Global

June 4, 2019 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) completed an initial public offering (IPO) in May raising $240 million at a valuation of about $1.5 billion. The unicorn has since bucked the recent IPO trend – rocketing quite a bit higher. As of today, Beyond Meat is trading at over… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Julia Groves, Partner and Head of Digital at investment platform, Downing LLP and long-time UK Crowdfunding Association Director, issued a statement on updated rules for loan and investment-based crowdfunding revealed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today. Groves was complimentary of the new rules… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 8:51 am By JD Alois  |  

EstateGuru, an Estonian lending marketplace dedicated to cross-border property finance, has received the backing of Speedinvest f – a fund launched by Speedinvest, targeting Fintech investments across Europe. In a release, EstateGuru said that Speedinvest will support its geographic expansion across Europe. The amount of… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 7:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a long-anticipated update to crowdfunding rules. More specifically, the FCA has “enhanced” aspects of investor protection for investors participating in peer to peer lending (P2P). Rules for investment crowdfunding, on the other hand, came out largely unchanged…. Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 11:32 pm By Cali Haan  |  

90% of the blockchains so far implemented by companies trying to stay current will be obsolete by 2021, global business advisory company Gartner claims in a recent news release: “By 2021, 90% of current enterprise blockchain platform implementations will require replacement within 18 months to… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lender Lendy is no more. On May 24, the online lender went into administration. According to the Lendy website: The administrators are working closely with the FCA who consented to their appointment over the Companies. This website will be used to provide… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Phunware, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHUN), a cloud platform for mobile that provides solutions and services for brands worldwide, has announced the introduction of the “Phun utility token”. Not too long ago, Phunware issued PhunCoin security tokens. Phunware sold part of the issuance using CoinList’s compliance services… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 8:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced at Money2020 Europe in Amsterdam, TransferMate is now offering an API, allowing software partners and business customers access to its globally regulated payments technology through direct integration. TransferMate says it can now enable same day payments across 162 countries and 134 currencies. The TransferMate… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 8:26 am By JD Alois  |  

BitMEX Ventures, the investment arm the BitMEX crypto exchange (HDR Global Trading Ltd), has invested in Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Philippines. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. In a release, BitMEX said its investment will help strengthen… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital challenger bank Penta has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. Marko Wenthin, co-founder of solarisBank, will move into the CEO role joining the management team consisting of Jessica Holzbach, Chief Customer Officer, Luka Ivicevic, Chief of Staff, Lukas Zörner, Chief Product Officer and Matteo Concas,… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 7:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Payments and loyalty Fintech Yoyo has announced that David Yates, former president of New Payment Platforms at Mastercard and now a senior advisor to Mastercard, has taken on the role of chairman of the company. Yoyo combines payment, loyalty and marketing to increase customer lifetime… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 7:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Payday loan alternative Wagestream has issued a release stating the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has received 47,220 complaints against payday lenders since 2018. Yet while many complaints have been received only a fraction have been resolved. Wagestream states that only one out of three are… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 10:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Envestors is a “Fintech company that connects investors and scale-up businesses.” Part crowdfunding platform, part angel investor network, and part software as a service. Envestors launched in 2004 as a private investor network for early-stage firms. A digital platform followed in 2013 to directly connect… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Frente Corretora de Câmbio, a Brazilian money transfer and remittance platform, wants to become the “Transferwise of Brazi” by leveraging Ripple to provide low-cost transfers. According to a report in Exame, Frente is the 15th largest currency brokerage in the country. Frente wants to be in… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 2:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Cannabis company BOL Pharma (Breath of Life International) is preparing an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). This is according to a company release and a preliminary prospectus filed in Canada. It was reported that BOL will have a valuation of around… Read More

June 1, 2019 @ 8:11 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The President of Germany’s central bank, Jens Weidmann, has warned that implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could lead to the destabilization of global financial systems, especially during times of fiscal crisis. The warning came during a speech delivered at the opening of the Bundesbank… Read More

June 1, 2019 @ 8:00 pm By Xu Gao  |  

PBOC Set Up Deposit Insurance Fund Management Company On May 24th, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, set up a deposit insurance fund management company after it took a rare move to take over Inner Mongolia-based Baoshang Bank in response to its… Read More

June 1, 2019 @ 7:44 am By Cali Haan  |  

Bank of Russia head Elvira Nabiullina has told deputies of the State Duma (parliament) in Russia that her organization is wary of cryptocurrencies, Pravo reports: “We are against the legalization of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. We believe that there are big risks for… Read More

May 31, 2019 @ 6:42 am By Therese Torris  |  

In its 3rd edition, Viva Technology, the Paris technology innovation show gathered more than 124,000 attendees from 125 nationalities, a 24% increase over last year. French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Alibaba’s founder and CEO Jack Ma were among the 450… Read More

May 30, 2019 @ 5:50 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has drafted a bill to allow its Board of Directors to create rules that would require all individuals, companies and/or platforms dealing in or issuing cryptocurrencies to be licensed, The Egyptian Independent reports. The rules would supplant a “fatwa”… Read More