June 19, 2019 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comments on the current securities exemption structure. In a release yesterday, the SEC asked the public to provide feedback on “ways to simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor… Read More

June 11, 2019 @ 4:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely known that Kik was engaged in a cage match with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ever since Kik went public regarding a Wells Notice submitted by the SEC. A Wells Notice informs an entity they may be the target of… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

France is moving forward to embrace blockchain technology and the issuance of digital assets. While security tokens will be regulated just like the securities they are, France has crafted a regulatory regime that supports the issuance of utility tokens. Last December, the French Government issued… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 1:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated the regulatory regime managing the peer to peer lending industry. Overall, the P2P sector saw more rules that increased oversight including a cap on retail investment. Initial comments regarding the rules have been mixed with some… Read More

June 9, 2019 @ 4:00 pm By Katie Griffing  |  

3 Fintech Trends to Watch in Latin America Latin America is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world for mobile usage. In fact, the region ranks third for smartphone adoption globally, behind North America and Europe In 2017, the percentage of the Latin American… Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is out with a report on Fintech/distributed ledger technology. Entitled Decentralised Financial Technologies, the document reviews the impact of “decentralization” (IE blockchain and other forms of Fintech) on global financial stability and international regulatory environment. The report is being delivered… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 2:06 pm By David Williams, Ph.D.  |  

Just because you live in a safe neighborhood, do you leave your house unlocked? Do you leave the key under the doormat? Does that sound safe? Then why would you leave your digital assets in a vulnerable account where a company could just walk in… Read More

June 5, 2019 @ 5:09 pm By X.Y. Ng  |  

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is a form of crowdfunding, a method of raising capital that is nowadays often facilitated via the internet. Rather than rely on large amounts of funding from a handful of entities, crowdfunding uses small investments from a large pool of individuals. For… Read More

June 4, 2019 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Julia Groves, Partner and Head of Digital at investment platform, Downing LLP and long-time UK Crowdfunding Association Director, issued a statement on updated rules for loan and investment-based crowdfunding revealed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today. Groves was complimentary of the new rules… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 1:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider reported on the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) consultation pertaining to “crypto asset trading platforms” or “CTPs.” As part of the consultation, IOSCO presented a series of issues and risks affiliated with digital assets and the trading of these assets… Read More

June 2, 2019 @ 12:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An analyst writing in the latest issue of the Diar Newsletter has argued that Facebook is facing considerable “demographic challenges” to the success of its anticipated venture into cryptocurrencies. The venture, tentatively dubbed “GlobalCoin,” is now being developed at Facebook by a team of blockchain,… Read More

May 30, 2019 @ 3:03 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Though cryptocurrencies were created to offer an alternative to traditional banking -and to affront it- the past two years have been characterized by crypto’s quest for legitimacy. To be fair, cryptocurrency exchanges with long-term interests, including Coinbase and Gemini, have attempted to be compliant from… Read More

May 29, 2019 @ 5:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Some time ago, I started a small collection of interesting bourbons. A trip to Frankfurt, Kentucky, and a visit to Buffalo Trace, helped to seal my interest. During the trip, I purchased several bottles of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkel, which I consumed at my leisure… Read More

May 28, 2019 @ 2:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

For years, there has been a discussion regarding the initial public offering (IPO) conundrum. Back in the day, smaller investors could join alongside institutional money to capture wealth in an IPO. Today, too frequently, that is simply not the case. The big money has been… Read More

May 27, 2019 @ 9:41 am By Diego Caicedo  |  

Investments in Fintech surged in 2018, reaching US $55 billion worldwide and doubling that of the year before, according to Accenture. Fintech companies are also getting bigger. Currently, 19 out of Forbes’ 50 Most Innovative Fintech Companies in 2019 have valuations of US$1 billion or… Read More

May 24, 2019 @ 9:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Long-embattled Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will depart her office on June 7th thus initiating a scramble as to who will replace her in a historically important time for the UK. The ramifications of Brexit are profound and inestimable. But it is clear… Read More

May 23, 2019 @ 10:19 pm By David Carpentier  |  

Technology has changed us; it’s undeniable. It’s a safe bet to say that technology is going to continue to change us too.  It will continue to revolutionize how our society lives, works, plays, and transact business.  Today, 57 percent of the world’s population is now… Read More

May 23, 2019 @ 8:39 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Former SEC Office of Internet Enforcement Chief John Reed Stark has used his latest blog post at LinkedIn (“The Bitcoin Plague Spreads to Retail”) to strongly advise American retailers not accept cryptocurrency payments: “Given its complete and utter lack of oversight and meaningful licensure, the… Read More

May 23, 2019 @ 4:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

Matt Branton, CTO of Neutral and architect of Neutral Dollar – an aspiring stablecoin, has slammed stablecoin leader Tether in a statement. Neutral Dollar (NASD) is a stablecoin pegged to a basket of four other stablecoins (USDC, PAX, DAI, TUSD) which just recently went live…. Read More

May 22, 2019 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset firm Circle has let go 10% of its workforce or 30 individual employees. Circle founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire explained the move in a series of tweets. Allaire said: “We made these changes in response to new market conditions, most importantly, an increasingly… Read More