February 13, 2018 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Sharestates, an online real estate investment platform, has been added to the Arizona Banking Department roster of lenders. With this state level approval, Sharestates says it will now offer their loan products to the real estate speculation and development community in a new statewide effort…. Read More

February 13, 2018 @ 8:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Tipalti, a global payables platform, has closed on a $30 million Series C financing round led by Zeev Ventures bringing total funding to date at over $50 million. Tipalti’s cloud-based payables automation platform helps scale payable operations and is an alternative to manual legacy accounts… Read More

February 13, 2018 @ 7:32 am By JD Alois  |  

BitGrail, the Italy-based cryptocurrency exchange that experienced a theft of 17 million NANO (XRB) – about $153 million at current exchange rates, has posted an update today regarding the hack. The good news for users of the exchange is Bitgrail states all other cryptocurrencies reman… Read More

February 13, 2018 @ 1:39 am By JD Alois  |  

In March of 2014, the Internal Revenue Service issued  an FAQ on digital currencies and the tax treatment of transactions in crypto like Bitcoin. In brief, the IRS said that virtual currency should be treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes. “General tax principles that… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 10:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Current Media closed its private sale initial coin offering raising $36 million this past week. The company claims that it had signed up 250,000 people interested in the public ICO but management has since decided to skip the public sale and do a $4 million Airdrop… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 4:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sentinel Chain, a platform that is the midst of a token sale, announced last week that a vulnerability had been uncovered that exposed sensitive user info. Founder and CEO Roy Lai, posting on Medium, shared the problem to the Sentinel Chain community; “… one of… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, tweeted out last week that certain credit card issuers were blocking transactions on its exchange. These bank based cards included; JPM Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Capital One. So what’s up with that? Well,… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 9:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Sure. There are plenty of legitimate initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency platforms. But for every business that is attempting to operate a real business there are a handful that should have never existed at all. BitConnect is one of those companies and it is no… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 8:32 am By JD Alois  |  

The State of New Jersey has issued an emergency order halting Bitstrade, a firm that promised “investment profit guaranteed” via cryptocurrency related investment plans. Bitstrade posts that 960 “happy investors” have used their services. Bitstrade claims to be able to return 10% interest accrued daily… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 7:41 am By JD Alois  |  

App-only banking start-up Fiinu, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs. The offer seeks £500,000 for a 6.67% equity stake at a pre-money valuation of £7 million. The aspiring digital challenger bank wants to throw its hat into the ring of Fintech firms competing… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 3:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Blockchain Bundesverband has published a position paper on initial coin offerings regarding important regulatory considerations.  The focus is largely on the European Union, and specifically Germany, but the discussion has global considerations regarding exchanges and public policy in general. Much of the world… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 2:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitgrail is the next cryptocurrency exchange to experience an unfortunate hack – an event that highlights profound problems within the exchange space as cyber security continues to fall short. According to a post on the Bitgrail website, the company said internal checks revealed “unauthorized transactions which… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

FinTech4Good Blockchain Incubator will be Launched concurrent with the DC Digital Asset Investment Forum (DAIF) on Feb.20th, 2018, in Washington, DC. Organized by FinTech4Good, this will be the second forum of FinTech4Good’s DAIF global series in the year of 2018, after the successful launch of… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 9:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at the Milken Institute’s first MENA Summit in Abu Dhabi this week, Cameron Winklevoss explained his opinion that Bitcoin is poised to disrupt gold – in fact it is better than the world’s most favorite commodity safe haven. The Winklevoss twins became well-known because… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 7:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Financial Services Department has issued memo on virtual currencies and the entities in the space the Department regulates. The Guidance, signed by Superintendent of Financial Services Maria Vullo, states that in light of the development of virtual currency related markets the… Read More

February 10, 2018 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to multiple reports, two Russian engineers were detained by authorities for attempting to use computers at the Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Physics which is based in Sarov, Russia. The facility is said to be where the first Soviet nuclear weapon was produced in… Read More

February 10, 2018 @ 8:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released a revised “Guideline on Authorization of Virtual Banks” as part of a public consultation. Hong Kong, initially slow to embrace the Fintech revolution, has since increased their innovative velocity in financial services. The HKMA welcomes digital challenger… Read More

February 9, 2018 @ 5:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued another alert regarding the risks of investing in initial coin offerings (ICOs) and dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. Last fall, the SFC fired a shot across the bow of ICO issuers stating certain ICOs may… Read More

February 9, 2018 @ 12:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

“Open banking regime will empower customers, enhance competition and drive Australian innovation” FinTech Australia today welcomed news that the Australian Government will legislate to empower customers by requiring banks to allow these customers to access their own data. The Government has published a report on… Read More

February 9, 2018 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

tZero, a subsidiary of Overstock and led by founder Patrick Byrne, has filed an updated Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  tZero is in the midst of an initial coin offering (ICO) which is listed on Saftlaunch.  tZero is a bit of… Read More