Opinion

June 7, 2019 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced in April by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, the FinTech Alliance will officially launch next week at an event in London. A gathering is scheduled to take place on June 10th at the start of London Tech Week. A private party… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 2:06 pm By David Williams, Ph.D.  |  

Just because you live in a safe neighborhood, do you leave your house unlocked? Do you leave the key under the doormat? Does that sound safe? Then why would you leave your digital assets in a vulnerable account where a company could just walk in… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 11:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Last year, in the month of June, with great fanfare JP Morgan Chase announced the launch of a “fully digital banking experience Finn by Chase.” Today, Finn is dead. At the time of the launch, JPM Chase said the new-shiny iOS App would provide a… Read More

June 5, 2019 @ 5:09 pm By X.Y. Ng  |  

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is a form of crowdfunding, a method of raising capital that is nowadays often facilitated via the internet. Rather than rely on large amounts of funding from a handful of entities, crowdfunding uses small investments from a large pool of individuals. For… Read More

June 5, 2019 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

This falls under the category of recently discovered as this report by Deloitte Luxembourg was released several months ago. But while much of what the authors have to say will come as accepted gospel to industry advocates, Deloitte makes a few interesting points. The Deloitte… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 8:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

Kik’s Hail Mary Pass. As Crowdfund Insider reported earlier today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has publicly revealed the allegations against Kik and the issuance of the Kin tokens. In 2017, Kik completed an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised a whopping $100 million… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Julia Groves, Partner and Head of Digital at investment platform, Downing LLP and long-time UK Crowdfunding Association Director, issued a statement on updated rules for loan and investment-based crowdfunding revealed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today. Groves was complimentary of the new rules… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 11:32 pm By Cali Haan  |  

90% of the blockchains so far implemented by companies trying to stay current will be obsolete by 2021, global business advisory company Gartner claims in a recent news release: “By 2021, 90% of current enterprise blockchain platform implementations will require replacement within 18 months to… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 11:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held its first Fintech Forum in years. The topic of discussion was the regulation of digital assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT). The interaction between presenters and SEC staff provided a glimpse into the progress and struggle… Read More

June 3, 2019 @ 7:52 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In a speech delivered to delegates of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB- Italy’s securities regulator), CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo highlighted his organization’s commitment to regulating commodities markets, including the cryptocurrency sector, in a manner that gives room for innovation. He… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 1:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider reported on the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) consultation pertaining to “crypto asset trading platforms” or “CTPs.” As part of the consultation, IOSCO presented a series of issues and risks affiliated with digital assets and the trading of these assets… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 12:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An analyst writing in the latest issue of the Diar Newsletter has argued that Facebook is facing considerable “demographic challenges” to the success of its anticipated venture into cryptocurrencies. The venture, tentatively dubbed “GlobalCoin,” is now being developed at Facebook by a team of blockchain,… Read More

June 1, 2019 @ 8:11 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The President of Germany’s central bank, Jens Weidmann, has warned that implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could lead to the destabilization of global financial systems, especially during times of fiscal crisis. The warning came during a speech delivered at the opening of the Bundesbank… Read More

May 30, 2019 @ 4:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

SoFi, one of the largest Fintechs in the US, just closed on a $500 million funding round led by the Qatar Investment Authority. The valuation of the Fintech was reported at $4.3 billion – well into Unicorn status but not much of an approvement in… Read More

May 30, 2019 @ 3:03 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Though cryptocurrencies were created to offer an alternative to traditional banking -and to affront it- the past two years have been characterized by crypto’s quest for legitimacy. To be fair, cryptocurrency exchanges with long-term interests, including Coinbase and Gemini, have attempted to be compliant from… Read More

May 29, 2019 @ 5:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Some time ago, I started a small collection of interesting bourbons. A trip to Frankfurt, Kentucky, and a visit to Buffalo Trace, helped to seal my interest. During the trip, I purchased several bottles of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkel, which I consumed at my leisure… Read More

May 28, 2019 @ 10:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Kik Interactive Inc., a company based in Canada, raised about $100 million selling Kin tokens in an initial coin offering (ICO) during the midst of the hot crypto issuance market in 2017. First sold to accredited investors in a SAFT, once the platform was functional,… Read More

May 28, 2019 @ 2:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

For years, there has been a discussion regarding the initial public offering (IPO) conundrum. Back in the day, smaller investors could join alongside institutional money to capture wealth in an IPO. Today, too frequently, that is simply not the case. The big money has been… Read More

May 27, 2019 @ 9:41 am By Diego Caicedo  |  

Investments in Fintech surged in 2018, reaching US $55 billion worldwide and doubling that of the year before, according to Accenture. Fintech companies are also getting bigger. Currently, 19 out of Forbes’ 50 Most Innovative Fintech Companies in 2019 have valuations of US$1 billion or… Read More

May 25, 2019 @ 8:42 am By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee under the leadership of Representative Maxine Waters announced the creation of two new task forces earlier this month. The Committee created a task force on Fintech  (Financial Technology) and AI (artificial intelligence). Yesterday the Committee included the first two meetings… Read More