Politics, Legal & Regulation

October 2, 2018 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bitcoin Foundation has submitted an opposition letter to the French Parliament Special Commission which is currently reviewing the PACTE legislation that is ostensibly designed to empower initial coin offerings (ICOs) in France. The Bitcoin Foundation “strongly opposes” an amendment apparently submitted on Friday, September… Read More

October 1, 2018 @ 9:46 pm By Onki Kwan  |  

On September 27, 2018, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk for committing securities fraud because of some tweets he published on August 7, 2018. A mere two days later, September 29, 2018, Musk settled with the SEC. As part of their settlement agreement,… Read More

October 1, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr. Joseph Muscat, addressed the United Nation’s General Assembly. As part of this speech, Dr. Muscat advocating on behalf of new technologies  which “pose endless possibilities.” “We are currently in exciting technological times: with the lightening pace of… Read More

October 1, 2018 @ 7:13 am By JD Alois  |  

On Tuesday (2 October 2018), Austria will become the first European country to issue a government bond using blockchain technology. The Austrian government is auctioning off €1.15 billion in Bonds using Ethereum to manage the security issuance.  The issuance will be handled by the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB)… Read More

September 30, 2018 @ 9:00 pm By Steven McClurg and Katie Talati  |  

As the crypto markets have evolved rapidly during the last year and institutional investors (like Arca Funds) have begun to invest, fitting into the existing financial services framework has proven difficult. The primary debate around legacy intermediary systems and how they relate to real money… Read More

September 30, 2018 @ 11:22 am By JD Alois  |  

“…when companies and corporate insiders make statements, they must act responsibly, including endeavoring to ensure the statements are not false or misleading and do not omit information a reasonable investor would consider important in making an investment decision.” – Jay Clayton, Chairman of the SEC… Read More

September 28, 2018 @ 2:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published the agenda for Fintech Forward 2018: Innovation, Regulation and Education, conference taking place in DC next week. The conference is a collaboration of CFTC’s LabCFTC and the Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO). As part of the… Read More

September 28, 2018 @ 2:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) has responded to the just announced charges and settlement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pertaining to allegations of misconduct by former executives. Specifically, LendingClub Asset Management, along with former Executives Renaud Laplanche and Carrie Dolan, have entered into a settlement with… Read More

September 28, 2018 @ 2:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged LendingClub Asset Management LLC, and former President Renaud Laplanche with fraud for improperly using fund money to benefit LendingClub.  LendingClub Asset Management, Laplanche, and former CFO Carrie Dolan, also were charged with improperly adjusting fund returns. The… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 6:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an enforcement action today against an Austria based international securities dealer with providing securities swaps funded by Bitcoin. The SEC charges Patrick Brunner, CEO of 1pool Ltd. a/k/a 1Broker – registered in the Marshall Islands, with violations of US… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 3:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

In January 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) leveled allegations of fraud and misconduct against My Big Coin, an initial coin offering (ICO) that was said to fleece $6 million from investors. My Big Coin fought back when defense counsel said the CFTC had… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 1:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against real estate crowdfunding platform iFunding, along with co-founders William Skelley and Sohin Shaw. The complaint alleges that Skelley and Shaw pursued a “fraudulent scheme to misappropriate investor funds.” CI Senior Contributor and securities attorney… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 1:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The SEC told a New York courtroom Tuesday that two defendants accused of selling a fraudulent ICO (initial coin offering) called “Plexcoin” have been ignoring court orders to document their assets and are refusing to “participate meaningfully” in an SEC court action against them. According… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 1:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Ronald Kleverlaan is a well known thought leader in the European Fintech sector. He is Director of the European Centre for Alternative Finance (ECAF) at Utrecht University in the Netherlands -a joint initiative of the University Utrecht School of Economics, CrowdfundingHub, and the Sustainable Finance Lab. ECAF… Read More

September 26, 2018 @ 10:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House of Representatives has passed by a voice vote the “Financial Technology Protection Act.” Sponsored by Representative Ted Budd, the bill (HR 5036) would establish a Fintech task force that ostensibly would improve coordination between public and private sectors which may benefit from innovations in… Read More

September 26, 2018 @ 10:04 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Representatives from Wall Street and prominent US crypto investment/services firms are convening in Washington this week to attend a legislative roundtable hosted by Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio, CNBC reports. Attendees at the roundtable, titled “Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies,” are reportedly hoping to influence… Read More

September 26, 2018 @ 2:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, part of the Financial Services Committee, has announced a hearing  entitled “Examining Opportunities for Financial Markets in the Digital Era.” Of course finance + digital equals Fintech. The hearing is in response to a report issued… Read More

September 26, 2018 @ 6:00 am By Nick Bhargava  |  

In March of this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4263, better known as the Regulation A+ Improvement Act. The bill passed with bipartisan support, being co-sponsored by two Democrats: Representatives Sinema and Gottheimer, alongside two Republicans: Representatives Stivers and Hollingsworth. Signing this bill… Read More

September 25, 2018 @ 8:07 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Rhetoric regarding cryptocurrencies is somewhat more moderate in a recent report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which finds that cryptocurrencies, in fact, “rely on regulated financial institutions to operate, bringing cryptocurrencies within reach of national regulation.” The BIS regulates and holds capital on behalf… Read More

September 25, 2018 @ 10:43 am By Cali Haan  |  

A local division of Japan’s Finance Ministry has given the company Tech Bureau two days to explain the causes of and company response to a $60 million hack on the Zaif crypocurrency exchange that took place last weekend. On Friday September 14th, hackers spent two… Read More