Monat: Mai 2024

• Mastercard expands Start Path program, adds 5 blockchain startups.
• The Start Path program showcases Mastercard’s leadership in fintech innovation
• Selected startups shall receive bespoke training and collaboration opportunities.

Mastercard, the global fintech giant, has announced the addition of five new startups to its Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets program that aims to explore future use cases and scale new solutions by collaborating with startups worldwide.

The move underscores Mastercard’s commitment to fostering innovation in blockchain and digital payments.

Diverse cohort joins Mastercard’s accelerator program

The latest cohort joining Mastercard’s Start Path program represents a diverse range of innovative companies in the blockchain and digital assets space.

Among the newcomers are Kulipa, a crypto payment and card issuer; Parafin, a blockchain software firm; peaq, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePin) provider; Triangle, a data platform; and Venly, a blockchain developer.

These startups were carefully selected based on their high potential to drive innovation in blockchain, digital assets, and Web3 technologies.

Mastercard continues to lead in Fintech and blockchain payments

Mastercard’s Start Path program offers selected startups a unique opportunity for collaboration, bespoke training, and access to Mastercard’s extensive network of customers and channels.

Over the course of a four-month program, participants will work closely with Mastercard experts to refine their solutions and explore differentiated use cases aimed at addressing real-world problems in the fintech and payments landscape.

Mastercard’s foray into blockchain and digital assets is part of its broader strategy to stay at the forefront of innovation in the fintech industry.

Through initiatives like the Start Path program, Mastercard has supported over 400 startups in 54 countries since its launch in 2014. By collaborating with industry experts and fintechs, Mastercard aims to drive the adoption of blockchain and digital payment solutions globally.

Recent partnerships and initiatives underscore Mastercard’s commitment to innovation in the fintech space.

The collaboration with Israeli fintech firm Kima to develop a “DeFi credit card” highlights Mastercard’s interest in marrying decentralized finance protocols with traditional banking services.

Additionally, the alliance formed with leading U.S. banking giants to test distributed ledger technology for banking settlements demonstrates Mastercard’s dedication to exploring new technologies to enhance financial infrastructure.

The post Mastercard expands blockchain accelerator program with five new startups appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Humanity Protocol has secured $30M for its palm scan identity verification project.
• Palm scan tech offers secure, decentralized identity verification, disrupting traditional methods.
• Competition intensifies in the digital identity space as Worldcoin and Humanity Protocol go head-to-head.

Humanity Protocol, a web3 digital identity startup, has secured $30 million in funding, catapulting its valuation to $1 billion.

Utilizing palm scans for online identity verification, digital identity startup aims to revolutionize digital identity management.

Palm scan technology in digital identity verification

Humanity Protocol’s unique approach to digital identity verification involves the use of palm scans.

Unlike traditional methods that rely on usernames and passwords, palm scans utilize infrared cameras to capture the unique vein patterns in an individual’s palm.

This biometric data is then stored using decentralized technology and zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring the security and privacy of users’ information.

Humanity Protocol’s founder, Terence Kwok, emphasized the importance of this approach, stating that palm scans offer a more secure and reliable means of identity verification.

With plans to launch its own cryptocurrency, Humanity Protocol aims to leverage its palm scan technology to streamline know-your-customer (KYC) processes and other identity verification procedures.

Humanity Protocol challenging Worldcoin in digital identity space

Humanity Protocol’s funding success comes amidst increasing competition in the digital identity space.

Projects like Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, have also sought to revolutionize identity verification using innovative technologies.

However, Worldcoin has faced criticism for its iris-scanning technology and business model targeting users in the Global South.

In response to these concerns, Worldcoin announced that it has established new standards for data protection and has deleted previous iris-scanning data.

Despite these challenges, the growing interest in digital identity solutions underscores the importance of projects like Humanity Protocol in addressing the evolving needs of the digital economy.

The post Humanity Protocol raises $30M for palm-based digital identity appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Bitcoin price rose to near $64,000 as stock futures climbed.
• The upside came after US inflation data showed consumer prices rose less than expected in April.
• Algotech, a new crypto trading project, continued to attract investors as its presale crossed $4.8 million.

As stock futures rose on Wednesday, Bitcoin price jumped more than 2% to break above $63,700. The benchmark cryptocurrency’s rise towards $64,000 saw altcoins flip green.

Amid the gains for alts such as Ethereum, Toncoin and Avalanche, new crypto project Algotech swelled in presale.

Bitcoin surges as CPI rises less than expected

On Wednesday, data on inflation showed that the consumer price index (CPI), the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, only rose 0.3% in April. That was lower than the expectation of 0.4% for the month-on-month increase, CNBC reported.

While the inflation reading remains above 3%, its overall dip to 3.36% year-over-year in April from the 3.48% reported in March attracted a reaction across markets. Also notable was the US Core CPI (which excludes food and energy) – it was 3.62% YoY in April compared to 3.80% the previous month.

The inflation report saw Treasury yields fell as stocks pumped. The gains were also visible across the crypto market, with Bitcoin jumping from below $62,000 to hit highs above $63,855.

A 3.6% upside for BTC pushed the total crypto market cap up by more than 2% to over $2.43 trillion.

Algotech: A new crypto trading project

At its core, Algotech is a decentralized algorithmic trading platform that brings innovative crypto trading technologies to the ordinary trader.

The goal is to empower traders via integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics tools. Automation and blockchain technology meet to offer a potentially game-changing platform for crypto traders.

As it prepares to launch, Algotech has allocated 70% of the total of 350,000,000 ALGT to the public presale. When the current presale stage concludes, the ALGT price will increase to $0.10. Meanwhile, the estimated launch price after the presale is $0.15.

Algotech gains as presale nears $5 million raise

Algotech has raised more than $4.88 million in its ongoing token sale, with the current presale stage more than 75% sold out.

Currently, only 14% of ALGT tokens remain unsold in stage 3. It means investors keen to grab some of the tokens at prices of $0.08 may want to take swift action. But why is the interest in Algotech rising?

While today’s Bitcoin price spike towards $64k has buoyed the broader crypto market, the overall interest in Algotech is something that has built up in bounds these past few weeks.

The positive sentiment around the project has strengthened as more people understand what the platform offers. Moreso, it’s the potential for its defining features to drive the next big wave in crypto trading that has investors flocking to the presale.

Visit the Algotech website to learn more about this project.

The post Algotech gains as Bitcoin spikes towards $64k on latest CPI report appeared first on CoinJournal.