Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

October 17, 2020 @ 6:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase Custody, a qualified custodian that operates as a standalone, independently-capitalized business to Coinbase Inc., is considering adding support for new crypto-assets. Coinbase Custody notes that it focuses on offering a “highly” secure and “sophisticated” storage solution for institutional investors and individuals that hold large… Read More

October 16, 2020 @ 3:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase is launching Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on Coinbase Pro, the digital asset trading platform for professional traders. WBTC trading will not be available to Coinbase.com users or via other mobile app platforms (for now at least). As confirmed by the exchange,… Read More

October 16, 2020 @ 12:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

OKEx, a top 20 crypto exchange, is under investigation by Chinese authorities according to a report. OKEx provides both spot and crypto derivatives trading. It has been widely reported that the price of Bitcoin tanked as word leaked out and OKEx suspended all withdrawals. The… Read More

October 15, 2020 @ 3:04 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Renewable investment platform Abundance has now raised nearly £620,000 in funding through its latest Seedrs campaign. The funding round, which has so far attracted more than 475 Seedrs investors, launched last month and quickly raised its initial £350,000 funding target.  As previously reported, Abundance… Read More

October 15, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the US Department of Justice published a white paper, crafted by the Cyber-Digital Task Force, that outlines its approach to enforcement when it comes to digital assets (or cryptoassets). US Attorney General William Barr issued the following statement on the framework: “Cryptocurrency is… Read More

October 15, 2020 @ 9:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Securitize, an early-stage firm that facilitates the issuance and management of digital assets, has signed an agreement to acquire Distributed Technology Markets (DTM), an SEC/FINRA registered Broker-Dealer and Alternative Trading System (ATS). The move by Securitize is strategically important as it will be able to… Read More

October 15, 2020 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

YieldStreet, an alternative investment platform serving accredited investors, says a recent survey of their clients shows resilience even during a time of turmoil. Between COVID-19, global and domestic political challenges, investors “remain largely unfazed” reports YieldStreet. In fact, 9 in 10 investors expect to invest… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 10:25 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Small business funding platform Biz2Credit announced on Monday that its annual Biz2Credit Latino-Owned Business Study for 2020 revealed that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic revenue growth of Latino-owned companies was up 10% over last year, but like most other businesses in America, their fortunes have… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 3:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the UK Financial Conduct Authority announced a ban on the sale of crypto derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that for retail investors. The ban, which goes into effect on January 6, 2021, has no impact on spot trading of cryptoassets. Some crypto-industry insiders criticized… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 10:30 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CircleUp, an investment platform that targets early-stage consumer product companies, announced on Tuesday it has appointed Nick Talwar as its new CEO. Ryan Caldbeck, Co-Founder and former CEO, will become an Executive Chairman of the company. Founded in 2012, CircleUp describes itself as an investment… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 10:15 am By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, the leading global investment crowdfunding platform, and the Emirates Angels Investors Association, an Emirati angel investment network, held an online event today allowing Israeli investors and entrepreneurs a first glimpse of the tech opportunities available in the United Arab Emirates following the historic diplomatic… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Vested Finance, an online investment platform that enables Indian investors to invest in the US stock market, is reporting that total investments in the US markets from India grew by 150% from Q1 to Q2 while new accounts jumped by 70%. Vested Finance is a… Read More

October 13, 2020 @ 9:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently connected with Ray Youssef, the CEO at Paxful, a leading peer to peer Bitcoin exchange, which reported a 274% increase in new registrations in Turkey, during the past year, on its platform. There was also an average of $65,000+ in monthly trade volume… Read More

October 12, 2020 @ 10:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Australia-based marketplace lender SocietyOne announced on Monday it has successfully flattened a 2000 per cent spike in hardships caused by COVID-19 after developing and implementing a tech solution in less than 5 days to manage the surge of hardship requests. The lender noted prior to… Read More

October 12, 2020 @ 9:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

How did the pandemic impact the P2P crowdfunding sector, the part of alternative fundraising financed exclusively by individual contributors and retail investors? To answer this question, the French crowdfunding association Financement Participatif France (FPF) together with the state bank, Banque des territoires commissioned a study…. Read More

October 12, 2020 @ 8:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CAPX, a Los Angeles based financial services firm, has published a report which notes that middle-market firms (businesses with anywhere between 100 to 2,000 employees, or with $10 million to $500 million in annual revenue) have been experiencing certain challenges when trying to gain access… Read More

October 11, 2020 @ 10:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Paxful, a leading peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) marketplace, recently announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Transfero Swiss AG, the largest digital asset management firm in Latin America and the owner of Brazilian Digital Token (BRZ), a stablecoin pegged to Brazilian Real. According to Paxful,BRZ’s price… Read More

October 11, 2020 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, LendingClub (NYSE:LC) filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating its intent to stop offering retail notes by the end of the year. The leading marketplace lender in the US started as a peer to peer lender but over the… Read More

October 10, 2020 @ 10:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Latvia-based peer to peer (P2P) lender Grupeer noted on October 7, 2020 that Recollecta has taken over its debt collection and management of the repayment process. This should help speed up repayments to the platform’s investors, the lender claims. The Grupeer team confirmed that they… Read More

October 9, 2020 @ 9:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Funding Circle (LSE: FCH), an SME lender that facilitates loans in both the US and parts of Europe, notes that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was originally scheduled to end on September 30, 2020. But the UK government has confirmed that the CBILS… Read More