STELLAR GIVEAWAY: The Stellar Development Foundation and messaging service Keybase announced a 2 billion XLM airdrop, the largest in Stellar’s five-year history. The tokens to be given away are currently worth roughly $120 million. Over the next 20 months, Keybase users can expect a monthly distribution of 100 million XLM. Keybase currently has 300,000 active users across its various services, according to the company. Full story
TWINS CUSTODY: The Winklevoss-founded Gemini exchange is launching an institutional-grade crypto custody solution that will support a number of ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens. The new service will allow storage of 0z, Augur’s REP tokens, basic attention token, dai, maker and more, comprising 18 cryptocurrencies in all, including the already-supported bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, litecoin and zcash cryptos. “Institutional investors have demonstrated a clear and growing demand for crypto, but they’ve struggled to find a solution that fully meets their complex regulatory and security requirements,” the firm said. Full story
POS CASH: CasperLabs, a startup building an open-source proof-of-stake blockchain platform aimed to achieve scale without sacrificing decentralization, has raised $14.5 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by financier Terren Piezer – known as the “Zelig of Wall Street” – via his personal holding company, Acuitas Group Holdings. Arrington XRP Capital, Consensus Capital, and others also participated. CasperLabs said that the new funds will be used to speed up product development and bring more engineers on board. Full story
TOKENIZED IPO: Today saw the launch of what is probably the first ever blockchain-based initial public offering (IPO), with the national stock exchange of the Seychelles selling tokenized shares in its equity to investors worldwide. The shares – tokenized on the public ethereum blockchain – became available Tuesday morning on the MERJ exchange’s own platform, as well as via several U.S. and U.K.-based firms. The IPO sees MERJ issuing 1,652,893 new shares, with the aim of raising $4 million to fund its expansion. The sale values the firm at $25 million, the firm said. Full story
DEFI TRACKER: Nasdaq has added a new index aimed to offer market information on blockchain projects working in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Called Defix, the index was launched by the London-based Exante brokerage – an early mover in the crypto finance industry that launched a bitcoin fund in 2012. Offered as a means for investors and traders to track “popular” defi-focused blockchain tokens, Defix lists projects including MakerDao, Augur, Gnosis, Numerai, 0x and Amoveo. Full story |
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| DROP THREAT: Bitcoin's inability to capitalize on Monday's price breakout on intraday charts is cause for concern for the bulls. The cryptocurrency would face strong selling pressure if the failed breakout is followed by a move below the hourly chart support of $10,060. On the higher side, a move above the resistance near $11,000 is needed to revive the bullish mood. Full story |
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| | FIGHTING PHARMA FAKES: Tackling the problem of fake medicines is complex and time-consuming, with companies needing to collect data from different entities across the supply chain. To make the process easier, ComputerWeekly reports, Zuellig Pharma recently launched a smartphone app, dubbed eZTracker, that utilizes a blockchain platform from SAP and enables consumers to verify that a drug is genuine and has been legitimately distributed by simply scanning a barcode. As a shipment arrives at a warehouse, or is received at a hospital or drug store, the SAP platform stores that data so all points along the supply chain can be verified. The firm hopes that eventually, all pharma firms will use one app for the same purpose, meaning consumers won’t need to download multiple apps. |
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