January 17, 2025 @ 4:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is operational as of today. DORA aims to harmonize the rules regarding digital operational resilience that apply to financial services firms like banks and more. DORA seeks to improve the incident reporting methodology with a single network which should… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 3:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Upstream, “a stock exchange for digital securities,” says it is now accepting Tethere – USDT or USDC dollar-based stablecoins. USDT os the largest stablecoin by market cap at $137.5 billion. USDC is the second largest. Upstream is part of MERJ, a regulated stock exchange based… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that it had settled charges against Digital Currency Group Inc. (DCG), and Soichoro “Michael” Moro, the former CEO of DCG’s now-defunct subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital LLC. The settlement entails the payment of a civil penalty of $38.5 million. The… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 11:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Cynthia Lummis has sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) telling the regulator not to destroy any information concerning the agency’s attempt to undermine digital asset innovation. It has been widely reported that the FDIC used its power and influence to… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 11:24 am By JD Alois  |  

MiCA, or markets in crypto markets regulation, aims to create bright-line rules in Europe to enable digital asset innovation. While not regulating digital securities, MiCA covers just about everything else, including stablecoin regulation. The EU wants to encourage the development of new products and services… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 10:57 am By JD Alois  |  

China state-affiliated entities have been hacking both public and private organizations in the US for years now. This is part of China’s goal to usurp the US as the world’s top superpower.  In an embarrassing revelation, the US Department of Treasury was hacked, including, apparently,… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Estateguru, an online investment platform for small loans, said that investors received over €36 million in repayments during Q4 of 2024. This includes both principal and interest, with €3 million earned as interest by investors. During the quarter, investors funded €20.6 million in loans, each… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 8:40 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) telling them to modify rules designed to address custodial deposits. The letter was sent in response to proposed rulemaking on the accounts. The FTA says it supports the FDIC’s… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 5:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Scott Bessant, incoming President Donald Trump’s selection to become the Secretary of the Treasury, is not supportive of a CBDC or central bank digital currency. A graduate of Yale, Bessent is a hedge fund manager who worked for George Soros at one time, but today,… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 1:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report from online lender Biz2Credit claims that SME earnings cratered during the fourth quarter of 2024. According to the firm, there was a noted decline in activity during December. The Small Business Earnings Report for December 2024 indicates that the average monthly net income was $83,083… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 12:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Tokyo University of Science in Japan shares that a recent “breakthrough” will improve AI applications in finance, weather forecasting, and speech recognition. The innovation involves reservoir computing (RC). Researchers Dr. Masanobu Inubushi and Ms. Akane Ohkubo at the university have developed a “novel readout… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Blackrock (NASDAQ:BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, reported over $11.6 trillion in assets as of the fourth quarter – a record amount. The growth in assets fueled a rise in earnings of $1.67 billion, or an EPS of $10.63, from $1.38 billion, or an EPS… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shared that it has settled with crypto lender Plutus Lending, LLC by paying a civil penalty of $1.65 million. According to the SEC, Plutus, doing business as Abra, offered a retail crypto asset lending product, Abra Earn –… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 11:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Juno Technologies says it has raised $1 million to pursue its artificial intelligence service that aims to improve loan processing for small firms. Fuel Ventures led the funding round with contributions from Zinc and other Angel investors. Juno AI is described as a generative AI… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 11:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK inflation (Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs – CPIH) declined slightly in an unexpected development. Inflation was measured at an annual rate of 2.5% in December, down from November at 2.6%. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.3%… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representative French Hill, the new House Financial Services Committee Chairman, has announced a new entity: the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force. Representative Frank Lucas (OK-03) will lead the new Task Force. Hill said the reason for the Task Force was… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 12:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

It’s been a tough few years with challenging inflation, high interest rates, and tepid capital markets. While there are many indications the world has turned the corner, for Fintechs and access to capital, 2024 was a dismal year. Innovate Finance, a UK association that advocates… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

When he is not running X, Tesla, or SpaceX, advising the President, or playing video games, Elon Musk is on X sharing information and his opinion on many global topics. Today, like every day, Musk is Xing, but this time, he is seeking developers to… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a report addressing crowdfunding in the EU. Not too long ago, the EU approved new rules addressing online capital formation. European Crowdfunding Service Provider regulation (ECSPR) allows a platform approved by the relevant authority in its home… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 8:24 am By JD Alois  |  

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) reported net revenues of $53.51 billion and net earnings of $14.28 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024 pleasing Wall Street analysts.  Earnings per share were reported at $40.54 for 2024 and was $11.95 for the fourth quarter of 2024… Read More