May 11, 2021 @ 10:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Senate has voted to nullify the rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) entitled the National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders and published on October 30, 2020. The vote in the Senate was largely along party… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Investment Management (IM) has issued a staff statement cautioning investors who purchase shares in mutual funds that have exposure to Bitcoin futures. According to the Staff statement, investors should understand that Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment and… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 2:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is a sign of the times, I guess. According to a report, a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has exited the vaunted investment bank after making big money in Dogecoin. Beginning in 2021, Dogecoin traded as less than a penny per coin. Jump… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The German Bundestag recently reviewed legislation that will implement the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regime Regulation (ECSP). According to industry participants, the German rules may fundamentally undermine online capital formation in the country just as the European Union is poised to boost the industry with… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Zumo, a crypto wallet and payments Fintech based in Edinburgh, Scotland, has announced ZumoKit – a crypto as a service platform. The new B2B product is targeting Fintechs and financial institutions that wish to offer cryptocurrencies in a compliant way to meet the demand of… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Scottish Equity Partners has invested in FundApps, a UK-based Regtech, for an undisclosed amount according to a note from the company. FundApps is described as a “compliance-as-a-service” (CaaS) business, that improves the way investment managers deal with the regulatory burden by combining cloud technology, regulatory… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 8:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Global Digital Finance (GDF), a UK-based entity advocating on behalf of the digital asset (or crypto-asset) sector of Fintech, has posted a letter in support of the Eliminate Barriers to Digital Innovation Act of 2021 (HR 1602). The Act was sponsored by US Representative Patrick… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 9:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Exodus Movement has hit the maximum amount allowable under Reg A+ raising $75 million from over 6800 individual investors in the issuance of 2.733 million “EXIT” shares, according to a note from the company. Exodus reported that it initially raised approximately $60 million in the… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 1:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer-to-peer lender Bondster says that lending volume has returned to pre-COVID levels during the month of April, according to a note from the company. Bondster, a Czech Republic-based platform, says P2P loans saw a significant decline in interest during the last year’s outbreak of the… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

In a funding round led by Point72 Ventures, FinLync has raised $16 million in equity capital. FinLync is a corporate treasury Fintech that is seeking to challenge SAP’s multi-bank product. Other investors that participated in the funding round include Nyca Partners, former CFO of Palantir… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Regtech ALT/AVE is leveraging Hedera Hashgraph to target paper waste within the financial services industry. According to a note from the company, their new service docStribute has been launched to distribute mandatory, regulated documents to customers, offering an alternative to sending documents to customers via… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 9:08 am By JD Alois  |  

SIA, Cattolica University (CeTIF) and Reply have completed a test for surities, or “Fideiussioni digitali,” leveraging blockchain technology. The project included the participation of the Bank of Italy, the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS) and the Italian Finance Police. The partners have announced… Read More

May 10, 2021 @ 8:23 am By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd is one of the largest securities crowdfunding platforms in the world. Based in Israel, OurCrowd has been recognized by Pitchbook as the most active venture investor in the country with 24 different deals in 2020. OurCrowd provides a pathway for smaller investors to participate… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

AlphaFlow, a real estate lending platform providing access to marketplace property loans, is seeking up to $3.93 million on Republic. According to the offering page, AlphaFlow investors may participate in a “Crowd SAFE” offering at a valuation cap of $55 million.  This means that if… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the US Department of Labor Statistics issued data that indicated 266,000 jobs were added during the month of April. This fell far short of expectations as observers anticipated over a million new jobs. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.1%. The news undermined… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent progressive and member of the Senate Banking Committee, doesn’t like Bitcoin it appears. According to a report in Yahoo, Senator Warren took umbrage at the amount of energy Bitcoin consumes in completing transactions. “I also think with bitcoin, and with… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

When is a bank a bank? While this is a great debate for regulators and existential philosophers, for most people it simply has to do with holding money securely and using it when you want. For years now, Fintechs that have provided bank-like services have… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Equa has received $2.5 million in funding in a private offering. Simultaneously, Equa said it will be purchasing Bitcoin which will go into Bitcoin treasury and corporate treasury tools. According to the company, Bitcoin-backed promissory notes will be issued at two separate interest rates depending… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 6:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today was the 3rd, and perhaps final, hearing held by the House Committee on Financial Services regarding the GameStop (NYSE:GME) sage regarding short selling by traders chatting on Reddit. As most people are aware, investors on subreddits like Wallstreetbets, combined to drive the value of… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has invested in Coin Metrics – a crypto-asset data and risk analysis firm. The $15 million Series B was led by Goldman along with the participation of previous investors Castle Island Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, Fidelity Investments, Avon Ventures, Communitas Capital, and… Read More