Opinion

December 15, 2015 @ 11:40 am By Sam Raymond  |  

If you are an entrepreneur in emerging markets, you have probably heard a lot about crowdfunding, but wondered how it could be useful for your early-stage business. In developed markets, crowdfunding is swelling the ranks of early-stage entrepreneurs and bolstering the pipeline of enterprises that… Read More

December 14, 2015 @ 9:30 am By Andrew Stephenson  |  

On May 16, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules implementing Title III of the JOBS Act will come into effect, allowing companies to raise funds under Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act. The SEC made some important improvements over the proposed rules that will… Read More

December 13, 2015 @ 5:56 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Is there more to the current blockchain hype than there was to the Bitcoin hype of the past? 7 myths debunked. 7 reasons to be skeptical. Two years ago, Bitcoin was at the peak of its hype cycle. The digital currency’s value skyrocketed. Increasing tenfold in… Read More

December 10, 2015 @ 10:55 pm By Dom Wolf  |  

A year goes quick, doesn’t it? Before you know it I’ll be dusting off the crystal ball and attempting to offer wisdom to predict the top trends in to watch NEXT year. But before we do that, I thought I’d take a look at how… Read More

December 10, 2015 @ 5:22 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

For David Behin, co-founder and CEO of CityFunders, proving real estate investment opportunities for accredited investors, his goal was to help bring real estate investing to the masses. Fast forward to now, and the pool of real estate investors has noticeably increased, with the passage of the JOBS Act, Title III. The… Read More

December 10, 2015 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

In the midst of the Fundrise eREIT offer, a $50 million raise that allows non-accredited investors access to participate in crowdfunded offers on the Fundrise platform, the Real Deal criticized the offer as “cherry picking” its numbers. This comes as Fundrise just closed its second funding… Read More

December 9, 2015 @ 7:30 am By Spencer Li  |  

On November 16, 2015, Yirendai, an “online” Chinese marketplace lending platform, filed its Form F-1  (Form F-1 /A) with the SEC for an IPO listing on the NYSE. Yirendai is a subsidiary of CreditEase, a sizeable financial services firm in China that provides lending and wealth… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 7:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

  December 2, 2015, seemed no different than any other day in Washington, D.C. With a light rain falling, it was a rather dismal day for sightseeing in our Nation’s Capitol – yet the sun seemed to be shining for our small and emerging businesses… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week the government announced the US economy had delivered 211,000 new jobs in the month of November with the unemployment rate holding at 5%. The announcement set off a new flurry of debate and discussion regarding whether or not the Federal Reserve will finally… Read More

December 6, 2015 @ 10:36 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

  Real estate crowdfunding is arguably one of, if not the, most popular and fastest growing segments of the crowdfunding industry. Particularly those portals focused on P2P (or “marketplace”) lending of real estate projects. That is probably why it seems like I hear about a… Read More

December 4, 2015 @ 11:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

P2P-Banking.com’s Claus Lehmann posted a comprehensive interview this morning with Alejandro Cosentino, the CEO of Afluenta.  Afluenta, a leading marketplace lending company in Latin America (LatAm) that connects creditworthy borrowers with investors, to create more convenient loans and better investment opportunities, provides an innovative investment alternative for individuals… Read More

December 4, 2015 @ 3:26 am By Spencer Li  |  

Following in the footsteps of Chinese internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com, leading Chinese P2P platforms have begun evolving into one-stop wealth management platforms. Alibaba’s Ant Financial, Tencent’s WeBank, and JD.com’s JD Finance (for some background on these platforms, please refer to a… Read More

December 3, 2015 @ 7:21 am By Erin Hobey  |  

After much anticipation from key crowdfunding leaders, including Jon Medved, today marked the landmark occasion for small businesses throughout Australia, according to Crowd Funding Institute of Australia. With support from a burgeoning crowdfunding industry, the first steps have been taken to introduce legislative changes that tackle… Read More

December 3, 2015 @ 1:26 am By JD Alois  |  

Legislation is a Positive Step But Includes Unnecessary Costs. According to real estate crowdfunding platform CrowdfundUp, Australia has “missed an opportunity” as released crowdfunding law falls short of ambitions.  Following many months of discussion, the Australian government published its “Crowd-sourced Funding” bill allowing eligible companies… Read More

December 2, 2015 @ 8:06 am By Umar Munshi  |  

Islamic Crowdfunding has the potential to help us change our world for the better. When an online community unites and pools resources, this community has the financial and social clout and capability to create and re-create multiple aspects of the world and directly impact society…. Read More

December 2, 2015 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

During the buildup to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement regarding the final rules on Title III retail crowdfunding, the Commission filed a fraud case in the US District Court of Nevada.  The SEC accused Ascenergy, a company ostensibly in the oil and gas industry,… Read More

December 1, 2015 @ 1:11 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Five years ago, fintech trailblazer Peter Renton launched Social Lending Network which rebranded to Lend Academy in 2012. On his blog Renton reflects on industry changes during the half-decade. “Back in November 2010, Lending Club had issued less than $200 million in total loans and was focused primarily on retail… Read More

December 1, 2015 @ 8:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“I do not recycle or repackage the ideas of others.  I try to focus instead on broader JOBS Act issues and events which have thus far gone unnoticed – or barely noticed – and which require further thought, analysis and hopefully, action, by louder and… Read More

November 30, 2015 @ 10:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England (BOE) announced the extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) that was designed to provide easier access to capital for SMEs.  The BoE stated the program will provide lenders with continued certainty over the availability of cheap funding to support lending… Read More

November 30, 2015 @ 6:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Anthony Jenkins, is a former CEO of Barclay’s Group having managed the global firm from 2012 to 2015. He was sacked by John “Mack the Knife” McFarlane in the summer of 2015. Jenkins had set out to tackle a “culture of self-enrichment” and to refocus… Read More