Category: Blockchain

Theta Capital raises $175M to back early-stage blockchain startups

Amsterdam-based Theta Capital Management raised over $175 million for its latest fund-of-funds, aimed at supporting early-stage blockchain startups through specialized venture capital (VC) firms. The new vehicle, Theta Blockchain Ventures IV, will channel capital into crypto-native VC firms with a track record of backing blockchain innovation, Theta’s managing partner and chief investment officer Ruud Smets told Bloomberg. Smets said the strategy focuses on specialist managers who can outperform generalist investors in the earliest funding rounds. “We’ve always been looking for areas where specialization and active management provide a sustainable edge,”…

Ripple launches cross-border blockchain payments in UAE

Ripple, the creator of cryptocurrency XRP (XRP), launched cross-border blockchain payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a development that could spur the adoption of cryptocurrency in a country receptive to digital assets. Zand Bank, the UAE’s first all-digital bank, and Mamo, a fintech company that offers a digital payment platform for businesses, will be the principal users of the blockchain payments system, according to a May 19 Ripple announcement. Zand Bank and Mamo will use “Ripple Payments” to facilitate cross-border blockchain payments. Ripple Payments is a platform that combines…

Franklin taps blockchain to offer yield on idle payroll funds

Franklin, a hybrid cash and crypto payroll provider, is launching a new initiative that aims to turn idle-sitting payroll into an opportunity for yield. The new solution, dubbed Payroll Treasury Yield, uses blockchain lending protocols to help firms earn returns on payroll funds that would otherwise sit idle, the company told Cointelegraph in an exclusive statement. Franklin said its new offering integrates Summer.fi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform, to allow companies to deposit stablecoin-denominated payroll reserves into smart contract-based lending pools. These funds are lent to vetted borrowers, and…

Sei Labs Unveils Whitepaper for Innovative Sei Giga Blockchain

Terrill Dicki May 19, 2025 11:34 Sei Labs introduces Sei Giga, a groundbreaking multi-proposer EVM Layer 1 blockchain, promising significant advancements in transaction throughput and scalability. Sei Labs has released the whitepaper for Sei Giga, its latest blockchain innovation, designed to be the first multi-proposer EVM Layer 1 blockchain. This development promises to enhance transaction throughput and scalability, critical factors for high-performance applications, according to Sei Labs. Key Features of Sei Giga Sei Giga’s architecture is built to address the limitations of…

Wormhole Launches Global Ecosystem Hub to Boost Blockchain Innovation

Lawrence Jengar May 19, 2025 11:08 Wormhole has launched its Global Ecosystem Hub in New York City, aiming to bridge traditional finance with decentralized technologies and strengthen institutional blockchain adoption. The Wormhole development team has announced the launch of their Global Ecosystem Hub in New York City’s Flatiron District, marking a significant step in enhancing the presence of digital assets in the United States. This strategic move aims to bridge traditional finance with decentralized technologies, fostering collaboration and innovation at the heart…

Ethereum’s Pectra Update: What Comes Next for Blockchain Builders

Terrill Dicki May 19, 2025 07:54 Following Ethereum’s Pectra update, developers face new opportunities and challenges. Key changes include enhanced smart accounts and data efficiency, with PeerDAS expected to significantly impact future developments. Ethereum’s latest hard fork, known as Pectra, has introduced significant changes to the blockchain ecosystem, setting the stage for further developments in smart accounts and data efficiency. According to OKX Ventures, Pectra, a combination of the Prague and Electra updates, is the largest hard-fork bundle since The Merge, incorporating…

The Public internet is a bottleneck for blockchain — DoubleZero CEO

Public internet infrastructure is the critical speed and performance constraint on high-throughput blockchain networks, according to Austin Federa, co-founder and CEO of DoubleZero, a project developing high-speed fiber optic communication rails for blockchains. “The downside of the public internet is it was never built for high-performance systems. It was always built for this sort of relationship of one big server talking to one little server,” Federa told Cointelegraph in an interview at Consensus 2025. The executive explained: “We have validators all around the world. Rotating leader schedules all the time.…

Understanding Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) in Blockchain

Darius Baruo May 15, 2025 07:05 Explore the concept of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) in blockchain, its implications, and potential solutions to mitigate its impact on decentralized systems. Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) is a significant topic in the blockchain ecosystem, impacting the way transactions are ordered and executed within blockchains. According to a16z crypto, MEV refers to the maximum value that can be extracted from block production beyond the standard block rewards and gas fees, primarily through the manipulation of transaction order.…

CFTC Commissioner will step down to become Blockchain Association CEO

Summer Mersinger, one of four commissioners currently serving at the US financial regulatory body Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will become the next CEO of the digital asset advocacy group the Blockchain Association (BA).  In a May 14 notice, the Blockchain Association said its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would be stepping down for Mersinger on May 16, allowing an interim head of the group to work until the CFTC commissioner assumes the role on June 2. Though her term at the CFTC was expected to last until April 2028, the…

Shardeum (SHM): Revolutionizing Blockchain with Dynamic State Sharding

Ted Hisokawa May 13, 2025 11:10 Explore Shardeum’s innovative approach to blockchain scalability and decentralization using dynamic state sharding, its consensus mechanism, and the role of the SHM token in network operations. Shardeum is gaining attention in the blockchain community for its unique approach to scalability and decentralization, leveraging a technique known as dynamic state sharding. This Layer 1 blockchain divides the network’s state and workload across multiple shards, which can dynamically expand or contract based on real-time demand. This innovative structure…