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There are several associations for crowdfunding providers, both globally and regionally. These organizations play a crucial role in advocating for the industry, developing best practices, educating the public, and sometimes collaborating with regulators.
Here are some prominent examples:
Global:
* Global Equity Crowdfunding Alliance (GECA): This…[Read more]

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) releases a high volume of company announcements daily, making it a busy news hub. As of today, June 2, 2025, here are some of the most recent and notable types of press releases and announcements from the ASX:
Key Themes from Recent ASX Announcements (May/June 2025):
* Company-Specific Announcements: The…[Read more]

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has released several significant press releases recently, highlighting various developments across its businesses. Here’s a summary of the most prominent ones from late May and early June 2025:
* LSEG extends multi-year cloud collaboration with AWS (May 31, 2025): LSEG announced an extension of its multi-year…[Read more]

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has chosen Eurex Clearing to voluntarily clear its over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps (IRS). This decision, announced on May 15, 2025, is a significant step towards strengthening the EU financial ecosystem and promoting financial stability.
By voluntarily committing to central counterparty (CCP)…[Read more]

Video courtesy of CSOB

Video courtesy of CSOB

Michael Saylor, through his company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), has indeed pioneered a highly influential and widely discussed Bitcoin buying strategy that is having a global impact. His approach involves:
* Aggressive Accumulation: Saylor’s company has consistently acquired large amounts of Bitcoin, often funding these purchases through…[Read more]

Wall Street needs to foster and maintain a strong sense of community to compete effectively across the globe in the age of the internet. While the internet has digitized many aspects of finance, it hasn’t eliminated the need for human connection, collaboration, and the unique advantages that a concentrated financial hub provides.
Here’s why a…[Read more]

The landscape for how regulated financial service providers (FSPs) like banks and securities broker-dealers will control Bitcoin (BTC) is rapidly evolving, moving from a cautious “regulation by enforcement” to a more defined, albeit complex, framework. The key theme is integration with oversight, rather than outright “control” in the sense of…[Read more]

D.A. Davidson holds a strong position within various regulated financial markets, particularly in specific areas:
Investment Banking:
* Financial Institutions Group (FIG): D.A. Davidson’s Investment Banking group has consistently ranked highly in the Financial Institutions Group. In 2019, they were ranked as the 3rd most active investment bank in…[Read more]

Video courtesy of Escrow.com

Video courtesy of Escrow.com

Identifying the single broker-dealer that has “raised the most capital by means of crowdfunding” can be tricky because the landscape involves both funding portals and broker-dealers, and often platforms combine activities under different regulations (Regulation CF, Regulation A+, etc.).
However, based on recent data from 2024, DealMaker Securities…[Read more]

When considering which U.S. state has the most regulated, FINRA-operated broker-dealers, it’s important to understand that FINRA is the primary self-regulatory organization (SRO) for broker-dealers across the entire United States. All broker-dealers conducting securities business with the public in the U.S. must be registered with FINRA, in…[Read more]

For highly regulated financial services companies, the “preferred” BPO provider isn’t a single name, but rather a select group of large, established global players with demonstrated expertise, robust compliance frameworks, and significant investments in technology and security.
These companies differentiate themselves by:
* Deep Industry…[Read more]

It’s challenging to pinpoint one single company that will definitively be “the leading platform” for back-office in financial services, either regionally or globally, because the back-office landscape is incredibly complex and fragmented. It’s not a single product or service, but rather a vast array of solutions addressing different…[Read more]

Video courtesy of Thinking Crypto

Video courtesy of Thinking Crypto

HBAR (ℏ) is the native cryptocurrency of the Hedera public network. Hedera is a decentralized public ledger that aims to be a faster, more secure, and more efficient alternative to traditional blockchains.
Here’s a breakdown of what HBAR and Hedera are:
What is Hedera?
* Not a Blockchain: Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Hedera doesn’t use a b…[Read more]

Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP (Ripple) are two of the most prominent cryptocurrencies, but they compete in very different ways due to their distinct designs, use cases, and underlying philosophies. It’s not so much about one “winning” over the other, but rather how they carve out their niches in the broader digital asset landscape.
Here’s a breakdown of…[Read more]

To understand if there’s a “back-office” for Bitcoin (BTC), it’s important to first clarify what a back-office entails in traditional finance.
In traditional financial institutions, the back-office refers to the administrative and support functions that are not client-facing but are crucial for the organization’s operations. These include…[Read more]

The technologies that enable automation, and the strategic advantages of addressing this issue.
Expanding on the Challenges of Failed Payments
To truly appreciate the value of automation, it’s helpful to categorize the common reasons payments fail and their specific consequences:
* Insufficient Funds (NSF): This is perhaps the most common…[Read more]

Video courtesy of ABN-AMRO

Video courtesy of ABN-AMRO