Featured Headlines

October 16, 2019 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) has taken a minority stake in global crowdfunding platform OurCrowd. Details on the investment were not provided. The Israel based investment marketplace is the largest of its kind in the world having received over $1.28 billion of investment commitments while… Read More

October 15, 2019 @ 12:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider reported on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action against Telegram and the issuance of Gram tokens. The move by the SEC is a doozy and telling. First, Telegram sold about $1.7 billion in a SAFT (simple agreement for future… Read More

October 14, 2019 @ 1:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital challenger bank Revolut is said to be looking to raise $1.5 billion in both debt and equity financing according to a report by Sky News. Apparently, Revolut is talking to JP Morgan to  raise $500 million in equity plus an additional $1 billion in… Read More

October 13, 2019 @ 7:00 pm By Andrés Abumohor  |  

Financial technology (Fintech) companies are finding new ways to meet consumer demands and create more financial inclusion on a global scale. While Fintechs are on the rise, these companies still have to manage the same problems traditional financial institutions face: fraud. And while fraud permeates… Read More

October 11, 2019 @ 5:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order against Telegram. The SEC targeted two offshore entities conducting an alleged unregistered, ongoing digital token offering in the U.S. and overseas that has raised more than $1.7 billion… Read More

October 11, 2019 @ 4:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

Alon Goren has been involved with the Fintech industry for a very long time. From the very early days of regulated crowdfunding (JOBS Act of 2012) to the emergence of crypto and the advent of digital assets, Goren has pretty much seen it all. Several… Read More

October 10, 2019 @ 3:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a wide-ranging speech at The World Federation of Exchanges General, Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) addressed the advent of blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the utilization of regulated securities and exchanges. Singapore is a noted Fintech Hub… Read More

October 9, 2019 @ 5:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Seedrs, a leading UK based crowdfunding platform, has launched its anticipated investment crowdfunding campaign. The offering, now open to all investors, is part of a larger £4.5 million funding round backed by institutions. Seedrs, the first approved crowdfunding platform to launch in the UK, has… Read More

October 8, 2019 @ 10:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially closed comments on its concept release regarding regulatory harmonization of securities offerings exemptions on September 24, 2019. But as in past cases, comments have continued to trickle in and we would not be surprised if more follow. That… Read More

October 7, 2019 @ 9:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) adopted a “Blanket Order” for “Startup Crowdfunding Registration and Prospectus Exemptions.” In effect, the ASC was seeking to improve access to capital for smaller firms – a good thing- but the move also highlights the disparity between the… Read More

October 7, 2019 @ 12:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Benedikt Bünz, a Stanford Ph.D. student and head of research at Findora, a decentralized network protocol for the development of financial services applications, recently explained how Bulletproofs ensure the confidentiality of blockchain-based transactions. As chief scientist at Findora and inventor of a  new technology called… Read More

October 6, 2019 @ 1:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) held the 4th meeting of the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) this past week, sponsored by CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintez. Several of the topics included hot areas of Fintech such as the utilization of distributed ledger technology (DLT/ Blockchain) in… Read More

October 4, 2019 @ 4:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paypal, one of the founding members of the Libra Association, has exited the controversial stablecoin project.  Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the digital payments giant PayPal might be pulling out of the Facebook-led cryptocurrency project due to regulatory issues. This afternoon, WSJ.com has confirmed… Read More

October 3, 2019 @ 9:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, told French business newspaper Les Echos that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has no interest in creating a cryptocurrency similar to Facebook. Cook blessed the front page of Les Echos October 4th print version with the headline “Apple est le premier contribuable mondial.”… Read More

October 3, 2019 @ 4:57 pm By Timothy Li  |  

Initial Thoughts Every year, thousands of finance professionals from banks, credit unions, specialty financing companies and Fintech companies converge at Lend360. It’s an annual pilgrimage where decision-makers in the financing sector come together to learn from each other and plan ahead for the new year…. Read More

October 2, 2019 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week it was announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had settled with Block.one, creator of EOS, regarding allegations of issuing unregistered securities during an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised a record-breaking $4 billion. The fine assessed by the… Read More

October 1, 2019 @ 10:18 pm By Xu Gao  |  

The CBIRC and PBC Jointly Release 2019 China Inclusive Finance Development Report On September 29th, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) jointly released the “2019 China Inclusive Finance Development Report ” (hereinafter referred to as the… Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 9:54 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges against Block.one, high-profile creator of the blockchain network EOS, for allegedly conducting an unlicensed multi-billion USD ICO (initial coin offering) crowdsale. Block.one has agreed to pay a $24 million USD civil penalty: “The Securities and… Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fintech Funderbeam has received a financial services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This means that Funderbeam will be able to provide funding options to the Singapore market thus representing a significant expansion from its European base. Singapore based Funderbeam Markets Pte Ltd…. Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube, a leading UK based crowdfunding platform, is out with a note touting the fact they have funded 3 out of 16 (19%) of the UK’s active unicorns. These three companies include BrewDog, Monzo and Revolut. Crowdcube reports that in the past 12 months, the… Read More