Opinion

November 16, 2018 @ 3:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, CI reported on the first enforcement actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pertaining to post-DAO initial coin offerings (ICOs). The case is precedent setting and sets a clear path for enforcement officials to proceed with other ICO issuers who raised… Read More

November 15, 2018 @ 9:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Autorité des Marches Financiers (AMF) the regulator that has oversight of securities in France, has published a report on initial coin offerings. Entitled ICO Françaises: Un Nouveau Mode de Financement? – the document is a follow up to a year ago launch to the… Read More

November 15, 2018 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

After the first of the year, control of the House of Representatives will move over to the Democrat party following mid-term elections. While the Senate will remain in Republican control, the split Congress means agenda items will frequently be at odds. But in the final… Read More

November 14, 2018 @ 10:00 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

SEC Regulation A (commonly referred to as Regulation A+) was implemented by the SEC in 2015 pursuant to major Congressional legislation, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act). It allows companies to raise up to $50 million in a 12 month… Read More

November 13, 2018 @ 9:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report published a few days backed, addressed the question of which country is tops when it comes to Fintech innovation. For some time now, Singapore and the UK have both aspired to sit on the Fintech throne each providing unique characteristics to their entrepreneurial… Read More

November 13, 2018 @ 4:38 pm By Jen Nash  |  

Last year’s explosion in cryptocurrencies (in both price and awareness among the public) has made the financial world sit up and take notice. The promise of blockchain technology disrupting industries, democratizing finance through decentralization and potentially making investors wealthy—was the driving force behind the rise… Read More

November 12, 2018 @ 7:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Investing in early-stage firms is highly risky. As this publication has stated time and again, many, if not most, early-stage firms will fail or simply bounce along failing to achieve the founder’s expectations of great financial success. Investment crowdfunding platforms typically list mainly startup or… Read More

November 11, 2018 @ 5:21 pm By Melanie Mohr  |  

Gen Z: You know, the generation that dumped Facebook for Instagram, and prefers YouTube videos to cable TV. Gen-Zers were born after 1995 and are expected to represent 40% of consumers by 2020. The ‘post-millennials’ generation is growing older and marketing experts are creating new… Read More

November 10, 2018 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, a report was circulating about EOS that slammed the ecosystem saying it was not even a true blockchain. There are other people in the blockchain world who would agree with at least some of the statements from the report. According to Whiteblock, the “world’s… Read More

November 9, 2018 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week it was revealed that RealtyShares, a respected real estate crowdfunding platform that has originated just under $900 million in investment capital, was winding down operations. The turn of events was driven by the lack of available risk capital to keep the real… Read More

November 9, 2018 @ 8:35 am By JD Alois  |  

It has been a few choppy weeks in Germany for the blockchain / digital asset industry. Last month, a German court ruled that Bitcoin was not a financial instrument. The case centered around an enterprising teenager who launched a Bitcoin exchange five years ago. He was… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 3:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the first enforcement action was taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a cryptocurrency exchange; EtherDelta. Prior to this, the SEC had only targeted issuers and promoters of crypto – largely for fraud and selling unregistered securities.  While the action against EtherData is… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, mid-term elections took place in the US and while the Republicans maintained control of the Senate, the House of Representatives moved over to the Democrats. This split government means that an already divisive, and at times excessively acrimonious, political environment will get even more… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, at the StartEngine Summit during LA Blockchain Week, CI had the chance to sit down with prominent securities attorney Linda Lerner. Lerner is Senior Counsel at Crowell Moring and a veteran lawyer with deep experience and expertise in securities issuance and regulation of stock exchanges…. Read More

November 6, 2018 @ 7:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into every sector of the economy. Financial services is a huge beneficiary of AI as it has the potential to provide better services at a lower cost to many more people. In the recent Autumn Budget presentation by Chancellor Philip… Read More

November 1, 2018 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK Unicorns Monzo, BrewDog & Revolut are Crowdcube Alumni UK’s largest investment crowdfunding platform by volume Crowdcube has now helped to raise capital for three separate unicorns aka firms that have attained a valuation of $ 1 billion or more. Crowdcube pointed to this fact… Read More

October 31, 2018 @ 3:31 pm By Collins Brown  |  

A lot of people think of their cryptocurrency wallet as merely a digitized version of a real wallet that is used for storing funds. However, it doesn’t actually store cryptocurrencies. Rather, it saves a pair of public and private keys that grant access to one’s digital belongings. In a nutshell, a public key is a… Read More

October 31, 2018 @ 2:31 pm By Aubrey Hansen  |  

It’s a tale woven from the stuff legends are made of: In the midst of global financial chaos, corrupt bailouts of the super rich, and growing mistrust in institutions, a mysterious figure arrives out of nowhere to save day. In a nine-page short document, an… Read More

October 31, 2018 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The one crypto to rule them all, Bitcoin, is celebrating a birthday. The creation of Satoshi Nakamoto (whomever he or she really is), Bitcoin has become an iconic concept in global Fintech and the emerging world of digital assets. Starting as a novelty in 2008,… Read More

October 30, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

As a securities attorney, when I attend a conference in a rapidly developing area, I come with my own prejudices and beliefs, but with an open mind and open ears – to hear,  digest and discuss the latest developments and thinking.  The 2018 Crypto Invest… Read More