March 5, 2025 @ 3:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant shift in regulatory approach, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped its lawsuit against three of the largest U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—along with Zelle’s operator, Early Warning Services. The case, which alleged that these institutions failed… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and “was taken down in 2024.” Prior to its takedown by… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) will hold a meeting on March 6, 2025 to discuss several topics including retail fraud and Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) impact on operations. The first panel is as follows: Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Operations AI poses a variety of… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The EU has launched a new “first of its kind” program designed to help female entrepreneurs. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission have started an initiative that aims to help EU commercial banks improve access to finance for women-owned and women-led SMEs… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Friendly fraud has become a pressing issue for businesses, particularly in the fast-evolving world of e-commerce. This, according to a new report released by Juniper Research. Unlike traditional fraud involving stolen payment details, friendly fraud occurs when legitimate customers dispute valid transactions, often claiming non-delivery… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement of his intent to create a Crypto Strategic Reserve, certain digital assets saw their prices rocket—only to collapse in the ensuing days. For example, Bitcoin, the most popular crypto in the world, rose by 10%. XRP jumped 33%, and AdA rocketed by 65%. But… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

MiCA, or Markets in Crypto Assets, is a regulatory ecosystem created by the European Union. The rules provide guidance for most digital assets with the exception of digital securities. Eunice AI has announced a  MiCA whitepaper library to facilitate compliance for digital asset firms interested in… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has backtracked on another crypto-related enforcement action or investigation. Yesterday, Cumberland DRW posted on X that its case had been dismissed in principle and is currently awaiting Commission approval. Cumberland said it was looking forward to working with the… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Sygnum Bank AG, a digital asset bank regulated in Switzerland and Singapore, has expanded its off-exchange custody platform, Sygnum Protect. Sygnum states that it was the first bank to launch off-exchange custody services for institutional traders with Sygnum Protect in early 2024. The service aims… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

U.S.-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally snapped an eight-day streak of net outflows on Friday (February 28, 2025), recording a modest $94 million in net inflows. The slight turnaround was primarily driven by Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB fund, which pulled in $194 million, and… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Israel released its preliminary design for the Digital Shekel System and sees public feedback. At the end of 2024, the digital shekel project reached a major milestone with the completion of a high-level design for the DS. The design document is being… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook’s Q4 2024 Netherlands Market Snapshot examines the current state of the Dutch private capital market, focusing on the venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), as well as notable exit activity. Released as part of PitchBook’s ongoing analysis of global markets, the extensive research study… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to integrate various altcoins—such as XRP, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Ethereum (ETH)—into a national cryptocurrency strategic reserve has ignited a firestorm of debate within the crypto industry. One of the key takeaways from this is that at least it… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:49 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Q2 Holdings (NYSE:QTWO), a provider of digital transformation solutions for financial services, has released the 2025 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities report, authored by Jim Marous and published by Digital Banking Report. This report details important retail banking trends and priorities, providing a roadmap for financial institutions as they navigate… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Akur8, the insurance pricing and reserving solution powered by machine learning, announces that CompSource Mutual Insurance Company, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier in Oklahoma, has chosen Akur8’s Core Platform solution to “enhance their insurance pricing models and improve their overall pricing process.” Akur8’s Core Platform… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:44 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This past week, PassEntry announced a strategic investment led by Bonsai Partners and Acurio Ventures to strengthen its digital pass issuance and enhance integrations with point-of-sale (POS) systems worldwide. The company said it expects this investment to triple its customer base and expand into five countries… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dismissed a significant lawsuit against Capital One and its parent company, Capital One Financial Corp, originally filed on January 14, 2025. The suit, launched just days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, accused Capital One of depriving… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:41 pm By Michael Wong  |  

UAE-based Fintech Flow48 has secured $69 million in a Series A funding round comprising debt and equity, as it seeks to scale its SME financing solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The round was led by Breega and included participation from 212,… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) says the suspension of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) mandate is a massive win for smaller firms. The CTA was aggressively pursued during the Biden Adminstration, placing an unrealistic burden on smaller firms. Yesterday, Secretary of… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 2:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin Suisse is pleased to announce the addition of TON (The Open Network), OP (Optimism), ENA (Ethena) and ONDO (Ondo Finance) to its comprehensive trading and custody offering. Effective immediately, Bitcoin Suisse clients are able to trade and securely store TON, OP, ENA and ONDO,… Read More