Opinion

August 31, 2018 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The current definition of an accredited investor is profoundly flawed and a travesty of rule making. Everyone knows it. As it stands today, an accredited investors must earn at least $200,000 (jointly $300,000) or have a net worth of $1 million beyond a primary residence…. Read More

August 30, 2018 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Here is an interesting thread I was following recently on Twitter. As we all know, Ethereum is planning to change from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). There is no need to dive into the pros/cons .. shoulda coulda debate now, but… Read More

August 29, 2018 @ 5:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at the 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival in Nashville today, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton addressed the all important topic of entrepreneurship and access to capital. During his tenure at the SEC, Clayton has consistently expressed his intent to improve the ability of smaller… Read More

August 29, 2018 @ 1:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the entire world knows, the UK and continental Europe are in the midst of a nasty divorce. This pending separation has engendered massive, ongoing negotiations between London and Brussels. But what happens if there is a “no-deal Brexit?” And how would this impact financial… Read More

August 28, 2018 @ 9:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Virtual Commodity Association (VCA) officially launched and quickly scheduled a meeting for September. The inaugural members included several well-known names in the virtual currency sector. Bittrex, Bitstamp, bitFlyer USA and Gemini Trust Company were announced as founding members. At the same time, Maria… Read More

August 28, 2018 @ 9:47 am By Cali Haan  |  

Jordan Belfort, the former stockbroker portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s splashy tale of excess, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” has taken to the press again to warn about rampant “rip offs” and misconduct in Bitcoin markets and increasing regulatory distaste, CNBC reports. “It’s not that bitcoin’s… Read More

August 27, 2018 @ 8:13 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

President Trump:  It’s High Time for a few More Tweets to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Any good litigator can tell you that the difference between success and failure is often the ability to ask the right questions – at the right times – and asking… Read More

August 26, 2018 @ 6:00 pm By Steven McClurg  |  

The SEC Rejects Bitcoin ETF Proposals. The SEC has rejected nine more Bitcoin ETF proposals, one of them from a fairly well-established ETF distributor, ProShares.  The ProShares filing was due for comments on Thursday, but the SEC promptly responded a day early, as well as… Read More

August 26, 2018 @ 4:12 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Turkish-American economist, professor and blockchain/crypto skeptic Nouriel Roubini spent the 25-minutes allotted him as an opening speaker at BlockShow Vegas this week systematically taking down the sacred cows notions of blockchain crypto. Roubini also had choice words for so-called utility tokens, which he characterized as… Read More

August 25, 2018 @ 4:10 pm By Stephanie Vaughan  |  

Postsecondary education in America is at a crossroads. With 44 million Americans who owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, delinquency and defaults ruining the financial future of millions of individuals, and students on the financial hook for paying for something that might not deliver… Read More

August 24, 2018 @ 2:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a survey from Ripio, users in Latin America overwhelmingly believe blockchain will take over the financial system within the next decade. Ripio is a peer to peer credit network that operates on blockchain. The Ripio wallet has over 200,000 users and is one of… Read More

August 24, 2018 @ 7:30 am By Onki Kwan  |  

The vision Behind Regulation Crowdfunding Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) allows any business to raise up to $1.07 million without a public registeration with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The idea behind Regulation Crowdfunding is to enable small businesses and startups to leverage the advertising power… Read More

August 23, 2018 @ 7:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Marcus began its existence as a mere online lender seeking to provide consumers with affordable credit all online. But as time moves on, it is becoming more clear that Marcus is being positioned as not just providing loans but becoming the bank of the future:… Read More

August 23, 2018 @ 7:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Shojin Property Partners secured funding targets of a combined £1.63M for two of its latest crowdfunded projects in Southend-On-Sea and Hampshire, reportedly attracted 38 investors. Southend-On-Sea was an equity raise (variable profit share) while Hampshire was a debt raise with a fixed return. “Many investors… Read More

August 22, 2018 @ 11:07 pm By Christopher Sands  |  

Lawyers are being pulled into crypto startups at an astonishing rate.  On nearly a daily basis, we are seeing high quality founders / projects seeking to hire lawyers in the space.  Over the last month, our General Counsel network has seen no less than ten… Read More

August 21, 2018 @ 10:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, CI reported on a class action lawsuit filed against Unikrn and their initial coin offering (ICO). The company raised approximately $30 million in an ICO in late 2017. Unikrn was founded by Rahood Sahul, who is no neophyte when it comes to tech and venture capital…. Read More

August 21, 2018 @ 2:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

For the past few days, Revolut – a digital only challenger bank that has achieved unicorn status, has been teasing out a new announcement with a Twitter countdown. By tomorrow we will know more. Revolut has already revealed it is prepping the launch of a… Read More

August 20, 2018 @ 8:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The initial coin offering (ICO) frenzy is a starting to move beyond its toddler years. After a slow start, ICOs rocketed into public awareness with high profile funding rounds and ridiculous scams accompanied by heightened speculation on unregulated crypto exchanges. Crowdsales generated offerings in the… Read More

August 19, 2018 @ 5:46 pm By Steven McClurg  |  

2017 was a landmark year for crowdfunding. The JOBS Act passage coincided with blockchain, opened the door for a record in capital raised through ICOs (initial coin offerings) for early stage companies as well as Wantrepreneurs with an idea and a whitepaper.  ICOs were launched… Read More

August 19, 2018 @ 2:44 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Though many executives at large enterprises still feel blockchain will disrupt their industries, exuberance for blockchain amongst them has deflated in the past two years, says Deloitte in a recent global blockchain survey report. The company’s 2018 global blockchain survey of 1053 “blockchain-savvy” managers at companies… Read More