Opinion

December 18, 2024 @ 8:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG UK has commented on the recently released UK GDP data. Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, noted: “GDP growth stalls amid growing uncertainty. GDP growth remained disappointing, showing no progress for five consecutive months, due to weaker activity across a broad swathe of the… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows the definition of an Accredited Investor is broken. The rule sets a monetary hurdle for individuals who may participate in certain private securities offerings. It is obvious to all that wealth is not necessarily an indicator of sophistication. Still, the SEC has failed… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 10:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government issued its interim report this month outlining the abuse of financial data by the federal government. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you should be outraged by this… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 9:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin continues to march higher following the election of former President Donald Trump and his forthcoming crypto-friendly administration. It was only a year ago when Bitcoin was trading around $40,000. This week, Bitcoin topped $106,000, setting a new all-time high for the world’s most popular… Read More

December 15, 2024 @ 6:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A staggering 40% of Solana’s transaction volume is now driven by memecoins, according to an update shared with CI. And yet, the majority of these assets never even reach centralized exchanges (CEXs). Memecoins are increasingly bypassing CEXs altogether, launching and thriving in decentralized finance (DeFi)… Read More

December 15, 2024 @ 9:28 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Should the US Federal Reserve cut rates in December, it’ll be based on market pressure—not sound economic reasoning—and there will be no rate cuts in the first half of 2025, deVere Group CEO Nigel Green believes. His warning comes as the US Consumer Price Index… Read More

December 14, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week, Independent Community Bankers of America president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey spoke out against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on overdraft services. Despite the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft rule’s exemption for community banks under $10 billion in assets, Rainey said… Read More

December 14, 2024 @ 11:41 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

deVere Group CEO Nigel Green predicts Bitcoin is likely to surge to $150,000 by mid-2025, and he’s been right before. His statement comes as the cryptocurrency is once again back above $100,000 after hitting the milestone for the first time last week. “Bitcoin is up… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 11:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The initial coin offering (ICO) era came to a screeching halt following a statement made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that effectively told issuers to halt the process. During the wild and crazy days of ICOs, millions or billions were both made and lost…. Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 10:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bitcoin and crypto industry is now focused on blocking or preventing the re-nomination of  SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw as the Senate Banking Committee prepares to vote on her appointment to another term at Wall Street’s main regulatory authority. Crenshaw, a Democrat, was appointed to the commission by President Donald… Read More

December 12, 2024 @ 9:16 am By JD Alois  |  

A recent report shares that Nasdaq Private Markets (NPM), a secondary trading platform for shares in private firms, has booked $6 billion in trades so far this year. In total, since its creation, NPM reports over $55 billion in transactional value and more than 250… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 3:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) testified before the Senate Banking Committee. Chairman Rohit Chopra outlined his accomplishments while at the agency in his opening statement, mentioning that they are working on addressing the challenges of debanking. Blocking people from the banking system has emerged… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 10:38 am By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has published a report on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), more specifically, wholesale central bank Digital Currencies (wCBDCs), which may limit these digital assets to institutional use. While CBDCs continue to be debated and some jurisdictions are actively experimenting… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) became a public firm in an IPO held on December 11, 2014 – ten years ago today. At that time, the transition of the high-profile Fintech from a private firm to a publicly traded company was heralded as a coming-of-age moment for the… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 8:23 am By JD Alois  |  

Expectations are high that the Trump Administration will support financial innovation and entrepreneurship. Many Fintechs are elated with his election, as it contrasts to the difficult environment during the Biden Administration. The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has published a “Fintech Policy Roadmap” that the administration… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 7:37 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

A representative from digital identity platform SPACE ID believes the ECB’s [European Central Bank] work on the digital euro leaves plenty to be desired, especially regarding privacy. Alice Shikova made the comments following the release of the ECB’s second progress report. “The ECB’s second progress… Read More

December 10, 2024 @ 10:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cross River CEO Gilles Gade has applauded David Sacks’ nomination, calling it a win for Fintech, crypto, and AI regulation. Gilles Gade, Founder and CEO at Cross River Bank, noted that David Sacks’ nomination as ‘AI & Crypto Czar’ could be a pivotal moment for… Read More

December 10, 2024 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Investor Advisory Committee met today, and one of the topics reviewed was access to alternative assets. More specifically, the fast-growing private securities markets. Private securities in both debt and equity markets have boomed in recent years. Meanwhile, public securities have diminished due to… Read More

December 9, 2024 @ 4:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin and crypto markets continue to set new all-time highs as the end of 2024 approaches. Many analysts now believe that 2025 will bring more investors and capital to the digital assets market, supported by crypto-friendly policies and a regulatory framework that will enable innovation…. Read More

December 9, 2024 @ 10:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As the crypto industry had speculated on if and when Bitcoin could hit the $100,000 milestone (which it has now surpassed reaching a high of more than $103,000) analysis by Copper.co’s Head of Research Fadi Aboualfa suggests ETF flows could be the driver to get… Read More