Next Big Thing AG (NBT), a German Internet-of-Things (IoT) and blockchain company builder, has secured 12 million euros ($13.5 million) in a new funding round, according to a press release on April 8. NBT announced that the firm has successfully completed its Series A investment round led by global industrial insurance giant HDI Global SE through Hannover Digital Invest, with participation by the FinLab EOS VC Fund, a $100 million joint venture by fintech incubator FinLab AG and blockchain software developer Block.one. According to the press release, HDI Global decided to invest in NBT to support the combination of IoT …

Chris Larsen, co-founder of San Francisco-based technology company Ripple, and his wife Lyna Lam have donated $25 million in XRP to a university in California, according to an official announcement on April 5. Larsen and Lam contributed $25 million worth of XRP tokens to San Francisco State University’s (SFSU) College of Business through RippleWorks, a private foundation that provides practical support to promising social entrepreneurs. The university will direct the funds to support students studying global entrepreneurial and fintech ecosystems. According to SFSU, the donation is the largest single contribution made in cryptocurrency to a university in the United States. …

A new study shows that the fintech sector in Switzerland continues to grow, while traditional financial institutions are stagnating. The report was published by SwissBanking on April 1. The report dubbed “IFZ FinTech Study 2019” was prepared by the Lucerne University of Applied Studies with an aim to show developments in the fintech industry in 2018 and analyze how banks position themselves vis-avis the fintech industry. Per the report, the Swiss fintech sector showed significant growth in 2018. With 356 active companies by the end of the year, the industry reportedly grew by 62 percent. The sector reportedly registered larger …

Israeli fintech companies that work with forex and crypto trading are being targeted by malware, according to a blog post from threat research department Unit 42 of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks published on March 19. Per the report, Unit 42 first encountered an older version of the malware in question, Cardinal RAT, in 2017. Since April 2017, Cardinal RAT has been identified when examining attacks against two Israel-based fintech companies engaged in developing forex and crypto trading software. The software is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), which allows the attacker to remotely take control of the system. The updates …

The United Arab Emirates Banks Federation (UBF) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) hosted a joint forum on crypto assets and fintech, the UAE’s official news outlet Emirates News Agency reported on March 17. Per the report, the event was held in ADGM in collaboration with the UBF Compliance Committee and aimed to bring together industry specialists to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing fintech and crypto assets. At the start of the meeting, ADGM also shared its regulatory objectives and the main features of its crypto asset policy and surveillance tools. Moreover, the overall topics discussed at the …

United States regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it is hosting a public forum on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and digital assets this May. The news was revealed in an SEC press release today, March 15. The commission’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (Finhub) has organized the event — dubbed the Fintech Forum — which will take place on May 31, 2019. The press release reports that the forum will include industry experts as panelists and is “designed to foster greater communication and understanding around issues involving DLT and digital assets.” According to the …

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has said the agency’s fintech innovation hub LabCFTC is the regulator’s internal stakeholder in a landscape of exponential technological change and market evolution. Giancarlo made his remarks during his last appearance as CFTC chairman before the 44th Annual International Futures Industry Conference on March 14, in an address entitled “Improving the Past, Tackling the Present, and Advancing to a Digital Market Future.” Giancarlo is expected to be replaced this year by the U.S. president’s nominee for the CFTC chairmanship, Heath Tarbert, assuming the latter’s confirmation. In his remarks, Giancarlo …

The German Federal Ministry of Finance has published a key issues paper on the treatment and regulation of blockchain-based securities, according to a ministry announcement on March 8. In the paper initially released on March 7, the regulator discusses the introduction of regulations for electronic securities and the issuance of crypto tokens. The document stipulates that the regulation of electronic securities should be technology-neutral, which means that they could be based on blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT). The issuance of crypto tokens purportedly will not be subject to existing market regulations since crypto tokens do not represent securities, investment …

The office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which oversees the state’s securities regulator, has reportedly formed a fintech advisory group, banking trade publication American Banker reports on March 7. The office of Secretary William Gavin has reportedly formed a group comprising representatives from Eastern Bank in Boston, a blockchain firm called Arwen, academics and legal experts, and other firms. The group will focus on developments in the fintech industry, including digital currencies. Gavin said: “This working group includes key players from a broad spectrum of the fintech community, ranging from innovation hubs to startups to financial institutions. …

Tencent Financial Academy, a subsidiary of Chinese IT giant Tencent — signed a memorandum of cooperation with the University of Hong Kong on March 6 for joint research and development projects related to financial technology. Chinese media outlet QQ reported about the deal on March 7. The collaboration reportedly involves joint research and development of fintech projects between the financial technology and blockchain lab of the department of computer science at the University of Hong Kong in cooperation with Tencent. According to the article, the University of Hong Kong will also launch a fintech course in its bachelor program in …

Bahrain has invited Indian companies to its fintech sandbox in a bid to facilitate the development of blockchain technology in the region, The Economic Times reported on March 3. Bahrain has reportedly proposed a range of opportunities to Indian companies as their key market in the fields of blockchain, digital assets, open banking, and remittances in an effort to boost fintech growth in the country. Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) Senior Manager Dalal Buhejji reportedly said that some Indian companies applied for the Bahraini fintech sandbox last December, while EDB also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government …

Payment startup Ripple (XRP) has been ranked as one of the best employers in the technology industry in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a recent survey by research firm Good Place to Work (GPTW). On the list of the best small to medium companies to work in the Bay Area prepared by GPTW, Ripple was ranked as the 17th top employer. 91 percent of employees reportedly said that Ripple is a great place to work at, with 95 percent of the surveyed claiming that they are proud to tell others they work there. 97 percent of the survey …