Blockchain & Digital Assets

December 26, 2020 @ 2:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TRON has launched a new non-fungible token or NFT standard, called TRC-721, in order to open up new “prospects for blockchain.” TRON‘s first NFT standard protocol TRC-721 was officially announced on December 24, 2020. The introduction of this standard is expected to help with implementing… Read More

December 26, 2020 @ 12:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers at Injective Protocol, a digital assets derivatives exchange for DeFi, have launched the world’s first “decentralized” stock futures trading platform. The Injective Protocol development team confirmed that they’re pleased to announce the launch of decentralized stock futures trading – which means that their… Read More

December 26, 2020 @ 11:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers at Avalanche, a blockchain project led by Cornell professor Dr. Emin Gun Sirer, claim that their platform is showing “no signs of slowing down.” In January 2021, the Avalanche-Ethereum Bridge will be introduced on mainnet, a “tremendous” effort across multiple organizations including ChainSafe,… Read More

December 26, 2020 @ 9:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Anthony Scaramucci’s hedge fund SkyBridge Capital has submitted documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for what seems to be the firm’s very first Bitcoin (BTC) focused fund. SkyBridge Capital, which manages around $9 billion in client assets, submitted a Form D for… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 4:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sasha Ivanov, the Founder at Waves platform, which focuses on open blockchain protocols and offers a development toolset for Web 3.0 apps and decentralized solutions, acknowledges that  2020 has been quite a challenging year. However, there’s at least one “good thing” that has taken place… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 4:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past Friday, the US Department of the Treasury published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register that may require financial institutions and cryptocurrency-related firms to submit updated reports, maintain records, and accurately verify the identity of customers in relation to transfers… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 4:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Security team at Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini), a digital currency exchange and custodian, has revealed that they’ve seen a significant increase in the number of crypto-related scams, as virtual currencies continued to gain popularity over the past year. Gemini Security explains that scams… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

While stating that stablecoins may serve to improve efficiencies in payments and transfers, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) says responsible innovation must exist in line with existing law. Treasury Deputy Secretary Justin Muzinich issued the following statement: “The statement reflects a commitment… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

A Blast from the Past. Bitgrail, a bankrupt crypto exchange that previously operated in Italy, has surfaced in the media once again. Back in 2018 news emerged of a significant crypto theft of around $150 million in Nano (XRB). At that time a post on… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 8:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a major cross-border P2P payments and money transfers service, has issued a statement after a lawsuit was filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple Labs Inc. MoneyGram stated that it had not “been notified or been… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 8:21 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase announced earlier this week it is establishing operations in Canada for the first time. The Canadian expansion is notably part of Coinbase’s international expansion efforts and allows it to begin hiring from the “talented pool” of technology and finance professionals in… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 8:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange OKCoin recently took a look back at its initiative to support independent Bitcoin Core developers. The crypto trading platform’s developers confirmed that it has now been about a year since they introduced their Open-Source Developer Grant program, an initiative launched to support… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 7:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mark Goldberg, partner at Index Ventures and an investor in Plaid, Intercom, and Transcend, has shared some interesting predictions around where Fintech might be heading in the next 10 years. 1/ Using the end of year to look ahead — here are 5 predictions around… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 6:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As 2020 comes to an end, Binance has shared some key crypto and blockchain industry trends and highlights for this year. The exchange notes that the total market cap for all digital currencies surged by over 3.3x in 2020 alone, expanding the crypto-assets market significantly…. Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 6:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Samuel Westrich, Head of Mobile Team at Dash Core Group, an organization focused on the development of Dash (DASH), a widely-adopted digital currency platform and ecosystem, reveals that he’s been active in Dash’s ongoing development since 2015. Westrich notes that his team is getting closer… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 2:28 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  CoinDCX, an India-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Tuesday it raised Rs 100 crore ($13.9 million) through its Series B investment round, which was led by Block.one with participation from DG, Jump Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Mehta Ventures, and Alex Pack. Founded… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple is the largest enforcement action attacking the sale of a cryptocurrency to date. The SEC alleges the sale of an unregistered security in the issuance of XRP, Ripple’s native token. Ripple has been quick to defend… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto fund manager since 2017, has announced that the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (OTCQX: BITW) has liquidated its position in XRP. A Tweet indicated that Bitwise had held an emergency meeting yesterday where the decision was taken to liquidate the… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 12:19 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  SEBA Bank, a Switzerland-headquartered digital asset bank that holds regulatory licensing, announced on Tuesday approved at its Extraordinary General Meeting the completion of its Series B capital increase. Founded in 2018, SEBA claims it is a licensed and supervised Swiss bank providing a seamless,… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a statement and request for comment regarding the custody of digital asset securities by broker-dealers. The Commission states that this consultation is in order to encourage innovation around the application of Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3 to digital… Read More