Strategy

June 2, 2020 @ 9:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), one of the largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges in the world, says that they “no longer think that dated volatility-related bets are an effective way to protect portfolios because they are now too expensive.” THe BitMEX team stated: “We believe that inflation… Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Dror Futter  |  

  Buried in the model Series A Certificate of Incorporation of the National Venture Capital Association is the following notation: This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation includes a sample “pay-to-play” provision, pursuant to which Preferred Stock investors are penalized if they fail to invest… Read More

April 30, 2020 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

  A report conducted by crypto research firm Diar calls crypto trading on derivative exchanges “more akin to gambling than sustainable trading strategies.” Ironically, the report was paid for by crypto derivatives exchange ZUBR. The report states that Bitcoin liquidations on popular derivatives exchanges have… Read More

April 29, 2020 @ 6:30 pm By Trilliam Jeong  |  

What happens when a business is forced to try something new amid a crisis? Usually a lot of pain and a lot of failed attempts. But today’s capital market players may have it easy. While major Wall Street banks and asset managers are being forced… Read More

April 27, 2020 @ 7:30 am By Dror Futter  |  

  If your venture is confronting a down round, you should not wear it as a badge of shame. Even in normal times, few ventures make an uninterrupted march up and to the right on the valuation curve. More importantly, if you are doing a… Read More

April 22, 2020 @ 7:30 pm By Michael Burtov  |  

It’s no secret that there has always been a disconnect between the Venture Capital (VC) industry and the Startups that they fund. VCs are the embodiment of old school funding and their investments have, until recently, been the judge, jury, and executioner for countless innovation… Read More

April 18, 2020 @ 4:48 pm By Marcie Terman  |  

The heady days of a booming token sales market driven by FOMO are long gone. Firms looking to raise money on the blockchain in 2020 are faced with a far more cautious investor base, and with good reason. A high percentage of early tokens failed—… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Special Purpose Vehicles or “SPVs” have long been requested by FINRA regulated platforms participating in the Reg CF sector of crowdfunding. Under current rules, SPVs are not allowed to be utilized. This may soon change as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed enabling… Read More

April 11, 2020 @ 5:00 pm By Ben DiScipio  |  

Earlier this month, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a set of amendments to the exemptive framework under the Securities Act of 1933. This includes a notable update to Reg CF – increasing the funding cap from its current $1.07 million to $5 million…. Read More

April 9, 2020 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday (April 8, 2020), the US Department of Homeland Security issued an alert – warning consumers about COVID-19 related scams. The joint statement actually included the Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) due to the depth of the… Read More

April 2, 2020 @ 12:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lending research firm 4thWay is out with a short note on the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the P2P industry.  According to 4thWay, a minority of investors are selling their loans due to the affiliated risk of the outbreak. The… Read More

March 24, 2020 @ 7:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

CrowdStreet is one of a group of real estate crowdfunding platforms that got in early and appears to have established a sustainable model. Founded to democratize investment opportunity in commercial real estate, CrowdStreet provides direct access to a range of vetted, institutional-quality commercial real estate… Read More

March 24, 2020 @ 2:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a tweet this week, Wefunder said it expects the first quarter of 2020 to be their best quarter ever. This is in an environment where Fintech investment is struggling and the emergence of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is hammering the entire world. While Q1… Read More

March 23, 2020 @ 5:00 pm By Dror Futter  |  

Remember all those articles about whether venture was overvalued?  With blinding speed, they now seem quaint.  Bluntly stated, most venture-backed companies are in a fight for survival.    Although certain areas of life sciences may do somewhat better, I think the impact will be widely felt. … Read More

February 23, 2020 @ 10:00 am By Ilia Obraztsov  |  

Any new blockchain startup needs funding, but where does that all-important juice come from? While venerable entities (let’s not list them, presumably, you know what and who they are) certainly have the means to plank billions into their chosen ventures, they can’t be expected to… Read More

February 8, 2020 @ 9:47 am By Leon Emes  |  

In my former life as an investment banker I didn’t really pay the world of Fintech much heed. In my mind, Fintechs were the reserve of tech-savvy millennials or early adopters and not something for a Generation X Luddite to pay much attention to. Even… Read More

January 22, 2020 @ 10:30 am By Andrés Abumohor  |  

On October 19, 2019, Chile’s capital city of Santiago was in flames. What started as a student movement to evade subway fares has since launched into a widespread movement against socioeconomic inequality that has swept, and in some cases paralyzed, the country for well over… Read More

January 4, 2020 @ 8:26 am By Max Lyadvinsky  |  

Startups are a new concept, business is not. Disruptive ideas still need structural backing to become as revolutionary as many startups promise. This means maximizing traditional management models to realize the radical. Startup boards, however, are often overlooked and underappreciated. Most boards are made as… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

A new study produced by prominent UK investment crowdfunding platform Seedrs and London-based law firm Joelson indicates the investors are more inclined to support female-founded startups that issue securities on crowdfunding platforms. The report states that 100% of female-founded businesses and 90% of male and… Read More

November 6, 2019 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Manhattan Street Capital has circulated an email that outlines the cost of doing a Reg A+ securities offering. While I know not everyone may agree with their analysis, Manhattan Street Capital is a platform that facilitates Reg A+ offerings and thus has some boots on… Read More