Blockchain & Digital Assets

March 16, 2022 @ 1:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Konvi, which claims to be first pan-European Crowd-Investment Platform for alternative asset classes, is confirming its $900,000 pre-seed round. Investors reportedly include APX and “value-adding” angel investors including former executives from tech giants like Snap Inc and Shopify. Konvi’s management noted that they are on… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Eizper Chain, the blockchain action-based multiplayer ARPG, has reportedly acquired $2 million in capital via a seed round and private NFT sale. Overall demand for exposure to this blockchain project – the first game in the Eizper gaming franchise – is “accelerating,” according to a… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 10:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kaddex, the “first gas-free DEX” (decentralized exchange) built on the Kadena blockchain, has finalized a second sale “completing a total of $8M raised pre-launch.” As confirmed in an update shared with CI, “100% of KDX available in the second round was sold.” The second public… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 6:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SCB 10X, a holding company under the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) Group (BKK: SCB), recently revealed that it would be tapping into the Metaverse. As mentioned in the update, SCB 10X will be introducing its first headquarters in The Sandbox. SCB 10X has also reportedly… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 4:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Huobi Research Institute, the blockchain research organization, recently shared a detailed report on Ethereum rollup solutions, titled “How Far is Rollup from Maturity: A Dive into Rollup’s Development Path.” In the extensive report, Huobi Research Institute analyst Barry Jiang points out some of the “drawbacks”… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Consensys has announced a Series D funding round that values the firm at over $7 billion – more than double its Series C round last November. According to a statement by Consensys, the firm raised $450 million in a round led by ParaFi Capital joined… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the White House issued an Executive Order on digital assets that outline an approach to regulating the emerging industry. While many details remain to be disclosed, and multiple agencies will be involved in building a regulatory strategy, the crypto industry was relieved that… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Michele Korver has joined a16z Crypto as its new Head of Regulatory. According to a note from a16z, Korver has a reputation as the DOJ [Department of Justice] “crypto czar” having spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement. Korver started her career… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 9:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Crypto exchange Bitstamp has hired James Greenwood as Chief Technology Officer. Greenwood is a former banker having worked for both traditional and digital platforms. According to a statement from the company, Greenwood’s most recent position was as Chief Product Officer at Zand Bank (UAE), where he… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 5:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitstamp is reporting that it has implemented Notabene’s solution for regulatory compliance under FATF’s global Travel Rule regulations across the US, EU, and Singapore. Notabene is a Regtech Software-as-a-Service solution provider that is headquartered in New York with offices around the world. The Financial Action… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 1:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CarNow, the automotive industry’s digital retailing firm, recently announced a partnership with Cion Digital, offering clients a way to purchase and finance vehicles using cryptocurrency via “an integration with CarNow’s Real-Time Retail™ platform.” Cion Digital’s “ready-to-deploy” modular payments and lending platform offers firms with access… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 10:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance has received a crypto asset license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), according to the crypto exchange. This is Binance’s first digital asset-specific license. The company said approval by the CBB demonstrated its commitment to being in regulatory compliance as the first of… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 7:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cross-chain staking platform Stader Labs has reportedly finalized its CoinList sale, securing $23 million from 40,000 digital wallets. This brings the total acquired by the firm to $40 million from public and private sales. As noted in an update shared with CI, the level of… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Labor has issued a “compliance assistance release” about 401K retirement plans and investment in cryptocurrencies. According to the DOL, they have become aware of firms offering this option to savers and cautions plan fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care before they consider… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chainalysis, a leading blockchain/crypto monitoring and data platform used by both private and public entities, shared last week that they are building tools that “make it easier for any organization to integrate sanctions screening for cryptocurrencies into their existing operation.” As has been previously reported,… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KurateDAO, a database developed on the blockchain, recently announced the close of its $6.85 million seed funding round, which was reportedly led by Polychain Capital. KurateDAO’s mission is to “use economic incentives to curate the world’s information.” Established this year, KurateDAO sees today’s “one size… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 5:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Russia has taken the extraordinary measure of halting trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange now for a second week. In a public statement, the Bank said there would be no trading from 14 to 18 March 2022 on the Moscow Exchange in… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 3:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, of the European Parliament,  adopted its “negotiating position on crypto assets. According to a statement by the EU parliament its goal is to “boost users’ confidence and support the development of digital services and alternative payment instruments.”… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 11:24 am By JD Alois  |  

David Marcus was previously the head of Facebook / Meta’s (NASDAQ:FB) initiative to create a non-sovereign global digital currency. First branded as Libra, and then as Diem, the digital currency launched with much fanfare but eventually sputtered – largely due to global regulatory pushback that made… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 9:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

CoinShares, one of Europe’s largest and “longest standing” digital asset investment firms, announced that following obtaining approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, it has “acquired an additional 20.8% stake in Swiss-based FlowBank.” This acquisition was “priced at CHF 24,740,000.” Following the company’s October… Read More