October 25, 2018 @ 3:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Abundance, a peer-to-peer “ethical investment platform,” is looking to raise growth capital on crowdfunding platform Seedrs. According to a note from Abundance, the equity raise aims to “increase customer ownership and boost positive impact.” Pre-registered investors have already committed to 50% of the target of… Read More

October 24, 2018 @ 7:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved Coinbase to form Coinbase Custody Trust Company. Additionally, DFS has approved Coinbase to Custody Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ether Classic, Litecoin and XRP. Providing a custody service is vital for the participation of institutional… Read More

October 24, 2018 @ 8:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Neufund, a leading Germany-based Fintech startup and security token issuance platform, published an open letter to the German Bundestag today. The letter was in response to a recent court ruling in Germany that determined Bitcoin was not a financial instrument. The case centered around a… Read More

October 23, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) hit the popular media screen during 2017 with stories of outrageous sums of money being raised online – sometimes under questionable circumstances. In total, according to EY, $4.1 billion was raised for the top ICOs during 2017. In 2018, that number… Read More

October 23, 2018 @ 1:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Hong Kong based Fintech Neat has received USD $3 million in funding led by China-based VC firm Linear Capital. Neat is a bank alternative and claims to already have customers in more than 100 countries, delivering a fully digital alternative to a traditional bank account. Neat… Read More

October 23, 2018 @ 12:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Deputy Director of Trading and Markets Gary Goldsholle has joined the law firm Steptoe & Johnson as a partner – a law firm where he previously worked. Goldsholle spent almost four years at the SEC and was at the forefront of… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 5:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Y-Combinator grad Synthetic Minds has just announced a $5.5 million seed round led by Pantera Capital and Khosla Ventures. Synthetic Minds is tech that works to bullet proof smart contracts. According to founder Saurabh Srivastava, they protect smart contracts by “using formal methods to synthesize their… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 3:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

PeerStreet, a crowdfunding platform for real estate loans, has been recognized as one of the fastest growing Fintech startups in the US. The 2nd annual CB Insights Fintech 25o list has included PeerStreet for the 2nd year in a row. PeerStreet was founded in 2013 and… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 2:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an order to suspend trading in shares of American Retail Group, Inc. which trade on OTC Markets (OTC:ARGB). Trading was said to be halted due to “statements about partnering with a claimed SEC-qualified custodian for use with… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 1:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK), via subsidiary Medici Ventures, has invested in Minds, Inc. a cryptocurrency social network. The investment will be joined by Overstock founder and CEO Patrick Byrne joining the board of directors of Mind. Details on the amount invested were not disclosed. Patrick M. Byrne,… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 1:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

As we predicted just yesterday, Goldman Sachs will move into the wealth management space, according to a note by CNBC. The additional service was alluded to in the most recent Goldman earnings call which took place last week. The new financial advisor service will most… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 9:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is reporting that investors attending the Singapore FinTech Festival have committed to investing $12 billion into ASEAN firms over the next two years. The 380 investors plan to dedicate USD $6.2 billion over the next year and an additional… Read More

October 22, 2018 @ 3:00 am By JD Alois  |  

DESICO, a platform designed issue and trade tokenized securities that says it is in full compliance with the law, will issue its own security token offering (STO). The “DESI” tokens will be issued under EU law as DESICO is based in both Paris and Vilnius. DESICO… Read More

October 21, 2018 @ 11:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Group-IB, a company that provides computer forensics and cybersecurity services large international companies, published a report last week the put a number to the frequent cryptocurrency exchange hacks that seem to happen on a weekly basis.  According to Group-IB, attacks during 2017 and through Q3… Read More

October 21, 2018 @ 8:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

LATTICE80, a Fintech Hub that migrated its headquarters from Singapore to London, reports it will open a new Fintech Hub in Hong Kong. Supported by the Marvelstone Group, LATTICE80 seeks to connect Fintech Startups, Financial Institutions & Corporates, Government Institutions and the Public to build… Read More

October 21, 2018 @ 8:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) shared their 3rd quarter earnings report. Buried within the report was an update on Marcus, the digital bank and online lender that recently crossed the Atlantic setting up a beachhead in Europe by opening up in the UK in late September…. Read More

October 21, 2018 @ 1:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine has published their tally of Reg CF crowdfunding campaigns for the month of September. According to their numbers published on their StartEngine Index, September showed a solid increase in total raised on active CF funding portals. StartEngine reports that $8.7 million was raised under… Read More

October 20, 2018 @ 7:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Those high-flying initial coin offerings (ICOs) that launched in 2017 have lost their luster, according to a report by EY. The global consultancy firm has recently published a report that states in the first half of 2018, 86% of the leading ICOs that listed on… Read More

October 20, 2018 @ 6:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawless, ill-conceived, and destabilizing of financial markets. While most level headed individuals will have the opinion this statement best describes the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) and their anti-Fintech point of view, think again. This is how the DFS describes the Office… Read More

October 20, 2018 @ 1:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following the acquisition of WePay back in 2017, JP Morgan Chase is building upon its Fintech venture with a new Fintech campus in Silicon Valley, according to multiple reports. According to a blog post on WePay, a prominent Fintech in the payments space, JPM will… Read More