Opinion

November 12, 2019 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, a meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) held a meeting. On the agenda was the topic of the SEC’s concept release on regulatory harmonization. The concept release was initiated in recognition of the current ecosystem of private… Read More

November 11, 2019 @ 9:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading investment crowdfunding platform Seedrs has announced a new feature – the ability to offer a direct investment in a company raising capital online. Seedrs has long been known for its “Nominee” structure, a type of special purpose vehicle (SPV) that benefits both issuers and… Read More

November 10, 2019 @ 5:00 pm By Max Lyadvinsky  |  

Investment has never seen anything like Millennials. This savvy, ethical and growing group consciously spend their money like no demographic before them. The impact of their dollar is just as important as the profit it generates – something investment has not been forced to consider… Read More

November 8, 2019 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce delivered a speech, entitled Broken Windows, addressing SEC enforcement actions earlier this week. Peirce reviewed the topic in advance of the annual report on such actions. The SEC Division of Enforcement is the largest Division within the Commission. According to the… Read More

November 8, 2019 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Council of the European Union has posted a memo, or “draft joint statement,” regarding stablecoins – a hot policy topic these days due to Facebook’s attempt to launch a global, non-sovereign, cryptocurrency. When Facebook revealed the creation of Libra, and the executive body the… Read More

November 7, 2019 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, leading marketplace lending platform LendingClub (NYSE:LC) announced Q3 financial results that beat on both the top and bottom line. Importantly, LendingClub reported its first profitable quarter in years – a longtime goal of the Fintech. LendingClub went public in December 2015 during… Read More

November 7, 2019 @ 10:23 am By JD Alois  |  

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton has re-affirmed his belief that retail investors should have a compliant path to access more private securities offerings. While initial public offerings (IPOs) have morphed into an exit opportunity for big money where retail investors end up… Read More

November 5, 2019 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, Crowdfund Insider reported on comments by EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, a Commissioner whose portfolio includes Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union, indicating harmonized crowdfunding rules may be forthcoming before the end of the year. In a tweet, Dombrovskis stated… Read More

November 5, 2019 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules regarding cryptocurrency platforms or virtual asset service providers (VASPs) have been out in the wild for some time now. Initially, there was much industry concern that required KYC/AML rules will undermine VASPs and harm the industry but, over… Read More

November 4, 2019 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ron Suber is one of the better-known names in the Fintech sector. Originally, Suber’s role as the President of the marketplace lending platform Prosper Marketplace brought Suber’s name to prominence as the Fintech emerged as an early leader in the US online lending market. Since… Read More

October 30, 2019 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfund Capital Advisors co-founder Sherwood “Woodie” Neiss is tweeting that Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) has now topped $300 million in total funding, providing capital to over 2000 campaigns. Reg CF, part of the JOBS Act of 2012, is a securities crowdfunding exemption where issuers may… Read More

October 30, 2019 @ 3:17 am By Cali Haan  |  

Despite an official ban on cryptocurrency trading imposed progressively in the region since 2016, China now appears to be throwing its full weight behind “blockchain,” a type of distributed-ledger technology popularized by Bitcoin that many critics claim is of little use outside of it. A… Read More

October 29, 2019 @ 8:23 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission is well known for talking a lot but, at times, doing very little. The Europea Banking Authority is out with a report today telling the Commission to pick up the pace when it comes to cross border activity in banking, payments and… Read More

October 28, 2019 @ 10:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US House of Representatives passed HR 4860 or the Crowdfunding Amendments Act by a voice vote today thus indicating broad bipartisan support. The bill was part of a grouping of five financial services bills each quickly approved by the House. The bill was introduced by… Read More

October 27, 2019 @ 6:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

For some years now there has been a discussion at the European Commission regarding harmonization of online capital formation rules. Today, crowdfunding is regulated at the member state (national) level creating a mish-mash of European regulations that defy the entire concept of a single market… Read More

October 24, 2019 @ 11:39 am By JD Alois  |  

In a presentation entitled “The Future of Money: The Impact of Digitization, including “social coins” on Currency, Payments and Markets, Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli, Deputy Division Chief in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department from the IMF pitched the concept of a “synthetic CBDC” (Central Bank Digital… Read More

October 23, 2019 @ 8:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, spent over 6 hours today testifying in front of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. While his prepared remarks foreshadowed his defense of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin, little can prepare you for the onslaught of questions delivered by every single Committee… Read More

October 23, 2019 @ 8:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Customers Lose as Fintech Charter Shot Down by US District Court This week, Judge Victor Marrero of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruled against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in its ongoing legal battle to… Read More

October 22, 2019 @ 9:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Nov. 7, 2019. A portion of the meeting will address the SEC’s concept release on the Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions. The meeting, which is open to the public and… Read More

October 21, 2019 @ 9:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Michael Terpin, well known within the cryptocurrency industry, was a victim of a serious theft of crypto several years ago as approximately $24 million in crypto was stolen from his accounts via a Sim Swap hack. Terpin went on to file a lawsuit against AT&T… Read More