Opinion

April 16, 2018 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Traditional banks can be pretty horrible. Slow to embrace technology and tending towards a fee rich platform instead of a service that looks out for consumers, it is a truism that “people do not need banks, they need banking services” (as Bill Gates once said)…. Read More

April 13, 2018 @ 4:41 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In mid-March, The Government of Australia published tax guidelines for citizens and businesses using cryptocurrencies to invest, make or receive payments. The document, “Tax treatment of cryptocurrencies,” is fairly readable and the compliance procedures outlined quite reasonable. In short: “Our view is that Bitcoin…is an… Read More

April 13, 2018 @ 1:27 am By Cali Haan  |  

French philosopher Roland Barthes once stated, “The world is a forest of signs.” Every object was a sign, he believed, and behind it lay a world of meaning. At at recent blockchain conference in Toronto, one entrepreneur presented her product to help, “Navigate the Token… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 6:43 pm By Marina Evseeva  |  

As recently noted by Omkar Godbole, only two of the top 25 cryptocurrencies, VeChain’s VET token and Binance coin (BNB), saw gains in the first quarter of this year. That fact really gave me pause for thought. Stepping back from the hype and speculation, in… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 1:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) “stormed” Washington, DC this past week as community bankers from across the country urged much needed regulatory reform. The ICBA pronounced the “excessive and unnecessary regulation is stifling their ability to meet the needs of local communities.” As part… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 3:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton re-affirmed his commitment to bolster the environment for smaller companies to more easily raise the growth capital they need and to help foster a more conducive IPO market for SMEs. Speaking at an Equity Market Structure Symposium in… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 10:30 am By Cali Haan  |  

  Speaking Saturday at the Cryptochicks Conference in Toronto, Zoe Adamovicz, CEO of Neufund, an online equity token-investing platform based in Germany, characterized the current regulatory crackdown in the US as as much about “protecting investors” as a matter of “jurisdictional competition,” where countries, negotiate… Read More

April 10, 2018 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendIt returned to San Francisco this year as it continues with its annual conference which is one of the largest Fintech focused events in the US. This year’s event is a bit different for several reasons. First of all, more traditional banks showed up in… Read More

April 9, 2018 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

In the Fall of 2017, the US Department of Treasury published a document entitled, “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities – Capital Markets.” This comprehensive overview of the current regulatory environment regarding capital formation is probably the best publication I have ever seen produced… Read More

April 8, 2018 @ 9:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

The 36 Annual SEC Small Government Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation took place last November in Austin, Texas. This past week, the SEC published the final report which includes the list of recommendations as prioritized by the participants in this yearly gathering between… Read More

April 8, 2018 @ 10:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

In addition to calling Craig Wright a fraud, Vitalik Buterin addressed serious matters in Ethereum scaling at the Deconomy Summit in Seoul, Korea April 4th.   Vitalik Buterin calls Craig Wright (fake Satoshi Nakamoto) a fraud, while standing in front of him. #Ethereum #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/lWd2cqLXfj… Read More

April 4, 2018 @ 5:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

Sporting a name that might sound cool if you’re high, a purported crypto-product named “Dietbitcoin” is now being shilled by the brother of deceased Colombian Cocaine King, Pablo Escobar. Displaying a cadence and confidence either cocaine-fueled, Spanish or both, Roberto Escobar states in a paid… Read More

April 3, 2018 @ 7:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

The CryptoSummit 2018 organized by Blockchain startup Smart Valor gathered more than 1,000 attendees from 47 countries in Zurich. One of the recurring themes of the conference presentations was the regulation of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Many participants pointed out that there is now an… Read More

April 3, 2018 @ 4:59 am By Barry James  |  

We are entering the era of the digital token.  Or to put it another way a new kind of frictionless economy based on an a new internet of value. We’re already beyond the point of no-return – the ‘token event horizon’ is already well behind… Read More

April 2, 2018 @ 6:00 am By Andy Bromberg, Georgia Quinn & Regan Bozman  |  

  To date, fundraising has been blockchain’s killer app. In 2017, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fundraising eclipsed that of traditional venture capital, and in 2018, ICOs have already raised nearly $3 billion in non-dilutive funding. This new form of early-stage financing is incredibly promising, at… Read More

April 2, 2018 @ 4:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

Author’s note (August 22, 2019): I came upon this article I wrote early on in recent days, and would like to add that I am considerably less enthused now about cryptocurrencies than I was when I wrote th9s article- as I hope we all are…. Read More

March 30, 2018 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last time we checked in back at the end of December, there were 36 FINRA approved Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) portals in operation. Today, that number has increased to 38 as two more entrants have entered the Reg CF space. As for portals that have… Read More

March 29, 2018 @ 6:05 pm By Georgia Quinn  |  

This past week, I had the chance to attend a Fintech focused event put on by the Consulate of France in Manhattan and, honestly, I came away very impressed. For too many years, France did not have much of a reputation in the startup world…. Read More

March 27, 2018 @ 4:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Some large countries are blocking initial coin offering, some are observing and others are creating rules by enforcement action, France wants to become “the first major financial center to propose an ad hoc legislative frame work that will allow companies initiating an ICO to demonstrate their seriousness to potential… Read More

March 26, 2018 @ 11:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fake news is everywhere these days. So it seems. Recently, the Venezuelan government launched a bespoke cryptocurrency tied to the country’s oil production. Concocted by Venezuelan President Maduro, the Petro Crypto has been slammed as a feeble attempt to skirt the hyper inflation that Maduro’s… Read More