Blockchain & Digital Assets

August 13, 2022 @ 1:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Investment management firm abrdn (LON: ABDN) has reportedly become the largest external shareholder in the United Kingdom’s “first” regulated digital securities exchange, Archax. Terms of the transaction have not been shared publicly. Archax was established around 4 years ago in order to offer access to… Read More

August 13, 2022 @ 10:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has introduced a private trust providing institutional customers in the US with direct exposure to Bitcoin (BTC). The world’s largest asset manager confirmed the release of the new product in a blog post, however, the firm has not yet provided extensive details…. Read More

August 13, 2022 @ 10:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco’s blockchain payments Fintech Ripple Labs Inc, which is currently involved in an extensive legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is reportedly interested in acquiring the assets of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network. This, according to statements shared by… Read More

August 13, 2022 @ 8:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dibbs announced the appointment of two C-suite hires as the company grows beyond its origins “as a collectibles marketplace towards becoming the platform for tokenization and custody of physical and digital items for IP owners and collectors.” Dibbs appointed Ben Plomion as Chief Marketing Officer… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 10:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The 1inch API continues to expand in the DeFi space, “now strengthening the swapping functionality of the KuCoin Wallet, focused on opening the gateway to Web3 world to its users.” As noted in an update shared with CI, the 1inch Network confirmed that the 1inch… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 7:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and accelerator of Binance, has made “a strategic investment in Web3 infrastructure provider Ankr.” The funds will go toward “ramping up the work on Ankr’s remote procedure call (RPC) service and building out its Web3 developer suite.” Ankr has… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 4:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Injective, a blockchain built for finance, recently announced a new $40 million funding round led by Jump Crypto. BH Digital, the crypto arm of famed hedge fund manager Alan Howard, has also joined the investment round. Injective claims it is “the first fully decentralized smart… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 3:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

As Ethereum nears the Merge, some blockchain proponents are poised to fork and maintain legacy Ethereum. As was recently reported, EthereumPow (or proof of work) is almost ready to go with certain exchanges announcing possible support. One of the largest crypt operations in the world… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed charges against Rathnakishore Giri and his firms, NBD Eidetic Capital, LLC and SR Private Equity, LLC, alleging digital asset trading ploy that pilfered $12 million from unsuspecting investors. The CFTC also filed charges against Giri’s parents, Giri Subramani and… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 3:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Figure Technologies, Inc., a key player in transforming financial services through the power of blockchain tech, announced a collaboration with Visa “to provide issuing processor services via Figure’s blockchain-based Banking in a Box platform.” Visa DPS, used by financial institutions around the globe, will be… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 9:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) jointly announced the addition of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) track to the Global Fast Track 2022, “giving local and global firms valuable opportunities to partner with the central banking institution to boost… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 5:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Elliptic, a crypto intelligence firm, has published an interesting blog post on the use, or abuse of, cross-chain bridges to launder funds. A cross-chain bridge allows value to hop to different blockchains. While utilized by legitimate platforms, cross-chain bridges have also caught the attention of… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 4:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

While stablecoins continue to grow in usage while garnering legislative attention that may provide a regulatory regime to propel them further, some industry observers are non-believers of fiat-backed crypto. John Reed Stark, a frequent critic of crypto and former SEC official who previously ran the… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Structured.fi has launched its mobile service in El Salvador, a country that has embraced Bitcoin by making it legal tender. Millions in El Salvador are already using the Chivo digital wallet for transactions. Structured.fi is offering a platform that enables investing in both traditional and… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 4:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Merkle Science has extended its Series A funding as more money arrives. According to a blog post, Merkle has now raised over $24 million. Merkle Science is a predictive cryptocurrency risk and intelligence platform that provides information, data, and aids in the detection of nefarious… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 12:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BitPay, which claims to be the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, added a reward program to its BitPay Prepaid Card. Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX), a cash-back rewards platform, is “managing the rewards where the BitPay cardholder automatically receives up to 15 percent… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 12:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital asset bank, has partnered with well-known funding platform and talent board AngelList to invest using USDC. AngelList and Anchorage say they are bridging the gap between fiat currency and VC funding. AngelList, as an online investment platform, has helped… Read More

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

Does the US Federal Government hold crypto? Probably so. Following enforcement actions or tax violations, the feds may confiscate various types of assets, and these can include digital ones like Bitcoin, etc. Earlier this week, Congressman Tom Emmer, along with Congressman Joe Auchincloss, reminded us… Read More

August 10, 2022 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of Australia is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a research project “to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia.” Considerable research has been “undertaken by central banks, including the Reserve Bank, into… Read More

August 10, 2022 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Mike Crosbie, Chief Business Officer of poundtoken (GBPT), an issuer of a British Pound-backed stablecoin, has distributed a comment on the Bank of England’s recent missives on crypto asset risks. Like other central government regulators, the Bank of England has been keenly observing the emerging… Read More