Crypto friendly FinTech Revolut’s application for a European banking licence has been approved by the European Central Bank.
“This licence will help us towards our goal to build an account where users can manage every aspect of their financial life, with the best value and using the best available technologies,” it says in a blog post.
Kakao Investment has invested in hybrid blockchain platform Orbs.
“With Kakao’s consumer applications counting more than 50 million active users worldwide, the investment in Orbs represents a significant endorsement of the long-term potential of our technology,” says Daniel Peled, Orbs CEO and Co-Founder.
“Kakao Investment’s relationship with Orbs reflects our regional strength and the potential we offer to make blockchain a powerful growth engine for its business units. Kakao was among the first major tech companies to recognise that blockchain is the future, and Orbs is excited to be a bigger part of that journey.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has partnered with Bitfury Group to create a blockchain accelerator for Russian businesses, a press release announced.
IBM Research – Africa has teamed with Hello Tractor in Africa to pilot an agriculture digital wallet based on AI and blockchain. Check out this blog post for further details.
Crypto venture AriseBank is to stump up nearly $2.7 million in fines to settle ICO fraud charges, according to a US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announcement.
German FinTech SolarisBank and Stuttgart Exchange Group are developing infrastructure for a crypto trading venue, set to launch in the first half of 2019.
“With its combination of technology and banking expertise, solarisBank is a great partner for us to offer central services along the value chain for digital assets. solarisBank’s Blockchain Factory supports us in taking trading in cryptocurrencies and tokens to the next level and in setting new standards in transparency and reliability” says Alexander Höptner, CEO of Boerse Stuttgart.
BlockFi, a crypto-to-USD lender, has raised $4 million as it looks to launch new products, including an interest-earning crypto savings account and credit and crypto-backed credit cards. The company plans to roll-out the savings account in Q1 2019.
In what it claims to be a sector first, Bitwala has launched a German banking solution for cryptocurrency users.
“This is a major moment for the banking and cryptocurrency industries. Money has always changed with time. As digitisation spreads, the world is now entering a hybrid future where Blockchain-borne and state-backed currencies complement eachother,” says Jörg von Minckwitz, President and Co-founder of Bitwala.
“Our 30-strong team did a stellar job in developing a service within the confines of banking regulation as a bridge between the traditional and crypto economies. Over 40,000 customers, and counting, have already signed up for the new Bitwala account.”
Crypto payment platform Cubits has entered into administration, after falling victim to “a serious criminal act, perpetrated from outside the organisation, which has critically impacted its business”. Further details here.
Four Vermont state agencies have established a working group to study the opportunities and challenges presented by blockchain technology, according to an announcement this week.
Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx is to list Bitcoin Cash ABC under the original Bitcoin Cash ticker (BCH) according to an official statement issued this week.
KFC Venezuela boss, Antonio Sampayo, has denied a recent announcement that it will start accepting altcoin Dash.
KFC has been in discussions with Dash, he said, but nothing has been finalised. Processing payments with Dash “is not a fact, nor has the publication of any news about it been authorised”, he insisted.
Gemini has launched a mobile crypto trading app.
Cryptocurrency payment platform, Crypto.com, has appointed former PayPal/Braintree exec, Tyson Hackwood, as SVP, Head of Global Merchant Acquisition.
Digital banking platform venture, Good Money, has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital.
US-based insurance company State Farm is testing a blockchain-based solution for auto claims subrogation, it announced this week.
The UNICEF Innovation Fund is to invest up to $100,000 in six companies, Atix Labs, Onesmart, Prescrypto, Statwig, Utopixar and W3 Engineers to solve global challenges using blockchain technology. Further details here.
Crypto exchange ErisX has announced the appointment of Matt Trudeau as its Chief Strategy Officer.
“ErisX is a needed evolution to the way individuals and institutions trade digital assets and I am pleased to be a part of this initiative,” says Trudeau, who has led and assisted in 10 global market launches including Instinet, Chi-X, IEX and Tradewind. “Offering spot and regulated futures contracts on one platform, ErisX is pioneering a solution that connects digital and traditional asset classes.”
The social media giant has added several blockchain-related jobs to its careers page in recent weeks.
Bitmain is closing its development centre in Israel and laying off 23 employees, Globes reports.
Truck and transport insurer National Transport Insurance (NTI) is participating in a blockchain trial which aims to boost food safety, improve animal welfare and monitor export security for Australian beef. Further details here.
South Korea’s Shinhan Bank is working on a blockchain-based work process project, The Korea Times reports.
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