April 11, 2023 @ 12:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin is pushing above $30,000 for the first time since June 2022. When Bitcoin moves, the crypto masses speculate as to why. The recent rise in value has largely been attributed to the terrible economy, fears within the Banking sector, and BTCs apparent safe haven… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 11:56 am By JD Alois  |  

april has announced a tax filing product in partnership with multiple Fintechs. april (April Tax Solutions) claims to be the first artificial intelligence (AI) powered tax system available. The company states that its tax filing product is now available with Acorns, B9, Moves, Mercury Financial… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

In collaboration with Innovate Finance, the Department of Business and Trade, the City of London, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is soliciting information on UK Fintechs. While the deadline for information was pegged at April 5th, the… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 10:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Trading platform Webull has launched “Cash Management” that brings users a 4.1% APY return on parked cash, according to a company statement. Webull states that interest will be accrued daily and paid out each month. The higher returns, in comparison to what banks typically pay… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

The IMF expects global economic growth to decline by 0.1 than previously anticipated generating 2.8% before rising to 3% in 2024. In 2022, economic growth stood at 3.4% and thus reflects the declining global economy. The expectations were shared as part of the IMF’s World… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Finastra, a financial services tech stack provider, has announced a partnership with Alygne to provide “tailored ESG alternative data” to assist asset managers interested in ESG investments. Fabien Féron, Senior Product Manager at Fusion Invest at Finastra, said that making investments that align with values… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

FV Bank, a Puerto Rico-based digital bank that provides digital asset services, has appointed Frank J. Serra as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). According to the bank, Serra previously held numerous leadership positions, such as CEO, COO, and Director of Operations, and most recently… Read More

April 10, 2023 @ 4:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Global private equity deal value and volume cratered in March as well as during the entire first quarter. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, March PE deals vaporized – dropping by 37.1% year over year. During March 2023, $63.42 billion was raised in contrast to… Read More

April 10, 2023 @ 4:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has scheduled an open meeting for April 14, 2023, to consider reopening the comment period of the proposed changes. The SEC proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 under the Exchange Act Regarding the Definition of “Exchange,” which could potentially impact… Read More

April 10, 2023 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Republic Note has launched on Republic, seeking a minimum raise of $360,000 and up to $2.02 million. The price per digital security is $0.36 with a minimum investment of $100 and a maximum amount of $60,0000. The security is being issued under Reg CF. As… Read More

April 10, 2023 @ 12:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

CI has once again reviewed the roster of FINRA-regulated funding portals to gauge the growth or decline of these platforms that provide online capital formation. Funding Portals were created under the JOBS Act of 2012 and typically list securities under Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF). This… Read More

April 10, 2023 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

The demise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) left a big hole in the early-stage/private firm ecosystem. SVB was a favorite bank of VCs and hence the companies they invested in.  The failure of SVBs has exacerbated the already challenging funding environment for private firms that… Read More

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

FTX Exemplified hubris, incompetence, and greed. FTX CEO John J. Ray, III has filed his first interim report on the failure of FTX as the bankruptcy proceedings continue. Once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, led by high-profile founder and CEO Sam… Read More

April 9, 2023 @ 11:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance.US is having a hard time parking cash in a bank following the collapse of Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). According to a report by WSJ.com, Binance.US is working with a “middleman” to manage cash for dollar deposits – said to be Prime… Read More

April 7, 2023 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry has commented on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) release of its final rule for small business lending data collection as directed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Section 1071. McHenry is the Chairman of the House Financial… Read More

April 7, 2023 @ 11:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Sway, a new payments platform that dodges costly card transactions, is preparing to raise money in a securities offering listed on Seedrs. While not live yet, Sway is taking emails for “priority access” when the offering is available. Sway was launched based on the idea… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 6:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Republic, the largest securities crowdfunding platform in the world, says the launch of Republic Note next week is a step in the platform’s transformation to Republic 3.0. While I am not certain exactly what Republic 2.0 represents – probably its acquisition of Seedrs and the… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 6:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the US Department of Treasury posted a report on DeFi entitled “2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment.”  For the first time, Treasury addressed the concept of DeFi  – a sector of digital assets that engenders challenges for regulators. Treasury noted that DeFi is… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 5:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the group that represents all state securities regulators plus provinces in Canada and states in Mexico, has announced a penalty of $10 million assessed on Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD). Under the terms of the settlement, Robinhood neither admits nor denies… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 1:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

DeFi, or decentralized finance, took fire from the US Department of Treasury today as part of an ongoing policy attack targeting the crypto industry. Treasury published the “2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment,” the first report on DeFi that outlines the risk of the popular… Read More