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LendingClub Completes Acquisition of Radius Bancorp: Moves Forward with Digital Banking Future

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) has completed the acquisition of Radius Bancorp, according to a public release. Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub, issued the following statement: “This is a historic day for LendingClub and a true watershed moment for the industry. The move to digital-first banking is accelerating,… Read More

Banks Focus on Digital Transformation Strategy in Increasingly Competitive Industry

Last week it was reported that KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) is planning to introduce a version of its digital banking platform to serve the needs of healthcare workers. The new digital bank solution may be rolled out on March 30, 2021, which is National Doctors’ Day. The… Read More

Robinhood Restricts Trading in GME, AMC and More as Traders Drive Volatility, Hedgies Lose Out

Robinhood, a top investment platform for the next generation, has restricted trading certain shares of firms that have been targeted by trading forums on Reddit. Members of certain forums like Wallstreetbets, with 4.5 million members, have targeted listed firms that are highly shorted by hedge… Read More

Fintech Funding: 13 $100 Million+ Mega-Rounds worth $2.7 Billion (in total) Completed by Fintechs so far in 2021

This month (January 2021) has already been huge in terms of Fintech fundraising, with notably 13 mega-rounds valued at $100 million (or more) having been completed to start off the new year. These companies have acquired approximately $2.746 billion in capital. This figure does not… Read More

A Discussion with Oliver Gajda of the European Crowdfunding Network: Expect Platform Consolidation & Cross Border Expansion

The European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) has long been the leading voice advocating on behalf of investment crowdfunding platforms across Europe. The member-driven group has been at the forefront of engaging with policymakers at the European Commission – an initiative that finally paid off when new… Read More

Birchal, Australia’s Leading Crowdfunding Platform, Reports on Sector Progress in 2020, Q4 Was Biggest Ever. Female Founded Firms Raised More than Year Prior

Birchal, the leading investment crowdfunding platform in Australia, has published a report on the entire sector of online capital formation as well as platform performance. The report tracks progress in the Australian “crowd-sourced funding” (CSF) industry (investment crowdfunding) via data aggregated by Birchal. The information… Read More

Shares in Overstock Jump Following Announcement of Blockchain Spin Out as Overstock Focuses on ECommerce

Shares in Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) jumped higher in early morning trading following the announcement that Medici Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Overstock that focuses on emerging blockchain technology, will be migrated to a new “fund” structure managed by VC Pelion Venture Partners. As reported yesterday, Medici,… Read More

Top Crypto and Blockchain Predictions for 2021 and Beyond – Part 2

The blockchain and digital assets space is well-positioned for even more growth and adoption in 2021 by mainstream consumers and institutions. The COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically accelerated the shift towards all-digital platforms and services because it’s no longer considered safe to visit physical business locations…. Read More

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

Meituan to Close its Mutual Aid Platform On January 15th, China’s leading on-demand food delivery platform Meituan announced that it would close its mutual aid platform at the end of this month. Meituan launched this program in June 2019, providing a basic health plan covering… Read More

Presidential Action Taken by Biden Administration May Delay Investment Crowdfunding Improvements

Yesterday, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Ronald Klein distributed a Presidential Action by President Joe Biden that is poised to impact recent improvements to security crowdfunding including the Reg CF and Reg A+ exemption. Entitled Regulatory Freeze Pending Review, President Biden has… Read More

Fintech Advancement in the Time of COVID-19

As with most years, I started 2020 with a sense of optimism, looking forward to another productive year at work and doing the Appetite for Disruption podcast with my co-host Troy Paredes. In fact, he and I wrote an article discussing 2019 that focused more… Read More

ECB President Christine Lagarde Wants Global Regulation of Bitcoin Due to Money Laundering Concerns, FATF Plans Update on Implementation of VASP Rules

Last week, Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) commented on the need to regulate Bitcoin on a global level last week during a virtual event hosted by Reuters. Speaking at the Reuters Next conference, Lagarde pointed to the “funny business” affiliated… Read More

2021: The Year of the Smart Contract – Can the Law Keep Up?

  While recent headlines may be focused on the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, another disruptive technology derived from the famed cryptocurrency may have even more profound implications for the future: blockchain-based “smart contracts.” A wide variety of companies are already experimenting with the ability of… Read More

Goldman Sachs Tops Earnings Expectations, Marcus Banking Net Revenues Significantly Higher – Deposits End Year at $97 Billion [u]

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has released Q4 earnings topping expectations with top-line revenue ahead of anticipated results. Shares in Goldman rose slightly in pre-market trading. Goldman has traded significantly higher since the beginning of 2021. Earnings per share for Q4 came in at $12.08 with full-year… Read More

Former CFTC Chair Gary Gensler Selected to be Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lauded for Being Fintech Friendly

Gary Gensler, the former Commodities Futures Trading Commissioner Chair, has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to helm the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler previously led the CFTC during the Obama administration. Prior to the CFTC, Gensler spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs. He is… Read More

UK FCA Report Looks to Mitigate Investment Harm, Includes P2P, Crypto and Crowdfunding on List of High Risk Investments

Following a call for input on the consumer investment market that closed to comments last month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority has issued a report on how the regulator “works to protect consumers from investment harm” citing activity during the first 10 months of 2020…. Read More

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

The Peoples Bank of China Issues the “Administrative Measures for Credit Investigation (Draft for Comment)” On January 11th, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) issued the “Administrative Measures for Credit Investigation (Draft for Comment)” (hereinafter referred to as “Measures”). The seven-chapters of the document covered… Read More

Uma Rajah: CEO at CapitalRise, a UK based Prime Property Lending Platform, Reveals how Company Is Scaling its Business Model

We recently caught up with Uma Rajah, CEO and Co-founder at CapitalRise, a UK-based prime property lending platform. CapitalRise is an investment platform that seeks quality over quantity with just 2% of deals being approved by the platform. Sophisticated or high net worth investors may… Read More

OCC Approves Anchorage Trust Company to Become Anchorage Digital Bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved Anchorage Trust Company, a South Dakota chartered trust company, to become Anchorage Digital Bank, National Association. Founded in 2017, Anchorage has emerged as a top digital asset platform serving institutions investing in the crypto… Read More

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