December 27, 2024 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Silicon Prairie has dumped its Funding Portal designation and is migrating all current offerings to its Broker-Dealer. FINRA regulates both Broker-Dealers and Funding Portals. A Funding Portal is kind of like a broker-dealer light. This new type of intermediary was created under the JOBS Act… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 12:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fundrise co-founder and CEO Ben Miller visited squaw box this morning to reflect upon the Fundrise Innovation Fund’s success with its investment in ServiceTitan (NASDAQ:TTAN). ServiceTitan went public earlier this month. Shares were priced at $71/each, but the market deemed this too low, with shares… Read More

December 23, 2024 @ 4:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

President-Elect Donald Trump has announced the team that will be leading the tech charge including crypto and Artificial Intelligence (AI). During the Biden Administration, both digital assets and AI development were dissuaded via various means. The anti-tech posture of the Administration pushed multiple prominent VCs… Read More

December 23, 2024 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Rocket Homes claiming kickbacks for real estate brokers and agents who steered customers to use the platform for mortgages. The CFPB reported that it had also sued Jason Mitchell, his real estate brokerage firm,… Read More

December 21, 2024 @ 4:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  (CFPB) announced a lawsuit targeting the big banks that launched Zelle. Zelle was created by big banks in recognition of the rise of peer-to-peer payments and transfers. The banks wanted to keep pace with competitors and decided… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of a push to maintain relevance in the digital finance world, several years ago big banks partnered up to launch their own instant payments and transfer system Zelle. The payments platform has emerged as a significant success – except for claims of fraud… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

  SyndicateRoom, a former securities crowdfunding platform and current online investment platform that takes a portfolio approach, has been acquired by Smith Brothers Group. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. In an email from SyndicateRoom CEO Graham Schwikkard, he said the company was… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Multiple reports indicate that Deutsche Bank is launching a Layer 2 blockchain to fuel digital assets and compliance at the bank. A Layer 2 blockchain is a separate blockchain added to the top of a Layer 1 blockchain like Ethereum. A Layer 2 aims to… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 3:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Even while economic data has been very choppy, the US Federal Reserve decided to match market expectations, cutting benchmark rates by 25 basis points. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps to 4-1/4 to… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 10:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a report on Authorized Push Payment (APP) scams and how to avoid them. In brief, a fraudster pilfers money illicitly when it tricks targets into sending money to its account. The trick is presenting what looks like… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 6:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, ServiceTitan (NASDAQ:TTAN) went public at an IPO price of $71/share. Trading soon drove the price per share much higher. Today, ServiceTitan closed at over $108 a share (over $110 in after-hours trading). This also follows the exercise of the Greenshoe option by underwriters…. Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has published its annual report which includes data on access to capital as well as policy recommendations. The Office is relatively new, created under the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 – legislation… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two individuals and a single entity regarding money laundering to the benefit of North Korea. OFAC says that Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, working out of the UAE and… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has decided to partner with Wise (LSE:WISE) to improve international transfers. Wise is a UK-based Fintech or neobank that started as a low-cost provider of payments and transfers and now offers additional banking features. Morgan Stanley is a prominent investment bank and… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 10:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Webull Securities (Canada) says it has launched options trading for registered accounts in Canada. Webull users can now trade options in Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). The Webull Group currently operates in 15 regions globally, including Canada, serving over 20… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd revealed a new VC investment center in Abu Dhabi to manage deals for its platform while expanding its market back in late 2022.  At the same time, the investment platform announced an AI hub named Integrated Data Intelligence Ltd (IDI), which seeks to develop… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows the definition of an Accredited Investor is broken. The rule sets a monetary hurdle for individuals who may participate in certain private securities offerings. It is obvious to all that wealth is not necessarily an indicator of sophistication. Still, the SEC has failed… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 10:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government issued its interim report this month outlining the abuse of financial data by the federal government. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you should be outraged by this… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 9:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN) announced that it would acquire MoneyLion (NYSE: ML) for around $1 billion. Gen Digital is a software firm in the cyber sector with a market cap of around $18.26 billion. A neobank, MoneyLion, went public in a SPAC deal in September… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 9:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin continues to march higher following the election of former President Donald Trump and his forthcoming crypto-friendly administration. It was only a year ago when Bitcoin was trading around $40,000. This week, Bitcoin topped $106,000, setting a new all-time high for the world’s most popular… Read More