The legal case unfolding in a London court between the founder of Cognism and five of its investors, including Balderton Capital and AVP Capital, would be notable at any time. A court hearing this week appears to have dealt an early blow to the investor defendants, according to reporting from Sifted

18 May 2026 | Category: FOUNDER ACCESS & CAPITAL REFORM

The venture capital industry runs on reputation. Relationships are currency. Warm introductions open doors that cold calls cannot. And dissent about how the system works can be career-limiting in an industry small enough for word to travel fast.

White-label tokenisation platforms have moved from niche offering to recognisable category. Several are now active in or accessible from the UK market. Here is how the landscape is taking shape and what founders should be looking for.

Only around 14% of UK angel investors are women. That figure has not shifted meaningfully in years, and it matters because the composition of the investor base directly shapes who gets funded. Female angel investors are significantly more likely to deploy capital into female-founded businesses. If t

The statistic that frames this announcement has not changed in a decade. Female founders in the UK receive less than 2% of all venture capital deployed. Despite numerous initiatives, codes, commitments and pledges from investors, the number has barely shifted. Against that backdrop, the British Busi

There is a cost that does not appear in any startup's profit and loss account, that no investor has to justify on a returns attribution sheet, and that no regulatory framework currently requires anyone to measure. It is the cost of raising a round.

A freedom of information request that nobody should have needed to file found that 81 per cent of the assessors for Innovate UK's Women in Innovation programme were male. Not a percentage from an anonymous third-party study. The publicly funded body specifically designed to support female founders w

On 29 April 2026, tZERO Group, Inc. announced that the required majority of its TZROP holders had approved the conversion amendment. Of the 1,594 holders who participated, representing 72.2% of outstanding TZROP shares, an overwhelming 84.6% voted in favour. The proposal cleared the required simple majority threshold, with 61.2% of all outstanding TZROP shares voting yes. Under the terms of the conversion, each TZROP will become three shares of tZERO Series B preferred s

The landscape of startup funding in 2026 is changing fast. Venture capital remains powerful, but it is no longer the only serious path. A new wave of regulated digital securities is creating alternative routes to capital for founders who want fairer, broader access, greater control, and more flexible ownership structures.

Existing shareholders - early employees, angels, seed funds - can transact in controlled, periodic windows without the company losing its private status or triggering the ongoing reporting obligations of an MTF or public exchange.

Ctrl Alt Ltd, a subsidiary of Alt Ltd, has been placed on the FCA's official register as a directly authorised investment firm. The UAE-regulated firm now holds its own FCA permissions, allowing it to operate independently rather than as an Appointed Representative under another firm's licence. The authorisation enables Ctrl Alt to expand its digital capital markets services and support the end-to-end lifecycle of tokenised assets — from issuance and primary distribution thro

Most so-called "tokenised stocks" — including some popular DeFi products — are synthetic: a token whose price tracks an underlying stock, backed by some form of collateral or contractual claim.

If you follow financial press or crypto media coverage of tokenised equity, two dominant framings emerge. One treats tokenisation as an inevitability already underway, written for an audience of institutional practitioners. The other treats it as a speculative frontier, written for an audience of digital asset natives. Neither reads as though UK founders are the intended audience, because, largely, they are not. So when we opened a short poll last week asking UK founders a

The FCA regulates financial markets and firms to ensure integrity, protect consumers, and promote competition. Equity tokens, representing ownership in a company, often fall within the FCA’s remit as they can be classified as securities. This classification triggers specific regulatory requirements. The FCA’s approach to equity tokenisation is grounded in existing securities law, adapted to the digital context. Tokenised shares must comply with the same rules as traditiona

The world of digital assets has seen rapid growth over the past decade, attracting a wide range of investors from retail traders to large institutions. Yet, this growth has not come without challenges. One of the most significant factors shaping investor behaviour in this space is regulatory change. As governments and regulatory bodies around the world adjust their stance on digital assets, investor adoption patterns shift accordingly. Understanding how regulatory changes inf

Real World Asset (RWA) tokenisation is reshaping how assets are managed, traded, and financed. For startup founders and investors, understanding the evolving event landscape around RWA tokenisation is crucial. These events offer opportunities to learn, network, and explore new ways to raise capital or invest in tokenised assets. This article highlights key RWA tokenisation events in the UK and globally throughout 2026, providing insights into why these gatherings matter and h

Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, and Monzo are all involved in building tokenised banking infrastructure. This is not a crypto experiment. It is the financial system founders already use, being upgraded from the inside. When most founders hear the word tokenisation, they think of raising money. A token that represents shares in their company, issued through a regulated platform, distributed to investors. That is one part of the tokenisation story, and i

The recent €3 million pre-Series A funding secured by Barcelona-based Brickken marks a significant step in the evolution of real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation. As the company expands its institutional-grade infrastructure across Europe and the UAE, this development could have notable implications for the UK’s real estate and fintech sectors. Brickken’s focus on compliant tokenisation of assets such as real estate and bonds, combined with its integration with Polygon PoS, pos

The Future of Web3 in the UK: Navigating Legislation and Economic Ceasefire Impacts. Web3 technologies promise to reshape how we interact online, offering decentralised control, new financial models, and innovative digital experiences. Yet, the path forward in the UK is complex. Recent legislative moves and the broader economic environment, often described as a "ceasefire" in investment and innovation momentum, are shaping the future of Web3 in ways that require close attent