On 7 August, 2018, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it has, in collaboration with 11 other financial regulators and related organisations, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, created the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) to …›
Two key federal government announcements were made on July 31, 2018 related to fintech issues. First, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a press release announcing a report entitled “Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation.” The Report is the fourth and final in a …›
Originally, there were no foreign ownership limits for a non-bank company to act as an e-Wallet provider, e-Money issuer or fund transfer operator, leading to an influx in applications from foreign owned providers in Indonesia. On 7 May 2018, Bank Indonesia (“BI”) published a new …›
Many in the blockchain and cryptocurrency community were in a celebratory mood on June 14, 2018, following a landmark speech given by William Hinman, Director for the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Director Hinman’s remarks addressed, …›
In this article, Jake M. Robson and Nick Davies highlight how joint ventures or strategic M&A can often be the most effective way to roll out and scale up a fintech product offering in multiple jurisdictions in southeast Asia. The article was first published in …›
With over $8.8B raised via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) since 2014, and over 1,200 tokens in circulation with a combined market capitalization of over $300B, it’s not surprising that ICOs are an increasingly popular fundraising tool. In this post, we discuss eight key items …›
These days more and more companies are using virtual tokens to compensate and incentivize founders, directors, employees, and other service providers. For the most part, these token-based awards emulate traditional equity-based awards, but they differ from those awards in some important ways, particularly when it …›
The combination of low levels of financial inclusion, a steadily growing GDP and high smart phone usage has resulted in the Philippines becoming a key market in Asia for venture capital and private equity investors, as well as strategic players looking for investment or …›
Subject to certain exceptions, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) makes it unlawful to enter into a transaction in any commodity with someone who meets the CEA’s definition of a “retail customer.” Nevertheless, many cryptocurrency platforms currently serve retail customers, relying on the CEA’s “actual …›
The Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, urged market professionals who in any way participate in initial coin offerings (ICOs) to “act responsibly.” Having once stated that all the ICOs he’s seen have had “a sufficient number of hallmarks of …›