August 12, 2022 @ 7:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the US Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash. OFAC claims that Tornado has been utilized by North Korea and its “malicious cyber activities and money-laundering of stolen virtual currency.” Interestingly, Tornado received some support… 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 @ 4:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Transaction Network Services (TNS) is now connected to Borsa Istanbul (BIST) as a market data vendor. Opening up access to Turkey’s sole exchange with order routing and market data connectivity to the BIST matching engine in Istanbul “allows TNS’ customers to capitalize on trading activities… 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 @ 3:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Upper90, a provider of hybrid growth capital, has raised $180 million in “a capped initial closing for its third fund.” Commitments came from “a strategic investor base of 300 entrepreneurs to help founders scale with less dilution.” The firm claims it has “pioneered a new… 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 @ 11:48 am By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, a leading global investment crowdfunding platform, has launched a new Foodtech fund – joining its portfolio of other funds available for smaller investors. According to the offering page, the OurCrowd FoodTech Fund (OC FoodTech) is seeking a raise of $30 million that will enable… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 11:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Trovata, which automates cash reporting and forecasting via wholesale (and was set for the UK, and EU launch after a $27 million round in June 2022), recently announced the appointment of Lisa Gutu as VP of Business Development and Vladimir Pintea as VP of Open… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, the UK FCA, PSR, CMA, and HM Treasury published a joint statement on the future of open banking (open finance), while announcing the creation of a joint regulatory oversight committee designed to improve adoption. The committee is co-chaired by the FCA Executive… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 10:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fraugster, a payment intelligence company, has been selected by epay “to pilot AI payment fraud prevention services.” epay is “a full-service payment provider” and the digital payments processing business segment of the financial technology solutions and payments provider Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT). epay’s worldwide… Read More

August 12, 2022 @ 9:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

LianLian Global, a cross-border payment service provider, announced the expansion of its cross-border digital payments platform to the UK, “with additional support for customers to secure financing through LianLian Global.” The LianLian Global cross-border digital payments platform is “designed to help UK ecommerce merchants and… 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 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Finix, the payments technology company for software platforms, announced that it has raised $30M in fresh capital, “bringing the company’s total funding to $133M.” Finix raised “at an increased valuation despite the more challenging economic environment this year.” New and existing investors, “including The General… Read More

August 11, 2022 @ 9:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), in partnership with Bloomberg, has reportedly established a “Fin Lab” in order to support the next generation of capital markets professionals. Supported with a suite of market data and analytical tools from Bloomberg, the Fin Lab has entered working… 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 @ 4:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

With another RTP® Network solution, US Bank can “provide loan funds to auto dealers instantly after the loan contract is finalized by the bank.” Following a successful pilot completed in June, U.S. Bank has already “enabled more than 800 auto dealers to receive funds from… 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