BlockFi Raises Over $18 Million USD in Funding Round

US cryptocurrency lending startup BlockFi has raised $18.3 million USD in a funding round led by Valar Ventures, the company announced on Tuesday. BlockFi is the first company of its kind to receive institutional funding for crypto-based loans in US dollars, in the form of a $50 million lending facility from Galaxy Digital. The new capital will reportedly be used to expand the array of products on BlockFi’s existing platform that includes interest-earning accounts for Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-backed USD loans. BlockFi also plans on using the investment to double…

VeChain Releases Blockchain-Encrypted Wine Bottles For Australian Winemaker

Public enterprise blockchain platform VeChain has partnered with Autralian winemaker Penfolds to release a case of blockchain-encrypted wine bottles for sale, as part of its Wine Traceability Platform (WTP) initiative. More specifically, the launch of Penfolds Bin 407 in July marks the beginning of VeChain’s WTP phase 2, per a press release from VeChain on Aug. 6. The bottles from this case are reportedly available at the Waigaoqiao International Alcohol Exhibition & Trading Center, D.I.G.’s  Flagship Store and the Sen Lan Shang Du in Pudong New District. As per the…

MasterCard to Build Crypto and Wallet Products

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) is planning to venture into the cryptocurrency space with a focus on creating a crypto team of 28 cryptocurrency professionals that will spearhead the development of cryptocurrency and wallet products. Recruiting of Crypto Experts On MasterCard’s website, under the career tab, the company notes that it is seeking individuals who will fill the positions of senior blockchain engineer and engineering lead, vice president for product management, product innovation, and development director and product management director for cryptocurrency and wallets. Equally, there are other senior roles that the…

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Hires Former Cumberland Exec

Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital hired a former exec at crypto trading giant Cumberland as head of global sales. According to an internal notice to Galaxy Digital’s counterparties, Wall Street veteran David Gross joined the company, crypto media outlet The Block reports Aug. 6. In his new position, Gross will be working on boosting sales in three units of Galaxy’s business, and will be reporting to president Chris Ferraro, per the report. 15 years at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers Before joining Galaxy Digital, David Gross served as…

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Hires Former Cumberland Exec

Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital hired a former exec at crypto trading giant Cumberland as head of global sales. According to an internal notice to Galaxy Digital’s counterparties, Wall Street veteran David Gross joined the company, crypto media outlet The Block reports Aug. 6. In his new position, Gross will be working on boosting sales in three units of Galaxy’s business, and will be reporting to president Chris Ferraro, per the report. 15 years at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers Before joining Galaxy Digital, David Gross served as…

Media Misreports BTC Futures Status, Option ‘Coming Soon’

Earlier this week, United States-regulated crypto derivatives and clearing platform LedgerX was reported to launch the first physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts in the country, therefore stealing a march on Bakkt and ErisX. However, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) soon refuted that information by stating that the exchange has not yet been properly cleared by the agency.  Now, a LedgerX official has told Cointelegraph that the media publication that broke the news — CoinDesk — had “misunderstood the scope of the launch,” which in turn led to the confusing…

Crypto Derivatives Platform FTX Secures $8M In Seed Funding Round

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX has secured $8 million in its seed round. Major investors include blockchain-focused venture capital fund Proof of Capital and blockchain firm Consensus Lab, among others. In the blog post published on Aug. 6, Proof of Capital revealed that it had invested in FTX, a firm offering futures, leveraged tokens and over-the-counter trading. Consensus Lab, digital asset management firm in blockchain-based capital market FBG, and crypto hedge fund Galois Capital also provided substantial funding. FTX’s founding members include officers from leading industry players such as tech-focused trading…

‘Coinbase Effect’ Makes Little-Known Cryptocurrency Go Bananas

A little-known cryptocurrency surged 60% after Coinbase said it was “exploring” listing it on its exchange. | Source: Shutterstock Coinbase announced the potential addition of several new cryptocurrency assets this week. One of them, Matic Network (MATIC) jumped by over 60% in the 24 hours since the announcement. Little-Known Cryptocurrency Gains Over 60% With $100 Million Volume With a volume of nearly $100 million, the Matic price rose from just over 99 satoshis or 1 US cent to nearly $.017. Depending on how much you hold, that seemingly insignificant gain…

‘Coinbase Effect’ Makes Little-Known Cryptocurrency Go Bananas

A little-known cryptocurrency surged 60% after Coinbase said it was “exploring” listing it on its exchange. | Source: Shutterstock Coinbase announced the potential addition of several new cryptocurrency assets this week. One of them, Matic Network (MATIC) jumped by over 60% in the 24 hours since the announcement. Little-Known Cryptocurrency Gains Over 60% With $100 Million Volume With a volume of nearly $100 million, the Matic price rose from just over 99 satoshis or 1 US cent to nearly $.017. Depending on how much you hold, that seemingly insignificant gain…

Major Coins Report Mixed Signals, Bitcoin Hovers Around $11,700

Tuesday, Aug. 6 — Major cryptocurrency markets have continued suffering losses over the past several hours as Bitcoin (BTC) has come back down to around $11,700 after a jump to $12,300 earlier today. Market visualization. Source: Coin360 BTC has effectively returned to its level of 24 hours ago to trade at around $11,759 at press time. During the past day, BTC has been trading in a narrow corridor between $11,020 and $12,239 — the coin’s highest price point on the day. Today, former Wall Street trader Max Keiser claimed that…