Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Ugandan mobility fintech Asaak recently spread its tentacles to Latin America after it bought the Mexican asset financing business Flexclub. The fintech’s CEO suggested that his company’s successful and profitable microfinance business partly influenced the decision to acquire the Mexican startup. Asaak’s Profitable Business The Ugandan mobility fintech Asaak recently said it acquired car financing startup Flexclub Mexico for an undisclosed sum. According to one report, Asaak’s acquisition of the Mexican asset financing startup will potentially expose the Uganda-based startup firm to the Mexican microfinance market and the South African car rental market. Flexclub has reportedly pivoted away from the Mexican market. Kaivan Sattar, the co-founder and CEO of the Ugandan fintech, suggested that his company’s successful and profitable microfinance business had partly influenced the decision to acquire the Mexican startup. As explained in a Techcabal report , Asaak’s decision to a

In several short years, Duelbits have made a name for themselves in the crypto casino niche, becoming one of the de facto leaders in the sphere. With a firm commitment to innovation, they have made it a point to stand out from the crowd. Recently, they have completely revamped their already sleek and stylish platform, presenting a streamlined and intuitive interface elevating the player experience to new heights. The improvements are not solely relegated to the cosmetic aspects of the website, significant investments have been made in the technical department as well, with these upgrades resulting in silky smooth navigation capable of handling the ever-increasing number of gamers that have become Duelbits regulars. Additionally, during the upgrade process, a mobile app has been developed, integrating the platform flawlessly with the mobile world, allowing for a 360-degree gaming experience without any limitations. Hours upon hours of player behavior were tracked and studied, and

The Kenyan fintech startup Kotani Pay has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round which was led by P1 Ventures. The capital raised will be used to fund the startup’s expansion into five African countries. Felix Macharia said his firm is working with central banks, some of whom “are actually getting excited about some of these use cases and are getting involved.” New Capital to Fund Kotani Pay’s Africa Incursion The Kenya-based digital currency on- and off-ramp service provider, Kotani Pay, recently raised a $2 million pre-seed funding round, a report has said. The round was led by the San Francisco-based seed investor P1 Ventures with the participation of Digital Currency Group/Luno and Flori Ventures. According to a Techcrunch report , Kotani Pay will use the capital raised to fund its expansion into five African countries: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania. The successful capital raise also enables Kotani Pay to make good on its promise to make cross-borde

Digital asset exchange Coinbase will be offering cryptocurrency loans to institutions in the United States. With the new service, the leading U.S. crypto trading platform seeks to fill the market gap opened by the collapse of companies like Celsius, Genesis, and Blockfi. Crypto Exchange Coinbase Starts Offering Crypto Loans to Institutions Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched a crypto lending service targeted at large institutional investors in the U.S., Bloomberg reported, noting that the move is aimed at capitalizing on the void left by the bankruptcies of major platforms in this sector. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), $57 million have been invested already in the lending program by customers of Coinbase Prime, the exchange’s brokerage platform that allows institutional players to execute trades and custody assets. “With this service, institutions can choose to lend digital assets to Coinbase under standardized terms in a p

The Ethereum Foundation has announced the completion of its grants program to finance projects related to implementing ERC-4337, the account abstraction standard. 18 projects were selected to be part of this batch of grants, which feature different functionalities, including creating educational material on the issue and software that can design operations based on the requirements of other apps. Ethereum Foundation Announces 18 Grants for Projects Implementing Account Abstraction Features The Ethereum Foundation, a nonprofit organization in charge of funding and expanding the Ethereum ecosystem, has announced that it will issue grants to 18 teams developing projects built around the ERC-4337 standard, also known as account abstraction. The initiative seeks to empower these projects to grow and become a significant part of the Ethereum ecosystem in the future. About the significance of these grants and the projects that received help from them, the Ethereum Foundation stated: Ea

European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Fabio Panetta has warned about stablecoins issued by private providers, such as Paypal. He also provided an update on the progress of the digital euro. “At the ECB, our investigation phase is now in its final stage, preparing the ground for the Governing Council to decide whether to move to the next phase of the project,” he said. ECB Executive Board Member on Digital Euro and Stablecoins Fabio Panetta, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), discussed stablecoins and the digital euro on Monday during his introductory statement at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament. Noting that the ECB officially launched the digital euro investigation phase in October 2021, he said, “We have made considerable progress since then.” Panetta added: At the ECB, our investigation phase is now in its final stage, preparing the ground for the Governing Council to decide whether to move to

The B2BinPay team has just announced the release of B2BinPay v17, a substantial update that polishes and perfects the crypto payment experience. As one of the industry leaders, B2BinPay has been a global go-to facilitator for crypto transactions. B2BinPay’s crypto solutions are celebrated for their simplicity of integration, allowing businesses worldwide to adopt cutting-edge crypto solutions without hassle. The V17 version of the B2BinPay platform has further innovated on existing functionalities, introducing many new features, quality-of-life updates and fixes to accommodate the diverse requirements of merchants and enterprise clients. Introducing the EUROC and TUSD Settlement Options As the crypto landscape continues to be volatile and unpredictable, stablecoins ensure stability and reliability. Before v17, B2BinPay provided customers with five major settlement options: BTC , USDT , USDC, USD and EUR. However, as the crypto landscape evolves rapidly, the v17 upgrade decided to

Israeli law enforcement recently raided the offices of a company accused of producing software used by criminals to defraud crypto investors of millions of dollars. Some six suspects were arrested following the raid on a company that is reportedly operated by the country’s infamous crime families. ‘Sting Software’ The Israeli police’s National Cyber Crime Unit recently raided an IT company whose so-called “sting software” has helped criminal syndicates to steal millions of dollars from crypto investors. According to a Ynet News report , six individuals were arrested while dozens were taken in for questioning. According to the report, the raided company is believed to be operated by the country’s infamous crime families. In his remarks following the raid, Dudi Katz, the head of Lahav 433’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “We were able to stem the tide of this crime wave and bring down hundreds of call centers. This operation spanned internationally and was unique in scope, includi

Investors led by Andreessen Horowitz have backed a company that has set out to help content creators monetize their work in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The tech firm intends to employ blockchain technology to track remixes and mashups that have been spreading online since the invent of AI tools like Chatgpt. Investors Pledge $54 Million to Support Story Protocol’s Plan to Help Copyright Holders in AI Age U.S. blockchain company Story Protocol has won the support of a group of investors led by American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz for its plan to help content creators track and monetize their work in the times of generative AI , Bloomberg reported. Against the backdrop of low investor interest in crypto startups, the San Francisco-based tech firm managed to raise $54 million. Among those who offered funding for its project are also Hashed, Endeavor, Samsung Next, TPG Capital founder David Bonderman, and Paris Hilton’s 11:11 media. Besides receiving equity i