October 23, 2016 @ 6:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with the National Standardization Committee, Chinese Blockchain Technology and others have published a white-paper on Blockchain technology. The document has been in the works since this past August. The Bank of England stated recently that 24… Read More

October 22, 2016 @ 4:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

This is another cautionary tale in the world of rewards-based crowdfunding.  Stikbox, a cool selfie-stick that raised money on Kickstarter in January of this year is being challenged with copies from China that are pretty much the same but far less expensive. The creator has… Read More

October 22, 2016 @ 3:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Amicus is queued up to become a digital challenger bank as it has filed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for a banking license. Currently, Amicus has three specialist divisions including property finance, commercial finance and asset finance.  The new… Read More

October 22, 2016 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed another cooperation agreement to help propel mutual interests in Fintech development.  MAS has signed an agreement to cooperate with the government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP), a state in India. Andhra Pradesh is one of 29 states and… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 4:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a brief update, real estate crowdfunding platform RealtyMogul.com reported the platform has now returned over $50 million in principle and interest to investors. RealtyMogul.com called the accomplishment a “significant milestone for the company and the category. Investors have had zero principle loss since the… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 2:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

In many urban markets bicycle theft is rampant.  Easy to steal and easy to sell, if you ride an expensive bike in a big city you take a big risk. Skunklock is a new product that wants to help thwart potential thieves and they are… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 12:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

As everyone knows by now (or at least they should), small and medium-sized businesses are vital for economic growth and prosperity. SMEs are the job creators in the UK – and around the world. The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) has worked diligently to promote… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Katipult has launched new software designed to power UK peer to peer lending platforms. Katipult has partnered with payment platform Mangopay in their European push.  Katipult, based in Canada, is a white label software provider that facilitates investment crowdfunding / P2P lending in over 20… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Irish born but Asia based, First Circle has received $1.2 million in seed funding led by Key Capital and IMJ Investment Partners.  The online lender is targeting SME in the Philippines first but plans on expanding across Southeast Asia. Speaking with Businessworld.ie, Patrick Lynch, the… Read More

October 21, 2016 @ 2:00 am By JD Alois  |  

2016 is the Year of Fintech in Hong Kong Hong Kong is on the growing list of countries that see Fintech as strategically important for their regional economy and global competitiveness. This past week, in a speech delivered in New York City, Hong Kong Financial… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 8:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has scheduled a meeting to consider proposed amendments related to Rules 147 and 504 – securities regulations that impact intrastate crowdfunding.  The meeting of the Commission is scheduled to commence at 10AM on Wednesday, October 26 at SEC HQ in Washington, DC. The… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

CommonBond’s 3rd Securitization CommonBond has closed securitization of $168 million in refinanced student loans. The online lending platform reported a rating of ‘A1’ from Moody’s and ‘AA (low)’ from DBRS. The securitization was backed by $178 million in collateral. Goldman Sachs served as joint-lead managers and bookrunners… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

FINRA is a non-governmental entity that acts as a financial regulator over a wide swath of the financial industry.  Their mission is to detect and prevent wrongdoing in the US financial markets. FINRA also has enforcement powers. Last year alone they rendered over 1500 disciplinary… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) and Orchard Platform have signed an agreement where Orchard will provide a scalable solution to manage the  reporting for institutional investors purchasing loans via the OnDeck Marketplace. The agreement will also provide OnDeck with access to the entire Orchard for Originators product… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 7:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Christian Catalini, a Professor at MIT Sloan School of Managment and one of the leading academics in the crowdfunding sector, recently published a new video sharing his views on the emerging investment crowdfunding sector. Catalini has long followed both the rewards iteration and accredited crowdfunding under… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 1:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

As expected, Fundrise has officially launched three new eREITs described as a “revolutionary direct to investor crowdfunding model.”  These new real estate investment vehicles will put Fundrise “on track” to raise a quarter of a billion dollars during the coming year.  Fundrise now lists 5… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

This past weekend, Crowdfund Insider reported that China government officials published a list of restrictions for peer to peer lenders. These were largely a rehash of previously revealed regulations directed towards internet finance and more specifically peer to peer lending. But the Chinese government is… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

A report published by IW Capital, that researched 2000 UK consumers and citizens, stated that 30% of respondents are looking towards EIS investments in this historically low-interest rate environment.  The Bank of England pegged interest rates at 0.25% following Brexit, the lowest level in British… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 8:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Dow Jones VentureSource is reporting that Q3 2016 venture capital declined noticeably in comparison to Q2 and slightly versus same quarter year prior. The report states that 20 European venture capital funds raised €1.23 billion during 3Q 2016. Comparing 2Q 2016, total capital raised experienced… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 7:22 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has released data for member platforms for Q3 2016. According to their numbers, new P2P loans hit £700,374,000 driving cumulative lending to just under £6.5 billion. Aggregate lending was an improvement over year prior quarter indicating ongoing… Read More