August 6, 2016 @ 6:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Canaan Partners is a Silicon Valley VC firm that has over $4.0 billion under management with a good portion of their investments going into seed / early stage companies. They have also set up offices in Israel to be closer to the StartUp Nation phenomena… Read More

August 6, 2016 @ 2:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ethan Mollick, a professor and researcher at Wharton, recently published new research on Kickstarter. Mollick focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation and is one of a few academians focusing their attention on alternative finance. His most recent research, entitled “Containing Multitudes: The Many Impacts of Kickstarter… Read More

August 6, 2016 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

This is becoming a too consistent theme. Promising rewards crowdfunding project raises millions of dollars from thousands of backers only to deliver (if at all) a craptaculous product. In this case, it is the story of ONAGOFly – a drone project that raised $3,459,193 on… Read More

August 6, 2016 @ 8:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently the Swedish government announced the creation of a Committee to review the regulatory environment for investment crowdfunding. The former Supreme Court Justice, Severin Blomstrand, was appointed to chair the ten person Committee and oversee the review. The initiative will look into such issues as… Read More

August 5, 2016 @ 3:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Hops & Grain, one of the very first companies to raise growth capital under Reg CF crowdfunding, has successfully raised $765,970 on Wefunder.  The San Marcos, Texas-based craft Brewery set a minimum funding goal of $50,000.  According to the campaign page, 405 investors participated in the… Read More

August 5, 2016 @ 11:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week PwC (under the DeNovo label) published a wide-ranging report on the evolution of Fintech. The document was the production of many PwC executives covering topics like blockchain, payments, banking and the overall transformation of financial services. In one respect the report is… Read More

August 5, 2016 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Title II and Title IV of the JOBS Act created two different forms of investment crowdfunding. Title II allows issuers to “generally solicit” or advertise securities  sold under this exemption. The catch is that only  accredited investors may purchase these securities.  Title IV of the… Read More

August 5, 2016 @ 8:39 am By JD Alois  |  

FINRA is investigating the utilization of Business Development Companies, commonly referred to as BDCs.  While BDCs may trade on an exchange they may also be non-tradeded entities. BDCs have been around for quite some time having been created in 1980. BDCs typically invest in smaller… Read More

August 5, 2016 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based peer to peer lender Silver Bullion has shared an update following one year of operation. While Silver Bullion has been in operation since 2009 the company only starting offering secured lending in 2015. Silver Bullion was founded by Gregor Gregersen. Originally from Germany, prior… Read More

August 4, 2016 @ 2:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Prosper, a leading marketplace lending platform, is in the midst of negotiating a huge $5 billion deal to purchase Prosper loans.  This is according to a post in WSJ.com. Buyers include some pretty prominent names like Soros Fund Management, Fortress Investment Group and Third Point…. Read More

August 4, 2016 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Equity for Punks Crosses the Atlantic and Invades the USA. BrewDog to Challenge “Archaic Financial Institutions.” BrewDog, Scotland’s largest independent brewer, has launched its US equity crowdfunding offer following years of success in raising capital from its consumers in the UK. BrewDog was founded in… Read More

August 4, 2016 @ 8:15 am By JD Alois  |  

  The Bank of England (BoE) has cut its benchmark rate by 0.25% – the first time in 7 years. The pound quickly moved lower reacting to the announcement. The move was telegraphed several weeks back in reaction to Brexit fallout. The interest rate cut… Read More

August 4, 2016 @ 12:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Funding Societies, a Singapore-based “peer to business” lending marketplace, has raised a respectable S$ 10 million in a Series A funding round.  The investment was led by Sequoia India, part of the legendary Sequoia VC group. Funding Societies believes this is the largest investment in… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 11:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dan Miller, co-founder of Fundrise and founder of Myrtle Grove Ventures, has released a statement saying, “online finance and equity crowdfunding, in particular, will see significant and international growth over the next 10 to 20 years.” Miller highlights Title III of the JOBS Act, also… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 4:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

NSRInvest, a platform that provides institutional like investment tools for retail investors purchasing loans from Lending Club, Prosper and Funding Circle.  These marketplace / P2P lending platforms can provide solid risk-adjusted returns from a diversified portfolio of loans. When institutional money showed up, marketplace lending shot… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

China is the largest Fintech market in the world. This is due in part to the fact that China has a population that is north of 1.3 billion and economically is first in GDP (PPP) at over $20 trillion. But it is also due to… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 9:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Tun Abdullah Badawi, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, has launched the Waqf (Islamic Endowment) crowdfunding platform or WaqfWorld.  Described as the “worlds first” the new platform was announced at the 12th World Islamic Economic Foundation Forum (WIEF) held in Jakarta this past week The… Read More

August 3, 2016 @ 8:24 am By JD Alois  |  

Hogan Lovells, the international law firm, has launched its “Regulatory Accelerator” described as an online tool for Fintech firms seeking to better understand Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations. The tool was created in concert with Innovate Finance and is available for free for members. Referencing… Read More

August 2, 2016 @ 11:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

PwC is out with a report on the fast emerging global Fintech sector. Financial Technology or Fintech is picking up velocity as regulators and government bodies are just beginning to grasp how new forms of finance are going to alter the financial landscape.  The document… Read More

August 2, 2016 @ 7:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week Paidly announced a $15 million Series B funding round. The Fintech firm is based in Japan and provides payment services via your smartphone. Paidly basically turns your phone into a credit card type service. Just submit your email address, phone number and create a PIN… Read More