January 29, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bittrex International has joined the Universal Protocol Alliance which announced the creation of the “Universal Dollar” or UPUSD stablecoin last fall. The founding members of the Alliance include; Uphold, Cred, Blockchain at Berkeley, and Brave. Each entity supports a “universal transparent reserve and custody standard that… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital bank Revolut has announced a new agreement with London-based Regtech ClauseMatch. According to a release from ClauseMatch, following a successful trial period the bank is adopting the regulatory technology to streamline management of internal policies, controls, and regulatory compliance. The trial period only took… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Oxygen, a digital-only bank targeting freelancers, has received $2.3 million in funding to boost their team and fuel growth.  Oxygen claims more than 13,000 bank accounts opened over the last several months, a single digit default rate and a 19% return on capital. Oxygen says… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

CipherTrace is out with a report on cryptocurrency scams and fraud. It is widely known that crypto suffers from rampant acts of theft and cons as these digital assets have become the targets of global criminals seeking an easy payday or simply to launder illicit… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

In a report this past weekend, Kik – a Canada based company, indicated its intent to battle an anticipated enforcement action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to WSJ.com, Kik is willing to go to the mat with the Commission in the… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 8:06 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued another warning regarding bogus websites promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency investments that are claimed to be supported by the government of Singapore. MAS provided a single example of a fabricated CNBC site that prominently states: “Singapore Officially Backs a… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 7:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital challenger bank Revolut has provided some additional details into their strategy for international expansion. Long forecasted, the global rollout of the bank has yet to breach the confines of Europe. To facilitate the expansion, Revolut said they are creating an “elite global licensing team”… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 11:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Shamoil T. Shipchandler, the Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has departed the agency, according to a note by the SEC. During his tenure in Fort Worth, Shipchandler pursued some “novel cases” including cryptocurrency fraud. Shipchandler oversaw a team… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 10:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

AW Blockchain Mining has filed a Form 1-A with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating its intent to launch a security token offering (STO) seeking a max raise of $50 million. The Reg A+ Offering Circular states that the company seeks to issue 50,000,000 shares… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 9:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Australian online lender Prospa has published a note reporting its services have boosted the Aussie economy by $3.65 billion in GDP. This amount apparently helps to maintain over 52,000 full-time jobs. The Fintech partnered with the RFi Group and the Centre for International Economics (CIE),… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 8:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House of Representatives passed several bills today and included in the mix was the Financial Technology Protection Act, (H.R. 56). The legislation was introduced by Congressman Stephen Lynch and Congressman Ted Budd and garnered bi-partisan support. The bill establishes an “Independent Financial Technology Task… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 4:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA recently posted their annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter. As part of the letter, FINRA stated they would be evaluating how firms conduct suitability analyses as well as communications and AML requirements for both Reg D 506c and Reg A+ offerings. These two exemptions… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 2:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

US-based investment crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder (not to be confused with the UK based Crowdfunder) may be in trouble. Recently, CI viewed a copy of an email that appears to indicate that the company will restructure soon. According to a Dear Fellow Shareholders email, while certain shareholders… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 1:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Blockathon Ireland, a blockchain hackathon for Public Services hosted by the Government of Ireland, has announced the winners of the competition portion of the event. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in association with The Department of Finance, brought together nine technical teams with… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 11:44 am By JD Alois  |  

While there seems to be a newly minted crypto exchange or marketplace minted every week, today we learn about on that is shutting down. In a “Dear Users” post, Liqui announced that its “Crypto Exchange journey” had come to an end. Due to insufficient liquidity… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a note from the company, cryptocurrency exchange HubrisOne will launch an equity crowdfunding offer on an equity crowdfunding platform this week. The offering will first be launched to insiders that have downloaded the App. While HubrisOne posted on Medium in December the offering… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulation is a big deal. GDPR was designed to better protect consumers and their digitized information. While clearly not perfect, GDPR is the direct result of big corporations failing their customers with poor security protocols, lackluster attention to cyberfraud… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Curve, an App based smart card that combines all of your credit and debit cards on a single (digital and physical) card, has announced the return of American Express support. Curve revealed last November that they were “bringing Amex back.”  The return of Amex support… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 9:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, FINRA issued its annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter for 2019. The letter is a reference point as to what FINRA expects to target in the coming year. The missive includes an opening by FINRA President and CEO, Robert Cook, who said… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is back on the job as President Trump signed a bill that will re-open the government for three weeks – until February 15th. The closure of federal offices was due to a political spat between the Democrats and the… Read More