Opinion

February 3, 2021 @ 4:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdcube and Seedrs are in the midst of a review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding the proposed merger between the two early-stage funding platforms. The proposed merger was revealed in October of 2020. At that time, Seedrs CEO Jeff Kelinsky stated: “We… Read More

February 3, 2021 @ 7:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Existing virtual currencies are unlikely to last, according to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH) don’t have the appropriate structure to work as a viable long-term payments method, according to Bank of England (BoE) governor Andrew… Read More

February 3, 2021 @ 1:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Lex Sokolin, CMO at blockchain firm ConsenSys and Co-Head of Fintech and DeFi at ConsenSys Codefi, recently engaged in a conversation with Ajit ‘Half Boomer’ Tripathi, the Head of Institutional Business at Aave (AAVE), a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. 2/ We covered a lot of… Read More

February 2, 2021 @ 4:00 pm By Lee A. Schneider  |  

  Let me start with a confession: I am not smart enough to be a tax lawyer, certainly not a US tax lawyer.  The intricacies of the US tax code defy my brain’s attempts to systematize a coherent taxonomy.  The tax code is too complex… Read More

February 2, 2021 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments platform Adyen (AMS:ADYEN) recently examined the major shifts that are shaping the North American payments space (from the experts at Google Pay, GoFundMe, and Adyen). Adyen noted that in October 2020 they virtually welcomed merchants and payments experts for discussions during the Payments Decoded… Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Robin Melnick, Director, Alliances & Partnerships at Addepar, a leading provider of technology for the wealth management industry, recently connected with Bob Miller, CEO of PCR, a private client wealth aggregator assisting wealthy families, their advisors, and wealth tech companies develop “winning” digital transformation strategies…. Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 7:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency markets can be “insanely volatile” in both directions, however, the recent market activity felt like “something else” with everyone’s favorite memecoin, DogeCoin (DOGE) surging nearly 10x in just 24 hours (breaking into the top 10 cryptos), Anthony Sassano from EthHub confirmed. He also noted… Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission demanding answers to several questions regarding the heightened volatility pertaining to the recent short-squeezes ostensibly created by Redditors focusing on hedge funds with heavy short positions. Senator Warren said the price… Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 1:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood has raised $3.4 billion in capital from Ribbit Capital, CONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Index Ventures, and NEA. The additional funding is a solid sign of commitment by investors as Robinhood struggles in light of heightened volatility of shares like Gamestop driven by Reddit… Read More

January 31, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Currencycloud, a cross-border payment platform, notes that there are several different ways that Fintech companies are “disrupting” corporate banking. Currencycloud explains that in today’s interconnected society, we “expect the world to be at our fingertips.” Apps allow us to easily conduct business… Read More

January 31, 2021 @ 3:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jonah Schulman, the Head of Marketing at Security Token Market,  a US-based company focused on a listing website for Security Token Offerings (STOs) from all over the world, says that when he says “no” to US equities and “yes” to security tokens, he’s “actually saying… Read More

January 29, 2021 @ 2:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Last week it was reported that KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) is planning to introduce a version of its digital banking platform to serve the needs of healthcare workers. The new digital bank solution may be rolled out on March 30, 2021, which is National Doctors’ Day. The… Read More

January 29, 2021 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood CEO and founder Vlad Tenev visited with CNBC last night professing that actions taken to mitigate trading in GameStop (NYSE:GME) was to protect Robinhood as well as its users. Tenev’s decision to shut down purchases of GME was joined by outrage, not just by… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 8:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Institutional investors have been gaining more exposure to alternative assets such as Bitcoin — particularly large hedge funds. These clients are now willing to aggressively promote or defend Bitcoin’s (BTC) unpredictable and wild price fluctuations. Large publicly listed firms such as MicroStrategy believe or claim… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 1:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) has long been the leading voice advocating on behalf of investment crowdfunding platforms across Europe. The member-driven group has been at the forefront of engaging with policymakers at the European Commission – an initiative that finally paid off when new… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Meltem Demirors, the Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset manager, notes that cryptocurrency-related venture capital is experiencing an “explosive” phase. 1/ crypto VC is going through an explosive 🧨 phase there are big funds (>$500M AUM), a lot of small funds (<$50M… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The blockchain and digital assets space is well-positioned for even more growth and adoption in 2021 by mainstream consumers and institutions. The COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically accelerated the shift towards all-digital platforms and services because it’s no longer considered safe to visit physical business locations…. Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 1:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

QCP Capital, which is one of Asia’s major digital economy traders, has noted that the “broad price puke” from January 21, 2021 (Thursday) in the cryptocurrency markets can (at least partially) be blamed on “some negative headlines” out of US President Biden’s new “crypto unfriendly”… Read More

January 23, 2021 @ 4:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is distributing a letter sent to the Biden Administration asking the new President to “pause on the further expansion and deregulation of the private offering marketplace.” This includes exemptions created by the JOBS Act – a bill signed… Read More

January 22, 2021 @ 3:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tal Elyashiv, Founder and Managing Partner at SPiCE VC, which claims to be the first fully compliant (regulation wise) tokenized venture capital fund, notes that today, we’re at the beginning of what might be the greatest transformational period in modern history. Elyashiv writes in an… Read More