Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are the most efficient means of financing entrepreneurial initiatives in the history of capital formation. ICOs minimize transaction cost and democratize finance while dis-intermediating banks. Yet, ICOs have increasingly involved cases of abuse, lacking quality,...

Since their inception in the 1940s, hedge funds have been on the leading edge of technology in finance. Examples include big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and blockchain technology. This book chapter examines how and why private fund advisers utilize emerging...

This book chapter examines theoretical approaches for hedge fund regulation and emphasizes indirect regulatory means for the industry. The chapter shows that indirect regulation of the hedge fund industry attains most regulatory objectives while providing the industry with sufficient leeway

Disruptive innovation creates increasing regulatory challenges. The reason for this is simple: Regulation is usually reactive, responding to facts. However, we currently live in a world of data, not facts. Regulation must therefore be proactive and dynamically responsive to data and trends. This...

The European Regulation on short selling (SSR) has been applied to restrict hedge funds from short selling the stock of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) as part of a distressed securities strategy. In the MPS case, a distressed securities strategy was carried out based on short selling, despite...

This article provides an overview of the evolving ICO market. It evaluates hand-selected data for the top 25 ICO jurisdictions by market capitalization. The author codes the regulatory responses of the top 25 ICO jurisdictions and provides a comparative analysis of their respective regulatory...

In recent decades, financial markets have undergone many significant transformations. Recently, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) emerged as a disruptive trend as part of the broader ecosystem of the so-called Fintech and blockchain. ICOs are a revolutionary tool for capital formation, and are...