Politics, Legal & Regulation

June 11, 2020 @ 11:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), a financial regulator that examines and supervises financial institutions under the oversight of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), is reportedly planning to look into the security of various Fintech platforms, due to unauthorized payments being conducted via Toss. Toss… Read More

June 11, 2020 @ 4:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA’s Office of Financial Innovation has posted a report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the securities industry. Financial services firms are incorporating AI into a growing number of services. FINRA is seeking to engage with this sector of Fintech to better understand the impact on… Read More

June 11, 2020 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that its Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) will hold virtual peer-to-peer meet-ups. The SEC said the FinHub staff recognizes the challenges and difficulties with in-person meetings in the midst of COVID-19.  FinHub staff seeks… Read More

June 11, 2020 @ 7:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Human Rights Foundation, a non-profit entity that aims to promote and protect human rights globally, with a special focus on “closed” societies, has introduced a Bitcoin (BTC) development fund. The new fund will support open-source application developers who are focused on making the Bitcoin… Read More

June 10, 2020 @ 8:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lenders, Envestio and Kuetzal, have both filed for bankruptcy according to publicly available information. Last January, Crowdfund Insider reported that Envestio and Keutzal were both under duress with some observers calling the online lenders scams. Soon both peer to peer lenders had… Read More

June 10, 2020 @ 5:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

In May, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee met to discuss pending decisions by the SEC regarding an update to the exempt offering ecosystem. The SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee was established by the SEC Small Business… Read More

June 10, 2020 @ 6:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland will be introducing QR-bill payments by the end of this month. They will reportedly have a digitally readable code that will hold all payment data. QR-bill payments will be offered along with seven other existing paper-based payment slips that are used to process transactions…. Read More

June 9, 2020 @ 4:02 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cross River, a bank that delivers advanced financial and compliance products/services to the fintech industry, announced on Tuesday it has approved more than $4.7 billion in loans to small businesses across the U.S. through both rounds of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program… Read More

June 9, 2020 @ 8:35 am By JD Alois  |  

HM Treasury is out with its weekly update on COVID-19 lending schemes designed to support businesses impacted by the pandemic. According to the update, over 830,000 UK businesses have provided £34.9 billion through the three major government-backed lending programs. £3.6 billion has been granted to… Read More

June 8, 2020 @ 11:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Researchers at the Leiden Law School have argued that there’s currently a lack of clarity regarding the legal proceedings and investor rights if digital asset custodians become insolvent. Matthias Haentjens, Tycho de Graaf and Ilya Kokorin from Leiden Law School noted in a paper titled,… Read More

June 8, 2020 @ 12:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting the Commission’s efforts to improve and modernize the exempt securities ecosystem. The SEC has proposed a package of rule changes designed… Read More

June 7, 2020 @ 10:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) noted on June 5, 2020, that it will be establishing a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund in order to promote digital payments adoptions across the nation, which is struggling to cope with the deadly COVID-19 outbreak. The RBI confirmed that… Read More

June 7, 2020 @ 3:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On June 5, 2020, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) issued four separate warning messages regarding fraudulent cryptocurrency-related websites that claim they have been authorized to offer services in the British Overseas Territory. Gibraltar’s authorities noted that the following domains are not licensed by the… Read More

June 7, 2020 @ 2:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers of Voice, a blockchain-powered social media platform that aims to “take social back from Big Tech,” confirmed on June 4, 2020, that the beta version of Voice will be open for public reading and international registrations will be accepted until August 15, 2020…. Read More

June 5, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The digital asset and blockchain space is still in its infancy or early stages of development. There are many companies working on developing key infrastructure needed to support emerging cryptocurrency businesses. Cybersecurity, ID verification, AML/KYC processes, and even cryptocurrency-related insurance services are already being developed… Read More

June 5, 2020 @ 4:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief against Daniel F. Putnam, of Utah, Jean Paul Ramirez Rico, of Colombia, and Angel A. Rodriguez, of Utah, who allegedly scammed over $12 million from over 2000 investors in a… Read More

June 5, 2020 @ 9:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Future Fund, a UK government initiative to support startups and early-stage ventures – many of which are not profitable, reported 464 applications for the program as of May 31st. As part of a weekly update, HM Treasury quantified the number of applicants – a… Read More

June 5, 2020 @ 1:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the nation’s reserve bank with around $3.2 trillion in assets, recently announced the second batch of Fintech initiatives that will take part in a pilot program involving new regulations. The pilots will take place in China’s capital, Beijing, and… Read More

June 4, 2020 @ 6:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) inviting public comment on its regulations regarding digital banking activities. The OCC is part of the US Department of Treasury and is the main banking regulator in… Read More

June 4, 2020 @ 6:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DLO) issued an Information Letter under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pertaining to private equity investments as a component of a professionally managed funds offered as an investment option for participants in defined contribution plans. Effectively,… Read More