Blockchain & Digital Assets

February 20, 2023 @ 10:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

At -47.9%, crypto VC deal activity “continued to decline sharply in the fourth quarter of 2022,” according to an update from Pitchbook. Pitchbook noted in their latest report that the vertical’s third consecutive QoQ “decline to $2.5 billon is the lowest amount of capital invested… Read More

February 20, 2023 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Fireblocks, a digital asset custody platform, is slashing its headcount by 5%, according to a report. Fireblocks joins a growing list of Fintechs that have looked to cut costs in a challenging macroeconomic environment. Fireblocks is a young provider in the digital asset sector that… Read More

February 20, 2023 @ 8:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Monad Labs is announcing their $19M seed round, “led by Dragonfly Capital and with participation from Lemniscap, Placeholder, Shima Capital, Finality Capital, and Credibly Neutral, as well as over 70 angels, including Cobie, Hasu, 0xMaki, and a number of other leaders in the space.” This… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 10:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

AKRU, a real estate investment platform, recently distributed an update on its platform. AKRU offers fractionalized investments in commercial real estate. Via tokenization, investors may purchase real estate-backed securities for as little as $1000. There is also a secondary trading marketplace for liquidity if you… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 8:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mercuryo, a crypto payments company, and ConsenSys, a Web3 company, have announced an integration within MetaMask that will “allow MetaMask users to bypass mainstream exchanges and buy crypto tokens with bank cards, Apple Pay, and various bank transfer methods directly in their wallets.” This aims… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 7:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the world knows, most central banks in the developed world are investigating the benefits and risks of issuing digital currency. While the bulk of transactions is already handled electronically today, the thesis is that by incorporating new technology, a digital currency – or digital… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 7:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Toposware, the developer of Topos, the “first” zkEcosystem that enables fully trustless and secure interactions between blockchains and serves as the springboard for the global adoption of Web3, announced the appointments of Paul Roma, Martin Wischhusen, and Dr. Sriram Vishwanath to its growing advisory board…. Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 6:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) now offers a “crypto scam tracker” that aims to help pinpoint bogus crypto offerings and scams. Announced last week, the tracker currently lists 36 individual scams. According to the DFPI, the scams are identified from complaints… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 5:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The decentralized web, or Web3, is often touted as the future of the internet. With its emphasis on community ownership and decentralized governance, it has the potential to create a more equitable and open online experience. However, despite its potential, the current state of business… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 1:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wedge Financial, Inc., a fintech company that brings the power of the markets and programmable payments to everyday spending, is partnering with Visa (NYSE: V) in order to launch a debit card “connected to the Wedge app, accelerating its mission to revolutionize consumer spending.” Wedge… Read More

February 19, 2023 @ 10:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Taurus SA, the digital asset infrastructure provider for financial institutions in Europe, is pleased to announce a $65 million Series B capital raise from strategic investors. Taurus’ Series B investment round is “led by Credit Suisse and includes participation from new institutional investors such as… Read More

February 18, 2023 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Paul Anthony Pierce, a former NBA pro and sports analyst, has agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission for promoting EMAX tokens on social media. As was previously reported, the same digital asset embroiled influencer Kim Kardashian who had to cough up a… Read More

February 18, 2023 @ 10:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Gate.io is now fully integrated with Copper.co’s ClearLoop solution. This integration will “serve as a mutual benefit to both parties, as institutional clients can utilize Copper.co’s technology to deploy capital on the exchange and trade immediately, while also maintaining independent custody of their funds with… Read More

February 17, 2023 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As we look towards the future of crypto, 2023 presents Blockchain.com with an opportunity to build upon their success, “prepare for what’s ahead and — most importantly — continue to support their tens of millions of customers in over 150 countries.” To kick off this… Read More

February 17, 2023 @ 11:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PARSIQ claims it has long been interested in creating a “bright” and sustainable future for Web3 technology. That’s why they claim to work so hard “to make accessing data, and monitoring blockchain activity as easy as possible for developers.” They’re pleased to announce their partnership… Read More

February 17, 2023 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS reported an 80% year-on-year growth in the number of Bitcoin (BTC) traded on the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) in 2022, and “a doubling in the number of BTC custodised with the bank’s digital asset custody solution.” The firm claims these business metrics “underscore the… Read More

February 17, 2023 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Siemens is one of the first companies in Germany to issue a digital bond, “in accordance with Germany’s Electronic Securities Act (Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere, eWpG).” Worth 60 million, it has “a maturity of one year and is underpinned by a public blockchain.” According to… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is continuing its crypto crackdown filing charges againstTerraform Labs PTE Ltd and founder Do Hyeong Kwon. The firm is based in Singapore but the Commission has not been shy about pursuing crypto scofflaws anywhere in the world. Kwon was… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 3:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged Vista Network Technologies and its CEO, Armen Temurian, with “fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of customers’ digital asset commodities.” The CFTC claims that the defendants scammed over $7 million in Bitcoin and Ether from erstwhile customers. The CFTC described… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 10:07 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing to discuss the topic of digital assets.  As should be abundantly clear by now, support, or lack of support, is now largely falling along party lines. Both sides desire consumer protection and understand the need… Read More