General News

October 5, 2023 @ 9:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s smallest companies could generate £77.3bn of extra revenue and create 885,000 new jobs if they “all digitalized at the rate of the top 20% of tech adopters.” This is according to new research from Xero, the global small business platform, and economics consultant,… Read More

October 5, 2023 @ 12:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The British Business Bank has announced a new fund for Scotland. The Investment Fund for Scotland will include £150 million in funding to assist smaller firms. The fund will provide loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investments up to £5 million. This is… Read More

October 4, 2023 @ 10:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Virtual cards, also known as temporary cards, are defined by the researchers at Juniper Research as “randomly generated and generally temporary card number linked to a payment account, used to process payments in lieu of genuine payment details.” A virtual card is “a payment tool… Read More

October 4, 2023 @ 7:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The number of new deals offered under Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) declined by 9% versus Q2 2023 and a drop of 27% compared to the same quarter last year. This is according to the most recent report distributed by Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA). These most… Read More

October 3, 2023 @ 11:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Business confidence in the UK fell to 36% in September, “a five point dip from the 18-month high (41%) recorded in August, as companies saw a decline in both economic optimism and trading prospects for the year ahead.” This, according to an update shared by… Read More

October 3, 2023 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Zodia Custody, an “institution-first” digital asset custodian whose shareholders include Standard Chartered, SBI Holdings and Northern Trust, has appointed James Harris as Chief Commercial Officer. Harris joins the business from CCData, “where he was the Commercial Director for the digital asset data company.” Harris’ appointment… Read More

October 3, 2023 @ 8:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Following IOTA’s ShimmerEVM update last week, the developers have are introducing IOTA 2.0. After a period of research and prototyping, the IOTA Foundation “presents IOTA 2.0, a protocol that encapsulates its vision of digital autonomy for everyone.” The entire architecture of IOTA has reportedly “been… Read More

October 3, 2023 @ 6:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DTCC, the post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced the appointment of Brian Steele as Managing Director, President, Clearing & Securities Services, “effective October 2, 2023.” Steele will join the DTCC Management Committee, Management Risk Committee and the Investment Management Committee…. Read More

October 2, 2023 @ 11:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Clara, the Latin American solution for businesses to make and manage all their payments, has announced the appointment of Cristian Raygoza as its new Head of Startups, Venture Capital & Private Equity. This strategic move reinforces Clara‘s commitment “to fostering innovation and expanding its reach… Read More

October 2, 2023 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Maxwell Rich, a longtime legal executive at Republic, has departed the investment crowdfunding platform to join the global law firm Morrison Foerster (MoFo). Rich has also been President and Chair of the Association of Online Investment Platforms (AOIP), a position he will now pass on… Read More

October 1, 2023 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Frequently, private firms aim to grow and become public companies at some point in their evolution. This is one of the ways you can also provide liquidity for early investors. Yet by becoming a “registered” or “reporting company,” you must comply with a heightened degree… Read More

October 1, 2023 @ 5:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to research by London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management, Europe’s regulated digital assets hedge fund manager founded by alumni of Bankers Trust, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, institutional investors “are confident Bitcoin and Ethereum will sustain their strong performance for the rest of this year.” The… Read More

October 1, 2023 @ 5:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the DeFi realm, while innovation and opportunity are definitely arising, significant potential risks prevail, according to an update from SlowMist. SlowMist explains that addressing these challenges demands “an active and evolving security approach, parallel in its dynamism and comprehensiveness to the ecosystem it aspires… Read More

September 30, 2023 @ 4:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

U.S. retail investors remain optimistic about reaching their investing goals even as student loan payments resume and the threat of a recession looms, according to data from the latest Retail Investor Beat from trading and investment network eToro. In the short term, investors are still… Read More

September 30, 2023 @ 3:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. housing market has rebounded strongly in 2023 after a short-lived downturn late last year. The total value of the U.S. housing market has surged by more than $2.6 trillion over the past year, a new Zillow (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) analysis shows. The… Read More

September 30, 2023 @ 4:07 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has revealed in its recent publication on 29 September that there has been a slight increment in total deposits with authorized institutions by 0.6% in August 2023. The deposits consisted of Hong Kong dollar deposits, which saw an increase… Read More

September 29, 2023 @ 1:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A report has looked into how consumers are managing higher mortgage rates and adapting their spending due to inflation. This along with other key insights are shared in the KPMG UK’s latest Consumer Pulse research. KPMG’s Consumer Pulse survey “tracks how over 3000 consumers across… Read More

September 29, 2023 @ 1:54 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hispanics, which currently represent nearly 20% of the US population, are on track to reach $113 trillion in collective wealth by 2025, according to a new report released by Fintech platform Finhabits. By comparison, the total household wealth in the US in 2022 was $140… Read More

September 29, 2023 @ 1:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

While all markets have been choppy and some are in decline, Forge is reporting that private markets are performing better than some other markets. Forge is a private securities marketplace that provides liquidity in private firms. According to the Forge Private Market Index, private firms… Read More

September 29, 2023 @ 1:36 am By Michael Wong  |  

Global alternative investment firm Varde Partners announced that it has raised nearly $1.5 billion for Varde Asset Lending Fund II, its asset-based lending opportunities platform. The fund received support from a global base of institutional investors. Varde Partners is a global alternative investment firm specializing… Read More