General News

October 16, 2019 @ 7:43 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Exchange-traded fund provider Reality Shares announced on Tuesday it has liquidated and closed the Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy China ETF (BCNA) and the Reality Shares Fundstrat DQM Long ETF. According to Reality Shares, BCNA will cease trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), DQML… Read More

October 15, 2019 @ 10:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Google has banned high-interest rate lenders from the Google Play app store. First reported by WSJ.com, the move was said to be made to protect people from “exploitive personal loan terms.” The report quoted a Google spokesperson: “Our Google Play developer policies are designed to… Read More

October 15, 2019 @ 9:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

US venture capital funding fell in the third quarter of 2019 as both funding levels and the number of deals both declined. As funding dips, the Unicorn herd has hit a new record as there are currently 180 private companies valued at over $1 billion…. Read More

October 15, 2019 @ 7:56 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Plug and Play Amsterdam reportedly held a Soft Launch for its new Smart Cities and Financial Services programs last Wednesday at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. According to Plug and Play, the event brought in more than 80 attendees including six startups and over 30 corporate… Read More

October 13, 2019 @ 9:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s Royal Mint has developed a solid gold payment card that’s priced at £18,750 (appr. $23,460). Royal Mint is a government-owned firm that is tasked with minting coins for the UK. The company noted that it partnered with Mastercard and payments technology firm Accomplish Financial… 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 11, 2019 @ 10:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Six Nordic banks will be funding the development of an international real-time payments system as part of the P27 collective. Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank have reportedly finalized a shareholders’ agreement, formulated a business plan, and agreed to make investments… Read More

October 11, 2019 @ 8:32 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published updated information on the ramifications of Brexit in a no deal scenario. Currently, the UK is scheduled to exit the European Union on October 31st. Recently, there has been some more positive chatter on negotiations, and the… 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 10, 2019 @ 11:20 am By JD Alois  |  

BlockTank LA, a “Shark Tank” style pitch contest, has announced six of the judges and four companies that will participate in the contest. BlockTank LA t is part of a private and public partnership between the LA-based VC firm, Goren Holm Ventures (GHV), the City… Read More

October 10, 2019 @ 7:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Approximately half, or 50%, of young consumers in the UK would consider opening an account with a different bank to receive a better online banking experience, according to a report by software firm Mulesoft. The tech company investigated bank account holders’ attitudes and preferences related… Read More

October 10, 2019 @ 2:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of England (BoE) is set to become the first global regulator to perform stress tests on its systems against various “climate pathways,” BoE Governor Mark Carney stated. Carney, whose comments came during the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) summit, held in… Read More

October 9, 2019 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has created a crypto asset fund in order to receive, hold and distribute donations in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).  The aim of the crypto project is to promote the development of open-source protocols for children throughout the world,… Read More

October 9, 2019 @ 2:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korean mobile payments app CHAI and BGF Retail, which manages CU, Korea’s largest convenience store chain with around 13,500 locations, are developing a blockchain-based platform for conducting offline payments.  The nation’s consumers will be able to make payments by scanning and completing transactions with… 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 8, 2019 @ 10:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Decentralized applications’ (dApps) overall transaction volume and user activity dropped significantly during the third quarter of this year, according to a Dapp.com report shared with CrowdFund Insider. Dapp.com, an analytics platform for dApps created on Ethereum (ETH), EOS, Tron, Steem, TomoChain, IOST, and Blockstack, published… Read More

October 8, 2019 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

In the US, crowdfunding under Reg D (506c) requires proof that the investor is “accredited.” To be accredited, an individual must earn over $200,000 a year or have a net worth of $1 million or more (minus their primary residence). While the rule is widely… Read More

October 6, 2019 @ 3:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

More than 100 Fintech companies have applied to participate in the UK’s Open Up 2020 Challenge. The firms will be competing to tap into the evolving open banking economy and a chance to win a £1.5 million prize fund. Managed by Nesta Challenges through a… Read More

October 6, 2019 @ 3:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Alaa Mohammed Allawi, a former interpreter for the US military forces, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for selling fentanyl, which resulted in the death of a US marine. Allawi, who previously worked as an Iraqi US interpreter, will be serving his sentence… Read More

October 5, 2019 @ 5:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco-based Omni, a marketplace that lets users rent products from nearby stores, has been forced to deal with layoffs, according to sources familiar with the matter. As reported by TechCrunch, the company has laid off seven employees from its operations team. Omni is also… Read More