Monat: September 2022

Blockchain startup Router Protocol, which offers an infrastructure layer for communication between blockchains, has added veteran cross-chain developer Mankena Venkatesh to its team.

An announcement from the company shared with CoinJournal on Tuesday revealed that the former Injective and Polygon team member joins it as the new Chief Blockchain Architect. 

Venkatesh is also an alumnus of top Indian engineering institute BITS Pilani, and won the 2019 ETH India hackathon.  

Router to tap into veteran developer’s experience

He will spearhead the protocol’s interoperability project. Specifically, Router Protocol expects the new executive to lead its team on the design, development and deployment of its Router v2.

“Venkatesh’s long-standing experience with leading projects like Polygon and Injective will be invaluable as we move to our next stage of growth to develop a truly decentralised, secure cross-chain communication infra layer,” said Ramani Ramachandran, co-founder and CEO of Router Protocol.

Router Protocol recently raised $4.1 million in a strategic funding round that attracted the participation of some of the marquee investors in the crypto space, including Coinbase Ventures, Polygon, QCP, De-Fi Capital, Woodstock, and Bison Ventures.

The startup plans to use the capital to bolster development across its product suite, with a focus on the roadmap as it revolutionises the blockchain interoperability sector. 

Ramachandran is scheduled to speak on the topic of blockchain interoperability at this year’s Token2049 event, which will be held at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore on 29 September 2022.

The post Router Protocol hires interoperability veteran as Chief Blockchain Architect appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Strike has closed an $80 million series B funding round led by Ten31 and joined by Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wyoming.
• The company, which is built on Bitcoin, will use the funds to grow its products as it looks to revolutionise the payments industry.

Strike, a leading digital payments provider on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, has secured $80 million in its series B funding round as it looks to revolutionise the global payments space, the company said in a press release.

The funding round was led by Ten31, a blockchain-focused fund that’s helping companies building on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. 

Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wyoming among other investors joined the funding round.

“We appreciate the continued support of investors who’ve backed Strike since our founding and are excited to welcome new partners to support our mission, disrupt the industry, and define the future of payments with a truly global, open, secure, instantaneous, virtually free network,” said Jack Mallers, the founder and CEO of Strike.

Accelerating adoption of Bitcoin Lightning Network

Strike will use the new capital infusion to drive its growth, particularly around the need to revolutionise the payments industry. In this, the company is eyeing solutions tailored to suit demands for payments for the world’s leading merchants and marketplaces.

Already, Strike has partnered with leading ecommerce and point of sale providers, including Blackhawk and Shopify, most of these deals coming after Strike’s recent launch of its application-programmable interface (API). 

With Strike’s integration, users can leverage the Bitcoin Lightning Network to access instant, global payments – all without the high fees of legacy card networks.

“Strike and Ten31 have a shared vision for the positive impact bitcoin can have on the world and are mutually aligned on accelerating its adoption. It was therefore a natural fit to partner with Strike as its lead investor,” Grant Gilliam, co-founder and managing partner of Ten31 noted in a statement.

As well as the commerce API, Strike is eyeing a new product tailored to the needs of large financial institutions and other global businesses. The new product line, the company revealed in the press release, targets allowing not just the ease of receiving payments but also for these customers to get similar benefits when sending them.

Currently, Strike’s integration is available to any consumer looking to move money via the Lightning Network.

The post Strike raises $80 million in funding to revolutionise Bitcoin Lightning payments appeared first on CoinJournal.

Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky has stepped down from his position at the troubled crypto lending platform, with the resignation effective immediately.

A statement from Celsius, accompanied with Mashinsky’s resignation letter said the ex-CEO informed Celsius’ Special Committee of the Board of Directors of his decision today. 

The Celsius Network co-founder also tweeted a link to a press release announcing his exit.

The letter to the special committee reads:

“Effective immediately, please accept my resignation as CEO of Celsius Network Ltd, as well as my directorships and other positions at each of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, with the exception of my director position at Celsius Network Ltd. I regret that my continued role as CEO has become an increasing distraction, and I am very sorry about the difficult financial circumstances members of our community are facing. Since the pause, I have worked tirelessly to help the Company and its advisors put forward a viable plan for the Company to return coins to creditors in the fairest and most efficient way. I am committed to helping the Company continue to flesh out and promote that plan, in order to help account holders become whole.”

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July this year following the contagion that started with the collapse of Terra Luna and then Three Arrows Capital – the latter’s $75 million loan from the crypto lender among the reasons it paused customer withdrawals before announcing bankruptcy.

Mashinsky mentioned his role since the events of July, and noted his exit does not mean he’ll not support the recovery plan.

“I elected to resign my post as CEO of Celsius Network today. Nevertheless, I will continue to maintain my focus on working to help the community unite behind a plan that will provide the best outcome for all creditors – which is what I have been doing since the Company filed for bankruptcy,” he said.

The post Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigns appeared first on CoinJournal.