December 29, 2024 @ 1:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM (FSRA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UAE Ministry of Interior, to enhance coordination in combating financial crime related to virtual assets. The agreement aims to facilitate the exchange of information, strengthen risk mitigation frameworks,… Read More

December 29, 2024 @ 6:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Usual has acquired new funding as part of its Series A round, which has reportedly been led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures. Other entities taking part in the investment round for Ususal include Ondo, Coinbase Ventures, IOSG, OKX Ventures, Galaxy Ventures, Guy from Ethena,… Read More

December 29, 2024 @ 5:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Branch Messenger for forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and for deceiving workers— “last mile” drivers in Walmart’s Spark Driver program—about how they could access their earnings. The CFPB’s… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 5:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past month, the Bitcoin price surpassed the $100,000 barrier. According to Bitso, this is a monumental moment for Bitcoin and the crypto industry. Bitso noted that breaking the $100,000 mark, surpassing both price resistances and the psychological milestone, cements BTC as “one of the… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 4:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to preliminary insights from Mastercard (NYSE: MA)  SpendingPulse, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive increased 3.8% YoY from Nov 1 through Dec 24. Mastercard SpendingPulse reportedly measures in-store and online retail sales, representing “all payment types and is not adjusted for inflation.” Michelle Meyer, chief… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 3:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Copper, a provider of institutional digital asset infrastructure, is proud to announce its expansion into Liechtenstein with the launch of its custody services. This move comes after securing a registration under the Token and TT Service Provider Act (TVTG, “Blockchain Act”) from the Financial Market… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 2:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pacaso, the technology-enabled real estate marketplace that helps people buy, co-own, and sell a luxury vacation home, released its fourth annual Top Vacation Home Markets Report, identifying the “leading” luxury vacation home markets for 2024. The report reveals the top 20 counties across the United… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 2:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook has shared its H2 2024 VC Tech Survey: Investor Insights on AI, Dealmaking, and Fundraising. PitchBook has noted that in this update VCs highlight stable deals, decode AI and deep tech trends, express sector “saturation concerns,” and describe how priorities are shifting to “underinvested… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 11:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The authorities in France are taking action to combat the phenomenon of financial crime (including major scams and fraudulent activities) catching out an increasing number of individuals. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 11:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Milan based Habacus has reportedly finalized a $5 million seed funding round in order to offer students / learners an ecosystem of services, including various financial services and products. Habacus, the Milan-headquartered student service ecosystem, has raised the new funding in order to develop its… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 9:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Estateguru CEO Mihkel Stamm recently stated that their goal is to surpass €1 billion in total loan volume. The total volume of loans issued by investors on the Estateguru platform over the course of its roughly 10-year operation “may exceed the €1 billion mark next… Read More

December 28, 2024 @ 9:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Compass Mining shared its Bitcoin Mining Industry Report for the past month along with key operational updates. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, surpassed $100,000 for the first time on Thursday 5 December, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the realm of digital assets and “even recognized… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 3:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As the year 2024 comes to a close, it’s wise for financial institutions and Regtech (regulatory technology) providers to pause and assess the evolving sanctions landscape, particularly with the U.S. preparing to transition to a new administration in 2025. This, according to an update from… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 3:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

authID (Nasdaq: AUID), a provider of biometric identity verification and authentication solutions, announced it has become a member of the Accountable Digital Identity Association (ADIA), an open industry association created to drive the development of a standardized, interoperable framework for decentralized identity services to “ensure… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 10:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Nomic DAO Foundation announced the official launch of a fee-free on-and-off ramp for Bitcoin (BTC) on Osmosis, the “decentralized” exchange (DEX) within the Cosmos ecosystem. Approved by the Nomic DAO and Osmosis DAO through a revenue sharing agreement, Osmosis and Nomic have created a… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 9:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lazarus’ key operation – “Operation DreamJob” – continues to evolve with sophisticated tactics (involving malware and malicious activities) that have persisted for over five years, according to Kaspersky‘s Global Research and Analysis Team. The targets reportedly include workers from a nuclear-related organization, who were infected… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 9:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Wise Platform noted that during the past year, they’ve expanded their global payments network and made some upgrades to their products, giving clients more ways to deliver better cross-border payment experiences. Wise Platform, a part of UK-headquartered Fintech Wise (LSE:WISE), expanded their direct connections to… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lloyds Banking Group has shared the Halifax UK housing / property market review and outlook for real estate in 2025. Here are the key takeaways from the extensive research report on the United Kingdom‘s property market: UK housing market beat expectations in 2024, with recovery… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 8:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Klarna, the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant has expanded their partnership with Woo, the flexible, open-source e-commerce solution built on WordPress, by making Klarna a default payment option for merchants using WooPayments. Under the expanded partnership Klarna will aim to become a network… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 9:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

One Inc, the payments network for the insurance industry, announced that GoAuto Insurance, selected One Inc’s ClaimsPay and PremiumPay products for a “fully” integrated and digitized policyholder payment experience. This integration enables GoAuto’s workflow by leveraging One Inc’s inbound and outbound payment capability, consolidating all… Read More