Reg. CF crowdfunding platform, Wefunder, is now accepting Bitcoin; Wefunder has taken the lead on Reg. CF crowdfunded investments accounting for 33 of 46 offerings; after numerous requests from its investors the platform has been able to incorporate Bitcoin investments; says the acceptance of Bitcoin will make it even easier to invest in early stage companies. Source
Orchard's Weekly Online Lending Snapshot for the week of October 27 focuses on new marketplace lending securitizations and the snapshot's new tracking for recent securitization issuances; other key data points from the week include Yirendai leading publicly-traded marketplace lenders with a monthly stock gain of 12.52% and the UK Ranger Direct Lending Fund continuing to lead among UK listed funds with a monthly gain of 6.46%. Source
The Marketplace Lending Association was launched in April of 2016 and is one of the industry's leading advocacy groups; in September it hired Nat Hoopes to lead the Association and represent the industry in Washington, D.C.; Lend Academy interviews Nat Hoopes in their most recent podcast, providing details on his background in the industry, the evolvement of the MLA and his insight on the current regulatory developments affecting marketplace lending. Source
With improved labor market data and a better than expected third quarter GDP report on Friday, the Federal Reserve is expected to outline plans for a December rate hike at its November Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (FOMC) this week; economists are expecting verbiage similar to that used last October before the Fed's last rate increase, indicating the economy was on target to meet the FOMC's objectives. Source
SoFi has begun to acquire state life insurance licenses and is working with Protective Life Insurance Co. on a life insurance partnership; known for student loan refinancing, life insurance would add to the company's expanding product offerings which now include mortgage loans, personal loans and wealth management. Source
Louis Beryl, CEO of marketplace lender, Earnest, speaks with Jim Cramer about the firm's credit evaluation process; Cramer discusses Earnest's lending specialization which focuses on student loan refinancing but also includes personal loans; Beryl primarily talks about Earnest's edge in credit underwriting which considers a borrower's full financial profile including additional details on assets and bank accounts; this is facilitated by direct connection to online banking accounts; Beryl says Earnest has passed the $1 billion lending mark with $300 million saved for clients using the company's online lending technology. Source
R3 is making its blockchain code base publicly available, in an effort to drive standards for the technology; its "Corda" platform code will be stored starting November 30th as part of the Hyperledger open-source project, which is run by the non-profit Linux Foundation to encourage cross-industry experimentation and adoption of blockchain; R3's Chief Engineer, James Carlyle, explained, "If we have one platform with lots of products on top, then we get something that's more like the internet, where we still get innovation but we can still communicate with each other."; in related news, R3 and 12 of its bank members recently trialed Ripple's Digital Asset XRP platform for interbank cross-border payments. Source
Privately-owned, US marketplace lender, SoFi, has announced it will be expanding its product offerings to include life insurance by becoming a broker; within the industry the company is primarily known for its student loan refinancing services; it has also been expanding its product offerings to include personal loans, mortgage loans and wealth management in an effort to more actively meet broader financial needs for its clients; Lend Academy provides more details on the life insurance offering and future growth expectations for the company in their article. Source
The Wall Street Journal reports on publicly listed funds that will purchase marketplace lending loans; the new funds are setup as interval funds and will open access to investors who might not otherwise consider investing in loans made by marketplace lenders; article highlights fees and minimums of offerings by RiverNorth and Stone Ridge. Source