November 7, 2018 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, at the StartEngine Summit during LA Blockchain Week, CI had the chance to sit down with prominent securities attorney Linda Lerner. Lerner is Senior Counsel at Crowell Moring and a veteran lawyer with deep experience and expertise in securities issuance and regulation of stock exchanges…. Read More

September 21, 2018 @ 4:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

In June, we updated readers on the number of FINRA approved Reg CF portals. At that time the count stood at 41 regulated crowdfunding platforms. As of today (September 21, 2018), that number has now increased to 44 FINRA approved Reg CF platforms as three new… Read More

September 12, 2018 @ 4:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA has published a white paper on regulatory technology or Regtech developments within the securities industry. Regtech is a hot sub-sector of Fintech as it has the potential to make the job of financial regulators easier while saving time (and money) for the firms they… Read More

September 11, 2018 @ 2:25 pm By Cali Haan  |  

FINRA announced today that it has charged the Massachusetts creator of the “HempCoin” ICO (initial coin offering) with securities fraud and, “the unlawful distribution of an unregistered cryptocurrency security…” FINRA, a Washington, DC-based self-regulatory organization of considerable might that presides over American securities brokers, claims that,… Read More

August 23, 2018 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

FINRA ( Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has been doing a series of podcasts, called FINRA Unscripted, for some time now. Their most recent segment covered Fintech posing the rhetorical question as to how regulators are keeping up with the pace of change. In 2017, FINRA… Read More

August 19, 2018 @ 10:14 am By JD Alois  |  

FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), the SRO that oversees all of the broker dealers in the US, has issued an investor alert pertaining to initial coin offerings (ICOs). In the alert, FINRA states: “[We are] issuing this alert to inform investors that investments in digital… Read More

August 8, 2018 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

  FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has issued a consultation on Financial Technology or Fintech and the Broker Dealer industry. The Special Notice was published at the end of July and is seeking comments until October 12, 2018. FINRA currently has over 3700 member firms… Read More

July 11, 2018 @ 6:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) – the self regulatory organization (SRO) that oversees broker dealers and other financial firms – issued a “Regulatory Notice” on digital assets. Digital assets, as defined by FINRA, include just about anything associated with blockchain including digital assets that… Read More

July 10, 2018 @ 7:32 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Financial Indunstry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self regulatory organization that oversees the conduct of investment product dealers in the US, has urged firms to ongoingly and voluntarily disclose any involvement they may have with cryptocurrency products (digital assets) and production, and reminds them to,… Read More

June 6, 2018 @ 10:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The number of Reg CF crowdfunding platforms in the US continues to slowly grow with several recent additions. Last time we reviewed the number of FINRA approved investment platforms in March, there were 38 regulated sites. So what has changed? First, to update on what… Read More

April 21, 2018 @ 2:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Arthur Breitman, AKA Arthur Meunier, was sanctioned by FINRA this past week for his dealings with the infamous Tezos initial coin offering (ICO) that raised approximately $232 million. Breitman signed the document on April 17th and it was accepted by FINRA on the next day. … Read More

March 30, 2018 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last time we checked in back at the end of December, there were 36 FINRA approved Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) portals in operation. Today, that number has increased to 38 as two more entrants have entered the Reg CF space. As for portals that have… Read More

March 10, 2018 @ 3:02 pm By Philip Liu  |  

On March 7, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a public statement warning that cryptocurrency coin exchanges were possibly operating as unlawful online trading platforms¹.  The SEC staff noted that “many online trading platforms appear to investors as SEC-registered and regulated marketplaces when… Read More

February 1, 2018 @ 12:09 pm By Todd R. Kornfeld, Irwin M. Latner and Johanna R. Collins-Wood  |  

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have recently become very popular, causing investors of all levels of sophistication to consider buying ICO tokens (or coins). Regardless of whether you view ICO tokens as “investments,” or whether you want to buy tokens for their utility function to make… Read More

January 15, 2018 @ 4:39 pm By Jason Best & Sherwood Neiss  |  

Recently, my company crafted a report for the US Securities and Exchange Commission that summarizes progress on Title III of the JOBS Act of 2012, also referred to Regulation Crowdfunding or Reg CF. This newest securities exemption was added to the options that smaller companies… Read More

December 31, 2017 @ 9:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, we visited the roster of FINRA approved Reg CF funding portals which stood at 34. Today, that number has increased by 2 so now it stands at 36 in total. Last week, we discussed the three Reg CF platforms that departed this segment… Read More

December 24, 2017 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Reg CF crowdfunding sector has had a mixed bag this year. While several platforms are experiencing success most approved portals have had little to no activity. This is due to a combination of ill thought out rules where myopic officials made compliance too harsh… Read More

November 15, 2017 @ 11:37 pm By Jor Law  |  

Despite the record success of many initial coin offerings (ICOs), raising capital for ICOs is a difficult process.  It is tempting to accept help anywhere one can get it, and there is no shortage of persons and companies clamoring to “find” or refer investors in… Read More

November 15, 2017 @ 4:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has revealed several changes to its advisory committees. These changes are designed to increase transparency around the committees and improve their effectiveness as a vehicle for firms to provide input on key issues before FINRA. The move is part… Read More

November 12, 2017 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

There are now 34 FINRA approved crowdfunding platforms leveraging Title III of the JOBS Act, widely called Reg CF. The number of Reg CF portals is inching higher having added 5 approved platforms since this past summer (after revoking Ufundingportal ‘s certification). Under Reg CF an… Read More