JD Alois

Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady as Anticipated, Fed Chair Believes a Crypto Regulatory Framework from Congress Would be Helpful

There was little new today emerging from the US Federal Reserve announcement as it decided to hold rates steady, matching market expectations. The Fed decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. The FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee]… Read More

Anchorage Digital, Black Rifle Coffee to Testify at Debanking Hearing Held by Senate Banking Committee

The Senate Banking Committee has posted its list of witnesses for next week’s hearing on the Debanking that took place during the Biden Administration. The following individuals will be sharing their experiences in regard to losing access to the banking system: Nathan McCauley, CEO &… Read More

OurCrowd Recognized as Most Active Venture Investor in Israel, Once Again: 68 Exits to Date

Online investment platform OurCrowd has once again been recognized as the most active venture investor in Israel – which remains a hot startup market. OurCrowd noted that this is the 11th year in a row that it has been recognized as Israel’s most active venture… Read More

LendingClub Reports Q4 Results, Shares Drop

LendingClub (NYSE:LC), a digital bank, reported Q4 earnings yesterday, touting a rise in loan originations by 13%, an increase in revenue of 17%, and growth in total assets of 20% when compared to Q4 of 2023. While revenue rose, net income declined quarter over quarter… Read More

Lloyds Banking Group Expected to Close 130 Bank Branches: Report

Lloyds Banking Group is expected to close over 130 bank branches as it continues to downsize due to fewer customers utilizing physical locations. In a report by SkyNews, Lloyds Banking Group is said to be shuttering 61 Lloyds, 61 Halifax, and 14 Bank of Scotland locations beginning in… Read More

CfPA Advocates for Reg CF Tax Exemption: Targeting Resources to Unleash Market Prosperity (TRUMP) Jobs Act

The CfPA, or the Crowdfunding Professionals Association, is touting potential legislation aiming to boost the utilization and benefits of Reg CF or Regulation Crowdfunding. The proposed legislation, supported by the Coalition for Crowdfunding American Jobs and Prosperity (CCAJP); the Targeting Resources to Unleash Market Prosperity… Read More

Y-Combinator Alumni Grey to Partner with Clear Junction on Global Payments

Grey and Clear Junction will partner on global payments, according to a company release. Grey is a graduate of Y-Combinator in 2022. The Fintech aims to provide banking services in emerging markets. Current products include multi-currency accounts, real-time money transfers, and virtual cards. Grey targets… Read More

European Fintech Raisin Joins American Fintech Council

Raisin, a European Fintech based in Germany, has joined the American Fintech Council (AFC), Raisin’s platform aims to enable consumers access to the highest-yielding savings accounts regardless of geography. In the US, Raisin is said to currently work with 70 different banks and credit unions…. Read More

X to Partner with Visa on Peer to Peer Payments, More Fintech Coming

X (formerly Twitter) has long been expected to move into the Fintech sector. Today, we have an announcement from X CEO Linda Yaccarino on a partnership with Visa (NYSE:V) to enable peer-to-peer payments. Via X, Yaccarino shared that the “Everything  App” (IE X) will work… Read More

UK Pursues Pension Fund Reform, Moves to Boost Economic Growth

The UK government is looking to alter how defined benefit pension plans are managed by allowing excess funds to be funneled to private firms. This should also help boost economic growth in an economy that needs a bit of help. Today, Prime Minister Keir Starmer… Read More

Chairman of Senate Banking Committee, Senator Tim Scott, Schedules Hearing to Address Nefarious Debanking Activity During Biden Administration

There have been many reports of “Debanking” taking place during the Biden Administration. At times, these reports focused on crypto-related firms that saw their accounts closed by banks – typically with little notice. There have also been reports of Debanking taking place for political reasons…. Read More

ICAN Founder Nick Morgan Shares What Needs to be Fixed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

ICAN, or Investors Choice Advocates Network, is a non-profit that advocates on behalf of underserved investors and those individuals deemed to be unfairly targeted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. ICAN supports investors’ rights, which sometimes suffer from too much government and too little freedom…. Read More

T3 FCU, Partnership Between Tether, Tron and TRM Labs Says they Helped Spain Freeze $26.4 million in Laundered Funds

The new T3 Financial Crime Unit, or T3 FCU, says it has worked with the Spanish Guardia Civil to help freeze $26.4 million in funds from a money laundering ploy. T3 FCU was created by Tether, Tron, and TRM Labs to pursue crypto crimes. The money laundering… Read More

Molten Ventures, Westly Group Co-lead Sightline Seed Round

Molten Ventures has participated in the funding of Sightline, which is described as an AI-powered “market intelligence platform powering the transition economy” or energy and climate mitigation. The $5.5 million seed round was co-led by Molten and Westly Group. Existing investors, including AccelR8, Red Sea… Read More

Germany: Pay by Bank Offered by Tink, Adyen, Recharge Partnership

Fintechs Tink, Adyen, and Recharge have announced a Pay by Bank service for the German market. Tink, founded in Sweden, is an open banking platform and part of Visa. Adyen (ADYEN:AMS) and Recharge are in the payments sector. Pay by Bank is when users transfer money… Read More

Emergence of China’s DeepSeek AI Firm, and R1 Platform, Craters Everyone Else. Worries Rise About Chinese Government Influence

DeepSeek is cratering markets this morning as the alternative to ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, etc.; it is said to provide better results, use fewer resources, and is (for the moment) open source and free for light usage and prices modest for more resource intense requests. Nvidia… Read More

Spain: Tokeny Announces Partnership with ONYZE, a White Label Digital Wallet

Tokenization enabler Tokeny says it has formed a partnership with ONYZE, a Spain-based Fintech that offers a white-label digital wallet that is regulated. Founded in 2019, ONYZE provides enterprise-level infrastructure for trading digital assets such as crypto, tokenized assets, NFTs, and digital currencies. ONYZE claims… Read More

Andreessen Horowitz Crypto (a16zcrypto) Exits UK Market to Focus on US, Wants Reg CF Updated to Support Crypto

Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto business, or a16zcrypto, is exiting the UK market. a16z opened its London office in 2023, intending to create a Crypto Startup School accelerator program. Via X, Anthony Albanese, head of crypto at a16z, said that while they are excited about crypto development in… Read More

SEC Files Charges Against Former AI CEO, Wife

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against the CEO of a startup artificial intelligence (AI) firm and his wife. The SEC alleges fraud involving fake audit reports and other financial documents. A criminal indictment has simultaneously been revealed, charging the duo with… Read More

Perspective: President Trump Ends Effort to Create a Global Corporate Tax, a Smart Move for the Country

President Donald Trump sent a memorandum to the incoming Secretary of the Treasury announcing the end of the Global Tax initiative established under the Biden Administration. There are many reasons why the Global Tax was a bad deal to begin with, and Trump’s action is… Read More

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