August 5, 2019 @ 9:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin is moving higher, once again, as the trade war between the US and China escalates. Yesterday, the Yuan dropped below 7 to the dollar with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) blaming the decline “to unilateral trade protectionism, as well as expectations of more… Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 8:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Big corporates are partnering with IB (NYSE: IBM) on a new blockchain network, according to a company release. IBM and Chainyard have jointly announced “Trust Your Supplier” a distributed ledger technology platform that seeks to simplify supply chain management with better validation. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline,… Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 7:45 am By JD Alois  |  

KKR, a global investment firm with over $150 billion in assets under management, has an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Germany based Fintech heidelpay. The deal involved AnaCap Financial Partners which is currently the majority shareholder in heidelpay. Details on the acquisition were… Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 7:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitso, cryptocurrency platform in Mexico that claims one million users, has become the first Latin America company to be fully licensed as a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Provider in Gibraltar. Bitso will now operate within a regulated environment thus ensuring custody, withdrawals, and trading of… Read More

August 4, 2019 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Published in an Op-Ed article on Fox News last week, incoming Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Dr. Heath P. Tarbert commented on his vision for the regulatory agency. Tarbert replaces the wildly popular J. Christopher Giancarlo who was dubbed Crypto Dad by blockchain industry supporters…. Read More

August 4, 2019 @ 2:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is an interesting investment offering. Braidy Industries, based in Kentucky, has closed a side-by-side Reg CF-Reg D offering listed on NetCapital. Reg CF is a private securities exemption that allows issuers to raise money from anyone – up to $1.07 million. Under Reg D,… Read More

August 4, 2019 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

The Apple Card is expected to be available to the public any day now following the most recent earnings report where Apple CEO Tim Cook said the card will launch in August.  The credit card is being issued in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Apple… Read More

August 3, 2019 @ 5:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

In May of 2019, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) kicked off a consultation on “crypto-asset trading platforms” or “CTPs.” The goal of the Consultation is to assist IOSCO members in evaluating the issues and risks relating to trading in digital assets and the… Read More

August 3, 2019 @ 4:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Both the US House and Senate are out of session now as the pols exit the sweltering heat of Washington, DC, during the month August for a summer recess. Congress returns the following month to continue its work and the House Financial Services Committee, under… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 6:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that Daniel Gorfine, the agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer and Director of LabCFTC, will depart in mid-August. Gorfine also served as the Designated Federal Officer of the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee. The announcement comes following the exit… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 12:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Real estate crowdfunding platform Small Change is raising capital for a homeless housing project in Los Angeles. As most people may know. Los Angeles has a profound problem with its growing homeless population and the city is struggling to come up with solutions. To quote… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 11:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Republic is claiming a first. The crowdfunding platform is in the process of doing an Airdrop under Reg CF. Reg CF is a securities exemption where issuers may raise up to $1.07 million. Airdrops are used to disseminate digital assets which may be used to… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

NGC Ventures, a crypto fund of one of a leading blockchain investment firm, has announced a strategic investment in crypto brokerage Troy Network. In a release, NGC said it led the multimillion-dollar investment with BlockVC. Troy Trade, part of the Troy Network, is a global… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Effective the end of last month, digital asset manager Grayscale will use Coinbase Custody as their custodian for their “single-asset investment products” including digital currencies as well as publicly listed funds: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) Grayscale Ethereum Trust (OTCQX: ETHE), and Grayscale Ethereum Classic… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Fintech startup Aximetria GmbH has become a member of the Swiss Financial Services Standards Association (Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen or VQF) in a step towards providing financial services in Switzerland. VQF is a Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) and is officially recognized by the Swiss… Read More

August 2, 2019 @ 1:21 am By JD Alois  |  

In Canada, venture funding for early-stage firms cooled during the first six months of the year. Total amount raised by Canadian firms dipped by 13% in comparison to the same period year prior. The total number of deals declined from 280 in 2018 to 240… Read More

August 1, 2019 @ 2:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

InsurTech Assurely has partnered with PrefLogic to advance the digital securities market. PrefLogic will integrate Assurely’s TigerMark insurance policy. This means that security token issuers will be protected from covered investor complaints and legal attacks while investors will have the ability to leverage the company’s… Read More

August 1, 2019 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner  Hester Peirce is in Singapore, a noted Asian Fintech hub, talking about digital assets. Peirce, speaking at the SUSS [Singapore University of Social Sciences] Convergence Forum, addressed the audience about innovation – something that frequently makes regulators nervous. Change is hard. Alluding to… Read More

August 1, 2019 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital bank Revolut is now offering commission-free stock trading service. Revolut has indicated its intent to offer a brokerage service in the past. The Fintech is now allowing Revolut Metal customers first access with access to all customers being rolled out in the coming weeks…. Read More

August 1, 2019 @ 1:28 am By JD Alois  |  

In 2018, investment crowdfunding rules were improved after years of debate and discussion between industry leaders and politicians. Frequently referred to as  “crowd-sourced funding” in Australia, in brief, the rules now allow for an issuer to raise up to $5 million in an online offering… Read More