Politics, Legal & Regulation

June 25, 2021 @ 12:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shared its regulatory agenda for the next couple of years. The list is quite long and includes many areas of the securities industry. At the top of the list, was the exempt offering ecosystem with the… Read More

June 25, 2021 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

A plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), under the German Presidency of Dr. Marcus Pleyer took place this past week. The meeting provided several updates on key regulatory items including standards set for “Virtual Asset Service Providers” or VASPs. According to a statement… Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi cabinet has reportedly granted a digital banking permit to STC Pay, a virtual payments solution provider that’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Telecom. STC Pay will now be converted into a domestic virtual bank, with a capital of SAR 2.5 billion (appr…. Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 5:28 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A decision by the Canadian Securities Administration on June 23 to harmonize securities crowdfunding rules could be a huge blessing for Canadian business. On June 23 the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) introduced National Instrument 45-110 Start-up Crowdfunding Registration and Prospectus Exemptions.  According to Canadian online… Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 4:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The True Lender Rule, regulation that impacts Fintech lenders, received some much-needed clarification last year from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Now there has been a change of administration, the arcane rule may reverse the progress made from the prior administration. Today,… Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 4:00 am By JD Alois  |  

EUROCROWD, the leading European advocate for online capital formation, has published a report entitled Scaling Up Partnerships: A Blueprint For the Implementation Of Match-Funding Schemes Between Public Authorities and Crowdfunding Platforms. The report explains how to manage the use of European Structural and Investment Funds in… Read More

June 23, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced on June 21, 2021 that it has taken action against “non-compliant” international cryptocurrency trading platform, Bybit. The OSC released a Statement of Allegations against Bybit Fintech Limited for “failing to comply with Ontario securities law.” Bybit is incorporated in… Read More

June 23, 2021 @ 4:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Founder of McAfee Antivirus and staunch crypto-advocate John McAfee was found dead in his prison cell in Barcelona, Spain earlier today according to a report in El Pais. McAfee had been arrested on charges of tax evasion along with conspiracy to commit commodities and securities… Read More

June 23, 2021 @ 11:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Canada has long held a fragmented approach to online capital formation where securities crowdfunding is regulated at the provincial level. Obviously, this creates unnecessary friction to an emerging sector of Fintech that facilitates capital formation for early-stage ventures. Today, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has… Read More

June 23, 2021 @ 8:15 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Recent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) statements on the growth of cryptocurrency ownership among adults in the United Kingdom highlight the need to provide more support and protection for those investors Ziglu founder and CEO Mark Hipperson said. A UK-based money app, Ziglu allows users to… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 7:44 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

In a major crackdown, the Iranian police have seized 7,000 crypto mining machines blamed for massive power outages in the country, as per its state media. The police  7,000 computer miners were seized in an abandoned factory in the west of the capital city of… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 4:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against a software provider and its CEO for misleading investors about an unregistered offer and sale of digital asset securities. Loci, Inc. and its CEO John Wise allegedly violated the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the… Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 4:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Brian  Korn has been a regular suspect on the Fintech trail for years. From the early days of online lending and securities crowdfunding, to the more recent rise of digital assets, Korn has provided counsel to emerging firms seeking to benefit from the Fintech revolution…. Read More

June 22, 2021 @ 8:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Swiss Federal Council, the seven-member executive council that constitutes the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland, announced recently that the DLT Act has come “fully into force” and the agency also  issued… Read More

June 21, 2021 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Late last month, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing addressing the topic of capital formation and the state of the US initial public offering market. While several witnesses focused on the rapid rise of SPACs, one witness pointed to the precipitous decline… Read More

June 19, 2021 @ 2:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SendSpend, the remittance and wallet app, reveals that it has acquired the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company will now be able to issue digital money and offer cross-border remittance services from its UK head offices. SendSpend… Read More

June 18, 2021 @ 8:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK-based VALK, the end-to-end digital transaction solution for private markets developed on Corda, has managed to secure a place in the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulatory sandbox. Established in 2016, the FCA regulatory sandbox is being offered to assist the financial services sector and… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 6:07 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief, and filed fraud charges, against Ramiro Jose Sugranes, UCB Financial Advisers Inc., and UCB Financial Services Limited for their involvement in an alleged “cherry-picking” scheme. According to the SEC, Sugranes,… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 12:11 pm By Chris Sloan  |  

In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in a New York federal court against Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives alleging that Ripple had sold $1.3 billion in XRP cryptocurrency tokens in a series of unregistered securities offerings…. Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has been tracking crypto holdings in the UK for some time now. Earlier today, the top securities regulator provided an update indicating the more people in the UK are now holding crypto in contrast to prior data. This is the… Read More