Featured Headlines

October 18, 2020 @ 6:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Israel based Regtech firm Shield was recently chosen to join the IBM Cloud for Financial Services ecosystem. Many financial institutions have been migrating or deploying new applications on Cloud-powered platforms that streamline routine banking and related business processes. We recently caught up with Eran Noam,… Read More

October 16, 2020 @ 2:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  We recently spoke to Meltem Demirors, the Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, a digital asset treasury management firm that manages over $1 billion in assets. Demirors talked about how financial markets reacted after US President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19. She also discussed… 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 14, 2020 @ 9:00 am By Emma Channing  |  

Back in December, I wrote a piece for Coindesk’s Year in Review 2019 entitled “Security Token Offerings Are (Finally) Set for Takeoff in 2020”.  This was before word of COVID-19 became widespread and before many of the cataclysmic events of 2020 were even imaginable.  Thus… Read More

October 14, 2020 @ 7:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) blew the doors of its earnings report this morning as it announced net revenues of $10.78 billion and a record quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $9.68 and annualized ROE of 17.5%, the highest quarterly ROE since 2010. Wall Street had… 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 @ 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 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 9, 2020 @ 10:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the European Union approved legislation that will harmonize securities crowdfunding rules for member states. Inclusive in the legislation is a 12-month funding cap of €5 million for issuers leveraging online capital formation. The goal is to facilitate capital formation for entrepreneurs and… Read More

October 8, 2020 @ 11:30 am By Brian Farber, General Counsel, Securitize  |  

  Tokenization Provides Endless Possibilities for Teams and their Fans. Professional sports have been deeply stitched into the fabric of American society for well over a century, providing a daily source of joy (or pain if you’re a Mets fan), and serving as a refuge… Read More

October 8, 2020 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Monument Bank has received regulatory approval this week to operate under a restricted license receiving a green light from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Monument Bank seeks to cater to the affluent providing a service that is just a click away as… Read More

October 7, 2020 @ 2:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

A Longstanding Grey Area Today at an open meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed an update to rules pertaining to “Finders” –  individuals or firms that help smaller businesses find investors. The potential change will subject these individuals or firms to reduced regulation… Read More

October 7, 2020 @ 8:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Closing an Important Chapter LendingClub (NYSE:LC), the leading marketplace lender in the US, has filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating it will cease offering Retail Notes as of the end of 2020. In an email distributed to LendingClub retail investors, the… Read More

October 6, 2020 @ 6:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Joel Edgerton, COO at bitFlyer, a crypto-asset exchange that’s licensed to operate in Japan, the United States, and Europe, recently shared his views about the court case and charges brought against the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), a leading digital asset derivatives exchange. Edgerton also shared… Read More

October 6, 2020 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the European Union approved crowdfunding rules that will apply to all member states thus finally offering a pan-European approach to online capital formation while removing much of the friction in the current ecosystem that suffers from regulatory fragmentation. Industry participants, along with industry… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, BitMEX (Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange), a top crypto/crypto-derivatives exchange that is operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, a Republic of Seychelles incorporated entity, was hit with a civil enforcement action emanating from the Commodity Futures Trading Future Commission (CFTC). Simultaneously, a criminal lawsuit by… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 8:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube and Seedrs, the two dominant crowdfunding platforms in the UK, have put aside any competitive friction and agreed to merge the two platforms subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The merger will combine the two dominant private investment platforms in the UK while creating… Read More

October 3, 2020 @ 8:12 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, Kik, a company that raised over $100 million in an initial coin offering (ICO), lost a long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The courts determined that Kik had raised capital in an unregistered securities offering thus transgressing securities… Read More

October 2, 2020 @ 9:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), says the bank must be ready to issue a digital euro, according to a statement issued today. Meanwhile, a separate report from Bloomberg claims the ECB has already applied to trademark the name “digital euro” as… Read More

October 1, 2020 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine is a leading investment crowdfunding platform in the US. Last August, StartEngine announced that it had topped $200 million in funding having only surpassed $100 million in July of 2019 – after having launched in 2015. During 2019, StartEngine raised about $44 million –… Read More