April 6, 2020 @ 11:32 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled an open meeting for this coming Wednesday (Apri 8, 2020) to consider amendments that may improve the ecosystem to foster access to capital for SMEs. As we all know, SMEs have been pummeled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

On March 10, 2020, the Bank of England, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to reduce Bank Rate and to introduce a new Term Funding Scheme with additional incentives for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (TFSME). Today, the Bank is announcing that the TFSME will open for… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week in advance of the opening up of federal subsidized programs to backstop small businesses in the US crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lendio CEO Brock Blake took to Twitter to criticize the lack of coordination between the US Department of Treasury and the… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Legendary banking CEO Jamie Dimon has published his annual letter to investors that typically deals with the performance of JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). This year’s letter that always garners a broad readershp, has taken a different tone as the bank, as well as the rest… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider reported on Latvia-based peer to peer lender Grupeer’s decision to halt all lending due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. CI quoted the company’s decision: “Regretfully, we are forced to inform you that in the current circumstances it is not… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 7:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Nextfin, an investment aggregation platform, is echoing the sentiment of many other platforms in the early-stage funding sector by calling on the UK government to expand both the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) to encourage private investments in SME’s. EIS… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 7:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, it was reported that RateSetter, a leading UK peer to peer lender, was considering a merger or sale of the business. A report in SkyNews said the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated a “funding squeeze” compelling the Fintech to approach potential acquirers. RateSetter has… Read More

April 5, 2020 @ 7:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fintechs are starting to furlough employees as the economy tanks due to the COVID-19 induced decline. While not officially in recession, major economies are bracing for the worse while businesses are compelled to let employees go as business activity slows. On Monday, it was reported… Read More

April 5, 2020 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube co-founder Luke Lang has announced a new initiative to help entrepreneurs and small companies during the COVID-19 crisis. Distributed in an email today, Crowdcube announced the launch of Save Our Startups (SOC). Simultaneously, Crowdcube posted an open letter directed to UK Prime Minister Boris… Read More

April 4, 2020 @ 4:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) cautioned an SEC Committee about the potential for fraud during the COVID-19 outbreak. NASAA is the lobbying group that represents state and provincial securities regulators. Christopher W. Gerold, NASAA President and Chief of the New Jersey Bureau… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 8:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tokenize Malaysia, one of a handful of digital asset exchanges that was recognized as a conditional market operator by Securities Commission Malaysia in 2019, has received full regulatory approval according to multiple reports. The approval was delivered on April 1, 2020. The approval qualifies the… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 4:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Interlapse Technologies Corp. (TSXV: INLA) (OTCQB: INLAF), the company that operates Bitcoin exchange Coincurve, has acquired BuyBitcoinCanada in a move to further consolidate its position as Canada’s top virtual currency operator. BuyBitcoinCanada was operated by Bitaccess Inc. Interlapse is a micro-cap currently trading at around… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 2:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Better.com is one company that appears to be benefiting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Better.com is an online lender in the mortgage sector. Crowdfund Insider reported last year that Better.com was funding $375 million in mortgages a month. A different report said that amount stood at… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Coinfield, a smaller crypto exchange operating out of Estonia, is working with Solegenic to “connect traditional financial markets with crypto assets,” according to a release. Sologenics, an entity that is affiliated with Coinfield, says it facilitates users with investing, trading, and on-demand tokenization of over… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Following intense criticism regarding the confines of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), HM Treasury expanded the program in a move to support a broader range of businesses – most importantly smaller firms. Last week, Rangewell, a business finance specialist, posted an open letter… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Factom, a blockchain as a service platform, is going into liquidation. Factom raised over $8 million in 2017 from well-known investors like Tim Draper, of Draper Associates and Medici Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc., Peeli Ventures, and Harvest Equity. The news of Factom’s… Read More

April 3, 2020 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

ChainTrust GmbH, based in Hamburg, Germany, is out with a new crisis management system for entities that have migrated to remote operations during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company is focusing on supporting firms and other institutions to manage their workers in a GDPR compliant manner…. Read More

April 2, 2020 @ 7:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced new measures to support firms impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The update includes broader access to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and creating a new plan for larger firms. The Chancellor announced that HM Treasury… Read More

April 2, 2020 @ 7:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

If spinning or standard cross-fit classes are too tame for you, a startup providing fitness boxing may be just what you need. Grit Bxing is an early-stage firm that has already received the backing of multiple high-profile investors, according to the company. Names like Tim… Read More

April 2, 2020 @ 2:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week the SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation announced a series of  “virtual coffee breaks” to engage with the public to discuss updates, trends, and perspectives on how COVID-19 is impacting raising capital. The very first virtual gather is… Read More