Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 17, 2018 @ 8:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The passing of the baton from former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray to acting Director Mick Mulvaney was rife with confusion and questions all driven by parochial politics. In a snub to the President’s prerogative of appointing a new Director, Cordray decided to… Read More

January 17, 2018 @ 3:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is out with a paper on the “World of Cryptocurrencies.” Authored by  Aleksandr Berentsen and Fabian Schär, the article addresses possible applications of cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology in general. Schär and Berentsen conclude that “Bitcoin has a wide… Read More

January 17, 2018 @ 1:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

This should come as no surprise but the US Department of Treasury, Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), has established a working group to address the emergence of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more. The announcement came on the heels of a meeting of… Read More

January 17, 2018 @ 12:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) testified before the House Small Business Committee on behalf of improving the environment for small business lending. Community banker and ICBA Chairman Cynthia Blankenship said she supported targeted reforms to ensure the Small Business Administration’s lending program continues… Read More

January 17, 2018 @ 1:30 am By Timothy Li  |  

Last year, I boldly predicted 10 Fintech movements that will take place as Earth makes another perfect rotation around our Sun. It’s always fun to look back and see how wrong I was, so let’s stump the chump! Here are my original predictions. Let’s score… Read More

January 15, 2018 @ 12:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Luxembourg Finance Minister, Pierre Gramegna, was interviewed by Bloomberg while attending an event in Hong Kong. While the hed indicated the discussion was about Brexit, the more interesting discussion was about Fintech opportunities and cryptocurrencies. Gramegna was queried about possible new regulations on the… Read More

January 15, 2018 @ 8:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, a Singapore Member of Parliament, Foo Mee Har, posed some questions to the Singapore Prime Minister regarding enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing and Bitcoin utilization where “conventional oversight mechanisms of the real money market do not apply.” Singapore Deputy Prime… Read More

January 14, 2018 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Bank Indonesia has issued a statement affirming that using Bitcoin, and any other cryptocurrency, is not allowed in Indonesia. Bank Indonesia has previously issued proclamations sharing their stance on digital currencies – most recently in December when the bank said usage would be banned in… Read More

January 11, 2018 @ 9:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has finally filled the two vacant seats on the Commission as Hester M. Peirce and Robert J. Jackson were sworn in today by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Peirce and Jackson will join the other two Commissioners, Kara Stein and Michael… Read More

January 11, 2018 @ 5:21 pm By Joshua Klayman  |  

With thanks to Greg Murphy of Outlier Ventures for his contribution to this article. Now that 2018 is well underway, traditional debt and equity capital providers would be wise to re-examine many of their familiar forms of contracts to identify new risks – and realize… Read More

January 11, 2018 @ 11:42 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“The sexual discrimination, harassment, and assault that has been reported and come to light over the last two months have been equal parts terrifying and illuminating. We stand with all those who have endured sexual harassment: those who have come forward and those who have decided… Read More

January 11, 2018 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced yesterday it had approved the licensing of the first seven “crowd-sourced funding” platforms. Due to a recent change in Australia’s security regulations, these investment crowdfunding platforms may allow businesses to raise up to $5 million – all… Read More

January 11, 2018 @ 12:25 am By Charles Kaufman  |  

Some may have missed a distinctive feature of the recently filed class action lawsuit against Bitcoin mining company Giga Watt, Inc.: it is not a fraud suit. It is a suit for rescission (return of invested funds, with interest) based on the company’s having failed… Read More

January 10, 2018 @ 11:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

South Korea has been back and forth on the future of cryptocurrency and its exchanges for some time now. Today, apparently things have taken a turn for the worse as reports indicate that South Korea will ban all cryptocurrencies and prominent exchanges have been raided… Read More

January 10, 2018 @ 11:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has licensed the first crowdfunding platforms or “crowd-sourced funding (CSF) intermediaries” as it is called in Australia. The licensed platforms follow several prolonged years to create workable rules allowing for companies to raise capital online under the new… Read More

January 10, 2018 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Punch TV, perhaps the first potential issuer to attempt to raise capital using updated rules under Reg A+, has had its offer suspended by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The administrative proceeding by the SEC follows an “Offer of Settlement” by Punch TV that… Read More

January 9, 2018 @ 1:54 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Atlanta-based real estate investment platform Groundfloor has received regulatory approval to raise money under Reg A+. This crowdfunding offer has been in the works for some time now;  like all Reg A offers, the issuer must by scrutinized by the SEC before any securities may be… Read More

January 9, 2018 @ 7:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has issued a cease and desist (C&D) order to CopyCash Foundation. The C&D was in regards to a scheduled initial coin offering (ICO) launching on January 10, 2018. SC issued a warning this week to investors regarding the CopyCashCoin ICO. Company… Read More

January 8, 2018 @ 2:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has posted a warning regarding an entity calling itself Bluegate Industrial Bank USA, N.A.. The OCC said the firm claims to be an online financial institution offering regular banking products as well as loan services. Apparently… Read More

January 8, 2018 @ 1:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a trading suspension for UBI Blockchain Internet, Ltd. The SEC said they had questions regarding the accuracy of assertions, since at least September 2017, by UBIA in filings with the SEC regarding the company’s business operations. The SEC… Read More