Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Blockchain news
- Crypto exchange Kraken has announced they will donate USD 250,000 to the Ethereum Foundation to support developer teams working to achieve critical milestones on the Ethereum (ETH) roadmap. They added that they believe it’s their responsibility to support the open-source innovators who are building the next generation of Ethereum, calling it “one of the key pillars of the crypto ecosystem.”
Stablecoin news
- Blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos (PAX) has announced they are rebranding their stablecoin to Paxos Dollar (USDP), to identify the stablecoin as a USD-backed token. They have added that USDP is regulated and redeemable one-to-one for US dollars, while USDP reserves are held 100% in cash and cash equivalents.
- Tether (USDT) stated they will coordinate a chain swap for USDT 2bn from TRC20 to ERC20 tokens. They have added that the total supply will not change during this time. In a separate announcement, Tether said that they have reached USD 65bn in total circulating supply after what they call “seven years of stability.”
Adoption news
- The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said on Twitter that 200 ATMs and 50 in-person kiosks are being built to launch on September 7 to support its forthcoming law making bitcoin (BTC) legal tender. He has added that nobody will have to use BTC, but that those who decide to download the BTC wallet app, launching the same day, will receive the equivalent of USD 30 to spend as they see fit.
CBDC news
- China’s digital yuan has been used to pay storage fees to a delivery warehouse in the Chinese city of Dalian, marking the first use of its kind within the domestic futures market, the China Securities Journal reported. The Dalian Commodity Exchange paid the fees to Dalian Liangyun Group Storage and Transportation, while local branches of the Bank of Communications and the Dalian branch of the Bank of China assisted in the transaction.
Investment news
- Bitcoin technology firm Blockstream has raised USD 210m in a Series B funding round that values the firm at USD 3.2bn. The new funding comes alongside the acquisition of BTC mining hardware manufacturer Spondoolies’ intellectual property to build Blockstream’s ASIC arm.
- Crypto exchange FTX have acquired a naming rights deal worth USD 17.5m for the pitch of football team Cal Golden Bears, the athletic group announced. Learfield, the multimedia rights holder of Cal Athletics, will accept payment in cryptocurrency, the announcement added.
Legal news
- Crypto exchange Binance denied allegations of market manipulation and working against the interest of its users. They have laid the blame on “FUD-peddlers” (FUD: fear, uncertainty, doubt) and “individuals with malicious intent, including the impersonation of Binance employees,” saying that as the industry strengthens relations with regulators, fewer such examples should occur.
Mining news
- BTC mining firm Riot Blockchain has reported USD 31.5m in mining-related revenues for the second quarter of this year—up roughly 1,540% from its Q2 2020 revenue of USD 1.9m. The firm also reported a 38% increase in the total number of BTC it mined compared to the previous quarter, with Riot generating BTC 675 compared to BTC 491 in Q1.
NFT news
- Artificial intelligence lab Fetch.ai announced the launch of its new non-fungible token (NFT) platform, Colearn Paint, that will allow groups of creators to automatically generate NFTs using Machine Learning, they said. At launch, users interested in participating in the first round of artwork will take part in a three-step creation process: bidding to take part, inputting a randomness pattern to steer the direction of the NFT creation, and creating the NFT itself.
- NFT auction house Portion.io said that they are adding support for NFT ecosystem Palm Network to allow artists the opportunity to mint and sell their work. According to the press release, the integration of Portion’s online marketplace with Palm’s infrastructure is designed to remove barriers to blockchain creativity, “allowing artists to mint NFTs for a fraction of the traditional cost while providing a 99.99+% reduction in energy consumption compared to Proof of Work systems.”