Nuffle Labs, a contributor to the Near Protocol and Ethereum, has secured million in a funding round led by Electric Capital. The investment aims to enhance its modular infrastructure services across various blockchain layers, promising cost-efficient solutions and rapid data finality. Nuffle Labs Bags Million for Modular Blockchain Expansion The Nuffle Labs funding […]
Bitcoin News
Pixelverse Raises $5.5 Million to Expand Web3 Gaming Ecosystem
Pixelverse, a developing entertainment studio and game ecosystem, has secured .5 million in a private funding round led by prominent Web3 venture capital firms. The funds are intended to support the growth of Pixelverse’s gaming platform, which has seen significant user engagement since its launch. Pixelverse Secures .5 Million Pixelverse‘s recent funding round saw participation […]
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Blockchain Futurist Conference Coming Together with Emerald to Elevate Canadian Show and Expand to US in 2025
PRESS RELEASE. Toronto [May 29, 2024] Blockchain Futurist Conference is coming together with Emerald, America’s largest producer of business-to-business trade shows, and their associated conferences, content and commerce, to grow the Canadian show and expand to the US Market. As Canada’s largest and longest-running Web3 event, Blockchain Futurist Conference has been a cornerstone of the […]
Bitcoin News
Agridex Raises $5 Million to Expand Agricultural Tokenization on Solana
In a recent funding initiative, the Solana-based Agridex project secured million in a pre-seed round aimed at enhancing the tokenization of agricultural commodities. The funding, led by Endeavour Ventures, included contributions from African Crops Limited and Oldenburg Vineyards. Agridex Attracts Million to Develop Solana-Powered Agricultural Marketplace Agridex‘s platform, which operates on the Solana […]
Bitcoin News
Edward Snowden Sounds Alarm on NSA’s Plans to Expand Surveillance Under New FISA Amendment
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has warned that the National Security Agency (NSA) is on the verge of significantly expanding its surveillance capabilities through a new bill amending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), potentially allowing the government to compel a wide array of businesses and individuals to assist in NSA surveillance operations. […]
Bitcoin News
HSBC to Expand Tokenized Asset Offerings — CEO Says He’s ‘Very Comfortable’ With Tokenization
Hong Kong’s leading commercial bank, HSBC, continues to invest in its tokenization product lineup. The bank’s CEO, Noel Quinn, stated that he is “very comfortable with the concept of tokenization.” He indicated that the bank will look at ways of tokenizing assets backed by “real” assets. HSBC’s CEO Discusses Tokenization Plans Hong Kong’s leading commercial […]
Bitcoin News
Crypto.com Partners BTG Pactual to Expand Latam’s Crypto Reach
Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, partnered with BTG Pactual, Latam’s largest investment bank, to expand the access of Latam’s traditional customers to crypto services. The team-up entails listing BTG Dol, BTG Pactual’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, in Crypto.com’s platform, and its promotion in several significant trading pairs with bitcoin and ethereum. Crypto.com to List BTG Pactual-Issued Dollar […]
Bitcoin News
Ripple Aims to Expand Regulatory Reach With Standard Custody Acquisition
In a strategic move to bolster its regulatory credentials, Ripple has announced its plan to acquire Standard Custody & Trust Company. This acquisition, pending regulatory approval, is set to enhance Ripple’s portfolio of digital asset solutions and regulatory licenses, marking a significant step in the company’s expansion. Ripple Plans to Acquire Standard Custody & Trust […]
Bitcoin News
Coinbase Partners With Yellow Card to Expand Access to Its Products in 20 African Countries
The leading crypto exchange Coinbase has said it will expand access to its products to 20 African countries. Coinbase also claimed that its partnership arrangement with the Africa-focused crypto exchange Yellow Card can help increase financial freedom in countries where it is lacking.
Increasing Financial Freedom
On Jan. 11, 2024, Coinbase, the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it will expand access to its products to 20 African countries. According to a statement by Coinbase, users from the selected African countries will be able to “purchase USDC directly in our [Coinbase] Wallet app starting in February” through its partnership with the Africa-focused stablecoin platform Yellow Card.
As part of the arrangement, Yellow Card users will be able to acquire the stablecoin USDC on the Ethereum layer two (L2) chain Base. Coinbase claims that this arrangement will benefit African users, some of whom reside in inflation-hit countries, by providing them with cheaper payments and faster transfers.
Coinbase also claimed that its partnership arrangement with Yellow Card can help increase financial freedom in countries where it is lacking.
“This partnership with its emphasis on USDC will increase economic freedom in places that have lacked it, and help stand up a modern financial system where one hasn’t existed,” the crypto exchange said.
According to Coinbase, the partnership arrangement can help enhance African users’ economic freedom by making it possible for them to send remittances at fees not exceeding 2%. Currently, many Africans remitting funds to their loved ones pay fees ranging between 3% and 6%. In addition, by providing access to the USDC, the partnership will effectively connect African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the global financial system.
Meanwhile, Coinbase described its partnership with Yellow Card as one of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategies of compliant international expansion. Besides easing Coinbase’s entry into the so-called low economic freedom markets, the strategy also complements its “close engagement with local payments regulators in more mature markets.”
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Latam Insights: Solana Expands to Brazil, Tether Seeks to Expand in Venezuela
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Solana announces its expansion to Brazil, Tether seeks to expand in Venezuela, and Bitcoin Argentina advises to receive bitcoins in the upcoming asset regularization process.
Solana Announces Expansion to Brazil
The Solana Foundation, a nonprofit institution behind the organization and funding of Solana ecosystem initiatives, has reported it will expand to Brazil, opening a local group and announcing investments for over million in Web3 projects.
The group is what Solana calls a “Superteam,” focused on developing apps and experiences using the Solana blockchain and its scalability. The Solana Foundation has already launched superteams in seven countries apart from Brazil, giving opportunities and paid jobs to hundreds of members.
The investment will be focused on Web3 initiatives linked to art, asset tokenization, and artificial intelligence. The foundation considered Brazil as one of its core expansion markets by 2024.
Diego Dias, head of Solana’s Latam group, stated:
Our intention at the Solana Foundation is to have a diminishing influence on the ecosystem and empower our community to lead the future of Solana.
Tether Hints at Expansion in Venezuela
Tether, the stablecoin company behind the issuance of USDT, the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, wants to expand its influence in Venezuela. The company is seeking an expansion manager responsible for “identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, maintaining relationships with existing customers, and collaborating with internal teams to develop go-to-market strategies.”
Tether’s announcement has been taken by some as surprising, given that the country’s cryptocurrency trading and mining operations have been significantly affected by the actions of the government after detecting that Joselit Ramirez, former head of Sunacrip, the national crypto watchdog, was involved in a multi-billion oil sales corruption scheme.
No more announcements about the activities the company aims to develop in the country have been issued.
Bitcoin Argentina NGO Advises Government to Receive Bitcoin in the Asset Ownership Regularization Program
Bitcoin Argentina, an NGO that aims to increase the level of Bitcoin adoption in the country, has advised the Argentine government to receive Bitcoin instead of dollars in the asset ownership regularization program included in the recently proposed Omnibus Bill.
Ricardo Mihura, president of Bitcoin Argentina, lamented that the proposed draft, which will be discussed in Congress, only allowed payments in dollars for regularizing cryptocurrency ownership. Mihura stressed that even if the bullish volatility of BTC would make it risky to sell this bitcoin “keeping them in the portfolio would further improve its reserve position, and nothing would prevent it from putting the bitcoin at any time as collateral to obtain foreign currency at a very low cost, if such were the needs for liquidity.”
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