Global

April 16, 2018 @ 7:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is out with report covering the topic of Fintech Sandboxes. These new step in fostering financial innovation was first launched in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but the concept has since been replicated in a growing number… Read More

April 16, 2018 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Traditional banks can be pretty horrible. Slow to embrace technology and tending towards a fee rich platform instead of a service that looks out for consumers, it is a truism that “people do not need banks, they need banking services” (as Bill Gates once said)…. Read More

April 16, 2018 @ 8:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Dow Jones VentureSource is out with their quarterly report and their numbers indicate a decline in venture capital funding during the first quarter of 2018. According to the report, investment declined by 16% in the number of funds and delivered a 29% drop in capital… Read More

April 16, 2018 @ 3:00 am By JD Alois  |  

There is a new entry in the UK crowdfunding market. Stakeholderz, the creation of executive recruitment firm Intramezzo, is an equity crowdfunding platform with a mission to bring together early stage tech ventures with experienced directors who can not only help fund the company but… Read More

April 15, 2018 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Renwick Haddow, a UK national, was extradited from Morocco to the US for committing fraud that saw over $36 million stolen from investors. The extradition is just part of a long criminal saga by Haddow. Last year, the SEC joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the… Read More

April 14, 2018 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Malta, a Mediterranean country that wants be known as Blockchain Island, has published a “Financial Instrument Test” as it seeks to clarify questions regarding initial coin offerings (ICOs) and when a digital asset is a security and when it is not. The Malta Financial Services… Read More

April 14, 2018 @ 8:35 am By Xu Gao  |  

Educational Installment Platform Xiaoniujh.com Secures Millions in A-round Financing On April 10th, Chinese leading installment financing platform for quality education Xiaoniujh.com announced that it had secured millions in an A-round financing. The investment was led by HG Capital and followed by Sina and Aplus Capital. Xiaoniujh.com… Read More

April 13, 2018 @ 4:41 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In mid-March, The Government of Australia published tax guidelines for citizens and businesses using cryptocurrencies to invest, make or receive payments. The document, “Tax treatment of cryptocurrencies,” is fairly readable and the compliance procedures outlined quite reasonable. In short: “Our view is that Bitcoin…is an… Read More

April 13, 2018 @ 8:40 am By JD Alois  |  

  Fintech Oval Money, a Robo-advisor founded by Benedetta Arese Lucini former CEO of Uber Italy, reports it has raised a total of £1.3 million in funding. Earlier this year, Oval listed on Crowdcube where it raised £632,000, according to the campaign page. Oval reports… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 6:43 pm By Marina Evseeva  |  

As recently noted by Omkar Godbole, only two of the top 25 cryptocurrencies, VeChain’s VET token and Binance coin (BNB), saw gains in the first quarter of this year. That fact really gave me pause for thought. Stepping back from the hype and speculation, in… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 1:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The grande dame of peer to peer lending in the UK, Zopa, is raising £50 million at a valuation of £400 million, according to several reports.  SkyNews states this most recent funding round will be led by current investors including Wadhawan Global Capital out of… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 10:02 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Investment manager Downing LLP has launched of a new bond on its crowdfunding platform, Downing Crowd, paying 7.6% p.a. interest to investors by lending £10M to projects across the UK’s reserve power market. [clickToTweet tweet=”.@Downingcrowd Reserve Power Bond will enable investment of up to £10M in… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 9:52 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Santander announced on Thursday the launch of its new international payments service using blockchain-based technology. The service is available to retail customers in Spain, UK, Brazil, and Poland, and will be rolled out across more countries in the coming months. According to Santander, the new… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 9:30 am By Erin Hobey  |  

LendInvest, the specialist property finance lender, has partnered with mortgage sourcing partners Twenty7Tec and IRESS’s TriGold system to bring its Buy-to-Let product to more intermediaries. These sourcing systems now bring LendInvest BTL loans to the market in a faster, more efficient way to reach a wider… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 2:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Cash is king no more. Today’s society is all about mobility and the digitization of all forms of finance. How consumers spend and manage their money has changed dramatically in recent years and that pace of change is accelerating. Revolut is a new breed of… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 10:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Swiss firm Sirin Labs has plans to release a cell phone built especially for cryptocurrency users. “The Finney” Android phone will offer more secure storage of cryptocurrencies and the dApps (decentralized applications) they support. (dApps are computer apps built on decentralized cryptocurrency blockchains governed by… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 9:20 pm By Cali Haan  |  

On Tuesday, April 10th, 22 European countries signed an declaration vowing to cooperate as partners in the development and deployment of blockchain tech across European jurisdictions. According to the declaration, “Cooperation on a European Blockchain Partnership,” earnest efforts to “reaffirm” Europe’s “leading role” globally in blockchain… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently published a note stating they are aware of a growing number of UK firms issuing cryptocurrencies or digital assets associated with initial coin offerings. These vehicles are currently not directly regulated but the FCA, and other policy types,… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 11:51 am By Cali Haan  |  

Members of the luxury set fond of cryptocurrencies are now able to purchase, log and transact a number of their favorite items using decentralized digital money and ledgers. Japanese luxury car reseller L’Operaio announced at the the end of March that they’ll accept Bitcoin at… Read More

April 10, 2018 @ 12:32 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Today at Lendit, Lend Core Inc., parent company to NSR Invest and LendingRobot, announced the close of its first external financing round with FinSight Ventures. The investment will help the company expand its investor outreach, accelerate product development and strategic partnerships. [clickToTweet tweet=”Live from @Lendit: @NSRInvest… Read More