Politics, Legal & Regulation

June 21, 2020 @ 3:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Andréa Toucinho, the Director of Studies, Prospective and Training of Partelya Consulting and Country Ambassador for France of European Women Payments Network (EWPN), notes that it’s necessary to develop a European vision or roadmap for adopting Open Banking and Open Finance platforms. She suggests that… Read More

June 20, 2020 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, the administrators unraveling the collapse of peer to peer lender Lendy, which failed in 2019, announced an unsettling bit of information regarding suspect payments to two former Lendy Directors: Liam Brooke and Tim Gordon. According to a document posted on the Lendy website,… Read More

June 19, 2020 @ 7:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action to halt Pennsylvania-based brothers Sean Hvizdzak and Shane Hvizdzak and a digital asset fund. The Hvizdzaks operated several companies: Hvizdzak Capital Management LLC; High Street Capital LLC; High Street Capital Partners, LLC . Each… Read More

June 19, 2020 @ 5:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

SeedInvest, a leading investment crowdfunding platform operating in the US, recently published a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an agency that is in the midst of a regulatory review regarding the exempt offering ecosystm. The SEC has proposed multiple rule changes… Read More

June 19, 2020 @ 2:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a virtual form of money issued by a country’s reserve bank. A CBDC can easily be implemented using a traditional database management system operated by central bank in collaboration with approved private sector entities. Blockchain technology is not needed… Read More

June 19, 2020 @ 11:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firms in Bulgaria are in need of a clear set of regulatory guidelines on the national and EU level in order to effectively compete in the evolving European market, according to the nation’s government officials. As first reported by See News, Bulgarian Fintech industry… Read More

June 18, 2020 @ 6:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

One Big Crypto Ponzi Scheme Last week the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published a report documenting the collapse of QuadrigaCX, a crypto-exchange operated Gerald Cotten who reportedly died taking the crypto exchange to the grave. The review by the OSC staff disclosed that the failure… Read More

June 18, 2020 @ 1:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The saga of the collapse of peer to peer lender Envestio keeps getting more interesting as a report published today points a finger at two politically connected individuals who may have been recipients of lost funds. Earlier this week, CI reported on an article in… Read More

June 18, 2020 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that 14 out of 21 applications to become digital banks have met the eligibility criteria for the Fintechs to be considered. MAS announced on June 28, 2019, that it would issue up to two digital full bank… Read More

June 16, 2020 @ 11:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s reserve bank has reportedly appointed a six-member legal advisory team to look into the feasibility and potential benefits of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Korean central bank’s advisory group includes three university professors, two legal experts, and a senior official… Read More

June 16, 2020 @ 11:21 am By JD Alois  |  

A new report claims that established banks Swedbank and SEB enabled “suspected fraud networks” to operate in the Baltics and mentions bankrupt peer to peer lending platform Envestio by name. Envestio, and similar platform Kuetzal, recently filed for bankruptcy in Estonia. Earlier this year, both… Read More

June 15, 2020 @ 12:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

It appears that StartEngine, a leading securities crowdfunding platform in the US, is asking platform investors to comment on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Rule: Facilitating Capital Formation and Expanding Investment Opportunities by Improving Access to Capital in Private Markets. The SEC has noted that… Read More

June 15, 2020 @ 9:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Authorities in China’s Guangdong province have reportedly frozen around 4,000 bank accounts which might be linked to money laundering operations through Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. Local sources said that Guangdong police officials have identified bank accounts that allegedly belong to virtual currency over-the-counter (OTC)… Read More

June 14, 2020 @ 9:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

One of the first moves the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks took upon assuming the leadership role at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was to further clarify his agency’s view on the Madden v. Midland case. The legal dust-up… Read More

June 13, 2020 @ 2:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wilshire Phoenix, an investment firm that provides multiple services including advisor and asset management, has filed an S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) Fund. The Wilshire team notes in its filing: “The Shares will… Read More

June 13, 2020 @ 9:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian officials are reportedly considering passing a law that would ban the use of decentralized cryptocurrencies.  As reported by India’s Economic Times, the nation’s government might see a legal framework as being more effective than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) blanket ban on crypto-assets…. Read More

June 12, 2020 @ 7:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), a cross-industry non-profit initiative that’s focused on supporting collaboration between all market participants and stakeholders in the financial technology industry, has introduced a digital self-assessment framework to improve working relationships between companies. According to the association, the framework should expedite… Read More

June 12, 2020 @ 11:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  Australia is reportedly planning to extend one of its Fintech agreements with the UK. The agreement is designed to help Fintech firms in each country by making it easier for them to acquire operational licenses. Both jurisdictions also aim to increase cooperation and collaboration… Read More

June 12, 2020 @ 7:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) have introduced a “Data Sandbox” program for Fintech firms that will help them work cooperatively with regulators, licensed entities, and other financial services providers based in the country. The data sandbox aims to assist… Read More

June 12, 2020 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Estonia, one of the world’s most developed nations with an advanced, high-income economy that’s among the fastest-growing in the EU, is reportedly caught up in one of Europe’s largest-ever dirty-money scandals. Estonia has been quite active when it comes to encouraging the adoption of digital… Read More