January 6, 2019 @ 2:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a press release, the China Banking Association (CBA) announced the launch of the long-anticipated “China Trade and Finance Interbank Trading Blockchain Platform.” Officially, the project kicked off on December 29th. The centrally controlled project was was established to standardize the digitization of “transaction information of… Read More

January 5, 2019 @ 4:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lithuania wants to be the leading Fintech hub in Europe. Beginning in 2013, the small Baltic nation decided to take action and become one of the EU’s “hottest destinations for Fintech.” Mantas Katinas, MD of Invest Lithuania – the public entity leading the Fintech charge in… Read More

January 5, 2019 @ 2:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset platform Circle has published interesting insight into platform performance during 2018. According to the company, 2018 was a “whirlwind of a year.” Circle states that they currently serve over 8 million customers from all around the world. Transactions totaled $75 billion during the… Read More

January 5, 2019 @ 9:10 am By JD Alois  |  

PeerStreet, a real estate crowdfunding platform that has crafted an interesting niche that pairs retail investors with institutional money, has posted an update on 2018 performance. PeerStreet, having funded $1 billion in debt based financing during 2018 has now topped $1.7 billion in real estate… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 3:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

On December 24th, the French Government issued a decree (Décret n°2018-1226 du 24 décembre 2018) outlining the utilization of blockchain for securities. Specifically, for the “use of a shared electronic recording device for the representation and transmission of financial securities and for the issue and sale… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital bank Monzo is preparing to cross the Atlantic and enter the US market, according to a report in Techcrunch. “Multiple sources” have substantiated the rumblings of Monzo’s pending US expansion. This should come as no surprise to many as several other digital banks, such… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 9:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Huobi DM, Huobi Group’s new cryptocurrency contract trading service, is reporting cumulative trading volume topping $12 billion in its first full month of operation. According to Huobi, their contract trading service enables users to take long and short positions on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and EOS (EOS),… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 8:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, Google – or Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) was approved for an Electronic Money Institution license from the Bank of Lithuania. The license will enable Google to issue electronic money, handle electronic money wallets, perform remittances, payment transactions, provide cash deposit and withdrawal services, as well… Read More

January 4, 2019 @ 7:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Online property lender LendInvest is reporting their best month ever in December. According to the platform, £83 million was lent for UK properties during the month. LendInvest receives the backing of both retail and professional investors. LendInvest said the record-breaking amount of originations was fueled by several changes… Read More

January 3, 2019 @ 10:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fintech, or financial innovation, is pervasive within the financial services industry. Innovation has always existed in this sector of business but the advent of the internet combined with the creativity of risk taking entrepreneurs has engendered an accelerated period of disruptive change in finance. Think about… Read More

January 3, 2019 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced in a press release this past week, the State of New York has launched a cryptocurrency task force. The state is claiming this group will be the first of its kind to “study how to properly regulate, define and use cryptocurrency.” The task force is… Read More

January 3, 2019 @ 9:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) has issued a statement indicating they will be paying their Ohio taxes using the newly launched OhioCrypto.com site announced in November by Treasurer of Ohio Josh Mandel. Overstock CEO and blockchain advocate Patrick M. Byrne said in the announcement: “We have long thought… Read More

January 2, 2019 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Online lender iwoca is now connected to both Barclays and HSBC under Open Banking rules, according to a note from the company. iwoca claims to be the first ever business lender to connect with any of the UK’s nine largest banks under Open Banking when… Read More

January 2, 2019 @ 1:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bakkt, a digital asset exchange that is an offshoot of the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), has raised $182.5 million in their first funding round. The news was revealed in a New Year’s Eve blog post by Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler. ICE is the parent company of the… Read More

December 31, 2018 @ 10:25 am By JD Alois  |  

In a blog post, UK crowdfunding platform Seedrs shared that it has now topped £500 million in investment crowdfunding. The money has been raised for 720 deals that have been successfully funded since the platform launched. Seedrs co-founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Lynn stated: “It’s… Read More

December 30, 2018 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission (EC) recently announced a European investment plan designed to boost access to capital to Spanish SMEs and “midcap investment projects.” The plan is for the European Investment Bank Group and BBVA to provide €360 million for these smaller businesses. A €60 million “synthetic… Read More

December 30, 2018 @ 10:33 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), updated rules for securitization will commence on January 1st, 2019 in the European Union (EU). The new “harmonized” rules are designed to streamline the process of financial services firms to leverage securitization to boost access to capital…. Read More

December 28, 2018 @ 11:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Netherlands based crypto firm Libereum has acquired the Spanish football club Elche CF, according to a note from the company. Libereum said the purchase was conditioned on a bank guarantee of € 4.3 million as a 1st downpayment.  Libereum believes there is the potential for Elche CF to return to… Read More

December 28, 2018 @ 8:50 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a brief statement in light of the government shutdown predicated by the political impasse between the Trump administration and Congress. President Trump has said he will not sign a bill funding the government unless funding for… Read More

December 28, 2018 @ 8:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution (ACPR) added many more names of websites that are allegedly offering cryptocurrency trading and access to crypto-based derivatives. The AMF said these sites lack the necessary authorization… Read More