Real estate alternative investment platform AlphaFlow raised $4.1mn led by Resolute Ventures and Point72 Ventures; they plan to use the funds to scale partnerships with lenders and investors, accredited individual investors and investment managers; they also plan to hire more individuals for the data science and engineering division and potentially look at more asset classes int the future. Source.
TechCrunch has published the video from an interview with Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum; in the interview he talked about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, highlighting what makes a good use case for the technology. Source
Nathaniel Hoopes, head of the Marketplace Lending Association shares how the Madden v. Midland decision is having an adverse impact on borrowers in an American Banker opinion article. Source
Ellevest is an investment platform focused on women; the firm is led by Sallie Krawcheck and recently raised $34.6 mn in a Series A round; the round was led by Rethink Impact with participation from a wide variety of investors including PSP Growth, Salesforce Ventures, CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund, LH Holdings, SK Impact Fund, Morningstar, Khosla Ventures, Mellody Hobson, Ulu Ventures, Contour Venture Partners and Astia Angels. Source
A writer in a Bloomberg opinion article believes that the next financial crisis will have its roots in Silicon Valley, not Wall Street; author cites that fintech companies are vulnerable to rapid, adverse shocks compared to Wall Street banks because fintech firms are small and undiversified; article also shares that fintech companies are more difficult to monitor and that the fintech industry has not developed the set of unwritten norms and expectations that guide traditional financial institutions. Source
According to the WSJ, clients have been withdrawing more money than expected from the hedge fund; Pine River was best known for its profits after rebounding government-backed mortgages following the financial crisis; Pine River manages roughly half of the $15 billion it managed in 2015. Source
AltFi reports on the new deal where Varengold Bank AG will provide £45m annually to the platform; Varengold is a German private bank which was granted a commercial banking license in 2013; MarketInvoice recently signed a similar partnership with Banco BNI Europa earlier this year. Source
Ant Financial is planning to resubmit its application for U.S. review of its deal to buy MoneyGram International Inc for $1.2 billion, a source familiar with the matter said; Ant’s latest attempt for approval would be its third as the maximum time of 75 days for assessing such applications nears completion; CFIUS is a secretive government panel which reviews acquisitions by foreign entities for potential national security risks. Source
China-based Qudian said on Monday it has filed with the SEC to raise up to $750 million in an initial public offering, planning to to list on the NYSE under the symbol QD; Qudian plans to use net proceeds for strategic acquisitions and marketing and borrower engagement; Qulian provides small loans and installment-based financing for e-commerce in China. Source