May 22, 2018 @ 9:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Downing LLP has announced a funding partnership with Pivot Power to help financing a network of rapid EV charing stations and grid-connected batteries. Described as a “world first,” Downing will provide a key investment in the initial stage of 2GW network charging stations across the UK…. Read More

May 22, 2018 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Advisory pertaining to “virtual currencies” and “derivative product listings.” The CFTC staff states: “Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) staff believes it is important to encourage innovation and growth in these products, but within an… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 5:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Singapore based Huobi Group, a crypto exchange and blockchain solutions provider, has appointed the former OKEx CEO, Chris Lee as Board Secretary and Vice President of Global Business Development. Lee will be leading Huobi Group’s global M&A strategy and oversee the development of international teams…. Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 2:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The “West Coast’s Largest Cryptocurrency And Blockchain Event” has scheduled a second event for later this year. Following the gangbuster success last month, Crypto Invest Summit will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 22nd. The organizers say that after the Spring event… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 2:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today was the first meeting of the UK Cryptoassets Taskforce. The previously announced group involves the participation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England (BoE), HM Treasury and other Senior government officials. Some of the named participants include, Katharine Braddick, Director General of… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

The Economist has published a report on digital banking and the need for established banks to become more agile and adapt to the changes in technology. The document has been published with the support of Temenos, a provider of banking and finance software. The Temenos… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Insurtech Bestow Inc. has announced a $15 million Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures, with participation from existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Core Innovation Capital, 8VC, and Morpheus Ventures. Valar was founded by James Fitzgerald, Andrew McCormack and Peter Thiel. Bestow says total… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 9:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published their 9th annual report on scam activity in Australia.  As one may expect, investment scams posted the highest amount of loss in 2017 with reports to “Scamwatch” and ACORN exceeding $64.6 million (Dating and romance scams’ were… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 7:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and Akamai Technologies, have announced the development of a new blockchain service. This new partnership seeks to create “the world’s most scalable and fastest payment processing platform” with a capacity to… Read More

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

Fundrise, an online real estate investment platform, has just filed a Reg A+ update with the Securities and Exchange Commission that updates on their equity eREIT offering. Several years old now, the eREIT offering circular indicates the company has sold approximately $73 million in shares… Read More

May 20, 2018 @ 3:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week the Chinese National Committee of Experts on the Financial Security Technology issued a report highlighting fraud in the cryptocurrency marketplace. The government sponsored group pointed to 421 “fake virtual currencies coming from overseas.” China has effectively banned cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings…. Read More

May 19, 2018 @ 1:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sugru, a high profile consumer product company that crowdfunded on Crowdcube, has been sold at a significant loss to early investors. Sugru raised over £4 million in several crowdfunding campaigns on the platform. The most recent being in 2017 when a 4.62% equity stake was… Read More

May 19, 2018 @ 12:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Republic, a mission driven investment crowdfunding platform that enables companies to raise money by selling securities including initial coin offerings, has provided an update on their progress. Shared on the 2 year anniversary of when Reg CF became actionable, Republic shares the following stats: To… Read More

May 18, 2018 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) released its annual report this past week. As part of the release, Chairman of the AMF Robert Ophèle delivered a speech highlighting important issues and challenges within the financial markets. During his speech, Ophèle commented on “toxic investments.” While first addressing binary… Read More

May 18, 2018 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that new legislation enacted to regulate the offering of digital assets, including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and businesses undertaking these activities, is now effective. A public hearing is scheduled to take place on the regulations at a future… Read More

May 17, 2018 @ 7:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

Small Change was the first real estate crowdfunding platform in the US to use the Reg CF exemption to offer non accredited investors the option to invest in property online. Recently, Small Change has listed their first side-by-side Reg D 506c / Reg CF offering… Read More

May 17, 2018 @ 7:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Parliament, Committee on Research, Industry and Energy, passed a blockchain resolution yesterday (May 16th) capturing solid support with 56 in favor and 3 opposed.. The resolution included a section on initial coin offerings. European Parliament resolution on Distributed ledger technologies and blockchains: building… Read More

May 17, 2018 @ 12:04 am By JD Alois  |  

FinTech Australia has revealed the finalists for their 2018 Finnie Awards. Fintech focused companies are competing for 23 different categories. Overall, 89 companies were selected as finalists from over 200 submissions. The finalists were reviewed by 81 domestic and international judges. The Finalists are as follows:… Read More

May 16, 2018 @ 11:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Brad Kitschke has been selected as the new CEO of FinTech Australia. Kitschke follows in the footsteps of founding CEO Danielle Szetho who announced her resignation earlier this year. Sarah Worboys acted as interim CEO during the executive search. Kitschke has a history of working with… Read More

May 16, 2018 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has created a bogus website to highlight the scam riddled initial coin offering (ICO) industry. The mock site, HoweyCoins.com, touts a “too good to be true” investment opportunity seeking to mimic a fraudulent… Read More