January 14, 2026 @ 3:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

  BLEND and Tasq AI have announced a business combination. Specific details on the agreement were not revealed. Founded in 2019, Tasq AI created the “Data Refinery” approach to AI training. The tech claims to help AI models train up to 10x faster than other… Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 1:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

ESMA, or the European Securities and Markets Authority, has published a report on crowdfunding in the EU. In recent years, online capital formation has been operating under ECSPR or European Crowdfunding Service Provider regulation. This allows a platform to solicit investors across all member states…. Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 12:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

While there have been multiple reports regarding horse trading related to the crypto infrastructure legislation, at this moment, the Senate Banking Committee still has a markup hearing tomorrow, January 15th, at 10AM ET. Reports emerged yesterday of dozens of amendments to the bill as members… Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

A memecoin launched by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has experienced significant volatility. The NYC Token had no fixed issue price, launched at $0.15-$0.20, peaked near $0.70, and is now trading around $0.13. Crypto data and security firm Nansen has examined the on-chain… Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), the leading global research group for Fintech, is in the process of gathering information for a global study on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in financial services. AI is quickly becoming ubiquitous – especially in financial services. The ability to… Read More

January 14, 2026 @ 8:24 am By JD Alois  |  

The Senate Banking Committee, which will soon hold a markup hearing on the crypto infrastructure bill, has posted a “Myth vs. Fact” document sharing its perspective on the legislation, which aims to create a regulatory ecosystem to enable digital asset innovation. The Committee, controlled by… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 1:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The crypto infrastructure bill has been working its way through Congress for months. The CLARITY Act was approved by the House of Representatives in July. The Senate’s version of the bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, has emerged after months of wrangling among digital asset… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 11:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Private securities secondaries topped $110 billion in 2025, easily beating 2024, which reportedly totalled $89 billion. This is according to HarbourVest Partners, as outlined in the FT. According to the report, private markets continue to grow, with secondary transactions boosting that growth. Liquidity, or the… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 10:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Polygon Labs says it has signed a deal to acquire Coinme and Sequence in a transaction valued at around $250 million. The Sequence transaction is expected to close this month, and the Coinme transaction is expected to close in Q2 2026 subject to normal regulatory… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Netcapital (NASDAQ: NCPL, NCPLW), an operator of a FINRA-regulated funding portal and a broker-dealer, has announced its first tokenized offering. Digital assets, including digital securities, are the future of both private and public offerings, including primary and secondary trading. By incorporating blockchain technology, issuers, platforms,… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

President Donald Trump roiled the financial services sector this past week with his declaration that credit card interest rates would be capped at 10%. Of course, this would probably take an act of Congress and is unlikely, but the statement highlighted Trump’s lack of understanding… Read More

January 13, 2026 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

In one of the outlandish moves by the Trump Administration, it emerged this past weekend that the US Department of Justice was investigating Fed Chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns for renovations at the US Federal Reserve. Powell took to X to declare he would… Read More

January 12, 2026 @ 3:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset firm Ripple has been approved in the UK as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The firm was approved on January 9, 2026, under RIPPLE MARKETS UK LTD. Via a post on X, Ripple said that it had… Read More

January 12, 2026 @ 2:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has launched a new crypto regulatory framework. According to a statement distributed by the DFSA, they have monitored market developments over the past three years, while working with policy counterparts and industry insiders to ensure the new rules are… Read More

January 12, 2026 @ 11:43 am By JD Alois  |  

“Without a meaningful digital Euro, our dependence will deepen as US-backed private digital currencies are gaining ground.” Sustainable Finance Lab has posted an open letter signed by 70 European Academicians supporting a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or digital Euro. The supporters included economists and… Read More

January 12, 2026 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

The independence of the US Federal Reserve is sacrosanct. Removing it from the vicissitudes of elected officials, many of whom do not have a clue about economics and finance, has been foundational to the stability of the US economy. The revelation that the US Department… Read More

January 12, 2026 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

The United Kingdom is a leading jurisdiction in the world for private firms and funding.  According to a new report published by Tracxn, the UK is the second most funded ecosystem in the world behind the US, but surpassing India and China. The report states… Read More

January 9, 2026 @ 4:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

SpaceX may go public this year. As has been widely reported, the private space firm founded by Elon Musk is sizing up a public offering with major investment banks currently vying to lead the IPO. Estimates of the firm’s valuation are currently around $800 billion,… Read More

January 9, 2026 @ 3:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has received £265,523.96 in a confiscation order against Andrew Currie, the operator of peer-to-peer lending platform Collateral LTd.  Currie was convicted of fraud in 2023 and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months’ imprisonment for fleecing investors in the… Read More

January 9, 2026 @ 12:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The world is watching events in Iran as the populace is pushing back against the repressive regime led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Recent reports indicate that Khamenei has vowed not to back down as anti-government protesters take to the streets and communications are… Read More