Global

December 28, 2023 @ 6:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

After the launch of World ID 2.0 and the open sourcing of the Worldcoin iris recognition pipeline in mid December, World ID verifications are now “available in Singapore via the Orb, the project’s custom hardware device.” A full list of verification locations is available on… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 2:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockstream, the global firm focused on Bitcoin infrastructure technology, has  announced the upcoming Series 2 launch of its Bitcoin-denominated investment vehicle, the Blockstream ASIC (BASIC) Note. As stated in a blog post by Blockstream, here ar ethe Key Facts: Series 1 was oversubscribed, demonstrating strong… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 12:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Innovation Nation. Israel remains one of the hottest entrepreneurial hubs in the world. The country has punched above its weight class for years now and is well known for being the launch pad of many successful tech startups. But 2023 has hit the country… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 12:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive “increased +3.1% year over year this holiday season, running from November 1 through December 24.” Mastercard SpendingPulse from Mastercard (NYSE: MA) reportedly “measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

  Revolut, a top digital bank based in the UK but operating around the world, has been approved to offer home loans. According to Fintech Lithuania, Revolut will start offering mortgages across the European Economic Area, first in Lithuania. The group describes the approval as… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi has issued a statement on the agency’s key achievements in the past couple of years. The update is part of a three-year strategy by the FCA to support financial services development while providing ample protection…. Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank of Ireland credit and debit card data for the first two weeks of December revealed that spending levels rose nationwide compared to the same period in 2022. Cavan shoppers engaged in “the biggest pre-Christmas splurge, with spending in the county rising by 11% during… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 8:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency isn’t just here to stay – it’s the “future of money,” according to an update from Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). The largest crypto exchange in the US has outlined the status of digital assets while predicting a bullish future for crypto. Even in the aftermath of… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 8:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Estateguru says that they saw €9.4 million in loan repayments in November, with an additional €1.3 million coming from recovered loans. As noted in a blog post by Estateguru, the total returns amounted to €1.1 million, “with an average return rate of 8.99%.” Estateguru has… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 11:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On 20 December 2023 the legislative acts on the European Single Access Point (ESAP) for information on financial services, capital markets sustainability and diversity were published in the Official Journal of the EU. Eurocrowd notes in a blog post that the ESAP is “expected to provide the… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 10:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) published a joint report on the impact of climate change on the European Union (EU) financial system. The report sets out detailed frameworks for “addressing risk to the financial system by (i) gathering… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 10:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) claims that it has had a “busy” and “productive” 2023, marked by the achievement of several significant milestones and the launch of new initiatives. This included the opening of new offices “in New York and London, strategically positioning… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 8:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Research published by Commonwealth Bank (CBA) shows “the majority of Aussies will set a money-based New Year’s resolution in 2024.” According to the latest CommBank research, 76 per cent of Australians “will make at least one financial resolution as they dive into 2024.” Almost one… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 7:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payble, a provider of payments workflow and customer engagement software, announced it has closed a $3.5 million funding round led by OIF Ventures. The new funding will be used “to continue to capitalize on strong demand for Payble’s citizen-centric payment solution in its beachhead segment… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 5:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

EOS Labs and EOS Network Foundation (ENF), which claim to be “stewards” of the EOS Network, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership with the EOS Stable Coin Chain (ESCC), an Ethereum-based blockchain deployed as “a smart contract on the EOS Network using a customized… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 1:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A significant uplift in global growth is “unlikely” in 2024 with “no short-term end in sight to geopolitical uncertainty and tight monetary policies,” according to the latest KPMG Global Economic Outlook. Produced by leading economists from KPMG member firms around the world, this year’s report… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 11:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Last November, OurCrowd announced the creation of the Israel Resilience Fund – launched following the terrorist attacks by Hamas. Israel is a top center of innovation and entrepreneurship, and OurCrowd is one of the leading investors in early-stage firms in Israel. The attacks upended the… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

SyndicateRoom, once an investment crowdfunding platform and now an early-stage fund offering, has distributed a note on its Access EIS fund and its activity during 2023. SyndicateRoom’s fund has been labeled as one of the most active early-stage funds in the UK. The fund is… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has (21 December) signed the Berne Financial Services Agreement, a pact on financial services cooperation, with his Swiss counterpart Karin Keller-Sutter. The agreement sets sectors where the UK and Switzerland will “mutually recognize each other’s domestic laws and regulations on financial services,… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 8:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is launching a new framework for Notified Professional Investor Funds (NPIFs). The framework provides for “an additional fund structure in Malta that benefits from an appropriately streamlined onboarding process and complements other existing fund frameworks.” The MFSA is launching… Read More