Featured Headlines

June 18, 2024 @ 8:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  In the past, CI has tallied the number of FINRA-regulated Funding Portals active in the Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) sector. Funding Portals are intermediaries created by the JOBS Act of 2012 – the legislation that enables online capital formation. These platforms are kind of… Read More

June 18, 2024 @ 5:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Honeycomb Credit, a top FINRA regulated Funding Portal, has raised $6 million in Seed + funding, according to a note from the platform. Honeycomb Credit is a bank replacement platform that provides loans to smaller businesses. The company leverages the Reg CF securities exemption, which… Read More

June 17, 2024 @ 3:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a report, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) product will shut down later this year. Apple Pay Later was expected to be the first digital loan-type service offered by the tech firm, but it appears that Apple is pulling back on the Fintech lending. According to 9to5… Read More

June 17, 2024 @ 2:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the Tokenization Report  Act of 2024 (HR 8464) was introduced into Congress. The House legislation is sponsored by Representative William Timmons, a Republican from South Carolina. The bill, as it stands today, compels multiple federal authorities to review the potential of taking traditional… Read More

June 14, 2024 @ 6:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Spiko, co-founded in 2023 by Paul-Adrien Hyppolite and Antoine Michon, has raised €4 million in pre-seed funding. Spiko is a tokenization platform that claims to be the first provider in the world to offer fully tokenized Money Market Funds (MMFs). The digital assets leverage both… Read More

June 14, 2024 @ 7:33 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that Terraform Labs PTE, Ltd. and founder Do Kwon will pay a $4.5 billion penalty as they have been found guilty of a “years-long fraud.”  It was previously reported that the SEC was seeking a $5.3 billion settlement…. Read More

June 13, 2024 @ 2:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financement Participatif France (FPF) – the French crowdfunding association, and France Fintech (FFT) have announced a merger of the two organizations. According to a note from the two groups, FFT currently represents over 350 members and 100 partners operating in the Fintech sector. FPF represents… Read More

June 12, 2024 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

While it should be obvious to everyone, high individual taxes hinder investment and innovation and diminish wealth creation – which can create benefits for all. The flipside to high taxes is a central authority that provides more social services, or entitlements, to the population while… Read More

June 12, 2024 @ 12:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, WSJ.com published an article that criticized investment crowdfunding, specifically Regulation A (Reg A+). Reg A+ is a securities exemption that enables early-stage or smaller firms to raise up to $75 million. The security exemption requires an issuer to submit documents to the… Read More

June 11, 2024 @ 1:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the largest Fintech in the world, announced a series of software enhancements that were heavy on artificial intelligence (AI). While much of the presentation during the keynote at WWDC, the company’s annual developers conference, focused on improvements to the OS and the… Read More

June 9, 2024 @ 6:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) told the Commission to make the definition of an Accredited Investor more inclusive. This is not the first time the Committee has advised the Commission to update the definition and make it more rational… Read More

June 8, 2024 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mihkel Stamm, CEO of Estateguru, says that the firm will reach profitability by the end of the year. Estateguru, a real estate-backed crowdfunding platform, announced several decisions this week that should “enable the company, which has struggled with losses in recent years, to end this… Read More

June 6, 2024 @ 7:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), a modern spin on a retail brokerage, has announced the pending acquisition of Bitstamp, a crypto exchange that operates across the EU, US, UK and Asia. Bitstamp is a top 20 crypto exchange, currently ranked 16th in the world by Coinmarketcap. The digital… Read More

June 5, 2024 @ 2:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion Subcommittee, part of the House Financial Services Committee, held a hearing on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and the migration to digital securities. The hearing was entitled “Next Generation Infrastructure: How Tokenization of Real-World Assets Will… Read More

June 4, 2024 @ 10:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Watford FC, a Premier League football (soccer) team, is selling shares to investors on Republic and Seedrs. Republic is the largest investment crowdfunding platform in the world. Its acquisition of UK-based Seedrs cemented its top position. The relationship between the two platforms has fostered a… Read More

June 3, 2024 @ 11:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The term ‘Unicorn’ was first introduced in 2013, as a way to signify the statistical rarity of high-performing startups. Unicorn status today is much more than a financial milestone of around $1 billion; for startups, it’s a recognition of their organization’s disruptive capabilities, unique solutions,… Read More

May 31, 2024 @ 4:30 pm By Suki Gao  |  

To the surprise of nobody, female-led SMEs often face significant hurdles in the hyper-competitive global marketplace, primarily due to systemic biases and gender disparities entrenched within financial systems. Studies have consistently shown that women entrepreneurs encounter more challenges in securing financing compared to their male… Read More

May 30, 2024 @ 11:48 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has publicly shared a comment on a consultation in the UK. Launched last April, the proposal is for a Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) initiated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England. The deadline for feedback from interested… Read More

May 30, 2024 @ 10:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Republic, the largest investment crowdfunding company in the world, has revealed a partnership with niche crowdfunding platform RedCrow. RedCrow is an online investment platform that invests in early-stage healthcare firms. It is part of Alira Health, a healthcare consulting firm. Details of the relationship were not… Read More

May 29, 2024 @ 10:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcheck is one of the foundational firms that entered the securities crowdfunding sector, supporting issuers and platforms that enable online capital formation. Crowdcheck is probably the top legal services firm preparing Reg A+ documents for issuers, which the Securities and Exchange Commission must qualify for… Read More