Blockchain & Digital Assets

January 25, 2023 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

2022 was an impactful year in “the fight against ransomware,” according to an update from Chainalysis. Ransomware attackers extorted “at least $456.8 million from victims in 2022, down from $765.6 million the year before.” As always, they have to caveat these findings by noting “that… Read More

January 25, 2023 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Criminals have always found efficient ways “to launder the proceeds of their crimes and avoid increasingly stringent anti-money laundering regulations,” according to an update from CertiK. One such technique, uncovered by CertiK, poses “a direct threat to Web3 projects.” Criminal organizations are using this scheme… Read More

January 25, 2023 @ 6:17 am By JD Alois  |  

QuickNode, a company that claims to provide the “most performant, scalable, reliable blockchain node infrastructure on earth,” has raised $60 million in a Series B round. Nontable Fintech VC QED Investors participated in funding the Miami-based firm, which was led by 10T. The firm was… Read More

January 24, 2023 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance Pay, a cryptocurrency payment service powered by Binance, announced its partnership with DT One, a B2B micropayments platform. DT One is powering cross-border transfers of mobile top-ups, data bundles, gaming pins, and gift cards. This partnership will “enable more than 90 million Binance users… Read More

January 24, 2023 @ 10:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued updated guidance for firms engaged in the crypt or “virtual asset” sector. NYDFS created a path for regulating digital asset firms fairly early on in the emergence of crypto. The announcement issued yesterday aims… Read More

January 24, 2023 @ 6:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FV Bank, the U.S. licensed global digital bank that offers a vertically-integrated suite of traditional and digital asset banking and custody services to Fintech and blockchain firms, has announced “the launch of their cross-border foreign exchange (FX) payments service for its U.S. and international account… Read More

January 24, 2023 @ 10:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (CSE: BIGG), owner of Netcoins, the online cryptocurrency brokerage that makes it easy for North Americans to buy, sell, and understand cryptocurrency, and Blockchain Intelligence Group, a developer of blockchain technology search, risk-scoring and data analytics solutions, is pleased “to report… Read More

January 24, 2023 @ 9:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SCRYPT Digital, the Swiss-regulated company offering a single point of access into digital assets for institutions, has been chosen by Kiln, the tech provider behind the first enterprise-grade liquid staking protocol, in order “to provide a seamless on/off-ramping service for its treasury.” The partnership will… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 11:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Genesis Global Holdco has received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for all the first-day motions related to its Chapter 11 filed on January 19, 2023. Last week, Genesis filed for bankruptcy protection after a period when it… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 10:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Yield App has announced its roadmap to incubate Haven1, a Layer 1 and EVM-compatible blockchain that “addresses the industry’s growing demand for secure, on-chain finance through its proof of authority (PoA) consensus mechanism.” Set to launch in 2024, the network is “developed by the highly… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 10:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SEBA Bank, a licensed digital assets bank regulated in Switzerland, has announced an innovative offering for its clients. SEBA Bank is “shaping the future of finance, simplifying crypto banking for its clients, whether traditional or crypto-savvy investors.” Clients are “the focus at SEBA.” SEBA claims… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 4:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Okcoin and Paradigm have awarded a joint grant to Open Source Bitcoin Core maintainer Marco Falke. With this grant, Okcoin and Paradigm will “provide Falke with a livable income as he works on this open-source, decentralized project.” This is the third consecutive year that Okcoin… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 3:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Gemini, a crypto firm regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), is cutting its employee headcount once again, according to a report. Like many other crypto trading platforms, the drop in digital asset valuations, along with crypto contagion, has impacted Gemini’s… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

As Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets move higher, the aggregate market cap of crypto has moved above the $1 trillion mark for the first time in months, according to Coinmarketcap. Bitcoin garners the lion’s share of the market as the most popular digital currency… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 10:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tenderly, creators of a Web3 development platform, and Cronos, a decentralized, open-source, energy-efficient public blockchain with high speed and low transaction fees,  announced the integration between Tenderly and Cronos as well as its testnet. Cronos is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer-1 blockchain network built… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 10:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Etrading Software, the global provider of technology-led solutions, announced its expansion into Regulatory Data Services, and as part of this expansion hired Liz Callaghan as Chief Strategy Officer for Regulatory Data Services and Catherine Sutcliffe as Regulatory Affairs Director, two newly created roles reporting to… Read More

January 23, 2023 @ 8:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On 20 January 2023, Huobi announced that it is currently cooperating with Fireblocks on institutional crypto custody and payments, and Off-Exchange services “to better serve clients who want greater security, control and capital efficiency on their assets.” Fireblocks is the digital asset infrastructure “for thousands… Read More

January 22, 2023 @ 10:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PARSIQ has launched its “blazing” fast Tsunami API on Arbitrum One. The Layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution has already “attracted a strong community of users and developers — with Tsunami API, builders can access instant real-time and historical data providing advanced querying functionality and vital monitoring… Read More

January 22, 2023 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Masa, the first Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Soulbound identity protocol, announced its mainnet launch on the Ethereum network. The mainnet launch of Masa Soulbound Identity “brings a standardized on-chain Soulbound Token protocol and infrastructure to power the web3 economy.” The mainnet launch “empowers users to… Read More

January 22, 2023 @ 5:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, has fallen from a high of nearly $70,000, which it reached in late 2022, to just over $20,000 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest crypto-asset by market cap and the largest smart contract platform, has… Read More