General News

May 9, 2019 @ 11:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee under the leadership of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the Committee, has announced the creation of a Task Force on Financial Technology or Fintech and a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI). These two specific topics have emerged in importance… Read More

May 6, 2019 @ 8:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Fidelity, the mega mutual fund company that is entering the crypto sector, shared a survey last week quantifying institutional participation in digital assets. In a release, Fidelity said that 22% of institutional investors have exposure to digital assets with 40% expressing interest in the coming… Read More

May 4, 2019 @ 4:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has talked up their innovation cred and support of Fintech for years. Under previous Chair Mary Jo White, the SEC held the very first Fintech Forum which saw both industry participants and policymakers engage with each other in collaborative… Read More

May 4, 2019 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Cryptosecurity firm Ciphertrace has published their Q1 report tallying scams, frauds, and other nefarious acts in the crypto sector and the first three months of 2019 were productive ones for the bad guys. According to Ciphertrace, during the first three months of 2019, $1.2 billion… Read More

May 1, 2019 @ 6:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

We have seen this one a lot. Issuers file a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and once it pops up on Edgar (the SEC’s document database) the entity or individual claims it has been “approved” by the SEC. That’s a bunch… Read More

April 30, 2019 @ 12:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has provided additional details on the upcoming Roundtable scheduled for May 6th. The Roundtable was announced yesterday and is scheduled to take place the same day as the first meeting of… Read More

April 30, 2019 @ 10:32 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Blanco Niño is enjoying a strong return to Crowdcube. Five years ago the startup raised over £123K on its first campaign, overfunding by 206% with the help of 100 investors. As of today, Ireland-based Blanco Niño has secured over £183,250 from 86+ investors, quickly surpassing… Read More

April 30, 2019 @ 9:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Blockchain ecosystem IOTA announced a significant partnership yesterday with Jaguar Land Rover. The posh auto manufacturer ‘Smart Wallet’ technology is expected to utilize the IOTA Tangle (their flavor of blockchain) for data and value transfer. IOTA reports that it has already been equipped on several… Read More

April 29, 2019 @ 9:39 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Online lending platform Funding Circle announced on Monday it partnered with Oxford Economics to launch a new report, called “Big Business of Small Business,” which revealed banks have been giving small businesses the “cold shoulder” one decade after the financial crisis, causing the businesses to fail… Read More

April 28, 2019 @ 9:07 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police in Berkeley, California, are warning the public that a culprit impersonating a police officer has attempted to extort Bitcoins from a resident of that region. According to a City of Berkeley press release issued April 24th regarding the incident: “Just this past Thursday, a… Read More

April 27, 2019 @ 7:24 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A dedicated news satire site has been making quick work of arguably dubious cryptocurrency products, personages and news sites since its launch three weeks ago. “CoinJazeera, The Realest News in Crypto” publishes content by an anonymous writer or writers and is also seeking submissions and… Read More

April 27, 2019 @ 5:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Officials from the Cleveland Mayor’s Office are reportedly downplaying the significance of what appears to have been a successful ransomware attack on flight info, baggage and email systems at the Cleveland Airport, WTOC reports. Those systems are currently down, though “no hacking” has taken place… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 10:14 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

James Watts, the co-founder of famous crowdfunding brewery BrewDog, has reportedly claimed that the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is causing negative effects on British businesses. According to the Independent, Watts stated that the Brexit process will cause “severe long-term damage” to the UK’s economy, as well… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 1:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the new members of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. The Committee will hold its first meeting on Monday, May 6, 2019, at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Committee replaces the Advisory Committee on… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 4:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Small businesses create the majority of jobs in the US – just like many other developed economies. With jobs comes wealth and prosperity. If this job creation engine shuts down, as we have seen in the last recession, its a disaster. According to the US… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 10:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted the agenda for the upcoming Fintech Forum scheduled to take place on May 31st. The event, entitled the 2019  Fintech Forum, will take place at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC. It will simultaneously be live-streamed on the… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 9:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is on his way out. Originally, Carney was expected to step down in June of 2019. At the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Carney was asked to extend his term as the UK attempted to manage Brexit… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 10:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Venture capital deals in Europe during Q1 were pretty strong, according to the most recent Dow Jones Venture Capital Report. According to the publication, VC funding “surged” in Q1 22% – the second best quarter on record. In total, €6.79 billion was raised for 743… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Many crypto sector platforms are seeking to be approved as “alternative trading systems” or ATSs. An ATS can be very similar to an exchange with a different set of reporting requirements which are not quite as stringent. OTC Markets, a securities marketplace that many people… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 12:32 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The gay travel platform misterb&b has just surpassed $800K with the help of 1240+ investors, easily bypassing its minimum target last month, with its $1M Wefunder campaign target goal in site. Last year the 500 Startups alum celebrated an $8.5M Series A round, raising $13.5M USD… Read More