April 26, 2019 @ 11:15 am By JD Alois  |  

SeedInvest, one of the leading US-based investment crowdfunding platforms, has received regulatory approval from FINRA to operate a secondary marketplace for securities via an alternative trading system (ATS). SeedInvest is the first traditional crowdfunding platform to receive an ATS license. Providing liquidity for private securities… Read More

April 26, 2019 @ 8:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum has published a “thematic report” on blockchain adoption. The project is an initiative by the European Commission. This first report is one of a series of documents which is expected to be published over the coming months. The… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 9:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

New York Attorney General Letitia James has obtained a court order against crypto exchange Bitfinex ( iFinex Inc.) and stablecoin Tether alleging violations of New York law in connection with “ongoing activities that may have defrauded New York investors that trade in virtual or cryptocurrency…. Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 1:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the new members of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. The Committee will hold its first meeting on Monday, May 6, 2019, at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Committee replaces the Advisory Committee on… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 12:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report in the Times asks pointed questions regarding a crowdfunding campaign by Recruitive Software that may have failed to disclose material information regarding the firm while the securities offering was ongoing. The Times states: “A collapsed software developer failed to disclose that it had… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 11:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Crypto security firm has shuffled its executive bench. In a blog post yesterday, Eric Larchevêque, Ledger Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, announced that the company’s President, Pascal Gauthier, has been bumped up to CEO. Larchevêque explained the transition: “With the ever-growing challenge of managing such a… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

France is a country that is aggressively pursuing blockchain innovation. Crowdfund Insider’s recent coverage of Paris Blockchain Week highlighted this fact as both policymakers and innovators appear to be on the same page. Now, big banking is moving forward in the crypto space by actually… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 9:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Innovate Finance, an association that advocates on behalf of the UK’s robust Fintech industry, has shared some numbers quantifying Fintech sector investment during Q1 of 2019. Culled from Pitchbook data, Innovate Finance says that UK Fintech investment is going gangbusters in comparison to the same… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week Crowdcube published a quarterly report providing additional insight into the crowdfunding platforms operations. The UK based platform published the following comparative metrics indicating significant growth versus the same quarter year prior: Key metrics for Q1 2019 compared to Q1 2018 £1.8 million revenue; an… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA, the lead regulator for broker-dealers in the US, has opened up an Office of Financial Innovation in recognition of the growing importance of Fintech. Haimera Workie, currently a Senior Director at FINRA, will become its inaugural chief. FINRA President and CEO Robert W. Cook… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 4:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Small businesses create the majority of jobs in the US – just like many other developed economies. With jobs comes wealth and prosperity. If this job creation engine shuts down, as we have seen in the last recession, its a disaster. According to the US… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 3:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

SeedInvest, an online capital formation platform that claims over 250,000 registered investors (50,000 accredited), is planning a significant expansion. SeedInvest is a full stack crowdfunding platform leveraging all three securities exemptions to raise capital online from seed stage an up. In the fall of 2018,… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

TrustToken is all in on Stablecoins having just announced four new Stablecoins each backed by fiat currency. TrustToken is launching the following stablecoins: TrueAUD, TrueEUR, TrueCAD, and TrueHKD. As one would expect, these coins represent Australian Dollars, Euros, Canadian dollars and Hong Kong Dollars. TrueAUD… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 10:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted the agenda for the upcoming Fintech Forum scheduled to take place on May 31st. The event, entitled the 2019  Fintech Forum, will take place at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC. It will simultaneously be live-streamed on the… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 9:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is on his way out. Originally, Carney was expected to step down in June of 2019. At the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Carney was asked to extend his term as the UK attempted to manage Brexit… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 7:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Gifto, a company that completed a $30 million initial coin offering (ICO) in less than a minute, has bailed on Ethereum. In a blog post, Gifto said they have “tremendous respect for the Ethereum community,” but that respect apparently does not transfer over to confidence… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 10:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Venture capital deals in Europe during Q1 were pretty strong, according to the most recent Dow Jones Venture Capital Report. According to the publication, VC funding “surged” in Q1 22% – the second best quarter on record. In total, €6.79 billion was raised for 743… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Many crypto sector platforms are seeking to be approved as “alternative trading systems” or ATSs. An ATS can be very similar to an exchange with a different set of reporting requirements which are not quite as stringent. OTC Markets, a securities marketplace that many people… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 10:39 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based furniture brand Hayche has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs seeking a minimum raise of £125,009 on a pre-money valuation £2,001,015. Hayche is offering a 5.88% equity stake in their company and, as of today, the company has received the backing of… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 9:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Beginning today, LendingClub (NYSE: LC) will connect small business borrowers seeking a loan on their online lending platform with both Funding Circle and Opportunity Fund. The initiative is being pitched as a collaboration designed to substantially increase small business owners’ access to transparent, affordable and… Read More