Cole Kennelly

The Lightning Network is an open protocol layer that leverages the power of blockchain and smart contracts to enable instant payments across a network of participants. The Lightning Network enables instant payments at exceptionally, low fees with millions to billions of transactions per second, and cross-chain atomic swaps. The Lightning Network could potentially allow for […]

Welcome to this week in Blockchain Venture Capital. dYdX dYdX, a San Francisco-based startup building open-source protocols for decentralized margin trading and derivatives, recently closed a $10 million Series A round. Participants in the round included a16z crypto (lead), Dragonfly Capital Partners, Craft Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Vy Capital, 1confirmation, Fred Ehrsam, Elad Gil, Naval Ravikant, […]

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are often touted as exchanges of the future. Some of the benefits of decentralized exchanges are the absence of a third-party or intermediary, anonymity, potentially lower fees, and more. Some of the disadvantages of decentralized exchanges are the lack of liquidity and difficulty to use. Let’s take a closer look at the […]

According to a blog post, Coinbase and Circle have partnered to bring the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to Coinbase. Starting today, Oct. 23, Coinbase customers in supported jurisdictions can buy, sell, send, and receive USD Coin on the Coinbase website, as well as the Coinbase iOS and Android apps. More About USD Coin Coinbase customers in […]

Before discussing specific stablecoin names, it is important to understand the three types of stablecoins that currently exist: centralized IOU stablecoins, crypto-collateralized stablecoins, and non-collateralized stablecoins. Centralized IOU stablecoins are backed with fiat money or precious metals, such as the U.S. Dollar or other sovereign currencies. Centralized IOU stablecoins have value because it is a representation […]

Welcome to this week in Blockchain Venture Capital. Cobo Cobo, a Beijing-based cryptoasset wallet startup, recently closed a $13 million Series A round with participants including Wu Capital, DHVC, and the NEO Foundation. Cobo was founded in November 2017 by Mao Shixing, an early Bitcoin investor and Google and Facebook engineer, and Jiang Changhou, an […]

OKEx, a Malta-based cryptoasset exchange, recently listed TrueUSD (TUSD), USD//Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX). At the time of the announcement, OKEx was the fifth-largest Bitcoin exchange by volume and the third-largest exchange in terms of Tether volume. According to an OKEx support notice, the go-live schedule was as follows, TUSD, […]

According to a recent report, the endowments of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and the University of North Carolina have all invested in one or more cryptoasset funds. While institutional money has not yet flooded the crypto space, investment from such prime endowments could be a sign that a surplus […]

Litecoin, one of the first and most well-known altcoins, is celebrating turning seven years old on Oct. 13. Litecoin, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency released under MIT’s MIT/X11 license, was an early fork of the Bitcoin Core client. Happy 7th Birthday Litecoin! ? ? Help us celebrate today by introducing someone to the power of LTC. And […]

Elevated Returns, a hospitality-focused asset management company, recently announced the closing of the Aspen Digital real estate token sale, which raised $18 million via Indiegogo. The St. Regis Aspen Resort is an internationally renowned destination, known for luxury arrangements with high-quality amenities and outlets. The resort features many conference and banquet venues with spectacular views of […]

Dragonfly Capital Partners, a fund led by crypto investor Alexander Pack and experienced Chinese venture investor with 20 years of experience Bo Feng, has raised $100 million for its first fund to invest in cryptoasset startups. Alexander Pack previous managed crypto and fund investing at Bain Capital Ventures, while Bo Feng is a founding partner […]

Welcome to This Week In Blockchain Venture Capital, our weekly series detailing blockchain-focused companies that advance and cultivate their mission with venture capital. Clearmatics Clearmatics, a London-based startup building next-generation clearing machines for financial over-the-counter markets, recently closed a $12 million Series A round. Participants in the round included Route 66 Ventures (lead), TNF Capital, and […]

GMO Internet Group, a publically listed Japanese Internet company, has recently announced plans to launch a yen-backed stablecoin early next year. The new stablecoin dubbed GMO Japanese Yen will trade under the ticker symbol GJY. The press release also mentions that GMO Internet Group sees three areas of the digital currency space, which are “exchanges”, […]

According to a recent TABB Group research report titled “Crypto Trading: Platforms Target Institutional Market”, the Bitcoin over-the-counter (OTC) market is approximately three times larger than the exchange market. While cryptoasset exchanges process around $4 billion worth of bitcoin trades per day on a global basis, TABB’s evaluation is that the OTC market processes $12 […]

According to a recent news release by the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), the regulator has started utilizing blockchain technology to improve cybersecurity and more effectively address challenges regarding information security. The ISA was established in 1968 and seeks to ensure an efficient capital market based on transparency and fairness. The ISA models its practices on […]

According to a recently published Diar report, venture capital investments in crypto and blockchain companies have nearly tripled in the first three quarters of 2018 from that of 2017. Diar references data from Pitchbook that reveals that blockchain and crypto-related companies have raised approximately $3.9 billion in venture capital this year. This figure represents a […]

Following the announcement of BlackBerry Spark, an Enterprise of Things platform for ultra-secure hyperconnectivity, BlackBerry Limited announced new partnerships and projects with the shared goal of transforming the global delivery of healthcare and patient care. BlackBerry, a smartphone line created by BlackBerry Limited, is well-known for the keyboards on most of its devices and mobile […]

According to a blog on the Circle website, the Goldman Sachs-backed peer-to-peer payments technology company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SeedInvest, a leader in the equity crowdfunding industry and registered Broker-Dealer. With this acquisition, Circle is clearly entering the security token space. According to the Circle blog: “This acquisition will accelerate our strategy of […]