framework in place already to drive things forward. So given a shove here and a push there perhaps we can make Guernsey a shining light of innovative thinking…

In other news, BallsApp has filled my days, flying back and forth to Dubai, Paris etc has taken so much time plus energy and effort. It’s a massive project and the only way to tell you how great it’s going to be is to speak one-to-one. So call me if you want more info.

Banxlocal is developing as planned.

The new branch due to open in September is shaping up. We need further investment, but the roadmap is set and we are now on track to deliver the most disruptive, yet most needed, fintech innovation in a generation!

Please contact me for any questions. I have reverted to WhatsApp and Telegram in the main these days +447839194950 or @NicholasCollinson respectively.

The roll out and planning of the launch of BallsApp has been intensive and has meant a lot of travel and even more focus and attention to ensure a successful launch of the app, token and ecosystem.

Having the right partners for this is essential, and the team I’m working with are both fully engaged (like me) and capable to deliver.

You can find out more about BallsApp at https://ballsapp.io or drop me a note to arrange a call and I’ll be happy to explain how we are using sport to redefine the utility of crypto!

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Last month, I hinted at an exciting and challenging new business project that would test my resilience and involve extensive travel over the coming months. So far this year, I’ve already visited Spain, France, the UK, and the UAE. In March, I’ll be returning to the UK and UAE, with a potential trip to India as well. I’m thrilled to finally announce the details: I’ve accepted the role of CEO at TSG Tech Ltd, the owner of BallsApp LLC (BallsApp.io).

As many of you know, blockchain has a wide range of use cases, with some fantastic implementations and others that are more questionable. BallsApp stands out as a prime example of how blockchain and a token economy can create a truly unique user experience. Players can challenge themselves in real-time, see their results instantly, and win prizes through gamification.

At the end of 2024, I reviewed my commitments and made the necessary adjustments to dedicate the time and effort required to realise BallsApp‘s potential. This meant rethinking my workload to accommodate such a significant project.

For 2025, my primary focus is securing funding for banxlocal.uk, a project two years in the making, with the first branch opening date soon to be announced. I’ll also be dedicating substantial time to delivering BallsApp, which I find incredibly rewarding. I’ve determined that I can continue my advisory roles with Technical Specialist Partners and Co-Efficient effectively.

As I navigated my roles and responsibilities, I realized how fortunate I am to work with so many wonderful people. The sporting legends involved in BallsApp, such as Sir Ian Botham and others yet to be announced, are truly inspiring. Equally, the dedicated founders and teams of the other ventures I’m blessed to work with continue to motivate me and I will support everyone in any way I can.

I continue to meet inspirational founders through the mentoring programs I’m involved in. Although I’ve had to limit my time on these activities, they remain very dear to me, and I intend to continue participating.

Starting the new year off right is critical, I considered that I had done this by closing off several projects that had taken u a lot of my time during 2024.

This ‘clear out’ allowed me time to take on a bigger and more complex project – details of which will come in my next update. The innovative and revolutionary nature of the business model is something I can be proud to have worked on since being introduced to the team towards the end of 2024.

January therefore was a whirlwind of meetings, in Guernsey, UK, Spain, France and UAE. Being introduced to many household names who are behind the ambitious, yet infinitely deliverable concept. I can’t wait to take the wraps off this!

What I like about this new role is that I see the direct impact it will have on its target audience, whilst still delivering the technology and sophisticated monetisation strategies I love to work on.

Aside from this, I continue to work on the banxlocal project. This is my labour of love and continues to gather pace despite some setbacks. Notably, having thought some investment had been secured from a particular route, this has now taken a change of direction, and we must dust ourselves off and restart the process of finding a suitable investor.

February will be a month of change, and potentially one where I spend more time away from home. This may impact on the timing of the next update I write depending on where in the world I am!