Politics, Legal & Regulation

May 14, 2021 @ 10:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shared plans for a new Consumer Duty, which will aim to provide a greater level of consumer protection for retail financial markets for companies to follow. UK companies are currently required to adhere to FCA guidelines and various… Read More

May 14, 2021 @ 7:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digivault, the “secure” digital asset custody business of Nasdaq listed Diginex Limited (Nasdaq: EQOS), has reportedly become the “first” stand-alone crypto custodian to receive approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in order to register as a custodian wallet provider “under the Money Laundering,… Read More

May 13, 2021 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange is said to be under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to Bloomberg, government officials are digging into possible money laundering and tax infractions. The report cited individuals with knowledge of… Read More

May 13, 2021 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

In a digital world, physical cash still counts. A lot, according to UK regulators. A speech delivered today by Sheldon Mills, Executive Director for Consumers and Competition at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), he revealed that 5 million individuals still count on the pound sterling… Read More

May 12, 2021 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a significant twist of events, Diem, formerly Libra, has withdrawn its payment systems application in Switzerland. Diem had submitted an application to Switzerland, a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, in anticipation of launching a global cryptocurrency. The  Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that Diem Networks… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 10:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Senate has voted to nullify the rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) entitled the National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders and published on October 30, 2020. The vote in the Senate was largely along party… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Investment Management (IM) has issued a staff statement cautioning investors who purchase shares in mutual funds that have exposure to Bitcoin futures. According to the Staff statement, investors should understand that Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment and… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The German Bundestag recently reviewed legislation that will implement the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regime Regulation (ECSP). According to industry participants, the German rules may fundamentally undermine online capital formation in the country just as the European Union is poised to boost the industry with… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 8:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Global Digital Finance (GDF), a UK-based entity advocating on behalf of the digital asset (or crypto-asset) sector of Fintech, has posted a letter in support of the Eliminate Barriers to Digital Innovation Act of 2021 (HR 1602). The Act was sponsored by US Representative Patrick… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Peer to peer (P2P) lending has been a relatively popular or widely-adopted business model and it has seen many new platforms attempting to offer these types of services, the Debitum team writes in a blog post. However, Debitum, a Lithuanian platform offering borderless SME financing,… Read More

May 8, 2021 @ 2:18 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Insurtech Firm Waterdrop Starts Trading on New York Stock Exchange  On May 7th, Waterdrop Inc., China’s leading insurance and healthcare service technology platform, went public on New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 2016, Waterdrop has built an online insurance marketplace (“Shuidibao”) and a medical crowdfunding… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance (a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector that represents around 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services), Which? (an organization that reviews products and services, so that you “make the best purchase decisions” for your… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the US Department of Labor Statistics issued data that indicated 266,000 jobs were added during the month of April. This fell far short of expectations as observers anticipated over a million new jobs. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.1%. The news undermined… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent progressive and member of the Senate Banking Committee, doesn’t like Bitcoin it appears. According to a report in Yahoo, Senator Warren took umbrage at the amount of energy Bitcoin consumes in completing transactions. “I also think with bitcoin, and with… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

When is a bank a bank? While this is a great debate for regulators and existential philosophers, for most people it simply has to do with holding money securely and using it when you want. For years now, Fintechs that have provided bank-like services have… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 6:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today was the 3rd, and perhaps final, hearing held by the House Committee on Financial Services regarding the GameStop (NYSE:GME) sage regarding short selling by traders chatting on Reddit. As most people are aware, investors on subreddits like Wallstreetbets, combined to drive the value of… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 10:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Federal Reserve Board has proposed guidelines to evaluate requests for accounts and payment services at Federal Reserve Banks. In a public statement, the Fed said the introduction of new financial products, such as products introduced by Fintechs including novel types of banking charters,… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 10:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Adyen (AMS: ADYEN), a global payments solution provider, reveals that its Singapore-based business entity has managed to acquire approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The permit will allow Adyen to perform merchant acquisition services under the Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA). Effective from… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 9:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation will host the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 40th Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation in a virtual event this year in light of the ongoing COVID health crisis. This is the 40th… Read More

May 5, 2021 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based Fintech firm Lanistar, the much-hyped and controversial business venture that has previously claimed it’s owned by some of the “world’s most influential people,” has revealed that it’s managed to acquire the FCA’s approval to serve as an Electronic Money Directive (EMD) agent of payments… Read More