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

January 14, 2025 @ 9:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, a move that some will undoubtedly label as politically motivated. Musk, according to the SEC, failed to file a beneficial ownership report in a timely manner when he acquired 5%+ of Twitter – now X…. Read More

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

Recently, CI reported that Silicon Prairie had exited its status as a Funding Portal. A Funding Portal is a relatively new FINRA-regulated intermediary created under the JOBS Act of 2012. Initially viewed as a path for firms to issue securities under Reg CF, most Funding… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 9:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Republic, the largest securities crowdfunding platform in the world, has partnered with Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) to bring digital assets to retail investors. Hamilton Lane is a large private-markets investment firm with more than $947 billion in assets under management and supervision. The firm has… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 9:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Capital One is probably best known for its pithy commercials featuring Jennifer Garner asking, “What’s in your wallet.”  Unfortunately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) believes that Capital One has been cheating its customers, thus questioning if consumers should keep Capital One as a credit… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England and HM Treasury are in the design phase for the creation of a digital pound or central bank digital currency. A consultation paper outlined the framework as a precursor to a possible digital currency. The update by the Bank is said… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Paymentology, audax, and Mastercard have joined to publish a report on Cards-as-a-Service (CaaS). The report is entitled; “Understanding Cards-as-a-Service (CaaS) and the Power of Strategic Partnerships.” The trio described CaaS as transformative, allowing Fintechs, banks, and more to become “distributors of payment services” and generating… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 8:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) won a minor victory in court regarding its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal shared via X that the Third Circuit Court has chastised the SEC for its denial of rulemaking – something… Read More