October 30, 2023 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK government has released the results of a consultation on the regulation of digital assets or crypto.  The update includes information on fiat-backed stablecoins and managing “systemic digital settlement asset firms.” The consultation kicked off in February of this year and was completed at… Read More

October 27, 2023 @ 1:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

BlockFi has emerged from bankruptcy as of October 24, 2023. BlockFi filed for bankruptcy in November of 2022 following the collapse of multiple crypto firms culminating in the failure of FTX – once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Prior to declaring… Read More

October 27, 2023 @ 1:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Twinco Capital has received a €50 million debt facility from BBVA Spark for supply chain financing. Twinco, a European Fintech founded by female entrepreneurs, says it will use the funding to provide the first sustainable supply chain finance solution in the market. Twinco CEO Sandra… Read More

October 27, 2023 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The French Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF)and the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have signed an MOU [memorandum of understanding] to collaborate on supervised firms. The AMF regulates securities as well while the CFTC is focused on commodities and futures. As financial services have… Read More

October 27, 2023 @ 9:10 am By JD Alois  |  

  X, formerly known as Twitter, wants to become your new bank. While it is not clear if X wants to be a Neobank (no bank charter) or a Digital Bank (a bank charter), what is clear is that Elon Musk wants to turn the… Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 5:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Cynthia Lummis, along with Representative French Hill, have sent a letter to the US Department of Justice asking them to make a determination regarding the ongoing investigation into Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, along with the world’s largest stablecoin issuer Tether…. Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 2:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, a global online investment platform allowing investors to access early-stage investments alongside big-name VCs, has announced a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) fund. On OurCrowd, smaller (accredited) investors may back promising young firms from Israel and around the world. OurCrowd also has a roster of… Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

multifi has received a commitment of £10 million from Fasanara Capital to support UK SMEs, according to a statement from the company. The digital lender says businesses may tap into credit of up to £200,000 with a fixed monthly access fee of 0.3% and an interest… Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Investment Enterprise Scheme (SEIS) provide materially important tax benefits for investors in early-stage firms in the UK. Designed to encourage the support of entrepreneurs and younger firms, EIS and SEIS mitigate risk for investors while possibly generating tax-free… Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to hold rates steady today. The Council indicated that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at… Read More

October 26, 2023 @ 9:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The Future Fund was one of several programs designed by the UK government to backstop firms during the COVID crisis. Managed by the British Business Bank, the Future Fund was created to help early-stage ventures which frequently need ongoing cash injections to get to profitability…. Read More

October 25, 2023 @ 4:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE:LC), a digital bank with expertise in online lending, announced Q3 results today, reporting top line revenue of $200.8 million and net income of $5 million or EPS of $0.05. The top line number was a decline from $232.5 million in Q2 and when… Read More

October 25, 2023 @ 2:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Freemarket has been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland as a Payment Institution. The UK-based Fintech provides B2B payments and currency exchange. Freemarket said the approval will help with its European expansion plans as it now has access to all EEA countries. Freemarket has… Read More

October 25, 2023 @ 11:45 am By JD Alois  |  

US-based switching platform Squeeze has acquired UK-based Youtility, an embedded finance management firm working with banks and Fintechs. The terms of the acquisition were not revealed by the companies. Youtility’s tech platform is backed by some big firms, including Barclays, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Big… Read More

October 25, 2023 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published its 6th report on the consumer credit card market, stating that consumers paid record-high fees and interest in 2022. Interest rates have been marching higher in the past months as the US Federal Reserve attempts to crush… Read More

October 25, 2023 @ 10:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Ledger, best known for its hardware digital wallets, is now offering tokenization services via its enterprise division or turning assets into digital assets. In a blog post, Legder said it was “unlocking institutional opportunities” as more firms look to leverage distributed ledger technology to issue… Read More

October 24, 2023 @ 2:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) has listed the “first digital native security” or “digital native note (DNN)” to be admitted to trade in the European Union. As was reported earlier today, R3 worked with the World Bank to issue the security on its Corda blockchain…. Read More

October 24, 2023 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

R3, an enterprise-focused permissed blockchain provider, is reporting that its Corda technology has enabled the first digital bond issuance on Euroclear’s International Central Securities Depository (ICSD). The SSA, or “supranational, sovereign and agency bond,” was issued by the World Bank, with Citi (an investor in… Read More

October 24, 2023 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Orbital has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to operate as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) and a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Provider. Orbital has offices in London, Gibraltar, and Tallinn. Gibraltar has long been known as an enabler for digital asset… Read More

October 24, 2023 @ 8:34 am By JD Alois  |  

It was more a question of when. Today, Seedrs has issued a statement today that it has been approved under ECSPR – European Crowdfunding Services Provider regulation – to facilitate online capital formation across the EU. Owned by US-based Fintech Republic, Seedrs is already one… Read More