Tagged: perspective

July 8, 2021 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler telling the securities regulator that crypto exchanges may be undermining the SEC’s mission of basic investor protections. Gensler, for his part, has publicly worried that crypto… Read More

July 2, 2021 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outlined his vision for financial services in the UK. The Chancellor highlighted his goal of maintaining, and growing, the UK’s prominence in the finance industry – including the Fintech sector. Topics covered targeting Fintech included distributed ledger… Read More

June 25, 2021 @ 12:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shared its regulatory agenda for the next couple of years. The list is quite long and includes many areas of the securities industry. At the top of the list, was the exempt offering ecosystem with the… Read More

June 21, 2021 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Late last month, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing addressing the topic of capital formation and the state of the US initial public offering market. While several witnesses focused on the rapid rise of SPACs, one witness pointed to the precipitous decline… Read More

June 18, 2021 @ 4:30 pm By Gustavo Ruiz  |  

With the growing knowledge and adoption of digital banking, many consumers are still learning about the capabilities of contactless payments due to new perceptions of value, security, and availability, creating an ongoing challenge for merchants. Consumers are seeking out simplicity and instantaneous opportunities more than… Read More

June 18, 2021 @ 11:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday it was reported that Nutmeg, a digital investment manager operating in the UK, had been acquired by JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM). The Fintech had already partnered with the bank and JPM apparently decided to utilize Nutmeg’s tech as a step to launch a digital-only bank,… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 12:11 pm By Chris Sloan  |  

In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in a New York federal court against Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives alleging that Ripple had sold $1.3 billion in XRP cryptocurrency tokens in a series of unregistered securities offerings…. Read More

June 15, 2021 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The US investment crowdfunding industry received a boost this year as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adjusted the securities exemptions that platforms and issuers utilize to raise growth capital online. Along with other improvements, key changes include the adjustment of Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding)… Read More

June 10, 2021 @ 7:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Last year, the European Union agreed upon pan-European crowdfunding rules designed to harmonize the environment for online securities offerings across all member states. Currently, each member state handles online capital formation in a different manner, regulated by national authorities thus undermining the potential for cross-border… Read More

June 3, 2021 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month it was widely reported that Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, was under investigation by US authorities. Both the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were said to be scrutinizing the activity of the digital marketplace…. Read More

May 29, 2021 @ 2:52 pm By Martin Cheek  |  

In an effort to mitigate the effects of Covid-related shutdowns, the US government poured trillions of dollars into relief programs, offering loans to businesses in need and sending checks to people whose income qualified them for aid. However, without adequate controls in place, there was… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The German Bundestag recently reviewed legislation that will implement the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regime Regulation (ECSP). According to industry participants, the German rules may fundamentally undermine online capital formation in the country just as the European Union is poised to boost the industry with… Read More

April 30, 2021 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Biden administration has just completed its first 100 days in office. Since January, the Administration has proffered a whirlwind of policy changes and legislation from massive spending in the trillions of dollars to profound changes in the tax system. Meanwhile, the economy has already… Read More

April 26, 2021 @ 12:30 pm By Lee Schneider  |  

When you work in the blockchain and cryptoasset space for a while, you hear four particular questions asked over and over by people new to the space and particularly by skeptical people.  These are good and important questions and they deserve simple, straightforward answers, so… Read More

April 23, 2021 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued a call for policy proposals that could boost economic growth. Key policy moves designed to generate more jobs and improve prosperity are always needed – even more so on the… Read More

April 22, 2021 @ 11:30 am By Alonzo Llorens and Olivia Daly  |  

  In an effort to address an issue that has frustrated the business community for years, including startups, tech companies, and “finders,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a proposed conditional exemption for finders on October 7, 2020. Under the proposal, people (i.e.,… Read More

April 21, 2021 @ 10:10 am By Timothy Li  |  

Apple CEO, Tim Cook kicked off the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) “spring-loaded” event and announced the biggest head-scratcher that made no sense. Cook announced a new way to “build credit” for the rest of your family that’s called “Apple Card Family”. Cook said that Apple set out to… Read More

April 16, 2021 @ 11:30 am By Howard Marks  |  

On March 11th, Beeple became the third highest-paid living artist with a $69M sale of one of his works as an NFT, a non-fungible token on the blockchain. This sale is one of many at the front of NFTs, blockchain’s latest hype machine of digital… Read More

April 14, 2021 @ 10:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase, perhaps the most anticipated public listing of 2021, commenced trading on the Nasdaq today following a direct listing that started with a reference per-share value of $250 and quickly went higher from there. Listed under the ticker symbol COIN, Coinbase traded as high as… Read More

April 12, 2021 @ 9:56 pm By Lee Schneider  |  

A murder of crows.  A pride of lions. A school of fish.  A conundrum of NFTs.  At least that’s how it feels when faced with the ever-growing craze for non-fungible tokens.  Here are five things about NFTs that may surprise you. They’re just another type… Read More