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Web3 payments provider Transak raises $20M in Series A round

  • Transak announced it raised $20 million in a series A round led by CE Innovation Capital.
  • The startup also attracted investments from SBI Ven Capital, Sygnum, and Woodstock Fund among other investors.
  • An FCA-registered startup, Transak plans to use the funds to further development of onboarding solutions for Web3 and crypto.

While venture capital funding for crypto projects cooled off in late 2022 and earlier in the year, the ecosystem still attracts notable investments as sentiment across the industry improves. That has been reflected in the latest Series A round for crypto payments startup Transak.

Transak secures $20 million series A round

According to an announcement the firm published on Tuesday, the platform secured $20 million in a funding round led by CE Innovation Capital, a venture fund that invests in FinTech startups worldwide.

The round also attracted participation from leading crypto and Web3-focused investors, including Animoca Brands, SBI Ven Capital, Sygnum, Zilliqa Capital, Woodstock Fund, and IOSG Ventures. Angel investors included Jan Hammer of Index Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon and Charles Delingpole of ComplyAdvantage.

Transak, which supports onboarding efforts for MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet and AAVE among others, plans to use the capital injection to offer more end-to-end onboarding solutions.

Bingze Gu, partner at CE Innovation Capital, commented:

“At CEiC, we’re strategically invested in propelling the Web3 ecosystem forward. Transak stands at the forefront of this revolution, wielding their On & Off Ramp solution as a potent instrument to usher in the next billion Web3 users. Their recent initiatives, such as Transak One and the NFT checkout offerings, are not just lowering the barriers to entry into Web3 – they’re redefining them.”

The platform is registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is recognised as a VASP in Poland. According to details on its website, Transak’s operations support over 160 cryptocurrencies across more than 75 blockchain networks including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Solana and Ziliqa.

The startup also supports 28 local payment methods including SEPA, Faster Payments, VISA, AstroPay, Cash App, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The post Web3 payments provider Transak raises $20M in Series A round appeared first on CoinJournal.

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STEPN’s Find Satoshi Lab unveils AI tool that generates NFTs from selfies

  • The GNT platform uses advanced AI algorithms to turn images into unique artwork
  • Find Satoshi Lab (FSL) says GNT V3 pushes the boundaries of creativity and self-expression.
  • Users will be able to mint NFTs from their selfies on Solana.

Find Satoshi Lab (FSL), the Web3 studio behind STEPN, has announced an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool that will allow users to generate NFTs from their selfies.

The AI-enabled NFT generator, GNT V3, will work via FSL’s recently launched NFT marketplace MOOAR. According to an announcement posted on the MOOAR Twitter account on Wednesday, GNT V3 will help users mint selfie NFTs on the Solana blockchain.

Users can mint and trade selfie NFTs 

GNT V3 follows on the FSL’s previous releases of V1 that enabled the minting of individual NFTs and V2 that integrated AI to allow for minting of NFTs from entire collections.

Yawn Rong, co-founder of Find Satoshi Lab, commented that GNT V3 is set to push Web3 to a new level with regard to digital self-expression.

According to details in a press release, the new AI-powered tool gives users an edge when it comes to creating unique digital art, with the NFTs available for trading.

FSL co-founder Jerry Huang said:

“This puts an endless potential of creativity in the hands of creators, and we are proud to take this one step further with the launch of V3.”

Apart from Solana, FSL plans to have GNT V3 expanded to other chains.

The post STEPN’s Find Satoshi Lab unveils AI tool that generates NFTs from selfies appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Here’s why Linear Finance’s LINA token price is surging

LINA price has defied gravity in the past few days as its rally gains steam. Linear Finance token soared to a high of $0.02623, the highest level since April 24th of this year. In all, the token has jumped by more than 365% from the lowest point this year.

Why is Linear Finance token soaring?

LINA is the native token for Linear Finance, a small DEFI platform that offers a cross-chain platform to trade digital assets. The platform offers several features, including Linear Buildr, Linear Exchange, Linear Swap, and Linear Vault. Acording to DeFi Llama, Linear Finance has over $17 million in total value locked.

It is unclear why LINA price has surged in the past few days.A likely reason is that the volume of trades in the ecosystem is doing well, with the TVL surging to over $13 million. It was about $5 million at its lowest level in 2022.

The other reason is that the token is gaining traction in social media. As shown below, data compiled by LunaCrush shows that it is one of the most actively mentioned project on social media. Historically, cryptocurrencies that are mentioned in platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and StockTwits tend to do well.

The same is happening in CoinMarketCap, one of the biggest crypto websites in the industry. As shown below, together with $TOMO, $OXBT, $HEX, and $BIAO, it is one of the top trending coins in the platform.

LINA price prediction

The daily chart shows that LINA crypto price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few months. This week, the token managed to move above the important resistance point at $0.0194, the highest point on April 6. 

LINA has jumped above the 50-day and 25-day exponential moving averages (EMA) while its volume is drifting upwards. At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) jumped above the overbought level at 80. 

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the token will retest the key support at $0.175 and then resume the bullish trend. If this happens, the next level to watch will be at $0.030, which is ~50% above the current level. A drop below $0.017 will invalidate the bullish view.

How to buy LINA

Binance

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It is better suited to more experienced investors and it offers a large number of cryptocurrencies to choose from, at over 600. Binance is also known for having low trading fees and a multiple of trading options that its users can benefit from, such as; peer-to-peer trading, margin trading and spot trading.

Buy LINA with Binance today

Swapzone

Swapzone is a crypto exchange aggregator that operates as a gateway between the cryptocurrency community and exchange services. Swapzone aims to provide a convenient interface, safe user flow, and crystal-clear data for users to find the best exchange rates among the whole cryptocurrency market.

Buy LINA with Swapzone today

The post Here’s why Linear Finance’s LINA token price is surging appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Nasdaq 100’s price action indicates more gains for Bitcoin

  • Investors pile into the US tech sector, sending the NASDAQ 100 index higher
  • Bitcoin’s rally should continue on the back of the bullish tech sector 
  • A divergence with the NASDAQ 100 index shows more upside potential for Bitcoin

Tech sector investors are in a frenzy, as they piled into tech companies in a rush not seen for a few years. After correcting for most of 2022, NASDAQ 100, the stock market index representing the US tech sector, is on fire. 

It gained over 30% YTD and looks bullish. 

A combination of factors led to the bullish movement, such as the AI revolution or the cost-cutting measures announced by companies such as Meta or Amazon. The fear of missing out drove investors into tech stocks again, culminating in NVIDIA’s stock price reaching a level that put the company into the $1 trillion market capitalization select club. 

For cryptocurrency traders, these are great news. In particular, Bitcoin looks like it is about to push even higher, despite gaining more than 65% YTD.

Bitcoin chart by TradingView

Bitcoin’s price action lags behind 

Bitcoin has been long traded in a tight, positive correlation with the NASDAQ 100 index. So, for example, while the tech sector index entered bearish market territory last year, Bitcoin followed. 

Moreover, after the NASDAQ 100 index bottomed in late October 2022, Bitcoin followed too. 

Furthermore, this year, the price action was identical, up to a point. That is, they both rallied at the start of the year. Next, a correction followed for both the NASDAQ 100 index and Bitcoin. 

But then they diverged because the tech sector index’s rally continued while Bitcoin price corrected. However, given the positive correlation between the two, one may state that it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin will make a new higher high for the year, providing the tech sector’s rally continues. 

The post Nasdaq 100’s price action indicates more gains for Bitcoin appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Bybit announces exit from the Canadian market

  • Bybit will not accept new account applications from Canadian residents and nationals as from 31 May.
  • Existing customers have until 31 July and thereafter they will only be able to withdraw funds.
  • Any open positions after 30 September 2023 will be liquidated, the exchange said in a notice.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is exiting the Canadian market, according to a notice the company published on Tuesday, 30 May.

The exchange noted that the decision to exit Canada was reached as a result of recent regulatory developments. Bybit said that while it had always been its “primary objective” to comply with all local rules and regulations, the decision to leave was necessary – even if difficult.

Bybit is thus pausing its activities and products in the Canadian market as from 31 May 2023.

No new accounts for Canadian residents

Beginning Wednesday, 31 May, Bybit will no longer accept account opening applications from new users ascertained to be from Canada. The restriction applies to all existing Canadian nationals, the exchange noted.

Existing Canadian customers will still be able to use the platform until 31 July, when they will also be restricted from making new deposits or entering into new contracts. Bybit will also not allow them to increase existing positions across all products and services effective on that date. However, customers will still be able to withdraw funds or reduce existing positions.

Overall, Canadian customers have until 30 September, 2023, 8am UTC to wind down positions. Any margin or derivatives positions still open after this date will be liquidated, with funds made available for withdrawal.

Several crypto firms have exited Canada

Bybit’s exit from Canada comes a day after the exchange announced it had received “in-principle” approval to expand its operations into Kazakhstan.

Notably, the news also come a few weeks after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, exited Canada. As reported, Binance cited new developments around crypto guidelines from Canadian regulators as the reason for its decision.

Since February, when the Canadian Securities Adminstration (CSA) formalised new requirements for crypto exchange operators, several providers have exited. As CoinJournal also highlighted here, these include OKX, dYdX and Paxos.

The post Bybit announces exit from the Canadian market appeared first on CoinJournal.