Blockchain & Digital Assets

October 12, 2022 @ 4:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Opportunity Crypto will stop in five different communities this fall, “educating individuals about cryptocurrency, including the risks and opportunities.” The team at Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) asked if you ever wondered “what is crypto” or “is crypto right for me”? In line or consistent with their mission… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin reward app Lolli says its new version app on iOS and Android will incorporate “Lolli Card Boosts” – a feature designed to allow users to earn up to 10%  in Bitcoin rewards for in-store purchases. Lolli explains that with Boosts, anyone’s credit or debit… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 11:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Grayscale Investments, a large digital asset manager with listed products trading on OTC Markets, has sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to the agency’s refusal to approve a Bitcoin-based Exchange Traded Product (ETP) or spot Bitcoin ETF. According to a release, Grayscale filed… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 11:36 am By JD Alois  |  

SettleMint, a low-code platform for blockchain app development, has raised €16 Million in a Series A round led by Molten Ventures and OTB. Other investors include, Fujitsu Ventures, Allusion, and Bloccelerate and existing investor Medici Ventures. Settlement aims to remove the complexity currently intrinsic to… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 10:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Talent Protocol, the web3 professional community for high-potential builders, has acquired Agora Labs, a social token and NFT infrastructure platform for creators “to build and scale their communities.” The acquisition will not only “integrate Agora’s tech stack and community into Talent Protocol, but also onboard… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

The periodic report assessing teen trends produced by Piper Sandler has been distributed this past week. While skipping over digital payment preferences, as outlined in their previous report, the authors did address the crypto trends of teens. The research surveyed 14,500 teens across the country… Read More

October 12, 2022 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Zerion, a non-custodial crypto wallet, has raised $12.3 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Wintermute Ventures. Additional include Placeholder, Mosaic, Polymorphic Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Alchemy Ventures. 1inch Network’s Sergej Kunz, Anton Bukov, and Orest Gavryliak also participated alongside Yunt Capital… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 11:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The OECD delivered a new global tax transparency framework “to provide for the reporting and exchange of information with respect to crypto-assets.” The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) “responds to a G20 request that the OECD develop a framework for the automatic exchange of information between… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Since launching regulated and secure BTC trading in 2015, Gemini says it has been a passionate supporter of Bitcoin and the blockchain ecosystem. Importantly, Gemini provided grants and sponsorships through the Gemini Opportunity Fund to various groups “supporting the Bitcoin Network, including Bitcoin Developers.” In… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 6:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Novi was a digital wallet project launched by Meta (Facebook) that first intended to support Meta’s digital currency initiative Diem (originally called Libra). Diem eventually fell apart due to many different reasons, not to mention tons of global pushback from policymakers. Novi could have operated… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bored Ape, or Bored Ape Yacht Club, creator Yuga Labs is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a report. Bored App became emblematic of the rapid rise in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Sales of the collectibles began in the Spring of… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 3:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK), one of the oldest banks in the US, has announced it will provide custody services for digital assets. On the bank’s home page, BNY Mellon proudly announces: “Today, our Digital Asset Custody platform bridges digital and traditional assets. Tomorrow, as we continue… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a proposed framework for global regulation of crypto assets. The FSB stated in a release that “crypto-assets and markets must be subject to effective regulation and oversight commensurate with the risks they pose.” While acknowledging there is currently… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 11:23 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has revealed two enforcement actions against the crypto exchange Bittrex. According to a statement issued by Treasury, Bittrex has settled for $24 million with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and for $29 million with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital Asset has announced a new set of tokenization tools designed to accelerate the transition to tokenized assets.  Digital Asset states that Daml, its in-house smart contract platform, now powers Daml Finance, an open-source offering, that aims to speed up the development of “enterprise-grade tokenization… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Payments Fintech Wirex says it has launched USDC (USD Coin) on the Stellar blockchain within its App. USDC is a dollar-based stablecoin issued by Circle and one of the most popular stablecoins in the world. Circle’s USDC assets are held in US financial institutions and… Read More

October 11, 2022 @ 12:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a provider of security tools and services for Crypto AML/CTF, Transaction Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, Transaction Tracking, and Cyber Security recently announced that it has developed a new Crypto Threat Detection System (CTDS) that handles Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) and Counterfeit Currency Reporting… Read More

October 10, 2022 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

THORChain, a non-custodial decentralized liquidity protocol that enables decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and users to seamlessly transfer their digital assets across blockchains, has integrated support for Avalanche, which claims to be the fastest smart contracts platform in the blockchain industry, “as measured by time-to-finality.” Avalanche considers… Read More

October 10, 2022 @ 5:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Horizon is pleased to announce that they’ve raised $40 million via their Series A financing round “to make web3 easy, fun, and powerful for users and builders.” Horizaon will use the capital to scale their products, grow their ecosystem, and hire more … Read More

October 10, 2022 @ 4:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainalysis, the blockchain data platform, announced that it has joined the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), a nonprofit corporation focused on “identifying, validating, mitigating, and neutralizing cyber-crime threats.” Chainalysis’ data platform “equips the alliance with the same investigative tools that have been used to… Read More