July 21, 2017 @ 2:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today the Faster Payments Task Force, created by the Federal Reserve, released its final report along with their recommendations on what needs to be accomplished to bring the US up to date in the payments space. Anybody engaged in the payments sector understands that the US… Read More

July 20, 2017 @ 7:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commissioner Michael Piwowar, who was Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until the successful appointment of Jay Clayton, visited with David Burton of the Heritage Foundation earlier this week providing a unique glimpse into the world of the SEC. Burton, who is… Read More

July 19, 2017 @ 2:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Acting Comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Keith Noreika, answered a pressing question today in a speech delivered at the Exchequer Club in Washington, DC. Noreika asked the question of himself that everyone in finance had been wondering; “What are… Read More

July 18, 2017 @ 1:50 pm By Victoria Silchenko, Ph.D.  |  

This article is my attempt at providing a definitive guide to the complex, and so far, self-regulated, landscape of ICOs. Warning: mature content. What on Earth is ICO? Just as how in the ancient movie “Eyes Wide Shut” the password “fidelio” gave access to a… Read More

July 14, 2017 @ 9:51 am By JD Alois  |  

PwC has recently published a report on the status of Fintech in China, which happens to be the largest Fintech market in the world. This week, PwC Chairman and CEO of Greater China Raymund Chao presented the research in Hong Kong to the LendIt China… Read More

July 11, 2017 @ 12:00 pm By Jonathan Nieh  |  

Ether, the cryptocurrency based off of and powering the blockchain technology Ethereum, made headlines last month after soaring to over $400 a coin. The huge surge caused many people to speculate that Ethereum would one day surpass Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocoin both by market… Read More

July 10, 2017 @ 7:45 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

In a recent testimony to the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Scott Kupor, CEO & Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a $6.5 billion multi-stage venture capital firm, gave an amazingly comprehensive and concise description of today’s vanishing IPO market, the… Read More

July 6, 2017 @ 2:26 pm By Barry James  |  

  The thing that has struck more most forcibly is just how much untapped potential there is here – and how badly it is going to be needed. I’ve lived near the leading edge of technology for several decades now and seen how it has… 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

July 2, 2017 @ 7:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The presentation embedded below is an interesting perspective on the growth of alternative finance, specifically in Europe. There has been a certain amount of discussion regarding the tepid growth of investment crowdfunding in the US (not including marketplace lending) and the reasons why the sector… Read More

June 25, 2017 @ 2:44 pm By Barry James  |  

As impact goes it doesn’t get much bigger. Crowdfunding has been much misunderstood and, let’s be honest, has underperformed our best expectations. It was supposed to “democratise finance” – and much more. Much focus has been on equity, regulation and the JOBS Act. The friction… Read More

June 23, 2017 @ 7:11 pm By Jonathan Nieh  |  

    In a recent article published in the Hastings Law Journal (embedded below), Duke University School of Law Associate Professor Elisabeth de Fontenay discusses the relationship between the recent decline of IPOs and the deregulation of private capital. Professor Fontenay also spoke at the… Read More

June 21, 2017 @ 2:58 pm By Barry James  |  

I was asked: How did the book come about? Why did you write it? It has my name on it, but in truth it’s something of a team effort. Fundamentally I wrote it because I need it, my team needs it and the world needs… 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 19, 2017 @ 12:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chris Woolard, the Financial Conduct Authority’s competition Czar, has commented on the usage of cryptocurrencies. As reported by FN news, Woolard said; “We don’t prohibit regulated firms from engaging in digital currency trading, nor do we prohibit banks from offering banking services to deal with… Read More

June 15, 2017 @ 5:48 pm By Scott Purcell  |  

  At a lightly attended alternative finance conference last month, Dr. Richard Swart spoke about the anaemic growth of the US crowdfunding industry. He made the point that we (industry participants including portals, broker-dealers, escrow banks & trusts, transfer agents, investor accreditation services, accountants, lawyers,… Read More

June 13, 2017 @ 12:30 pm By Therese Torris  |  

This article highlights three takeaways for Fintech firms from Mary Meeker’s 355-page-long report: 1) The Internet’s center of gravity shifts to Asia; 2) The biggest get bigger; 3) Fintechs must use gamification to improve customer engagement. Since 2001, Mary Meeker, a Partner at venture capital… Read More

June 10, 2017 @ 2:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week the House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, part of the Energy and Commerce Committee, held a hearing on Fintech innovation as part of their disruptors series. During the hearing several witnesses delivered prepared statements to the Committee members and one clearly… Read More

June 9, 2017 @ 5:16 pm By Duncan Keene  |  

Traditional banking is facing tough times ahead. It’s easy to see why. The UK has lost 40% of its banks and building societies since 1989, considering usage of online banking has more doubled since 2007. After all, who wants to queue for an hour to see… Read More

June 7, 2017 @ 12:10 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Big consultancies, such as PwC, Cap Gemini, KPMG, Deloitte and Accenture, research and analyze fintech developments to support the digital transformation of their banking customers. They promote this work through well-crafted free reports and white papers. The latest of such reports was published by Julian… Read More