Featured Headlines

February 25, 2018 @ 7:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, Amit Singh, an attorney and shareholder in the west coast law firm of Stradling, compiled data for Reg CF and Reg A+ issuers for 2017. These two securities exemptions represent two of the three rules that enable crowdfunding in the US and… Read More

February 24, 2018 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

The New York Federal Reserve has published a staff report pertaining to “The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending”. Authored by Andreas Fuster, Matthew Plosser, Philipp Schnabl, and James Vickery, the research asserts that Fintech is improving the mortgage lending market by making it more efficient… Read More

February 23, 2018 @ 10:55 am By Joshua Ashley Klayman, Julian Hammar, Shiukay Hung, and Anna Pinedo  |  

The recent and rapid proliferation of cryptocurrency¹ transactions involving retail or “Main Street” customers has left some — including many cryptocurrency platforms serving retail customers — grappling conceptually with the answer to a fundamental question: what constitutes “actual delivery” of cryptocurrency in the eyes of the… Read More

February 22, 2018 @ 7:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Treasury Committee of the UK House of Parliament  has launched an inquiry into digital currencies and distributed ledger technology – also commonly referenced as Blockchain. According to a memo published by the Committee, the inquiry will cover the role of digital currencies in the… Read More

February 21, 2018 @ 2:38 pm By Victoria Silchenko, Ph.D.  |  

“Is the future of cryptocurrencies gold or dust?” That million-BTC question was debated at one of the sessions of the recent World Government Summit – a “Davos forum” based in Dubai which is often called the City of the Future. More than 4,000 participants from… Read More

February 20, 2018 @ 12:30 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

In late January, TrustToken, a global platform for tokenizing fiat currencies and real-world assets backed by Stanford-StartX, FJ Labs, and BlockTower Capital, launched TrueUSD, reportedly the first fiat-backed stablecoin to offer token-holders legally protected certificates of ownership of US Dollars. Co-founded by CTO Rafael Cosman, CEO… Read More

February 19, 2018 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ethereum (and Solidity for that matter) are far from perfect. While lauded for the ability to create smart contracts that are “immutable”, when something goes wrong and money disappears with no recourse, immutability may be the number one problem. Right? Ethereum is pretty cool, but… Read More

February 19, 2018 @ 9:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Telegram or “TON Issuer Inc,” (TON = Telegram Open Network) has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating Telegram has raised $850 million making it the largest initial coin offering ever. The date of the first sale was on January 29,… Read More

February 18, 2018 @ 12:25 pm By David Jinks  |  

Cryptocurrencies are fast swapping their shady past for respectability. But investors pushing hard for regulated trading and adoption by Amazon may be destroying the reason for Bitcoin’s existence. Last December, Bitcoin climbed above $18,000, and finally launched on the CME futures exchange. There was little… Read More

February 16, 2018 @ 7:46 am By Therese Torris  |  

After France, Spain and Italy, Lendix is launching operations in Germany and the Netherlands. The company reaffirms its strategy to be first to market with a pan-European strategy, leveraging its marketplace business model through the addition of local teams. “We’re not pivoting. We’re remaining true… Read More

February 15, 2018 @ 6:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Investment banking is a highly profitable business. Goldman Sachs, perhaps the most prominent investment bank in the world, raked in $32 billion during fiscal 2017 with the majority of this revenue driven specifically by investment banking. Yet arguably, much of the value that is provided… Read More

February 14, 2018 @ 7:30 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Mobius, described as a “turn-key blockchain-enabling platform” using patent-pending technology, offers a range of products, including a free, universal API that allows non-blockchain developers to connect resources to smart contracts and the blockchain ecosystem. Existing web properties, apps, devices and data streams can utilize the… Read More

February 13, 2018 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, during an investor presentation at the Credit Suisse 19th Annual Financial Services Forum in Key Biscayne, Florida, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein delivered a presentation on his bank’s operations. Buried in the middle of the deck was some interesting perspective on Marcus, Goldman’s foray into… Read More

February 12, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Razitall, a phonetic play on Raise-It-All, is a new crowdfunding platform founded with both entrepreneurs and investors in mind. The goal of the New York-based platform is to help entrepreneurs raise the target amount needed during a Reg CF campaign in order to succeed and to help… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 3:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Blockchain Bundesverband has published a position paper on initial coin offerings regarding important regulatory considerations.  The focus is largely on the European Union, and specifically Germany, but the discussion has global considerations regarding exchanges and public policy in general. Much of the world… Read More

February 11, 2018 @ 2:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitgrail is the next cryptocurrency exchange to experience an unfortunate hack – an event that highlights profound problems within the exchange space as cyber security continues to fall short. According to a post on the Bitgrail website, the company said internal checks revealed “unauthorized transactions which… Read More

February 10, 2018 @ 8:03 am By Xu Gao  |  

WeChat Bans 1,000+ “Cash Loans” Mini Programs On February 6, WeChat released an official announcement about its ongoing move to clear up illegal mini programs (or mini apps) on its platform. According to the announcement, WeChat has permanently banned over 1000 “cash loans” mini programs… Read More

February 8, 2018 @ 10:04 pm By Luvleen Sidhu  |  

Banking is and has been overdue for a makeover. For the most part, the majority of the banking industry is still antiquated but thanks to technological advances in the last couple of years, this is starting to change. I remember not so long ago standing in… Read More

February 7, 2018 @ 9:58 pm By David Felsenthal and Jesse Overall  |  

Truly, it was a tale of two cities. On February 6, 2018, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the oversight role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in respect of virtual currencies like Bitcoin… Read More

February 6, 2018 @ 9:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd is arguably a vital variable in the rise of Israel’s claim to be the leading nation when it comes to entrepreneurial innovation. The country has established itself as a hotbed for early stage tech firms in a diverse array of sectors. Today, most all… Read More