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Rockefellers Go Long on Cryptocurrencies to Invest in Blockchain StartupsApril 9, 2018 – The Rockefeller family will be investing in Blockchain technology though their venture-capital arm, Venrock. Venrock will be partnering with CoinFund, a cryptoasset investment group that helps entrepreneurs launch Blockchain related startups. Venrock has an estimated $2.6 billion under management and has a history of investing early in successful tech companies, including Intel and Apple. David Pakman, a Venrock Partner, says they are not concerned with the short-term prospects of the blockchain and cryptoasset industry, Venrock is investing for the long term. He adds that “there are a lot of cryptocurrency hedge funds. This is different. To us, it looks a little bit more like venture capital”. Read the full article here. |
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Subsidiary of Germany’s Börse Stuttgart Exchange to Launch Crypto Trading AppApril 14, 2018 – A subsidiary of Germany’s second largest stock exchange, the Börse Stuttgart, is releasing an app that allows the trading of cryptocurrencies. The announcement of the Bison app came from the subsidiary, Sowa Labs. The app will allow the trading of popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. Börse Stuttgart acquired Sowa Labs back in December 2017, but it is unknown how much the acquisition cost the exchange. However, a member of Börse Stuttgart’s management board said the acquisition of Sowa Labs was a seven figure transaction, and was in-line with the exchange’s digital strategy. The announcement furthers the trend of traditional exchanges moving their experience and technology to support cryptoasset trading in the face of competition from firms like Circle Trading moving to become fully SEC registered exchanges. Canada’s role in the crypto market remains optimistic, as exchange operatorTMX Group recently announced that its subsidiary Shorcan DCN will launch a cryptocurrency brokerage service. Companies like Polymath, TZero, and HyperionEx are moving into the alternative trading space, however, regulated exchanges may become the preferred platforms for cryptoasset trading. Read the full article here. |
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$1 Billion Blockchain Fund Launches with Chinese GovernmentApril 9, 2018 – A $1.6 billion Blockchain fund has been launched with Chinese government backing. The Xiong’An Global Blockchain Innovation Fund launched by Tunlan Investment has received over $400 million from city government and will be focussed on investing in promising blockchain projects. Xu Xiaoping, one of China’s most famous angel investors, will be advising the new fund. Read the full article here. |
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Moscow Court Blocks Telegram Chat App After $1.7 Billion ICOApril 13, 2018 – Telegram, the popular encrypted messaging app, will be blocked by Russian telecommunication companies as ordered by a Moscow court. This news comes as the result of Telegram refusing to grant intelligence authorities access to users’ messages. Telegram has established itself as a favoured messaging app in the crypto world and it plans to debut its very own Blockchain and cryptocurrency. The company currently has close to 10 million users in Russia and they may lose a large chunk of these users. However, Karen Kazaryan, an analyst at internet lobby group Raec, says “Telegram will be more difficult to shut as it’s highly popular and offers users means to bypass blocking”. Read the full article here. |
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Moody’s: Blockchain Could Save the US Mortgage Industry $1 Billion USDApril 12, 2018 – According to a new report released by Moody’s, blockchain could help reduce costs related to the redundancies of the mortgage process. The authors of the report highlight that the technology behind blockchain could be used to improve the monitoring of loan performance, and enhances transparency through the mortgage period. This technology could also allow insurers to transfer discrete mortgage credit risks to new reinsurers, or to transfer the mortgage to other credit providers in a cost-effective manner. The report notes other benefits, such as title transactions and other documentation that could be automated, allowing creditors to reduce their number of employees and cut back on commissions. Just a 10 to 20% cut in these expenses alone is estimated to save creditors $840 million to $1.7 billion USD annually. Read the full article here. |
