Opinion

Editorial opinions and perspective on Fintech.

The People’s Node: An Open Letter to Libra

The world stands at a crucial juncture when new DNA will be created that will form and influence our civilizations for generations to come, determining what our future looks like. The world is now in a position to build global public infrastructure. Who owns this… Read More

Digital Assets: Key Goal of V20 is to Explore Solutions and Come Up with a Solution to FATF Guidelines Impacting VASPs

Later this week the V20 conference will take place alongside the bi-annual G20 event being hosted in Japan. The G20 is, of course, the global powwow of 19 leading nations plus the EU. While mostly a lot of hobnobbing and back-room policy wrangling, while in… Read More

As Chinese P2P Lending Market Rapidly Consolidates, Report Says Some Platforms Look to Other Countries for Solace

The peer to peer lending market in China was at one time similar to the ridiculous ICO market. Full of big promises that ended up being empty commitments. Allegations of fraud in the P2P sector in China has been far larger than the ICO sector… Read More

Study Using Crowdcube Data Says Investment Crowdfunding Has Been Good for Young Entrepreneurs but Not Minorities

A study published in the Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal by faculty at Florida Atlantic University College of Business and the University of Bergamo in Italy, says that investment crowdfunding has been good for young entrepreneurs but not so much for minority founders. While… Read More

V20 to Discuss Challenges from FATF Guidance Impacting Virtual Asset Service Providers

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is out with their “Guidance for a Risk-based Approach: Virtual Assets and Virtual Service Providers.” This guidance, which was widely expected to be released today, should be rubber-stamped at next week’s G20 meeting in Japan. The proposals included in… Read More

CEO of deVere Group Says Facebook’s Libra Means Traditional Banking is Finished

Facebook’s push into cryptocurrency has engendered an exceptional amount of debate and discussion. Some people think it is great. Others, not so much. It doesn’t help that Facebook is a company that has a penchant for abusing their user data while claiming transparency and actually… Read More

The SEC Publishes Report on Reg CF: “The number of crowdfunding offerings as well as the total amount of funding during the considered period was relatively modest”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a statutory report on Regulation Crowdfunding commonly referenced as Reg CF. The mandated report must be forwarded to Congress three years after Reg CF rules became effective (May 2016). Reg CF is the smallest of three federal… Read More

Tradeshift CEO: Libra Will Erode Whatever Trust Users Had Left in the Facebook Platform

It is inevitable that Facebook’s crypto Libra will come under intense scrutiny and a good amount of criticism. The stablecoin, which many people think is really a security token in disguise, has already taken heat from prominent US politicians. Expect public hearings in the House… Read More

Deloitte Releases 2019 “Global Blockchain Survey”

Consultant group and “Big Four” accounting firm Deloitte has released its 2019 Global Blockchain Survey. The company has been conducting blockchain surveys since at least 2015. The current survey was conducted between February 8 and March 4, 2019 and a sample of 1,386 senior executives from… Read More

Concept Release: The Securities and Exchange Commission Asks for Feedback on Ways to Harmonize Securities Exemptions

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comments on the current securities exemption structure. In a release yesterday, the SEC asked the public to provide feedback on “ways to simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor… Read More

US Politicians Line Up to Question Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Libra: Senator Sherrod Brown says Facebook is Already Too Big

Several US politicians have issued statements critical of Facebook’s new cryptocurrency – Libra. Officially announced today, Libra is first a payment platform but Facebook has much bigger ambitions with the crypto. Facebook views it as a step in the direction of redefining financial services. US… Read More

Facebook Launches Stablecoin Libra and Accompanying Wallet Calibra. Is This Good for Crypto?

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) launched its long-anticipated cryptocurrency today with an onslaught of documents, commentary and punditry feedback. Two new websites were revealed each affiliated with a different aspect of their new crypto-ecosystem. First there is the Libra stablecoin, a global currency “backed by a collection of… Read More

British Politician Calls Bitcoin “A Right-Wing Nightmare,” Warns “Inevitable Crypto Crisis Lurking Around the Corner”

Alex Sobel, Labour and Cooperative MP for Northern English district of Leeds North West, has called Bitcoin, “…a right-wing nightmare which facilitates tax evasion, money laundering and environmental degradation.” He has also warned that, “…the Left has continuously failed to engage with questions of finance,… Read More

Why P2P Lending is a Primary Investment Opportunity

The Fintech space has seen significant investment growth in recent years. Out of 310 private companies valued at over US$1 billion globally, 10 percent are in the Fintech sector, according to CB Insights. Only two other sectors claim a larger share of the unicorn pie,… Read More

Crypto Expert Stephen McKeon Comments on Kik’s ICO Battle with the Security and Exchange Commission

It has been widely known that Kik was engaged in a cage match with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ever since Kik went public regarding a Wells Notice submitted by the SEC. A Wells Notice informs an entity they may be the target of… Read More

An Update on France’s Emerging Initial Coin Offering Regime

France is moving forward to embrace blockchain technology and the issuance of digital assets. While security tokens will be regulated just like the securities they are, France has crafted a regulatory regime that supports the issuance of utility tokens. Last December, the French Government issued… Read More

Orca CEO: New FCA Rules for P2P Lending May Stifle Innovation, Shift Industry to Institutional Investors

Last week, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated the regulatory regime managing the peer to peer lending industry. Overall, the P2P sector saw more rules that increased oversight including a cap on retail investment. Initial comments regarding the rules have been mixed with some… Read More

3 Biggest Fintech Trends Shaping Latin America

3 Fintech Trends to Watch in Latin America Latin America is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world for mobile usage. In fact, the region ranks third for smartphone adoption globally, behind North America and Europe In 2017, the percentage of the Latin American… Read More

Goldman Sachs CEO Says They Get No Credit for Digital Bank Marcus

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) CEO David Salomon reportedly told an audience last week that his company is getting zero credit for its digital bank startup Marcus. “If we were out in Silicon Valley and made 20% of the progress that we’ve made, we would get a… Read More

FSB Report Comments on Decentralized Financial Technologies & Impact on Stability, Regulations

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is out with a report on Fintech/distributed ledger technology. Entitled Decentralised Financial Technologies, the document reviews the impact of “decentralization” (IE blockchain and other forms of Fintech) on global financial stability and international regulatory environment. The report is being delivered… Read More

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