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Blockchain Startup Proof of Impact Raises First Investment

11Dec By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Blockchain Startup Proof of Impact Raises First Investment

Amsterdam & San Francisco - Proof of Impact closed its seed round led by Franklin Templeton, a global fund manager managing around $700 billion in assets. Proof of Impact is building a global marketplace on the blockchain where one can donate or invest directly into measurable impact outcomes. After this investment, a member of Franklin Templeton will join Proof of Impact board. Proof of Impact’s co-founder Fleur Heyns will be pitching the company during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020. Ausum Ventures (San Francisco, USA), Crypto Valley Venture Capital “CV VC” (Zug, Switzerland) and Pangea Blockchain fund (Switzerland) have also participated in this funding round. The investment follows a growth trajectory that has seen Proof ...

Bitcoin.com Acquires Blockchain Startup O3 Labs

23Oct By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Bitcoin.com Acquires Blockchain Startup O3 Labs

JAPAN, TOKYO, October 23, 2019 — Bitcoin.com has acquires blockchain startup O3 Labs. The Tokyo-based software company that specializes in developing gateways to the digital economy. O3 Labs team join Bitcoin.com, forming a single team dedicated to creating tools for realizing the full potential of the Bitcoin Cash network. The two companies intend to work together to build the next generation of mobile financial services, which will bear the Bitcoin.com name. The strategic acquisition of O3’s blockchain and app development talent will allow Bitcoin.com to create intuitive and easy-to-understand user experiences that tie together Bitcoin.com, partners, and community financial service offerings across web, mobile, smart devices, and beyond. Stefan Rust, CEO of Bitcoin.com sai...

Infosys Ties Up with Cornell University to Train Employees

3Oct By Gauri SinghNo Comments

BUSINESS

Infosys Ties Up with Cornell University to Train Employees

The IT giant Infosys has announced a three-year partnership with Cornell University for the purpose of training employees in emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning and human-computer interaction. Following the collaboration, at least 3000 Infosys employees globally are expected to participate in the joint certification programme. The other employees will participate course-by-course. “The Cornell University brand is synonymous with technology and talent, so we found a natural synergy between our organizations to improve workforce education,” said Tan Moorthy, executive vice president and Global Head of Education Training and Assessments. This particular programme which will jointly be operated by Infosys and Cornell University will also impart skills in data analytics...

SparkLabs to Launch a Cybersecurity and Blockchain Program in the US

20Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

USA

SparkLabs to Launch a Cybersecurity and Blockchain Program in the US

Investment firm SparkLabs has announced that the company will be launching a cybersecurity and blockchain program in the US that’ll be located in Washington, D.C. from next year. The program will be led by former Startup Grind COO Brian Park and Mike Bott, who is ex-managing director of The Brandery accelerator. The program has been named as “SparkLabs Cybersecurity + Blockchain” and will kick off with an inaugural batch of companies in March next year. “We want to foster and grow a robust ecosystem in both cybersecurity and distributed ledger technologies. We believe these two verticals are synergetic by nature, but we will seek innovations beyond the overlap,” Park said in a statement. “It’s so early within this space that we are only seeing the Friendsters and MySpaces of the ...

Reliance Jio on a Hiring Spree of Experts Under Akash Ambani

4Jun By Gauri SinghNo Comments

BUSINESS

Reliance Jio on a Hiring Spree of Experts Under Akash Ambani

The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm has started its hunt for a team of experts to work under Akash Ambani regarding the Artificial Intelligence (AI) of the firm. Apart from AI, the company is also seeking for young people to work on machine learning and blockchain technology (a digital ledger in which transactions are recorded). It has been reported that Reliance Jio has already appointed some of the senior officials who are responsible for building this team. Akash Ambani is interestingly getting involved in this process and is being assumed to lead the initiative. The company is planning to set up this team in either of the two cities – Hyderabad or Bengaluru. An artificial intelligence (AI) oriented brand engagement platform called ‘JioInteract’ was launched by Reliance Ji...

Mobile Body IAMAI Files petition Against RBI’s Cryptocurrency Ban

17May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

INDIA

Mobile Body IAMAI Files petition Against RBI’s Cryptocurrency Ban

The Internet and Mobile Association of India( IAMAI) has filed a written petition in the Supreme Court requesting a stay against the RBI’s order to not allow banks to provide services to cryptocurrency trading platforms. IAMAI 's president Subho Ray has confirmed the filing of petition though he was not available to comment on the matter. It is interesting to note that this marks the fifth petition to be filed against Apex Bank on its order dated 6 April that disallowed entities from dealing in virtual currencies. RBI had given banks a deadline of 6 July to adhere to the new rule. Last year, several cryptocurrency exchanges had come together to form a collective industry body called Digital and Blockchain Foundation of India. However, in November 2017 the association got merged with ...

Fintech Startup Circle Introduces Crypto US Dollar

16May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

USA

Fintech Startup Circle Introduces Crypto US Dollar

The Goldman Sachs Backed startup Circle has announced a new cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar and a $110 million investment round led by profitable crypto-mining company Bitmain on Tuesday. The company is rolling out a digital version of the U.S dollar with a cryptocurrency pegged to it. Interestingly, Circle is one of the most well-funded blockchain startups with Baidu and Goldman Sachs at its foreman investors. The fintech company is involved in its peer-to-peer payment network operations using blockchain, the technology that underpins bitcoin. Circle founders @psneville and @jerallaire took the stage at #Consensus2018 earlier today to announce Circle USDC, a price-stable tokenized US dollar coin. Learn more about it here: https://t.co/8fZN6vDryb — Circle (@circlepa...

HSBC Becomes First Bank to Perform Money Transfer Using Blockchain

14May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

News

HSBC Becomes First Bank to Perform Money Transfer Using Blockchain

HSBC Holdings, a multinational banking and financial service major has become world's first bank to perform a financial transaction using blockchain technology. The step marks a major boost to efficiency and reduction of errors in the multitrillion-dollar funding of international trade. The transaction took place successfully by HSBC and Dutch bank ING for food and agricultural group Cargill. State Street and BNP Paribas were also among the financial institutions that have been involved in the project. While Blockchain consortiums Finastra and R3 will look into the technology side of things. Use of blockchain technology in the banking industry is something still maiden at the moment and is expected to reduce the risk of fraud in letters of credit and other transactions as well as cut...

23Mar By NitishNo Comments

FUNDING

Blockchain Capital Raises $150 Million Funding

San Francisco-based venture capital firm Blockchain Capital closed a $150 million fund today. As per the press release, the company that focuses investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency have total assets to $250 million under management. Founded in 2013, Blockchain Capital is one of the earliest and most active investors in the blockchain technology industry and the crypto ecosystem. Blockchain Capital has raised and deployed three prior venture funds, including the first-ever ICO of a venture fund (BCAP) in April of 2017. The firm is based in San Francisco and was founded by serial entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley investors Bart Stephens and Brad Stephens. Among its 72 past investments are digital currency trading platforms Coinbase as well as a lead investment in Coinsetter whi...

Delhi Woman Lost Rs 6.5 Lakhs Worth of Bitcoins From Hackers

22Mar By Sheldan RungasamyNo Comments

INDIA

Delhi Woman Lost Rs 6.5 Lakhs Worth of Bitcoins From Hackers

A woman living in Delhi has apparently lost around Rs 41 lakh from an unidentified hacker. The resident from Mayur Vihar has lodged a theft complaint to the economic offences wing of the Delhi Police. According to reports, the woman first lost bitcoins worth Rs 6.5 lakh to hackers who accessed her bitcoin account. The rest of the amount was lost after she trusted cheats who promised to help her retrieve the lost money. The cyber cell of Delhi Police has reportedly started their investigation into the matter. The woman explained to the police that she made an initial investment to buy 0.4 bitcoin in February 2017, which she did via a firm that promised her returns of 12 percent every month on her investment which she did receive until August in her bank account. In the meantime,...

2Jan By RishabhNo Comments

Tech

Not So Happy New Year For Bitcoin

The year 2018 seems "not" to be cryptocurrency friendly! Ever since the year 2015, it started the year by declining from its value, sliding from an all time high of $19,511, which it reached on December 18. The virtual coin fell to $13,624.56 as of 5 p.m. in New York on Monday, down 4.8 percent from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also a drop from the $14,156 it hit Sunday, according to coinmarketcap.com, which tracks daily prices. The cryptocurrency fluctuated in Asian trading on Tuesday, trading 1.9 percent lower as of 3:22 p.m. in Hong Kong. Compared to this, in 2017, Bitcoin started off around $1000 and gave returns of more than 1,300 percent. Ever since then it has ignited discussions among the economists and investor firms on Wall Street. The rally...

Founder Out Of Litecoins, Sells All After 7500% Rally

22Dec By RishabhNo Comments

News, USA

Founder Out Of Litecoins, Sells All After 7500% Rally

The world's fifth biggest cryptocurrency Litecoin founder Charlie Lee is all cashed in during a 75-fold rally this year. Founded back in 2011 in San-Francisco by a software engineer "sold and donated" all of his holdings over a past few days, he said in a Reddit blog post. The move was under the influence of various accusations where Lee was "accused of doing it(changing price of LTC) for personal benefit." "I have always refrained from buying/selling LTC before or after my major tweets, but this is something only I know. And there will always be a doubt on whether any of my actions were to further my own personal wealth above the success of Litecoin and crypto-currency in general," he added. Lee has sold or donated all his Litecoins and is "well off enough". "For the first time in...