Tagged: perspective

February 27, 2022 @ 10:00 pm By Will Steiner  |  

Financial Literacy is Key A parent wants a life for their child that is better than their own (a less controversial thing has never been said). This is the innate desire of parenthood — to provide your children with greater access to opportunity, witness their… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 7:14 pm By Stephen Lemon  |  

  M&A activity in Fintech hit record levels last year with companies around the world raising an eye-watering $132 billion, according to CB Insights’ 2021 State of Venture Report. We saw big deals, lots of firms going public, mergers left, right & centre, and Fintech… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

While the humanitarian crisis grows in Ukraine and Russia’s unprovoked war rages on, the European Union (EU) announced that selected Russian banks have been removed from the SWIFT messaging system. While the names of the bank were not immediately available, any on the list will… Read More

February 23, 2022 @ 9:24 am By JD Alois  |  

While some progress has been made, it should be clear now that progress, as outlined by the Kalifa Review of Fintech, is falling short. As has been widely discussed over the years, the UK is the leading global Fintech Hub. This has been accomplished due… Read More

February 20, 2022 @ 2:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Writing in advance of President’s Day, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Senior Fellow John Berlau posits an interesting opinion. Berlau, a frequent commentator on policy that impacts financial services, says George Washington, the first US President and Revolutionary War hero, would have likely had “a fondness… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 2:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee held a meeting to discuss the definition of an Accredited Investor. This definition decides who can, and who cannot, access certain private securities offerings – all based on an income or wealth metric. It does… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered to the European Parliament, Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated that a decision on a digital Euro will be made by 2024. The ECB decided to launch the investigation phase of the digital euro project in… Read More

February 15, 2022 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

The Kalifa Review of Fintech was published almost one year ago. The document was constructed to help guide the UK in its mission of supporting and promoting its prominence as a global Fintech hub. The UK has long been a vital financial center – second only to… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commissioner Hester Peirce has once again come to the defense of a Fintech innovator pertaining to the settlement announced today in regards to BlockFi –  a large crypto platform. As was reported earlier, BlockFi must pay $100 million in penalties to both the SEC and… Read More

February 12, 2022 @ 11:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) held a meeting to discuss the definition of an accredited investor. As CI has frequently covered in the past, this definition determines who may, or who may not, participate in Reg D securities offerings…. Read More

February 4, 2022 @ 3:20 pm By Martin Cheek  |  

The role that cryptocurrency plays in money laundering is hotly debated. Some say that the anonymity afforded by currencies like Bitcoin makes it easier for criminals to shift funds undetected, while others argue that the blockchain and it’s unchangeable, publicly visible ledger actually provide far… Read More

February 2, 2022 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

While multiple countries around the world are pushing forward with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the US is reviewing the pros and cons, one prominent DC-based think tank is telling public officials not to move forward on a digital dollar. The Competitive Enterprise… Read More

February 1, 2022 @ 8:30 am By Justin Daniels  |  

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are currently the belle of the blockchain ball. The revenue related to sales of NFT’s are staggering: $69 Million for Beeple while NBA’s Top Shot swished over $700M in sales in less than a year. Open Sea, the largest NFT exchange, has a… Read More

January 27, 2022 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Apple (NASDAQ:APPL), the largest publicly-traded company in the world, is predicted to enable credit card transactions directly via its ubiquitous iPhone. The new feature will challenge all credit card terminal providers like Block/Square (NYSE:SQ) that generate massive amounts of revenue by processing payments via credit… Read More

January 27, 2022 @ 8:54 am By JD Alois  |  

Facebook/Meta’s (NASDAQ:FB) digital currency venture Diem will be sold to Silvergate Capital for $200 million, according to WSJ.com. It was previously rumored that the failed cryptocurrency project was on the auction block as Meta threw in the towel on a project that once sought to… Read More

January 25, 2022 @ 6:38 pm By Adam Putz, PhD  |  

With a new SPAC launched seemingly every day and IPOs popping left and right, it might seem like the public markets are the place to be. Although following that path to liquidity might make sense for some companies, that’s just not the case for most… Read More

January 17, 2022 @ 10:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Towards the end of 2021, Amazon UK distributed an email to its customers stating it would stop accepting Visa cards for purchases beginning January 19, 2022. Today, it is being widely reported that Amazon has backed away from that decision. According to AP, Amazon has… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 9:41 am By JD Alois  |  

At least one former enforcement executive from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is predicting the demise of crypto – or at least a significant setback for digital assets. John Reed Stark, former head of the SEC’s Internet Enforcement team says that new rules from… Read More

January 9, 2022 @ 7:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Doug Ellenoff of Ellenoff, Grossman and Schole Shares Insight into Booming SPAC Market. Special purpose Acquisition Companies or SPACs had a blowout year in 2021.  While the financing vehicle has been around for decades, in recent years SPACs have rocketed in popularity. SPACs are an… Read More

January 9, 2022 @ 1:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tommy Nicholas, CEO at Alloy, which specializes in identity verification APIs that make KYC/AML “effective and simple,” says that he loves Fintech. Nicholas writes in a blog post that he believes the wide availability of “digital-first” consumer/SMB financial services helps “drive fees down, increases access… Read More