March 28, 2022 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

This coming Wednesday, March 30, 2022, the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, will hold a hearing on “Oversight of America’s Stock Exchanges: Examining Their Role in Our Economy.” The Subcommittee is part of the House Committee on Financial Services. According to the… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The London-based law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is working to help craft regulations to enable securities crowdfunding in Armenia, according to a note from the firm. In partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Central Bank of Armenia, Norton Rose… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 11:25 am By JD Alois  |  

  Global securities crowdfunding platform OurCrowd will open a global artificial intelligence innovation center in Abu Dhabi later this year, according to a report. The new center is part of the ongoing initiative to connect countries that have normalized relations with Israel because of the… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 10:42 am By JD Alois  |  

New rules in Europe designed to stymie illicit activity may go too far, according to Coinbase. New Transfer of Funds Regulation “would unleash an entire surveillance regime on exchanges,” explains the crypto exchange. In a blog post, Coinbase states that “bad facts, make bad law,”… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

According to multiple reports, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is poised to purchase the Brazil-based 2TM parent company of  Mercado Bitcoin (Bitcoin Market). Expectations are for an announcement soon in April. This past December, Mercado Bitcoin raised $50.2 million in Series A funding that was part of a larger… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 9:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Estonia-based Fintech Income has closed on a securities crowdfunding round raising €1.3 Million from investors on Seedrs and Seedblink, according to a note from the company. Income is a platform that offers secured investments in loans at getincome.com. The company reports that it has partnered… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Katapult (Nasdaq: KPLT), a lease-to-own platform that went public in a SPAC deal with FinServ Acquisition Corp. in 2021,  has received an open letter from a shareholder telling the firm to sell itself. Infinitum Partners, L.P., a firm that reports a 1.3% equity stake in Katipult,… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 8:37 am By JD Alois  |  

FOLK2FOLK, an SME lender that matches investors with borrowers, is reporting a “record year” for its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) for the tax year 2021/22, sharing that the company received 44% more ISA funds than in the previous year. FOLK2FOLK states that it has seen… Read More

March 27, 2022 @ 8:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered the Spring Statement outlining the challenges facing the economy and at least some of the government’s plans to alleviate some of the pain. A combination of COVID and then Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has helped… Read More

March 26, 2022 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has submitted a comment letter in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) review into Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platforms. The FTA represents several BNPL providers including Afterpay, Figure, Klarna, Sezzle, and Zip. Last  December several Democrat Senators… Read More

March 26, 2022 @ 3:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) has partnered with tech association SGTech to help fuel blockchain development in Singapore. BAS and SGTech jointly have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a ceremony attended by Guest of Honour Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 3:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Neobank Revolut has hired two new executives for its US operations as it continues to pursue the highly fragmented market. According to a release, Revolut has hired Yuval Rechter as General Manager and Danil Ovechkin as Head of Growth. Revolut states that as US General Manager,… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has enlisted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to engage in a project to review the potential of a digital pound or central bank digital currency (CBDC). The collaboration between the Bank and the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative (DCI)… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 9:47 am By JD Alois  |  

  The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a statement outlining its recommendations regarding the pursuit of Open Banking. The statement follows a consultation that was initiated in the spring of 2021. The CMA said its recommendations will guide a future entity that… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 6:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting to discuss the definition of an Accredited Investor. For anyone viewing the meeting, it was clear that Committee members would like to make it easier for individuals to qualify as Accredited,… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

In his annual letter to shareholders, Blackstone CEO Larry Fink commented on a broad range of issues including the “end of globalization” and the power of capital markets. The end of globalization is largely due to the unprovoked invasion by Russia and war in Ukraine… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

PayPal Ventures has invested in Cymbio, a marketplace and dropship automation platform, months after the company completed a $20 million Series B round. PayPal Ventures is, of course, the venture arm of payments platform PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL). Cymbio is a platform that aims to enable brands… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 12:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Martha Legg Miller, Director of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation (OASB), is leaving the agency at the end of April. The SEC added that Sebastian Gomez Abero will serve as Acting… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 12:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Mum and Dad United or BOMADU is the newest entry into the neobank sector of Fintech in the UK.According to a release, BOMADU is targeting first-time buyers overcome the home deposit challenge. BOMADU is currently raising seed funding on Seedrs, its first… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 12:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK-based GoCardless, a direct bank payment solution, has announced a fraud prevention tool – Verified Mandates. The new feature is said to combine the Account Information Services (AIS) capabilities of open banking with direct debit to stop fraud before it happens. GoCardless describes its services… Read More