April 4, 2022 @ 4:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) shareholders is out today. Dimon, probably the most respected bank CEO on Wall Street, crafts a shareholder letter each year where he shares his opinion and perspective on the financial services industry, challenges as well as opportunities. For… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 3:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Anyone who has gone through the mortgage application process understands the system is pretty broken. Beyond proof of financial ability, banks and other mortgage originators require many different documents to be reviewed and approved. A mortgage can take weeks, or months, to close – delays… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 2:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

S&P Global has published a report on digital assets entitled the State of Consumer Cryptocurrency Adoption. According to S&Ps research, 20% of surveyed individuals have either purchased traded or received crypto – a solid percentage of the population. While awareness is growing, S&P adds that… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 11:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, BitMEX announced its intent to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt., a bank based in Munich, Germany. BXM Operations AG, founded by BitMEX CEO  Alexander Höptner and CFO Stephan Lutz, was expected to close on the acquisition of the bank at some point in 2022. Terms were not… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 11:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Exabel and Gridwise are partnering to provide Gridwise Analytics for Investors. Exabel, a data and analytics platform for investment teams. Gridwise is said to be the largest and only “first-party ground-truth level dataset on how people and goods are moving across the gig mobility economy.”… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Zvilo, a Balkan-based challenger bank, is reporting a  €50m debt facility provided by a “leading London-based alternative asset management company.” Zvilo says that it plans to offer digital financial solutions that will save users money while focusing on the Balkan region, with a population of… Read More

April 4, 2022 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Zopa Bank, previously Zopa the P2P or Marketplace lender, is now profitable according to a note from the company. The news arrives 21 months after Zopa was approved to operate as a digital bank in the UK. Zopa did not provide details as to how… Read More

April 3, 2022 @ 4:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last November, the European Union authorized pan-European crowdfunding, European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regulation (ECSPR), for issuers to raise up to €5 million across all member states. Investment crowdfunding platforms that aim to sell securities in the European Union must be regulated by the relevant authority… Read More

April 3, 2022 @ 3:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Published last month, Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law, has authored a paper on NFTs, Tokenization, and the Monetization of “Things”. The emergence of digital assets has empowered digital securities as well as other digital assets that may, or may not, have value. First,… Read More

April 3, 2022 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) had some positive news last week. First, in a blog post, Robinhood shared its ambition to offer 24/7 stock trading – just like crypto markets operate today. Robinhood stated: “As an important step towards 24/7 equities investing, we’re launching new extended hours that… Read More

April 2, 2022 @ 8:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

John Reed Stark, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official who at one point ran the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement, has posted a series of tweets sharing his belief that Web3 is little more than a “scourge and a scam.” Stark is currently a… Read More

April 1, 2022 @ 11:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Property investment platform CrowdProperty has announced the launch of CP Capital – a second charge mezzanine finance product for property developers. CP Capital is said to exist to serve developers’ funding needs, supported by property expertise. Mezzanine funding sourced via the CP Capital product is… Read More

April 1, 2022 @ 6:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

AQRU plc (AQSE: AQRU), a DeFi incubator, has issued a statement that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Accru Finance Ltd., has signed up over 10,000 customer accounts and reached £16.5 million in assets under management (AUM) on its cryptocurrency yield-generating platform, AQRU.io. According to the website, users… Read More

April 1, 2022 @ 6:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, addressed the American Bankers this week speaking about “tail risks” – or low probability, high impact risk events. In a world pummelled by geopolitical challenges like Russia’s war with Ukraine, and the ever-present concern of cyberattacks, Hsu… Read More

April 1, 2022 @ 9:34 am By JD Alois  |  

Christian Faes is one of the leading voices in the UK advocating on behalf of the Fintech ecosystem. He is a founder and Executive Chairman of LendInvest – a successful property financing platform that is now traded on the LSE, and the Chairman of Fintech… Read More

April 1, 2022 @ 8:27 am By JD Alois  |  

BitMEX, a crypto derivatives exchange and aspiring spot marketplace, has signed up Mercuryo, a  crypto payments company, for fiat-to-crypto purchases. According to a corporate statement, the integration means 21 more fiat currencies can be used to purchase Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether (ERC-20) on BitMEX. The… Read More

March 31, 2022 @ 2:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted a Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) expressing the view of the staff regarding the “accounting for obligations to safeguard crypto-assets an entity holds for platform users.” The SAB adds “interpretive guidance” regarding “obligations to safeguard crypto-assets held for… Read More

March 31, 2022 @ 11:54 am By JD Alois  |  

“We believe that the consumer banking system isn’t focused on improving its customers’ financial health. Traditional banks profit from getting you indebted and don’t offer you the freedom or advice to help organize and manage your money in a way that helps you.” Envel, an… Read More

March 31, 2022 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Anchorage Digital, a regulated digital asset firm and the first digital asset bank, has been chosen as the core custodian for the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI), according to a company post. Anchorage states that it was selected due to its ability to manage billions of… Read More

March 31, 2022 @ 9:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Today is the deadline (March 31, 2022) for crypto firms to be registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Reports have filtered in that multiple UK-based crypto firms have abandoned the effort with some planning a departure from Great Britain. The list of UK crypto… Read More