PRESS RELEASE. Victoria, Seychelles, May 7th, 2024 – CREAT’OR (Crypto Related Equity And Token Operational Resources) has officially launched its highly anticipated Initial Coin Offering (ICO), currently in the BETA Stage, offering an incredible 85% discount on its CRET Token. This is a remarkable event in the company’s journey towards upgrading the Equity Crowdfunding industry […]
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JPMorgan: Retail Investors Drive Selloff in Both Crypto and Equity Markets
JPMorgan has highlighted a significant increase in selling and profit-taking across equity and crypto markets, driven largely by retail investors. The global investment bank also observed institutional momentum traders and quantitative funds reducing positions, particularly in stocks, bitcoin, and gold. Insights on Market Trends by JPMorgan JPMorgan, a global investment bank, has provided insights on […]
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Ghanaian Fintech Startup Zeepay Secures $3 Million Equity Investment
The Ghanaian fintech startup Zeepay recently secured a million equity investment from the venture capital firm, Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. Zeepay plans to use the raised funds to bolster its standing as it prepares for significant growth in 2024. Solidifying Zeepay’s Position in Africa The Ghanaian fintech startup, Zeepay, recently secured a million […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Miner Stronghold Secures $15 Million Equity Raise Amidst Hashrate Curtailment Challenges
In a recent disclosure, the publicly-listed bitcoin mining corporation Stronghold Digital Mining publicized its entry into a million securities purchase agreement with an institutional investor. Furthermore, Stronghold elaborated that the firm’s Panther Creek Plant encountered unforeseen complications with ash silo flow, prompting a temporary suspension of a portion of its operations. This interruption resulted in the company operating at 60% capacity from Nov. 20 to Dec. 7, 2023.
M Boost for Stronghold Amid Operational Setbacks
On Dec. 22, 2023, Stronghold Digital Mining (Nasdaq: SDIG) disclosed a million equity raise. The bitcoin mining entity expressed intentions to channel these funds into expanding its mining rig fleet and propelling its carbon capture initiative forward.
Stronghold intends to allocate this new capital towards bolstering its general corporate endeavors, as indicated in the Friday announcement. Earlier in the year, the company formed a partnership with Canaan’s Cantaloupe Digital to enhance its hashpower.
This capital infusion was realized by offloading 2.3 million Class A shares of SDIG at an average of .71 each. Additionally, Stronghold provided an update on its Panther Creek mining facility, revealing that the site experienced a reduction in hashrate several weeks prior.
Due to an unforeseen ash silo flow incident, the facility was compelled to supplement its power supply externally, operating at a 60% capacity from Nov. 20 to Dec. 7, 2023.
Restoration efforts culminated on Dec. 21, 2023, with Panther continuing to depend on imported electricity from Dec. 8 to the 21st. Stronghold reported, “Between December 12 and December 20, the Panther Creek data center was unexpectedly required to curtail load to between 10 MW and 50 MW due to PJM system reliability issues and a transmission line outage.”
This situation resulted in Stronghold missing out on substantial fees from the Bitcoin network, marking some of the most lucrative periods for BTC miners throughout the year.
What do you think about Stronghold raising million and the curtailment issues it has suffered over the past 30 days? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Elon Musk’s X Secures 12 Money Transmitter Licenses — X.AI to Raise $1 Billion in Equity Offering
Elon Musk’s social media company, X, has obtained 12 money transmitter licenses across the United States. Furthermore, his artificial intelligence (AI) company, X.AI, stated in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) its intention to raise billion in an equity offering.
X Obtains 12 Money Transmitter Licenses
Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has reportedly obtained transmitter licenses in 12 U.S. states: Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
In October, Musk unveiled his plan to turn X into a powerful financial platform. The Tesla boss stated in November last year that X could offer “an extremely compelling money market account,” debit cards, checks, and loan services. He recently detailed: “When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life … If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.”
The billionaire previously said that he plans for X to be “the everything app,” emphasizing that his purchase of social media platform Twitter is an accelerant to the creation of X. Moreover, he has confirmed that none of his companies will launch a crypto token.
X.AI Seeks to Raise Billion, SEC Filing Shows
Musk’s AI company, X.AI Corp., filed Form D, a Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities, with the SEC on Tuesday.
According to the filing, X.AI plans to raise billion through an equity offering. The company has already secured nearly 5 million from four investors, with the first tranche of shares sold on Nov. 29. Additionally, the filing states that X.AI has a binding agreement for the purchase of the remaining shares.
The Tesla chief registered X.AI Corp. in March. The following month, Musk announced a plan to create an AI platform called “Truthgpt” that would rival Chatgpt and other similar products. The AI startup, whose website states its mission as “understanding the true nature of the universe,” released a chatbot called Grok last month, inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
What do you think about X obtaining money transmitter licenses across the U.S. and X.AI seeking to raise billion in an equity offering? Let us know in the comments section below.
Ethereum Co-Founder, Consensys Sued By Early Employees Over Alleged Equity Promises
More than two dozen early employees of the blockchain software company Consensys have filed a lawsuit against Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, Consensys, and other parties. The plaintiffs allege Lubin broke contractual promises related to equity compensation made when the employees joined the company in its formative years starting in 2014.
Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin Faces U.S. Lawsuit
The lawsuit filed in New York comes as Consensys, now valued at over billion, has evolved from its early experimental structure to a more traditional centralized company. The lawsuit was filed on October 19, 2023, in New York state court by 27 former Consensys employees.
The court filing names Joseph Lubin, Consensys, and JPMorgan Chase as defendants. The plaintiffs claim Lubin induced them to join Consensys in its early days with offers of equity in the parent “hub” company Consensys AG.
The former staff members allege Lubin promised this equity would not be diluted. However, in 2020 Consensys restructured, reportedly moving key assets to a new Delaware entity Consensys Software Inc. (CSI). The plaintiffs claim they were largely excluded from the restructuring, leaving their shares in the original Consensys AG far less valuable.
“Lubin made a similar offer to each plaintiff in connection with his or her joining Consensys; plaintiffs accepted the deal, and an agreement was formed,” the lawsuit details.
Lubin allegedly broke a deal that early employees would “win or lose – together – alongside Lubin and Consensys.” The suit claims “Finance took precedence over founding employees.” It seeks damages for breach of contract and fiduciary duties.
It’s not the first instance where Consensys and Lubin have faced such allegations. On March 1, 2022, a collective of thirty-five ex-staffers, accounting for over half of all recognized Consensys AG (CAG) stakeholders, lodged a petition for a distinctive review in line with article 697a and following sections of the Swiss Code of Obligations. The intent? To delve deep into significant discrepancies within CAG.
A spokesperson for Lubin and Consensys fervently refuted the allegations, describing them as “frivolous” in an email sent to Bloomberg. “After two years of getting nowhere with their frivolous claims against Consensys Mesh in a Swiss court, plaintiffs now believe their merit-less claims stand a better chance of yielding a pay day if they game U.S. courts and entangle Consensys Software and other unrelated parties in litigation,” the spokesperson stressed.
What do you think about the lawsuit against Lubin and Consensys? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Coinbase Acquires Equity Stake in Circle; Companies Reshape USDC’s Future
In a joint statement, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, announced the dissolution of the Centre Consortium. Consequently, Circle will take exclusive charge of the issuance and governance of USDC. Additionally, Coinbase has acquired an equity stake in Circle while signaling a stronger commitment to stablecoins.
Circle, Coinbase Dissolve USDC’s Centre Consortium
On Monday, Coinbase and Circle unveiled significant news in a blog post penned by both CEOs. The duo shared that USDC will soon integrate with six additional blockchain networks, expanding its connectivity to a total of 15 chains.
Circle contends that a multi-chain future for USDC will more effectively serve individuals and businesses that utilize the stablecoin. Allaire elaborated on the announcement on the social media platform X. He explained that before the onset of global regulatory clarity, the Centre Consortium’s governance system was essential.
“Now, with regulatory clarity coming for stablecoins all around the world, including in the US, there’s no longer the need for such a structure,” Allaire commented. Circle will now have complete authority over the USDC initiative. The blog post emphasized that all direct accountability will now rest with Circle. The company will hold the smart contract keys, ensure regulatory compliance, and manage the reserves across multiple blockchain networks.
Both Allaire and the blog post highlighted that Coinbase has secured an equity stake in Circle, though the specific financial terms remain undisclosed. The companies also noted they’ve “reached an agreement” to further promote “stablecoins to the broader crypto economy.” Coinbase recently revealed that customers can now earn 4% rewards on USDC.
Currently, Circle’s USDC ranks as the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. While its market cap is considerably smaller than the leading stablecoin, USDT, it surpasses the third-largest, DAI, by a significant margin.
Conversely, USDC’s circulation has seen a sharp decrease over the last year. As of June 2022, the circulating supply stood at 55.87 billion USDC. Even so, by August 21, 2023, this figure has declined to approximately 25.98 billion, indicating that USDC’s supply has been reduced by a significant margin of over 53%.
What do you think about the announcement from Coinbase and Circle? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
VC Chamath Palihapitiya Warns of Chaos in the Equity Market Due to Debt Issues
Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of VC company Social Capital, has warned about a looming crisis in equity markets due to the issuance of low-interest debt. According to Palihapitiya, this might be the “biggest business secret hiding in plain sight right now,” as many companies won’t be able to refinance their debt, seeing their equity values collapse.
Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya Warns of Future Corporate Bankruptcies
Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of VC company Social Capital, has warned about a crisis in equity markets that could develop as soon as 2024. Palihapitiya, whose net worth reaches billion, states that corporate America might be close to experiencing difficulties due to the issuance of debt at very low-interest rates.
Palihapitiya stated:
It turns out that companies issued a ton of short-term debt during the pandemic at close to 0% interest rates. Hundreds of billions of dollars will come due starting Jan-2024 and will need to be refinanced at much higher rates.
The investor, who qualifies this situation as the “biggest business secret hiding in plain sight right now,” estimates that the debt wall of obligations to be fulfilled next year will put a “lot of pressure” on several companies.
Refinancing Crisis
Palihapitiya, also a big Bitcoin proponent, explained many of these institutions will not be able to fulfill their debt obligations, having their equity value and operations “incinerated.” Private companies will be hit heavily due to their specific circumstances.
Palihapitiya explained:
Prepare for a bunch of companies who will not be able to refinance their debt and will thus see their equity value incinerated. This will hit the private equity industry very acutely, whose core playbook involves wrapping their companies in gobs of high yield debt.
However, Palihapitiya believes there is also a silver lining behind this development, as this crisis will “create opportunities for those with capital on the sidelines to act as a buyer and recap the best of these companies.”
He expects that word of the potential corporate bankruptcy of these companies will start spreading on news sites this fall. Palihapitiya’s views coincide with other predictions that warn about a stock market crash.
Bank of America’s chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett stated in a note issued on Friday they were not convinced that the technical bull market would continue. “Still feels more like combo of 2000 or 2008, big rally before big collapse,” he concluded.
What do you think about Chamath Palihapitiya’s warnings? Tell us in the comment section below.
African Fintech M-Kopa Secures $200M in Debt Financing Plus $55M in Equity Funding
Kenya-headquartered African fintech M-Kopa is reported to have secured 0 million in debt financing and an additional million in equity funding. Financial services group Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round while the investment company Sumitomo Corporation led the equity round with an investment of .5 million.
Expanding M-Kopa’s Smartphone Service Business
M-Kopa, an African fintech startup focused on asset financing, has reportedly secured 0 million in debt financing and an additional million in equity funding. According to a Fintech Futures report, Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round which was also backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The other participants in this round include British International Investment, Mirova Sunfunder, and Nithio as well as the funds that are managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners.
On the other hand, M-Kopa’s equity funding round was led by one of its existing backers Sumitomo Corporation which invested .5 million. Blue Haven Initiative, Lightrock, Broadscale Group, and Latitude were the other participants in the round.
According to the report, M-Kopa will use the latest funding to increase its offerings as well as to grow its smartphone services. The fintech startup’s co-founder and CEO Jesse Moore is quoted in the report stating that his company’s mission is to address and overcome the barriers that block access to digital financial services.
“We have already unlocked billion in cumulative credit to over three million customers, and are proud of the thousands of local jobs we’ve created during tough economic times. As we continue to scale we remain committed to building a sustainable business and closing economic and digital gender gaps,” Moore reportedly said.
Besides using the recently acquired capital to boost its business, M-Kopa will also seek to boost financial inclusion among women and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in East Africa, the report said.
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What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Algorand Ecosystem Grows, How Vesta Equity Will Enable Homeowners To Tokenize Their Real Estate
Algorand (ALGO) trends lower with the rest of the crypto market. Larger cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, broke below critical support and seem at risk of future losses unless liquidity comes up at current levels.
Related Reading | Algorand Foundation Names Former JP Morgan Executive as CEO, ALGO Soars 10%
As of press time, Algorand (ALGO) trades at .76 with a 3.7% loss in the past 24-hours. On higher timeframes, the cryptocurrency records a 20.5% loss in 30 days and a 35% loss in one year.
ALGO trends to the downside on the 4-hour chart. Source: ALGOUSD Tradingview
Despite the recent bearish price action, the Algorand ecosystem continues to expand. Recently, the network saw the launch of Vest Equity.
Created as an NFT platform, this project runs on Algorand with the objective of providing real estate owners with more power over their assets. The platforms enable users to tokenize a property and “easily” offer a portion on the market.
The platform has the additional objective of letting users benefit from the value of their properties, turning them into tokenized digital assets. At the same time, Vesta Equity:
(…) simultaneously advancing housing affordability, economics, and frictionless investor accessibility to residential real estate.
Vesta Equity offers users access to a native marketplace which removes friction from the process of transacting with real-estate-backed NFTs. The platform has a catalog of properties, price ranges, addresses.
In addition, an owner or potential investors looking to purchase a portion of this Algorand backed NFTs can view the percentage of equity available, of equity listed, and equity sold. Other features of the property are visible, as seen below.
Vesta Equity marketplace. Source: Vesta Equity
Vesta Equity is user-friendly and provides additional data as the property value forecast for up to 30 months, and its home price index (HPI) to estimate the property’s potential value over the coming years, and its expected returns.
Vesta Equity offers future price estimation for a property. Source: Vesta Equity
Algorand To Disrupt .6 Trillion Real Estate Market?
The Algorand based platform attends to automatize and remove third-party intervention from the real estate sector by leveraging the power of NFTs. Thus, providing users with more access to property investments. Michael Carpentier, CEO, and Co-Founder of Vesta Equity said the following on the project:
Imagine a world where with a few clicks of your mouse you can access the entire accumulated value of the equity in your home without incurring debt or selling and moving. At the other end, investors can participate by purchasing into the future appreciation of the property and build a portfolio of real estate assets like they do with stocks.
Imran Rahaman, COO at Vesta Equity, called the launch of the platform an “innovation” in the home equity sector. In addition, Rahaman believes the project is a new use case align with the ultimate goal of blockchain technology:
we become an example of a company using blockchain for what it was designed: to remove friction from traditional exchange of value systems, and to open up new financial opportunities for people everywhere.
Related Reading | Algorand, Solana, And More Lead List Of Biggest Losing Altcoins
The Algorand network also revealed improvements to its mainnet with the expansion of smart contract functionalities. Users will now be able to benefit from contract-to-contract calls, and a new component called Falcon Keys designed at advancing the network on its towards “trustless cross-chain interoperability”.