January 21, 2018 @ 1:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

There is legislation moving through the state of New York that shifts some responsibility regarding online lending to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). [S07294 and A8938] Originally, there was a bill that was signed into law on December 29, 2017, by Governor Andrew Cuomo, that… Read More

October 26, 2017 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Pending US legislation titled “The Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017,″ seeks to update criminal money laundering and counterfeiting statutes. As written now, the bill impacts the utilization of any and all cryptocurrencies. Senate Bill 1241, sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, will define anyone… Read More

September 14, 2017 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week the Australian Parliament introduced new legislation that will extend crowdfunding or “crowdsourced equity funding” (as the Aussies call it) to private companies. This is an important fix that will create a far more robust and equitable crowdfunding ecosystem in Australia. Earlier this year,… Read More

September 5, 2017 @ 3:59 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

While Regulation (Title III) Crowdfunding continues to get all of the attention, the overwhelming majority of states currently have some form of “intrastate” retail crowdfunding laws already in effect; many of which offer significantly more favorable terms to issuers and investors than the federal rules…. Read More

September 1, 2017 @ 1:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bitcoin Foundation is looking to stop Congress from including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in legislation regarding nefarious acts by terrorists organizations and money laundering. Senators Grassley, Feinstein, Cornyn, and Whitehouse, have sponsored legislation entitled, “Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Counterfeiting Act of 2017,” includes a portion that points… Read More

July 27, 2017 @ 3:00 pm By Patrick A. Reardon  |  

  The decline in the number of public companies in the United States and the decline in the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) that occur each year are widely decried. It is irony that many who bemoan these changes are the very persons who… Read More

July 24, 2017 @ 12:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

It is a fact that the number of public companies and the number of companies going public have dramatically decreased over the last 15 years. For private investors like High Net Worth Individuals or Venture Capitalists this has not been an issue. It is arguable… Read More

July 13, 2017 @ 9:57 pm By Jonathan Nieh  |  

Earlier this month, the Delaware House of Representatives passed amendments to state law that would make it explicitly legal for stocks to be traded on a blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. According to an article on Coindesk, the amendments relating to… Read More

July 6, 2017 @ 2:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

There is a bill circulating in Congress that may dramatically impact Reg A+ utilization – the crowdfunding rule that currently allows issuers to raise up to $50 million in a scaled disclosure environment. Sponsored by House Representatives Kyrsten Sinema and Trey Hollingsworth, the bill (HR… Read More

June 20, 2017 @ 10:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

VentureCrowd is a multi-asset crowdfunding platform providing early stage, property and “crowd credit” funding in Australia. Currently, VentureCrowd only caters to sophisticated or high net worth individuals.  Each early stage investment listed on its platform has already secured a professional lead investor thus allowing a smaller… Read More

June 8, 2017 @ 10:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dodd-Frank has proven to be a horrible act of legislation. A reactionary swipe directed towards the financial services industry following the calamity known as the Great Recession, many portions of the law have not yet been fully enacted. The new regulations are simply too convoluted… Read More

June 2, 2017 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Diane Feinstein have joined together in drafting legislation that may impact the cryptocurrency world. The Senate Bill, as it stands now, is designed to “strengthens criminal laws against money laundering – a critical source of funding for terrorist organizations, drug… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) has sent a letter to the California Assembly Apparitions Committee stating their “strong opposition” to AB 784.  This bill, if enacted into law, will set a rate cap for consumer loans between $300 and $5000.  OLA states this legislation has… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Sam Guzik, a securities attorney and Crowdfund Insider Senior Contributor, has shared his perspective on Congressman Patrick McHenry’s letter to SEC Chair Jay Clayton. Guzik welcomes, McHenry’s requests but believes more needs to be done; “I applaud the unrelenting and tireless efforts of Congressman McHenry… Read More

May 22, 2017 @ 10:01 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

Once again, crowdfunding’s white knight rides into action. Congressman Patrick McHenry sent a letter to the newly sworn in Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton outlining certain provisions of the regulations relating to Title III of the JOBS Act that need… Read More

May 19, 2017 @ 10:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Crowdfund Insider wrote about the Financial CHOICE Act and the portions that address raising capital online. It is a pretty big piece of legislation at 589 pages and a multitude of subsections. Subtitle P or the “Fix Crowdfunding” appeared to fall short of… Read More

May 15, 2017 @ 11:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

With the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act having just reached its five year milestone, Regulation Crowdfunding hitting its one year milestone, and the two year anniversary of Regulation A(+) fast approaching, I thought this would be a good time to (briefly) reflect on the… Read More

April 19, 2017 @ 10:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding, as allowed under Reg CF (created by Title III of the JOBS Act) was designed to improve access to capital for smaller firms in need of funding while providing new investment opportunities for smaller investors. For too many years the little guy has been… Read More

April 19, 2017 @ 6:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The creation of Representative Jeb Hensarling, the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 is geared to replace much of Dodd-Frank legislation. Dodd-Frank has become the poster-child for poorly written law that increased cost to financial service firms while increasing the potential of “too big to fail.”… Read More

April 18, 2017 @ 6:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

California is perhaps the most natural state to enact an instrastate law to facilitate investment crowdfunding. Yet multiple attempts at crafting bespoke legislation to allow crowdfunding have failed multiple times. Honestly, I have lost count of the number of bills hoisted up the lawmaking flagpole… Read More