Kategorie: Crypto Business

• Gemini Staking adds to the yield-generating offering Gemini Earn launched in February 2021.
• Staking will be available for US customers (excluding New York) as well as Singapore and Hong Kong.
• The product will support MATIC before adding ETH, SOL, DOT and AUDIO.

The Gemini crypto exchange has launched its staking feature and will support multiple cryptocurrencies for customers in the United States (except for New York), Hong Kong and Singapore.

The company, one of the earliest in the industry and which is regulated in the US and other jurisdictions, unveiled the Gemini Staking product on 18 August 2022. 

Now customers can stake their tokens and receive staking rewards in their accounts on the exchange, the firm said in its blog announcement.

Staking for MATIC on Polygon

Staking is one of the ways for crypto holders to earn rewards on their tokens, which is possible via proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism platforms.

As opposed to mining on proof-of-work (PoW) networks like Bitcoin, PoS networks allow token holders to participate in transaction processing and network security by pledging their tokens to validators or running their own nodes.

Gemini will initially support staking for MATIC, the native token of the Polygon network. Later, the platform plans to add support for leading smart contracts blockchain Ethereum (ETH) – which is set to transition to PoS via the ‘Merge’. 

Other network tokens Gemini is looking to support are Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL), and Audius (AUDIO).

The launch of staking adds to Gemini’s yield-generating offering Gemini Earn, which was launched in February 2021. Earn allows customers to generate yield on their crypto through interest paid on loaned assets.

The post Gemini launches staking for Polygon (MATIC) appeared first on CoinJournal.

Ripple’s partnership with Travelex Bank will see customers of the locally regulated bank benefit from XRP-powered cross border payments settled on RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) protocol.

Ripple has launched a digital asset based payment solution in Brazil, partnering with regulated Latin America bank Travelex Bank.

The enterprise-focused solution will seek to offer customers across the region access to low-cost international payments, with instant settlement via RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). 

Leveraging Ripple’s XRP and the ODL platform will see businesses and corporates send money across borders without having to first open and maintain pre-funded accounts in those countries.

Customers to benefit from ‘real utility’

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, commenting on the development, noted that Brazil has grown to be one of the most important crypto destinations in the region, with its largely crypto-friendly environment great for fintech innovation. The country is thus seeing an “explosion of activity” amid increased adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency among institutional users.

He added that crypto is helping people solve pain points in payments and the partnership with Travelex Bank boosts this outlook.  

“From day one, we’ve focused on building solutions that deliver real utility and we are excited to collaborate with an innovative partner like Travelex Bank to help move money more efficiently for the benefit of its customers across Brazil,” he added in a statement.

Travelex Bank is regulated by the Central Bank of Brazil, with its operations exclusively in foreign exchange. And with over $780 billion in annual remittances into Brazil, Travelex and Ripple could see increased demand for its ODL service, with the native XRP helping ensure cheaper and faster payments settlement.

Initially, support will be for the Mexico-Brazil payments corridor. Travelex will then look to support other corridors, with payments expanding to services such as bulk SME payments and internal treasury.

Ripple’s partnership with Travelex adds to a host of other key deals in the Latin America region, including with Banco Rendimento, Banco Topazio and Remessa Online. It also expands Ripple’s mainstream partnerships across the globe – Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The post Ripple partners Travelex Bank to launch XRP-enabled enterprise payments in Brazil appeared first on CoinJournal.

• eToro will acquire the US-based startup for $50 million in a cash and common stock deal.
• The deal is part of eToro’s plans to expand into the US market, where Robinhood remains one of the main competitors.
• Gatsby launched in 2018.

eToro, a leading online brokerage platform, is set to complete the acquisition of fintech startup Gatsby following approval by US regulator The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), TechCrunch reported on Wednesday.

According to the publication, the social investing giant will acquire the US-based platform for $50 million in a deal that will be settled in cash and common stock.

eToro’s brand continues to grow

The eToro-Gatsby deal was first mooted in December 2021, with eToro eyeing the FINRA approval as part of a larger goal of expanding into the US market.

The acquisition adds to eToro’s other major deals since 2019, with Gatsby now joining the growing brand that counts deals for investment tracker Delta, blockchain platform eToro Labs (formerly Firmo), and UK-based e-money firm Marq Millions Ltd.

Gatsby, founded in 2018, is key to eToro’s expansion efforts with its commission-free trading for options and stocks. 

The takeover is thus crucial in the battle to attract customers from a growing group of younger investors. Robinhood, one of the leading trading platforms in the zero-commission battle, is also one of eToro’s main competitors with a footprint in the US market.

The post eToro to acquire trading startup Gatsby amid US expansion plans appeared first on CoinJournal.

Michael Healy has been in the crypto space since 2010 and is a co-founder of crypto platform Unit Network.

Unizen, a leading hybrid crypto exchange enabled for centralised and decentralised finance (CeDeFi), has appointed crypto veteran Michael Healy as its Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).

Sean Noga, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Unizen announced Healy’s appointment on Wednesday, lauding the former WikiLeaks developer as an experienced hand in the crypto space.

“Michael has been in the crypto space since 2010, and he originally worked for WikiLeaks and built their android application in 2010. He brought BTC into WikiLeaks after Visa/ MasterCard donations were shut off,” Noga wrote in a release shared with CoinJournal.

The Unizen CEO had hinted at the C-level appointment earlier this month.

CSO’s role includes advancing adoption strategies

Other than his role at WikiLeaks, especially with his work on bringing Bitcoin to the non-profit organisation, Healy also co-founded tokenisation DAO platform Unit Network and has previously held positions at London-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners, investing in top firms that include Spotify.

BNB Chain-built Unizen secured a $200 million funding commitment from investment firm Global Emerging Markets (GEM) in June this year. According to the platform, the milestone-based capital injection was aimed at helping boost ecosystem development even as the market battled crypto turbulence.

Excited to announce that Unizen has secured $200 Million funding commitment from Global Emerging Markets.

GEM is an alternative investment group focused on emerging markets and has completed over 530 transactions in 70 countries covering 5 continents.https://t.co/oi2iFCB2TH

— Unizen: Smart Exchange Ecosystem (@unizen_io) June 27, 2022

Unizen’s new CSO has the task of shaping and advancing the crypto exchange platform’s growth plans, CEO Noga noted. Healy’s work will also involve charting the company’s strategic direction and adoption.

The post Unizen appoints Michael Healy as Chief Strategy Officer appeared first on CoinJournal.

Crypto.com has recently been approved or registered in Singapore, UAE (Dubai), Italy, South Korea and Canada among other jurisdictions.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has yet secured another regulatory approval as it continues its global expansion.

On Wednesday, the exchange announced it had been approved as a crypto asset business by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  The regulatory greenlight adds to a list of major milestones for Crypto.com regarding the push to offer its services to consumers across the globe in compliance with local regulations.

The UK approval is especially sweet for Crypto.com given the country has one of the largest crypto communities, and authorities see regulation as critical to consumer protection as well as fostering an environment that can incentivise innovation.

“This is a significant milestone for Crypto.com, with the UK representing a strategically important market for us and at a time when the government is pushing forward with its agenda to make Britain a global hub for crypto asset technology and investment,” Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said in a statement.

The exchange plans to use the license to expand its products and services in the country, even as they work with market watchdogs, Marszalek noted.

Crypto.com’s major regulatory scores

With the FCA license, Crypto.com has added a key regulatory nod to several already bagged across the world. These include approvals in fast-growing crypto destinations such as Singapore, Dubai, and Cyprus. 

As well, the exchange recently completed two key acquisitions in South Korea to land the Electronic Financial Transaction Act and Virtual Asset Service Provider licenses.

The platform also has registrations in Italy, Greece, Cayman Islands and in Canada (via a pre-registration agreement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)).

Crypto.com’s FCA approval comes a few months after the company signaled an aggressive expansion plan with multiple senior staff hires. Among the new recruits were a General Manager (UK) and a Global Head of Sustainability and ESG.

The post Crypto.com secures approval as a crypto asset business from UK’s FCA appeared first on CoinJournal.