Opinion

December 21, 2019 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, has published its inaugural report on the ability for small businesses in the US to access growth capital. The Advocate is a newly-formed sector of the SEC created by legislation… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Crowdfund Insider reported on the agreed-upon legislation for harmonized pan-European crowdfunding rules. Having a single market for online capital formation has been a goal of crowdfunding industry leaders and industry participants for years. Industry advocates have worked diligently behind the scenes to push forward… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 7:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As she welcomed Benoît Coeuré to his new position as Head of the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS’) Innovation Hub, U.S. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told regulators in Frankfurt Wednesday that private (crypto) currency networks pose risks that must be addressed. She also said… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 7:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), Christopher W. Gerold, has issued a statement regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to modernize and improve the definition of an accredited investor. NASAA is the advocacy and lobbying group that represents state… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 8:17 pm By Timothy Li  |  

After an eight hour journey with a stop in Dallas, I arrived early Monday morning (Dec 2nd, 2019) in Miami, a city with many faces. I sprung up early next morning and walked straight into Keynote sessions at the FinnoSummit by LendIt Fintech. As many… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 2:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a public meeting to discuss, and vote on, various rules impacting the securities markets. Included in the meeting was an update to the definition of an accredited investor. Currently, the definition is determined by a wealth metric…. Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 9:32 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The first ATM ever to dispense cryptocurrency materialized like a clunky Venus in her shell at a Waves cafe in downtown Vancouver in October 2013. The machine was reportedly installed by Bitcoiniacs in cooperation with a Nevada firm called Robocoin, a company Spectrum says once sourced Bitcoins… Read More

December 16, 2019 @ 2:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) met to review, and vote on, recommendations for the Commission as part of the concept release on regulatory harmonization. During a public call, a discussion was held on addressing the… Read More

December 15, 2019 @ 3:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Marqeta is one of those Fintech unicorns that is killing it but not getting a whole lot of coverage because it is not consumer facing. Marqeta provides the digital rails to enable businesses to create innovative payment programs and cards allowing companies to customize their… Read More

December 13, 2019 @ 6:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

There is a lot of hype and hyperbole in the digital asset sector when it comes to securities or utility tokens. To date, the talk has far overshot the reality but that doesn’t mean that advocates aren’t on to something. Part of the discussion revolves… Read More

December 13, 2019 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC), submitted a recommendation to the Commission on the definition of an accredited investor. The SEC will look for guidance from the Committee as it values the feedback of front line… Read More

December 11, 2019 @ 2:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider participated in the very first FinnoSummit event (hosted by LendIt) that addressed the Fintech marketplace in Latin America (LATAM). While in past years, much discussion has focused on Fintech in Asia and Europe, it is clear that Fintech is now experiencing… Read More

December 10, 2019 @ 10:48 pm By Alexey Ermakov  |  

After the parabolic bull run of 2017, the last two years were pretty much a bearish phase. New lows were created, bounces and new projects were spread thinly apart.  As we look forward to 2020, expectations of another massive crypto rally, interesting projects and the… Read More

December 9, 2019 @ 10:15 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As the price of Bitcoins sailed parabolically from $3500 USD to $20 000 USD in the latter half of 2017, retail investors were advised to snap up cryptocoins quickly before “the institutions” stepped in and ruined opportunity forever. As mainstream media warned of a bubble,… Read More

December 9, 2019 @ 5:00 am By Jonathan J. Attia and Thibault Verbiest  |  

We have deliberately chosen to limit our presentation, for pedagogical reasons, to the four fundamental periods represented by the emergence of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Libra and CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) because no other event (derived or similar project) has had such an impact on the… Read More

December 9, 2019 @ 1:49 am By JD Alois  |  

A report by global consulting firm AT Kearney recently addressed the emergence of digital challenger banks. Published last week, and authored by Simon Kent and Danil Makarov, the research states that  challenger banks are “already mainstream” and if old school high street banks don’t wake… Read More

December 5, 2019 @ 6:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Banque of France will begin testing a Central Bank Digital Currency (or CBDC) in 2020, according to a report in Les Echos – the leading business publication of France. Quoting François Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Banque of France, who was speaking… Read More

December 3, 2019 @ 1:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Benoît Cœuré, the outgoing European Central Bank Executive Board Member – and an individual some thought was the best person to lead ECB before Christine Lagarde was selected, has delivered an interesting speech in Brussels lambasting the state of the European Union and the lack… Read More

December 3, 2019 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Innovations in financial services continue to rapidly evolve. Some early leaders have dimmed as markets have changed while new approaches on Fintech have emerged. What is clear to all, the digitization of finance is occurring at a steady pace. Technology is best when it is… Read More

December 2, 2019 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a significant review of the securities exemption ecosystem in June of this year. During the past few decades, the Commission, with some help from Congress, has updated and added to the many rules that regulate private securities offerings…. Read More