July 18, 2019 @ 1:06 am By JD Alois  |  

The IOST Foundation has “completed an integration” with Eastern European rewards/donation platform Boomstarter, according to a note from the company. The goal is for the two entities to make $IOST a global fundraising currency to support entrepreneurs and builders in an international expansion plan spanning… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 11:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee, told his fellow members at the Libra hearing today to “go beyond the headlines” when probing Facebook’s project to create a global payment ecosystem. The hours-long hearing saw David Marcus, head of Libra, hammered… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 10:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

tZERO, a subsidiary of Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) and a leader in the security token issuance and trading sector, has announced several new hires. According to the company, Brooke Navarro has been appointed Head of Issuance. Michael Mougias joins tZero as Head of Investor Relations and Alexandra… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 10:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Legion M, a fan-owned film company, has re-opened its Reg A+ offering for round number 5 of crowdfunding. The offer is now live on Wefunder. To date, Legion M reports that it has raised over $7 million via equity crowdfunding, backed by 16,000 fan-investors to… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 6:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of the Economy and supporter of cryptocurrency, has been tweeting about virtual currencies today during meetings of the G7 taking place in France. Le Maire has been a vocal supporter of blockchain technology and a strong voice in support… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 5:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted final judgments in the case of real estate crowdfunding platform iFunding and co-founders William Skelley and Sohin Shah.  The two founders were charged last year by the SEC Enforcement Division regarding allegations of fraud in the misappropriation… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed its Financial Sector Assessment Program for Singapore and has reportedly “reaffirmed” Singapore’s financial sector oversight to be “among the best globally,” according to a release. The IMF said the economic fundamentals of Singapore were strong and its economic… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 2:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed a “Fintech Cooperation Agreement” with the Central Bank of Kenya. The agreement was finalized during the inaugural Afro-Asia Fintech Festival in Nairobi, Kenya. The two entities said they will collaborate to develop digital infrastructure services including KYC… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 1:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fintech software provider Temenos (SIX: TEMN), has acquired Logical Glue Ltd., a UK-based creator of the “Explainable AI” (XAI) platform. In a release, Temenos explained that the acquisition will accelerate Temenos’ artificial intelligence (AI) roadmap by providing AI credit scoring models that are immediately available… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 12:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Innovate Finance has just published its Q2 UK Fintech investment report tallying activity for the first half of 2019. Innovate Finance is a five-year-old private-public partnership group that claims over 250 global members. Supported by the City of London and Broadgate, it is a not-for-profit… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. Yesterday, David Marcus, head of Libra, testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee garnering much criticism and little support. Expect more of the same today. The House… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 9:54 am By JD Alois  |  

Varo Money has been in operations for years now providing banking services in a digital only environment to a growing number of consumers. Like all other US-based aspiring digital banks, Varo has had to leverage regulatory arbitrage to provide its services by partnering with another… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 7:51 am By JD Alois  |  

France will soon reveal its first round of regulatory-compliant initial coin offerings (ICOs) according to a report. The ICOs come following a months-long discussion and conclusion of bespoke legislation to allow for digital assets to be issued and traded which are not deemed to be… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 6:00 am By JD Alois  |  

AlphaSense, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform, has secured $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Innovation Endeavors. AlphaSense already claims over 1000 corporate clients that use its market intelligence service. Other investors in the funding round include Soros Fund Management LLC, through… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 1:47 am By JD Alois  |  

The World Economic Forum and the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, with the support of Accenture, has published a report on the value of blockchain. While there has been more than enough hype regarding distributed ledger technology (DLT) and there remains an ongoing debate as… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 10:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

GOJEK, a Southeast Asian unicorn, has received backing from global credit and payments provider Visa. According to a release, Visa participated in GOJEK’s ongoing Series F funding round for an undisclosed amount.  Other investors include Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and investment from Mitsubishi UFJ… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 2:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Real estate marketplace Roofstock says it has surpassed $1.6 billion in transactions in just three years. Roofstock is a Fintech marketplace that allows investors to participate in single-family investment properties. The number of individual investors increased by 126% during 2018, according to the platform. 75%… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 2:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing today where David Marcus, Head of Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra, took the stand to explain and defend the company’s intent for their payments and blockchain ecosystem. While some US Senators are keen on supporting Fintech innovation in the… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 11:31 am By JD Alois  |  

UK online lending platform LendInvest, a marketplace for property finance, has launched a new “Bridge-to-Let” service for borrowers seeking to refurbish a property before exiting to a Buy-to-Let mortgage. Currently, bridge to let loans are available for amounts from £75,000 to £750,000. Terms are up… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Embedded below is David Marcus’s prepared testimony for the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Facebook’s Libra. “Facebook will not offer the Libra digital currency until we have fully addressed regulatory concerns and received appropriate approvals,” assured Marcus to the Senators in attendance. His testimony today… Read More