Blockchain & Digital Assets

July 31, 2022 @ 8:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FTX Exchange FZE announced that it has received approval “to enter Dubai’s ‘Minimum Viable Product’ (MVP) program for Virtual Assets under the world’s only specialist regime for this sector operated by the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).” As a subsidiary of FTX Europe, FTX Exchange… Read More

July 31, 2022 @ 6:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

With growing global concern around the climate emergency and unsustainable agricultural practices, many countries, enterprises, and startups are “collaborating to build sustainable solutions that tackle the harmful effects of climate change,” according to an update from Chainlink. At the forefront of the battle against climate… Read More

July 31, 2022 @ 2:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainalysis has an established history of supporting U.S. government agencies. They’ve helped on cases “involving terrorism financing campaigns, child abuse material, darknet markets, ransomware gangs, North Korean hacking and more, leading to the seizure of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.” These successes demonstrate “the… Read More

July 31, 2022 @ 10:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of its strategy to power its next phase of growth, global crypto exchange CEX.IO has appointed Checkout.com as its preferred global payment processor, which uses Visa Direct, Visa’s real time money movement network, “to provide real-time off-ramps for its customers.” Since its launch… Read More

July 31, 2022 @ 9:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KuCoin, a global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the launch of its NFT ETF Trading Zone (on July 29, 2022). The new product aims “to improve the liquidity of NFT assets and lower the investment threshold of blue-chip NFTs for over 20 million users.” The launch… Read More

July 30, 2022 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Jupiter Exchange has raised $5 million to launch an alternative asset exchange, according to a statement from the company. The Seed round was led by White Hilt Capital. Jupiter Exchange will leverage NFT technology to “curate” iconic objects and make fractional ownership possible for anyone… Read More

July 29, 2022 @ 4:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CLST, an institutional-only lending and borrowing venue for stablecoins and crypto assets, has closed a seed round, led by Spartan Group, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, GSR, Menai Financial Group, Luno Expeditions, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, and TX Ventures – the… Read More

July 29, 2022 @ 2:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the government agency that provides bank deposit insurance, has taken the unique act of publicly chastising Voyager Digital regarding claims of false statements on deposit insurance status. Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy protection following the collapse of  Three Arrows… Read More

July 29, 2022 @ 12:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a non-profit DC think tank that advocates on behalf of free markets, has published a paper on stablecoins as well as central bank digital currencies. While CBDCs are state-managed digital currencies, perhaps utilizing blockchain technology, stablecoins are issued and managed… Read More

July 29, 2022 @ 10:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

DSCVR, a Web3 social content network running on the Internet Computer blockchain, has quickly “set the standard for illustrating what’s possible when operating a social platform entirely on-chain.” NFT integrations, community gating and voting, and a variety of cross-product collaborations have “stoked remarkable growth in… Read More

July 29, 2022 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore based Zipmex has filed for insolvency under Singapore law. According to a blog post, Zipmex attorneys have filed five applications under Section 64 of Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 on behalf of several of the firm’s entities, aiming to gain global moratoriums… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Atato, a licensed digital asset custodian offering MPC custodial solution aimed at corporates and institutions, announced the close of their successful Series A round, “affirming bullish sentiment for infrastructure projects in blockchain-related markets.” Led by AlphaLab Capital and FEBE Ventures, Atato’s Series A investment round… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 10:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Smartphones have become the operating systems of our existence. Today, you need your iPhone or Android phone to accomplish many different tasks, including managing money. This also includes the growing number of crypto and neo-banking Apps. Yesterday, Sherrod Brown, a Democrat Senator from Ohio who… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 2:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Nomad has raised $22.4 million in a Seed round that closed in April, backed by well-known investors. Coinbase Ventures, OpenSea, Crypto.com Capital, Wintermute, Gnosis, Algaé, and Polygon all participated in the round. Nomad’s mission is to create a safer crypto ecosystem where blockchains can communicate… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 12:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

What is a digital asset? Well, that depends on who you ask. These questions become important when it comes to things like tax treatment, securities law, ownership,  etc. The UK Law Commission is out with proposed changes for the treatment of digital assets, including NFTs… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Quasar Finance, a Cosmos-based DeFi project, has raised $6 million from big-name blockchain VCs including Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Figment Capital, Lightshift Capital, and Galileo. Quasar CEO and co-founder Valentin Pletnev aims to make digital assets “simple, accessible and secure, while utilizing the Cosmos platform’s… Read More

July 28, 2022 @ 8:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Zodia Markets, a crypto exchanger and brokerage catering to institutional investors, has been registered as a crypto platform with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and officially launched its crypto trading business. In the UK, a crypto exchange must be registered with the FCA to… Read More

July 27, 2022 @ 10:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital securities marketplace ADDX has listed a private credit fund managed by Helicap Investments. Helicap Fund I is the flagship fund of the company and it is designed to promote financial inclusion in South East Asia, according to a company statement. The Fund aims to… Read More

July 27, 2022 @ 7:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

In the past week, CI has reported on the enforcement action initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), involving a former Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) manager and two partners regarding allegations of insider trading. According to the SEC’s complaint, non-public information was accessed prior to release,… Read More

July 27, 2022 @ 12:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitso, a Latin American crypto exchange, has facilitated the transfer of Argentian football (soccer) player to São Paulo FC’ Bitso states that this is the first such transfer to take place with midfielder Giuliano Galoppo signing with the São Paulo club, completed with crypto, and… Read More