General News

September 9, 2019 @ 10:15 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

PEAK6, a U.S.-based investment and technology firm, announced on Monday it has acquired Electronic Transaction Clearing, a custodian and clearing provider. According to PEAK6, ETC’s institutional orientation will “expand” the company’s footprint in custody and clearing and is a direct complement to one of its… Read More

September 8, 2019 @ 11:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group has acquired Kaola for approximately $2 billion from Hangzhou-based entertainment giant NetEase. The acquisition has created the largest cross-border e-commerce platform in China, according to Alibaba’s management. Commenting on Alibaba Group’s latest acquisition, company chief executive Daniel Zhang said:  “With… Read More

September 6, 2019 @ 11:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Linc Finkenberg, a former Associate General Counsel and Managing Director at BNY Mellon, has joined Perkins Coie as part of the firms Fintech and financial transactions practice in New York City. While at BNY Mellon, Finkenberg led a global team of more than 30 lawyers and… Read More

September 5, 2019 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

uBiome, once a Biotech darling that popularized its concept on the pages of pretail e-commerce site Indiegogo and then listed an investment opportunity on Angellist, has filed for bankruptcy according to public documents. Back in 2015, uBiome pitched the concept of sequencing an individual’s microbiome… Read More

September 1, 2019 @ 11:10 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Online lending platform Biz2Credit announced on Friday its latest analysis of industry sectors found that restaurant loan approval rates were above 50% in 2018. Biz2Credit revealed that though the analysis noted that restaurants and accommodation businesses had the highest loan approval rates (51%) in 2018… Read More

September 1, 2019 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

While China has obviously morphed from a command economy to one that has wholeheartedly embraced the benefits of capitalism and a market economy there still remains substantial central planning. The current Belt and Road initiative is all about global development and increasing China’s influence around… Read More

August 30, 2019 @ 3:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

San Francisco based SoFi is expanding and hiring new employees. The California born Fintech is just not doing it in the Golden State. SoFi will be hiring 300 new employees in a new Southeast Operations Center in Jacksonville, Florida. SoFi, like many other firms, is… Read More

August 30, 2019 @ 6:51 am By Cali Haan  |  

Content warning: This article contains brief descriptions of the abuse of children. Reader discretion is advised. Cryptocurrencies are making cyber-crime, terror financing, money laundering and child exploitation much easier, Neil Walsh, chief of the Cybercrime and Anti-Money-Laundering section of the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime… Read More

August 26, 2019 @ 2:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a report from last week, Fintech Unison was highlighted as considering an exit from the tech startup epicenter of San Francisco. According to SF Business Times, Texas, Idaho, and other states are looking to lure companies away from the Bay Area as the cost… Read More

August 22, 2019 @ 8:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Former Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne was visiting with the studios of Fox News today following his abrupt resignation earlier today from the company he founded. Byrne is widely recognized as a pioneer in the blockchain sector having launched several companies, including tZero, targeting the… Read More

August 22, 2019 @ 11:55 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) has requested an extension on comments regarding the current Concept Release for regulatory harmonization pertaining to securities exemptions. The Concept Release, akin to a consultation, was launched in June as an attempt to simplify securities… Read More

August 21, 2019 @ 2:43 am By JD Alois  |  

A new report published by Tech Nation and Dealroom indicates the UK is experiencing a robust market for investment in early-stage firms. In fact, the UK is going gangbusters in comparison to the year prior. The report states that the UK tech sector has attracted… Read More

August 20, 2019 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

CrowdEngine, a white-label securities crowdfunding platform, has enlisted InvestReady to provide investor accreditation status and verification service. CrowdEngine will integrate InvestReady’s services as part of its portfolio of offerings. CrowdEngine can power online capital formation, including token offerings, both domestically and internationally. In the US,… Read More

August 20, 2019 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

In the US, the definition of an “Accredited Investor” is an individual who earns over $200,000 a year or has $1 million in net assets minus their primary residence. If you are married, that number moves higher. Yet, as it stands today, this definition does… Read More

August 19, 2019 @ 9:53 pm By Cali Haan  |  

At least twenty local governments in Texas are now coping with a “coordinated ransomware attack on municipality computer systems,” the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) reports. Affected cities and towns are not named in the release. A response is being coordinated by the Texas Division of… Read More

August 19, 2019 @ 10:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Blockchain software firm BitGo announced on Monday it has appointed former Senior Vice President at Xapo, Pete Najarian, as its new Chief Revenue Officer. According to BitGo, Najarian has more than 20 years of experience working in international finance with institutional investors. Prior to Xapo,… Read More

August 19, 2019 @ 7:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) and the Swiss Business Hub ASEAN expect to showcase approximately 30 different Fintech firms at the upcoming Singapore Fintech Festival this coming November. A noted Asian Fintech Hub, the annual Singapore Fintech Festival has captured wide participation from Southeast Asia as… Read More

August 17, 2019 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

LendIt, best known for its roving events targeting the online lending industry plus other aspects of the emerging Fintech industry, has added Latin America to its list of targeted regions with a new event. FinnoSummit, taking place in Miami this coming December, is being produced… Read More

August 17, 2019 @ 7:59 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a report by Fintelum, a tokenization platform for primary issuance and secondary trading, 17% of security token offerings have been successful in Europe (EU + Switzerland and the UK). Granted, it is still very early in the digital asset realm so while the… Read More

August 16, 2019 @ 1:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Outlier Ventures, a venture platform that funds seed and growth stage blockchain firms, has published a report on blockchain investment. According to Outlier, since 2013 approximately 3,738 blockchain companies have raised $23.7 billion. Funding for blockchain firms in 2019 appears to be on track to… Read More