Tagged: perspective

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

April 12, 2021 @ 12:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Coinbase announced that its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list its shares on the Nasdaq, under ticker symbol COIN, had been approved. The public listing of Coinbase will thus represent a seminal event in the digital asset industry…. Read More

April 11, 2021 @ 3:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several months ago, FinCEN submitted for publication in the Federal Register its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding certain transactions that involve virtual currency or digital assets. FinCEN or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury that… Read More

March 30, 2021 @ 11:00 am By Ariel Glasner and Amit Roitman  |  

President Joe Biden’s young administration is poised to deliver heightened – and perhaps unprecedented – regulatory scrutiny of the exploding Fintech industry.  The groundwork for a more active regulatory regime has been set over the course of the past decade.  Prior administrations harnessed existing enforcement… Read More

March 25, 2021 @ 9:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday it was reported that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had provisionally decided to not allow the merger between Seedrs and Crowdcube. The two securities crowdfunding platforms combined were seen as dominating online capital formation for early-stage ventures to the point it would… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawrence C. Lee is a top merger and acquisitions attorney operating in the Fintech sector. A partner at Baker McKenzie and based in Palo Alto, Lee was previously in-house counsel for Coinbase where he led strategic transactions and investments. More recently, Lee and his team… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 1:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Like many people, I use several traditional banks but also have several digital-only accounts. A combination of necessity and inertia has led me to be a customer of incumbent banks for years. Like many people, I am looking at multiple options in the digital banking… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 7:57 am By Lee Schneider  |  

CryptoUK issued a clarion call to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial and anti-money laundering (AML) regulator, demanding that FCA grant licenses as prescribed by AML rules.  Too many applications have gone unanswered since those rules came into effect over one year ago. … Read More

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

Bank of America has published a report on Bitcoin and it is swimming against the tide as the bank throws shade at the world’s most popular crypto as just a vehicle for speculation. The story has been picked up by many outlets at a time… Read More

March 16, 2021 @ 8:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

It is hard not to know something about the booming Non-Fungible Token or NFT market. Following Beeple’s sale of a digital work of art “Everydays—The First 5000 Days,” auctioned by Christie’s for a whopping $69 million, NFTs officially became a “thing” with non-stop coverage on… Read More

March 15, 2021 @ 3:00 pm By Lee Schneider  |  

Once the Coinbase registration statement becomes effective and Coinbase shares trade publicly, a sea change will have occurred in the US without most people recognizing it.  Part of that unacknowledged difference will be the broader awareness of blockchain and cryptoasset trading it brings. It is… Read More