Global

February 5, 2019 @ 9:14 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The German digital insurance platform Friendsurance, which serves nearly 150,000 customers and works together with 175 insurance companies, now offers its digital bancassurance solutions under the new brand name Friendsurance Business. The expansion was made in  response to the increased demand from banks and insurance… Read More

February 5, 2019 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

India’s “first” native blockchain protocol, Eleven01, has launched their testnet. According to Eleven01, their platform is geared toward emerging markets looking to implement blockchain tech into mainstream industries including, retail, agriculture, banking, healthcare, finance, and more. Ausaf Ahmad, CEO of Eleven01, was formerly at Microsoft… Read More

February 5, 2019 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The Crypto Valley Association (CVA) has announced new board members following their annual meeting Zug, Switzerland – also known as Crypto Valley. CVA is a leading blockchain focused advocacy group which has worked closely with Swiss public officials to foster an ecosystem of innovation in… Read More

February 5, 2019 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Falkensteiner Hotels & Resorts and Finnest have closed on an €8.5 million funding round – one of the largest ever for a crowd finance platform. Finnest GmbH, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is a Fintech providing crowdfunding services in the DACH region as well as Slovakia and Croatia…. Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 11:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in operation, has acquired UK based Crypto Facilities, according to a release by Crypto Derivatives. The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed but the two companies said it was a “nine-figure deal” and Kraken’s largest acquisition… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 4:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Overstock’s (NASDAQ:OSTK) Medici Land Governance (MLG) subsidiary has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the municipality of Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico. The MOU is to develop a digital land records platform built on their blockchain platform. MLG and Tulum officials expect to “work together to… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 12:24 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Connecticut Innovations (CI), a Connecticut-based strategic venture capital arm, announced on Monday it has opened applications for its $5 million global venture challenge, VentureClash. According to CI, VentureClash is for early-stage digital health, fintech, insurtech, and industry 4.0 companies. To be eligible to apply, a company must:… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By Onki Kwan  |  

Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”), a company based in Canada, raised close to $100 million selling Kin tokens during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017, making it one of the most successful ICOs. It first sold tokens to accredited investors through a SAFT (Simple… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 9:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO) and FIO Protocol, an inter-wallet operability protocol that makes it easier to move tokens and coins, has announced that Trust Wallet, the official mobile wallet of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has joined the Foundation. Trust Wallet was acquired by Binance… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 8:42 am By JD Alois  |  

dozens, a “new banking and wealth management alternative” wants to be where you save your money. dozens will accomplish this by providing proprietary financial products including a 5% annual interest rate which will make high-interest rates accessible to more people. dozens is placing the money… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 7:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Online business finance marketplace Funding Options has launched in the Netherlands. The expansion by Funding Options is being done in partnership with ING Bank and is the company’s first foray outside the United Kingdom. Funding Options will now service the Netherlands’ 1.8 million SMEs gain access to finance alternatives…. Read More

February 3, 2019 @ 6:18 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Loanboox, one of the lending platforms participating in the panel about “Improving Credit Access and Transparency,” which I chaired for Crowdfund Insider at the Paris Fintech Forum 2019, announced that it has raised CHF 22 million ($22 million) in a Series B round of financing. How Stefan… Read More

February 3, 2019 @ 3:23 pm By Aubrey Hansen   |  

You’ve worked tirelessly on your latest project, and eventually, find yourself sitting with what could be a breakthrough invention. Months, or even years, of hard work have come to fruition, and now you’ve reached the promised land of sorts. Your first instinct may be to… Read More

February 3, 2019 @ 1:09 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An Italian court has ordered the owner of the BitGrail cryptocurrency exchange, Francesco Firano, to declare bankruptcy and forfeit assets so they can be used to reimburse investors harmed when Firano “lost” 17 million Nano tokens (worth $170 million), a post by affected investors claims…. Read More

February 3, 2019 @ 10:53 am By Cali Haan  |  

Joel Ortiz, a 20-year-old California college student, has accepted a plea deal and has agreed to a sentence of 10 years for stealing $5 million in cryptocurrencies from victims he robbed via SIM-swap hack, Motherboard reports. Ortiz will be sentenced on March 14, and it… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 1:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dinosaur Financial Group issued a release on their relationship with tZero, Overstock’s digital asset trading marketplace, on Friday. The announcement that Dinosaur’s institutional brokerage firm was partnering with tZero was old news. A few days prior, tZero had announced the commencement of trading via Dinosaur as the “introducing… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 11:14 am By Cali Haan  |  

In its latest “Crypto Crime Report,” blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis says that two groups are responsible for 60% of hacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, the most lucrative types of crypto hacks by far: “Hacking dwarfs all other forms of crypto crime, and it is dominated by… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 10:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK and Europe and other jurisdictions are not alone in pursuing the digital banking revoluation. In Australia, Xinja is following in the footsteps of platforms like Revolut and Monza by raising growth capital on a crowdfunding platform. Several weeks into their public campaign on… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 10:09 am By Xu Gao  |  

Xiongan: the New Fintech Hub According to a guideline jointly issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, Xiongan New Area is set to become a new center for China’s financial innovation. The guidelines said that Xiongan will “take the… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 6:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Property Partner is now offering an Innovative Finance ISA (IF ISA), according to a release from the property crowdfunding platform. Just like a regular ISA, investors may place up to £20,000 per year into an IF ISA account, which may then be used to invest… Read More