December 31, 2024 @ 1:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has provided an update regarding information on exempt securities offerings, including Reg D, Reg CF, and Reg A+. The data is as of the end of 2023. Reg CF or… Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 4:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice says victims of the Bernie Madoff fraud have received 93.71% of their fraud losses. Of course, this does not reflect the opportunity cost of missed years when the money could have been put to work. And then there is inflation…. Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 12:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Are you interested in purchasing shares in Republic? You can now do so on its Secondary Marketplace, hosted on Republic Europe. Republic purchased UK-based Seedrs several years ago. Seedrs was one of the most established securities crowdfunding platforms in the UK. Seedrs had also extended… Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Wefunder, best known for its focus on issuers leveraging the Reg CF securities exemption, is also offering venture capital funds for Accredited Investors. While Wefunder is still one of the dominant players in the Reg CF space, like many other securities crowdfunding platforms, the company… Read More

December 30, 2024 @ 9:43 am By JD Alois  |  

On Friday, Representative Patrick McHenry, the outgoing Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a parting shot to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen regarding her profound failure to enable the emerging digital asset sector. The letter was signed by both Republicans and Democrats, displaying a… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 4:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Any issuer of securities using the Reg D exemption must file a document with the Securities and Exchange Comission 15 days after the first sale of securities. The two-page document is super simple to complete, and no follow-up filings are required. This simplicity has helped… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 4:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs and the issuer of TerraUSD, will be extradited to the US, according to a Bloomberg report. Kwon and his business helped to crush crypto markets after his algo-based “stablecoin” TerraUSD ended up not so stable. Billions were vaporized in the… Read More

December 27, 2024 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Silicon Prairie has dumped its Funding Portal designation and is migrating all current offerings to its Broker-Dealer. FINRA regulates both Broker-Dealers and Funding Portals. A Funding Portal is kind of like a broker-dealer light. This new type of intermediary was created under the JOBS Act… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 12:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fundrise co-founder and CEO Ben Miller visited squaw box this morning to reflect upon the Fundrise Innovation Fund’s success with its investment in ServiceTitan (NASDAQ:TTAN). ServiceTitan went public earlier this month. Shares were priced at $71/each, but the market deemed this too low, with shares… Read More

December 23, 2024 @ 4:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

President-Elect Donald Trump has announced the team that will be leading the tech charge including crypto and Artificial Intelligence (AI). During the Biden Administration, both digital assets and AI development were dissuaded via various means. The anti-tech posture of the Administration pushed multiple prominent VCs… Read More

December 23, 2024 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Rocket Homes claiming kickbacks for real estate brokers and agents who steered customers to use the platform for mortgages. The CFPB reported that it had also sued Jason Mitchell, his real estate brokerage firm,… Read More

December 21, 2024 @ 4:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  (CFPB) announced a lawsuit targeting the big banks that launched Zelle. Zelle was created by big banks in recognition of the rise of peer-to-peer payments and transfers. The banks wanted to keep pace with competitors and decided… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of a push to maintain relevance in the digital finance world, several years ago big banks partnered up to launch their own instant payments and transfer system Zelle. The payments platform has emerged as a significant success – except for claims of fraud… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

  SyndicateRoom, a former securities crowdfunding platform and current online investment platform that takes a portfolio approach, has been acquired by Smith Brothers Group. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. In an email from SyndicateRoom CEO Graham Schwikkard, he said the company was… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Multiple reports indicate that Deutsche Bank is launching a Layer 2 blockchain to fuel digital assets and compliance at the bank. A Layer 2 blockchain is a separate blockchain added to the top of a Layer 1 blockchain like Ethereum. A Layer 2 aims to… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 3:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Even while economic data has been very choppy, the US Federal Reserve decided to match market expectations, cutting benchmark rates by 25 basis points. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps to 4-1/4 to… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 10:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a report on Authorized Push Payment (APP) scams and how to avoid them. In brief, a fraudster pilfers money illicitly when it tricks targets into sending money to its account. The trick is presenting what looks like… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 6:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, ServiceTitan (NASDAQ:TTAN) went public at an IPO price of $71/share. Trading soon drove the price per share much higher. Today, ServiceTitan closed at over $108 a share (over $110 in after-hours trading). This also follows the exercise of the Greenshoe option by underwriters…. Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has published its annual report which includes data on access to capital as well as policy recommendations. The Office is relatively new, created under the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 – legislation… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two individuals and a single entity regarding money laundering to the benefit of North Korea. OFAC says that Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, working out of the UAE and… Read More