Opinion

December 27, 2024 @ 3:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As the year 2024 comes to a close, it’s wise for financial institutions and Regtech (regulatory technology) providers to pause and assess the evolving sanctions landscape, particularly with the U.S. preparing to transition to a new administration in 2025. This, according to an update from… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 9:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Stablecoins are a trillion dollar opportunity and that is not hyperbole, according to an extensive update from Pantera Capital. Although crypto is often thought of for its volatility, tokens, and liquidity-profile, Ryan Barney and Mason Nystrom from Pantera Capital pointed out that the other side… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 7:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ethereum (ETH) is still leading the way overall, however, Solana (SOL) is steadily gaining ground (and fast), according to new industry report. The 2024 Electric Capital Developer Report reveals that as far as blockchain / web3 developer activity goes, there have been solid developments this year…. Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 7:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance.US’s year-end insights provide a meaningful outlook covering key developments this year and the general outlook for 2025 as well. Interim CEO Norman Reed has highlighted important milestones from the past year for the company and also shared details on features coming to the platform… Read More

December 24, 2024 @ 5:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the latest twist in the unpredictable world of crypto and high-stakes finance, Justin Sun, the Chinese-born entrepreneur and founder of the Tron (TRX) blockchain, has emerged as a somewhat unlikely and unexpected ally of President-elect Donald Trump. This development, reported by the Wall Street… Read More

December 19, 2024 @ 10:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in digital payment systems is reshaping the payments industry in an era of quick technological transformation. From better fraud detection to more efficient transactions, AI is changing the way of payment processing. Peko Wan, Co-CEO of Pundi X, a provider of blockchain-based… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 8:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG UK has commented on the recently released UK GDP data. Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, noted: “GDP growth stalls amid growing uncertainty. GDP growth remained disappointing, showing no progress for five consecutive months, due to weaker activity across a broad swathe of the… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows the definition of an Accredited Investor is broken. The rule sets a monetary hurdle for individuals who may participate in certain private securities offerings. It is obvious to all that wealth is not necessarily an indicator of sophistication. Still, the SEC has failed… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 10:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government issued its interim report this month outlining the abuse of financial data by the federal government. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you should be outraged by this… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 9:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin continues to march higher following the election of former President Donald Trump and his forthcoming crypto-friendly administration. It was only a year ago when Bitcoin was trading around $40,000. This week, Bitcoin topped $106,000, setting a new all-time high for the world’s most popular… Read More

December 15, 2024 @ 6:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A staggering 40% of Solana’s transaction volume is now driven by memecoins, according to an update shared with CI. And yet, the majority of these assets never even reach centralized exchanges (CEXs). Memecoins are increasingly bypassing CEXs altogether, launching and thriving in decentralized finance (DeFi)… Read More

December 15, 2024 @ 9:28 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Should the US Federal Reserve cut rates in December, it’ll be based on market pressure—not sound economic reasoning—and there will be no rate cuts in the first half of 2025, deVere Group CEO Nigel Green believes. His warning comes as the US Consumer Price Index… Read More

December 14, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week, Independent Community Bankers of America president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey spoke out against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on overdraft services. Despite the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft rule’s exemption for community banks under $10 billion in assets, Rainey said… Read More

December 14, 2024 @ 11:41 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

deVere Group CEO Nigel Green predicts Bitcoin is likely to surge to $150,000 by mid-2025, and he’s been right before. His statement comes as the cryptocurrency is once again back above $100,000 after hitting the milestone for the first time last week. “Bitcoin is up… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 11:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The initial coin offering (ICO) era came to a screeching halt following a statement made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that effectively told issuers to halt the process. During the wild and crazy days of ICOs, millions or billions were both made and lost…. Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 10:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bitcoin and crypto industry is now focused on blocking or preventing the re-nomination of  SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw as the Senate Banking Committee prepares to vote on her appointment to another term at Wall Street’s main regulatory authority. Crenshaw, a Democrat, was appointed to the commission by President Donald… Read More

December 12, 2024 @ 9:16 am By JD Alois  |  

A recent report shares that Nasdaq Private Markets (NPM), a secondary trading platform for shares in private firms, has booked $6 billion in trades so far this year. In total, since its creation, NPM reports over $55 billion in transactional value and more than 250… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 3:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) testified before the Senate Banking Committee. Chairman Rohit Chopra outlined his accomplishments while at the agency in his opening statement, mentioning that they are working on addressing the challenges of debanking. Blocking people from the banking system has emerged… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 10:38 am By JD Alois  |  

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has published a report on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), more specifically, wholesale central bank Digital Currencies (wCBDCs), which may limit these digital assets to institutional use. While CBDCs continue to be debated and some jurisdictions are actively experimenting… Read More

December 11, 2024 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) became a public firm in an IPO held on December 11, 2014 – ten years ago today. At that time, the transition of the high-profile Fintech from a private firm to a publicly traded company was heralded as a coming-of-age moment for the… Read More