October 2, 2020 @ 9:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), says the bank must be ready to issue a digital euro, according to a statement issued today. Meanwhile, a separate report from Bloomberg claims the ECB has already applied to trademark the name “digital euro” as… Read More

October 2, 2020 @ 5:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Draper Esprit (LSE:GROW) has announced an “accelerated investment strategy to capture a greater share of technology investment opportunities” driven by COVID and the increasing velocity of digital transformation. Announced yesterday, Draper Esprit sought to raise around £100 million in a share placement. The placement was… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 4:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report published by Deloitte highlights the Fintech industry and the disparity in gender when it comes to founders. As many people know, traditional finance has historically been dominated by the old boy network. Innovative financial services firms have experienced greater participation from women executives… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 2:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Talos has announced the public launch of its platform that connects prime brokers, exchanges, OTC desks, lenders, and custodians in the digital asset sector. The Talos platform, which is said to have been live for the last year, offers a suite of solutions that supports… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 12:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

BitMEX, a top cryptocurrency exchange that is big in the crypto derivatives sector, is the target of an enforcement action filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to the CFTC, a civil enforcement action has been filed in the U.S. District Court for… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Common Owner is the newest FINRA regulated funding portal, according to a note from the crowdfunding platform. Common Owner says that after a long vetting process, they were recently approved to offer securities under Reg CF [Regulation Crowdfunding]. Common Owner joins more than 50 funding… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Kik, a company that raised around $100 million in an initial coin offering (ICO), has lost a battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission as it fought a claim the offering was in fact an unregistered security. In a court filing yesterday, Judge Alvin K…. Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

HUB Security is an OurCrowd Portfolio Company Cybersecurity provider HUB Security has formed a partnership with Marsh to provide custody services for digital assets to financial services firms. Marsh, part of Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) is a top insurance broker and risk advisor that operates… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine is a leading investment crowdfunding platform in the US. Last August, StartEngine announced that it had topped $200 million in funding having only surpassed $100 million in July of 2019 – after having launched in 2015. During 2019, StartEngine raised about $44 million –… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 8:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled an open meeting on the topic of “finders.” The Commission will consider a conditional exemption from broker registration requirements for individuals to engage in “certain limited activities” on behalf of securities issuers. To quote the Commission: “The Commission… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 3:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

A new study by RUSI and ACAMS tackles the emerging digital assets or cryptoassets ecosystem. According to the survey results, the perception of affiliated risk regarding cryptoassets is mixed with governments and financial institutions seeing cryptocurrency as a significant source of risk. Meanwhile, crypto industry… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

Blockchain focused VC firm Draper Goren Holm has invested in Tezos Stable Technologies (StableTech), the Foundation for DeFi on Tezos. Draper Goren Holm led the recently closed seed round. StableTech seeks to coordinate the development and deployment of open-source DeFi projects. Tezos Stablecoin Foundation (TSF) is… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 10:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Four big banks have committed $20 million to BioCatch, a fraud detection and consumer protection service, in an extension to a recent Series C funding round. Barclays, Citi, HSBC and National Australia Bank (NAB) have joined American Express in investing in the firm. Of note,… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

ZUBR, a digital asset derivatives exchange, says more regulation is vital for institutional buy-in of Bitcoin derivatives. Launched in March (2020), ZUBR has received an in-principal approval for its DLT Provider licence in Gibraltar. ZUBR says it analyzed regulated exchanges such as CME and Bakkt,… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

PowerPay, a provider of home improvement financing, and FinMkt, a SaaS provider of point of sale consumer finance technology, have announced a new partnership. According to FinMkt, the agreement will enable it to expand its product offering to include staged funding, 10 and 15-year terms,… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Bnext, a Spain based neo-bank that has raised over €22 million in funding, has partnered with Rapyd, a Fintech as a Service company, to expand services across Latin America. According to a release, Bnext customers will be able to make deposits into their accounts at… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has told bankrupt Fintech Wirecard (WDI.DE) to halt payment services in Singapore and to return all customer funds by October 14, 2020. MAS states that it has been monitoring Wirecard’s bankruptcy proceedings and the ability of the company to provide… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 8:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Funding Circle (LSE:FCH) founder and CEO Samir Desai has purchased 163,017 shares in his company at an average per-share price of £0.6201696 according to a filing with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Funding Circle went public in 2018 at a price per share of 440… Read More

September 30, 2020 @ 7:21 am By JD Alois  |  

October, a top European online lender, has raised €258 million to lend to European SMEs, according to a note from the company. The additional financing was provided by institutional investors including Intesa Sanpaolo, CDC, FFA and six major insurance firms. “These investors were all attracted… Read More

September 29, 2020 @ 10:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

EstateGuru, a European marketplace for property-backed loans, has announced an expansion into Finland beginning in October. EstateGuru is based in Tallinn, Estonia, but currently operates in multiple European countries including Latvia Lithuania, Germany, UK, Spain, and Portugal. Established in 2013, EstateGuru has originated loans for… Read More