UK fintech start-up Revolut raises $66 million, adds bitcoin
The “global banking alternative” Revolut has raised $66 million in a fund-raising round, the start-up said on Wednesday, in the latest sign that London is so far weathering Brexit to remain a global financial-technology center. Led by Europe- and San Francisco-based venture capital fund Index Ventures, the fund-raising round was one of the biggest ever Series B rounds in Europe. It should provide some comfort to the British capitol as it jostles to hold onto its reputation as Europe’s leading hub for the nascent fintech sector. The investment dwarfs the 19.5 million pounds ($25 million) raised by London-based rival Monzo in its Series B round earlier this year. Revolut, which […]
Japan casts a wider net with its latest fintech initiatives
Japan’s fintech efforts have largely focused on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, but now the country seems to be taking a broader approach toward the industry, as two new developments last week indicate: Japan and Australia signed a fintech cooperation agreement. The Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) signed a collaboration agreement to enable the agencies to refer promising fintechs to each other, as well as share information regarding fintech innovation, regulatory changes, and economic developments more easily. Australia has been active in supporting a wide range of fintech segments recently, so it’s likely Japan hopes to gain a more holistic overview of the […]
A new way to raise money: The Initial Coin Offering
The digital currency ecosystem has had a crazy year. The Bitcoin market capitalization has grown from $11 billion on June 5, 2016 to almost $47 billion USD on June 5, 2017. Negative news during that time included a 120,000 BTC heist from Bitfinex, worth $65m then and $350m now. The Winklevoss twins sought to create an exchange traded fund dealing in Bitcoin, but they were denied. Positive events were much broader, including Japan recognizing the coin as a legal payment method, Russia reversing their prior stand against Bitcoin, and Australia adjusting its policies to remove a double taxation problem for those accepting digital currencies. Now a new phenomenon is sweeping […]
Bitcoin price crosses $3,000 milestone to set new all-time high
The price of bitcoin topped $3,000 for the first time in history today, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). After spending much of the last week seeking direction in the $2,700 to $2,900-range, the average price of bitcoin across major international exchanges edged up over this threshold finally at roughly 17:00 UTC. The new record comes at a time when alternative digital assets are seeing robust inflows, with ethereum’s ether token setting a new all-time high of more than $300 today as well. Indeed, analysts spoke to the ongoing broadening of the cryptocurrency market as a tide that is benefitting bitcoin. “The inflows into ‘alts’ are greater than […]
Coinbase seeks to raise $1 Bln to expand and go beyond Bitcoin
Demand for Bitcoin has once again gone up with the price of the digital currency continuing to hit all-time highs. Cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase has been growing strong along with this demand in order to make more improvements and gain more transactions on their end. Coinbase has recently been in discussions with potential investors, according to Reuters. The company is looking to raise a total of $1 bln for their next funding. While Coinbase, according to its blog, has grown four times since January 2017, its co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong is looking to expand and cater beyond Bitcoin. The growing demand comes from the increase in new cryptocurrency exchange […]
BITPoint wants to bring Bitcoin to Japan
BITPoint Japan Co. is reportedly gearing up to enable hundreds of thousands of Japanese retail outlets to accept the digital currency bitcoin, reported Bloomberg News. In a Bloomberg report, Genki Oda, BITPoint’s president, said the company is in talks with a retail-related company and that “by going through a company providing payment terminal services to shops, we have the possibility of increasing its use at one stroke. It’s easier than talking to lots of individual retailers.” Bloomberg pointed out that BITPoint is joining a growing list of companies that are embracing regulations enacted in Japan in April that recognize digital currencies as a way to pay for things. Bic Camera […]
Japan lender Mizuho to launch fintech venture
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group will start a venture next month to create new businesses using “fintech,” an executive said, joining a global race in financial technology that threatens to unsettle traditional players. Japan’s second-largest lender by assets said there were already 20 projects in the pipeline for the venture, utilizing blockchain technology and artificial intelligence programs in areas such as farming and travel. Daisuke Yamada, Mizuho’s chief digital innovation officer, said the challenges were cultural as well as technological, as truly new business models required a break from Japanese banks’ conservative, overly risk-averse attitudes. For that reason, he said the bank would limit its stake in the yet-to-be named venture […]
Bitcoin prices surge, here’s why cryptocurrency is skyrocketing
Bitcoin prices are skyrocketing. Business Insider reported Thursday bitcoin hit a record high, exceeding $2,700 per coin, up from $1,400 on May 1. The world’s second most influential cryptocurrency, Ethereum’s ether tokens, also broke its record this week. Ether is now evaluated at more than $200 per token, CoinMarketCap reported. For comparison, ether was selling for just $60 on April 27. There are a variety of factors driving up the market value of cryptocurrencies. The past few weeks have seen increased corporate investment in Ethereum, alongside a global “blockchain boom,” where companies like Ripple and IBM announce partnerships with leading financial institutions around the world. Japan has even kickstarted the […]
