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Swiss Big-Ticket Lending Platform Loanboox Secures $22 million in Series B Funding

Loanboox, one of the lending platforms participating in the panel about “Improving Credit Access and Transparency,” which I chaired for Crowdfund Insider at the Paris Fintech Forum 2019, announced that it has raised CHF 22 million ($22 million) in a Series B round of financing. How Stefan… Read More

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

Xiongan: the New Fintech Hub According to a guideline jointly issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, Xiongan New Area is set to become a new center for China’s financial innovation. The guidelines said that Xiongan will “take the… Read More

Caution: Online Funding Platforms Will Encounter More Regulatory Scrutiny in 2019

On January 22, 2019, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its examination priorities for 2019.  At the top of the list was online funding platform compliance with the securities laws. With an uptick in the offer and sale of securities offerings online with Rule… Read More

NEM.io Foundation Shifts to Product-Focused Organization: Restructures to Avoid Bankruptcy & Enable a More Sustainable Future

The NEM.io Foundation, fresh from celebrating its 2M block, announced a much-needed reboot of its operating structure and as part of a newly transparent mission for 2019 after checking the books and seeing “little to no accountability for funds.” Led by newly elected president Alex Tinsman,… Read More

Younited Credit Passes the €1 Billion Mark and Extends its Credit-as-a-Service Offering

At the Paris Fintech Forum, Charles Egly, Co-founder & CEO, Younited Credit highlighted his company’s latest achievements and the recent strategic development of its Credit-as-a-service offering. Among the achievements, Younited Credit announced that it passed the €1 billion mark in consumer credit origination. Among direct… Read More

A Fireside Chat With EstateGuru, the P2P Lender that Takes Property Finance Across Borders

The Paris Fintech Forum gathers more than 2,500 participants this week in Paris at the old stock exchange to meet hundreds of Fintechs and listen to more than 200 CEOs, heads of government and regulation agencies, as well as luminaries such as Ms Christine Lagarde,… Read More

CipherTrace Report: Bad Actors Scammed and Stole $1.7 Billion in Cryptocurrency in 2018 – and the Fraud is Predicted to Get Bigger

CipherTrace is out with a report on cryptocurrency scams and fraud. It is widely known that crypto suffers from rampant acts of theft and cons as these digital assets have become the targets of global criminals seeking an easy payday or simply to launder illicit… Read More

Doug Ellenoff Comments on FINRA’s Priorities Letter & Intent to Target Online Securities Platforms, Points a Finger at ICOs

FINRA recently posted their annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter. As part of the letter, FINRA stated they would be evaluating how firms conduct suitability analyses as well as communications and AML requirements for both Reg D 506c and Reg A+ offerings. These two exemptions… Read More

Smart Regulation Will Help Blockchain. We Need to Get Involved

We often hear that “code is law”. It means that all transactions happening on decentralized networks are final and immutable. It does not mean, however, that code derives from the law. The legal frameworks we operate within are not God-given. They are social agreements that… Read More

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

Winners of the 2018 Global Fintech Venture Competition Announced in Beijing The winners of the 2018 Global Fintech Venture Competition were officially announced at the 3rd China Fintech Conference on January 20, 2019. The 2018 Global Fintech Venture Competition was initiated by Tsinghua IFR, jointly… Read More

Real Estate Crowdfunding: A Discussion with William Skelley, Former CEO of iFunding

iFunding was an early entrant into the real estate crowdfunding sector. Once Title II of the JOBS Act became law (Reg D 506c), it opened up a new world of online promotion for securities offerings and real estate almost immediately became one of the hottest… Read More

Monetary Authority of Singapore Shuts Down Security Token Offering that Did Not Comply with Advertising Restrictions

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has shut down a security token offering (STO) for a “regulatory breach.” MAS said the issuer in question failed to comply with advertising restrictions. Specifically, the STOs legal advisors promoted the offering on LinkedIn calling attention to the offering…. Read More

French SME Lending Marketplace Credit.fr Acquires Real Estate Lending Marketplace Homunity

French SME crowdlending platform Credit.fr has announced the acquisition of Homunity, a real estate crowdlending platform. The acquisition is a welcome move in a fragmented marketplace. The acquisition of Homunity, France’s leading independent real estate crowdfunding platform, enables Credit.fr to strengthen its position in the… Read More

Kadena Now Offers Free Blockchain as a Service on AWS Marketplace: “We See No Competitor that Can Match Our Systems’ Performance”

Kadena is now offering blockchain as a service, free of charge, on the AWS marketplace. The new offering should make the tech far more accessible to a diverse group of potential users. AWS has more than a million enterprise users and is one of the… Read More

UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Consultation on “Cryptoassets” Seeking to Provide Clarity on Regulatory Approach

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a consultation today on the emerging “cryptoasset” sector of finance.  The UK is well known for its thoughtful regulatory approach when it comes to innovative new financial services and the final outcome will be watched with interest around… Read More

ICOs 2.0: Security Tokens Set to Take Centre Stage

Make way for the next generation of blockchain crowdfunding Alongside the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) saw explosive growth in 2017, with more than 1,500 ICOs raising a combined total of over $28 billion in the last two years alone…. Read More

Q&A: Invesdor’s Mikko Savolainen on 2018 Successes & 2019 Plans

2018 was another great year for Invesdor, according to management. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Helsinki with a branch office in Stockholm, the award-winning Nordic market leader in digital fundraising and investing connects European growth companies with global investors. Named Best Nordic Fintech Startup 2018 and regulated… Read More

Going in Hot: Michael Terpin to Use RICO Act in Pursuit of Justice against Alleged SIM Swap Crypto Fraudster Nicholas Truglia

SIM Swap fraud is a pressing problem not only in the crypto world but identity fraud in general. A fairly new scam, the con is hatched when a criminal takes over an individual’s mobile phone by cloning the hardware. Once the perpetrator controls the mobile… Read More

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

Visa Will Establish Asia’s Second Innovation Center in Beijing It is always not easy for payment Giant Visa to enter the Chinese market. Yet, it still does not give up. According to Yu Xueli, president of Visa (Greater China), Visa is planning to set up… Read More

Security Token Offerings: A Cautionary Tale of Reg D Offerings

In 2012 the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama. It required the SEC to write rules and issue studies on capital formation, disclosure, and registration requirements. There were three main areas that the investment community took notice… Read More

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