Opinion

February 20, 2025 @ 4:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Accredited Investor definition is one of the most obtuse rules enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In place for decades, the rule defines who can participate in certain private securities offerings. Broadly speaking, an individual is deemed Accredited if they earn over $200,000… Read More

February 20, 2025 @ 12:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

In an address to the European Parliament, Olli Rehn, First Vice-Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board and Governor of the Bank of Finland, voiced his concerns regarding policy changes in the US as the Trump Administration takes over the federal bureaucracy, including financial regulators…. Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 8:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) is concerned about the Trump Administration’s policy of keeping its predecessor merger guidelines. In a public statement, the SBE Council said that “arbitrary and muddy guidelines”  pursued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) harm opportunities for early-stage firms… Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 5:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Donald Trump’s first 30 days of his second term as President of the United States have been quite eventful. To mark the occasion, Saxo Bank spoke to Trump’s former Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, to get his take on Trump’s first month. Scaramucci is probably best known for… Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 5:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Daniel Gorfine, Founder & CEO, Gattaca Horizons LLC, is pleased to join J. Christopher Giancarlo and Brian Peters in co-authoring a piece in the Milken Institute Review that makes the case for payments modernization in the U.S. As noted in the paper, over the past… Read More

February 19, 2025 @ 12:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A new research report presents the outcome of a detailed study undertaken by IBM Promontory for the European Commission on embedding supervision in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The project comprised four different phases: identifying use cases and protocols to assess, defining elements of comparison… Read More

February 17, 2025 @ 10:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Climate rules, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, have been put on pause by the new leadership at the SEC. Former Chairman Gary Gensler has been replaced by more business and investor-friendly Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, who has moved quickly to address the shortcomings… Read More

February 17, 2025 @ 9:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

With Bitcoin price surpassing $100K, it’s arguable that 2025 is starting strong for the crypto industry. Regulatory developments in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, combined with regime change in the United States, could set the stage for more institutional and mainstream adoption of stablecoins…. Read More

February 16, 2025 @ 6:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Provenance Blockchain Foundation is supporting the public blockchain for financial services, with $12B+ in RWA TVL. This public (permissionless) blockchain is reportedly leveraged by various financial institutions and fintech firms. Finance is evolving. Your portfolio won’t just be crypto, it’ll be tokenized real estate, private… Read More

February 13, 2025 @ 4:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Price Controls Rarely Work. The Free Market is a Better Option. There have been multiple proclamations from various policymakers regarding the need to cap credit card rates. Unfortunately, forcing credit card issuers to cap interest rates charged to users will accomplish little good while harming… Read More

February 13, 2025 @ 11:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the UK Office for National Statistics reported GDP for Q4 2024 at 0.1%. Although rather tepid, it topped the expectations of no growth or an economic contraction. In Q3 2024, GDP delivered no growth in the UK. The data indicated that the services sector… Read More

February 13, 2025 @ 7:44 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) told the House Financial Services Committee that the new Congress and administration present an opportunity to transform the regulatory environment for community banks to promote locally based economic growth. ICBA president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey… Read More

February 11, 2025 @ 10:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange led by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as early as this year, according to sources familiar with the situation. As reported by Bloomberg, the company is currently in talks with potential advisors, although no final… Read More

February 10, 2025 @ 2:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has halted all regulatory activity. The X account affiliated with the CFPB no longer exists, and the homepage is not updating correctly. The CFPB has been a controversial agency since its inception. The creation of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB,… Read More

February 10, 2025 @ 8:56 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

While the tumult over tariffs caused some market fluctuations this week, a pair of industry executives believe all signs point positive for cryptocurrencies. Galxe cofounder Charles Wayn said this week’s market volatility doesn’t detract from what has been a historic bull. “Certain geopolitical tensions and… Read More

February 10, 2025 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna, announced on Saturday that the Swedish buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) Fintech is planning to integrate cryptocurrency into its services. Siemiatkowski acknowledged that Klarna was among the last major fintech players to enter the crypto space. Siemiatkowski, who founded Klarna in… Read More

February 9, 2025 @ 2:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Several venture capital firms in Latin America are reportedly planning to increase their investments in startups offering loans and artificial intelligence products. According to a report from Bloomberg, these efforts are driven by the region’s potential for financial-technology growth. This focus on Fintech lending and… Read More

February 9, 2025 @ 11:50 am By JD Alois  |  

After years of actively undermining digital asset innovation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will take steps to recognize and enable new technology that will improve the securities ecosystem and potentially help create new asset classes traded around the world. During the Biden Administration,  the… Read More

February 8, 2025 @ 8:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Ripple announced a partnership with Revolut and Zero Hash, aimed at expanding the access of its RLUSD stablecoin in the market. This collab marks a significant expansion for the RLUSD, positioning it to enter the crowded stablecoin marketplace, which is dominated by USDT and USDC… Read More

February 7, 2025 @ 6:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The EU AI provisions reportedly went into force on 2 February, 2025. Diyan Bogdanov, Director of Engineering Intelligence & Growth at Payhawk, the global spend management solution and Bulgaria’s “first” unicorn, explains that the EU AI Act isn’t “just another compliance burden — it’s a… Read More