February 2, 2026 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Moderates and Republicans frequently lament California’s decline. While the state has wonderful beaches, mountains, great weather, and a robust innovation ecosystem, the politics have been a disaster for many years. High taxes, dilapidated infrastructure, and numerous allegations of government-backed fraud have helped make the Golden… Read More

February 2, 2026 @ 9:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Alternative inflation measure firm Truflation continues to challenge the establishment belief that inflation is too high. The US Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady at a meeting last week, with the main reason being that the economy was chugging along, and inflation remains… Read More

January 30, 2026 @ 5:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

South America-based digital bank Nubank (Nu)  (NYSE:NU)has received approval for a federal bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. With approval, Nubank will be able to compete on a level playing field with other digital and legacy banks. As is typical,… Read More

January 30, 2026 @ 3:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

VenHub Global (NASDAQ: VHUB), a company that raised growth capital under Reg CF, began trading on the Nasdaq today via a direct listing. Shares initially rose in early trading, topping $40, but have since reversed, now trading at just over $7/share. VenHub Global is a… Read More

January 30, 2026 @ 2:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Kevin Warsh was selected by President Donald Trump to become the next US Federal Reserve Chairman. As current Chair, Jerome Powell, is slated to exit the leadership role next May, Warsh should soon be guiding Monetary policy for the US. Market commentary has largely welcomed… Read More

January 30, 2026 @ 11:55 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the US Federal Reserve decided to hold rates steady as was widely anticipated by markets. The vote saw two dissenters, Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran, who both preferred a 25 bps reduction. Today, Waller issued a statement explaining why cutting rates made… Read More

January 30, 2026 @ 8:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Kevin Warsh, a former US Federal Reserve Governor and currently a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, has been selected by President Trump to become the next Fed Chair. Warsh received his BA at Stanford and earned his JD from Harvard Law… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 3:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital bank LendingClub (NYSE:LC) reported Q4 and full-year results yesterday, but the solid results were not sufficient to inspire investors as shares cratered following the results. LendingClub reported that net revenue increased 23% to $266.5 million, compared with $217.2 million in the prior year, driven by… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 1:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Saxo Bank, a Danish bank focused on online trading and investment with more than €115 billion in client assets, has been penalized by the Danish authorities regarding claims of money laundering violations. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has assessed a fine of DKK 313,000,000 or… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 1:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill and House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson have joined in welcoming the Senate Committee on Agriculture’s approval of crypto market legislation. The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act advanced out of Committee earlier today. Representative Hill stated: “Last July,… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 1:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, crypto market infrastructure legislation, advanced out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry today. Chairman of the Committee, John Boozman, called the approval a critical step towards providing clarity in the digital asset ecosystem. “Advancing this bill brings us… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Netherlands is poised to approve a change to the income tax that will impose a 36% tax on unrealized gains, as it seeks to boost revenue to fund government activities. Of course, confiscatory taxes have never worked anywhere and will likely have the opposite… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) is being investigated due to allegations of money laundering. According to Reuters, Federal Police raided Deutsche Bank offices in both Berlin and Frankfurt. Apparently, the investigation is due to claims of illicit activity by individuals between 2013 and 2018. This is not… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

It is a fact that we exist in a world of limited resources. Taxes paid to the government reduce disposable income for individuals and available funds for investment. Private activity, including innovation and entrepreneurship, gets crowded out when more funds go to the government. This… Read More

January 29, 2026 @ 9:26 am By JD Alois  |  

A White House meeting has been scheduled for next week to break the logjam on crypto market infrastructure legislation. It has been widely reported that several crypto firms have withdrawn their endorsement of the bill amid aggressive lobbying by traditional banks, which fear emerging competition…. Read More

January 28, 2026 @ 8:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tokenization, tokenized securities, or digital securities are the future. This much is clear. But questions remain as regulators and industry participants work through the new process of issuing, managing, and trading securities using blockchain technology. Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement… Read More

January 28, 2026 @ 2:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

As widely anticipated, the US Federal Reserve paused interest rate hikes today following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The target range for the federal funds rate remains at 3.5% to 3.75%. The Fed said that economic activity has been expanding at… Read More

January 28, 2026 @ 10:42 am By JD Alois  |  

European Crowdfunding Service Providers regulation (ECSPR) became fully effective in November 2021, so it has been a few years now. A recent report distributed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently published a report on securities crowdfunding. In total, at the time of… Read More

January 27, 2026 @ 2:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Mesh, described as Plaid for crypto, has raised $75 million at a $1 billion valuation. Plaid is a leading open banking platform that provides the connective tissue to empower cross-platform financial information. MeshPay CEO Bam Aziz said today was a big day for the firm:… Read More

January 27, 2026 @ 1:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Leading stablecoin issuer Tether is now offering a new dollar-based digital asset in the form of USA₮. The stablecoin is being offered in partnership with Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital asset bank. While the Tether stablecoin USDT is still very much in the mix,… Read More