August 24, 2016 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Flow Hive the unsuspecting rewards-based crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo that stands as the largest ever for the platform, has now shipped to all backers of the project. While stories persist regarding delays and “failures to deliver” for rewards crowdfunding projects, Flow Hive may now claim… Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 10:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Solar Mosaic, usually just referred to as Mosaic, has raised over $40 million for working capital purposes according to a filing with the SEC.  The equity offer in Mosaic saw its first sale on August 4th with the sales managed by Guggenheim Securities in Manhattan…. Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

LendIt has announced a new partnership with Capital One regarding their annual Fintech startup competition.  Capital One will act as the co-Host for PitchIt@LendIt – scheduled to take place at LendIt Europe this fall in London. Peter Renton, co-founder of LendIt, said they were delighted… Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has opened its Fintech Innovation Lab which has been given the name Looking Glass @MAS.  The reference to the Looking Glass is a nod to Lewis Caroll’s classic novel “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found in There”…. Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 9:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Peter Renton, founder of LendIt and online lending industry advocate, has take to the pages of Lend Academy to defend Lending Club (NYSE:LC) following a critical article by BloombergBusinessweek. The Bloomberg article, co-authored by Max Chafkin and Noah Buhayar, hammered Lending Club by questioning the… Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 8:06 am By JD Alois  |  

A report in ChinaNews is saying The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), along with partner agencies, will release rules regarding online lending that will include lending caps. According to the report, individuals will be able to borrow up to 200,000 CNY (USD $30,000) from any… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 10:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA), along with the help of Crowdnetic, has added some detail to the first 3 months of Reg CF / Title III retail crowdfunding.  CCA describes the progress as a “healthy start”.  Reg CF, a securities exemption that lets small issuers raise… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade & Industry, made the statement; “FinTech is … a critical differentiator for Singapore to remain a leading financial hub in the region. Our finance and insurance sector has been a key growth contributor in recent years, and the… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 8:47 am By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)recently proposed banning arbitration regarding certain  consumer financial agreements and to allow the legal process to take hold in the case of a dispute. The CFPB posted the proposal this past May, outlined as follows: First, the proposed rule would… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 9:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Patch of Land is offering $4 million in a portfolio of single family rental properties in Utah.  The offer is to refinance a grouping of 36 properties in the Ogden / Salt Lake City metro areas.  The deal is structured as four 24 month loans… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 5:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Oppo Ice cream is a bit like the Holy Grail of food: Ice cream that tastes great, is low calorie and is good for you.  The creation of two brothers, Charlie and Harry Thuillier, the duo were exposed to many different natural foods while… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Last week Crowdfund Insider interviewed Sandi Gilbert, CEO and co-founder of SeedUps Canada, on the convoluted regulatory environment established in Canada. The article was in part a follow-up to an earlier article that described the rule-making approach in Canada as Dead in the Water…. Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

An article in WSJ.com today states the “regulatory advantage may be fleeting” for online lenders. The author pointed to an initiative by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that may add new rules for banks working with online lenders that could add cost to these… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores  (CNMV) in Spain has approved Arboribus to operate as a Participatory Financing Platform (PFP) joining a growing list of regulated platforms. Arboribus is an online lender providing access to capital for SMEs. A PFP is a new type of… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based Robo-advisor Bambu has received USD $400,000 in seed funding. Tigerspike and angel investors from Singapore funded the round. The funding will be used to boost the Bambu team and to build out the product and expand into other regional markets. Bambu is an advisor that offers… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 8:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Investment crowdfunding platform investiere.ch has closed a series B funding round led by Swiss bank Zürcher Kantonalbank. Existing shareholders and other angels also participted in the round.  The bank now becomes a “significant minority shareholder” in the crowdfunding platform. The investment totaled CHF 3.5 million… Read More

August 22, 2016 @ 7:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Dubai-based Eureeca has released a statement following their successful self-crowdfunding round where they raised $400,000 in 12 days. Sam Quawasmi, co-CEO and co-founder, called the event an important one for platform growth.  Today Eureeca has over 12,000 active investors from 42 different countries. “This year has… Read More

August 21, 2016 @ 10:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Turnbull government announced in February of this year their intent to establish Australia as an Asia-Pacific hub for Fintech. The Hon. Scott Morrison MP said at that time; “FinTech will have an important role to play in Australia’s innovation future, that’s why the Turnbull Government… Read More

August 21, 2016 @ 6:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bondora, a European peer to peer lender based in Estonia, has been on a big push to bring greater clarity and transparency to their lending platform. The initiative is not a requirement but a strategic decision to drive investor confidence and utilization. Last month, Crowdfund… Read More

August 20, 2016 @ 7:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The case of the Ascenergy crowdfunding fraud came to light just as Reg CF or Title III crowdfunding rules were announced to the public in October of 2015.   Ascenergy, an aspiring oil and gas operation, had raised about $5 million from approximately 90 investors,… Read More