Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:45 AM on Monday, April 8th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
——————-
Societe Generale-Owned Bank Launches Blockchain Exchange Note
Kleinwort Hambros, a Societe Generale-owned private bank and wealth manager, has launched an actively managed exchange-traded note (ETN) targeting the blockchain sector.
The London-based bank announced the news on Monday, saying its Luxembourg-listed ETN will invest in companies that could “profit most†from the development and increasing uptake of blockchain technology.
ETNs are unsecured debt securities that, like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), are traded on a stock exchange.
The blockchain note will initially have 20 stocks diversified across areas including technology, shipping, oil and gas, custody and industrials.
Kleinwort Hambros’ portfolio manager John Birdwood said:
“We have seen increasing interest from clients in the area of
blockchain and we are very excited to be able to cater to this demand
with the launch of our first blockchain note.â€
The product will provide its clients with the “diversified exposure
to the promising growth prospects blockchain technology offers, while
maintaining the rigorous active management,†Birdwood added.
It’s worth noting that the ETN will be only available for Kleinwort
Hambros’s existing and new clients, with a minimum investment of £1,000
($1,305).
The centuries-old bank has assets under management of £14.2 billion
($18.52 billion) and over 900 employees as of last year, according to
its own figures.
In similar news, investment management company Invesco and Elwood Asset Management jointly launched a blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the London Stock Exchange last month.
The crypto community’s ongoing wait for a bitcoin ETF, however, is
still awaiting a decision from the Securities and Exchange Commission in
the U.S. However, several exchange-traded products (ETPs) for bitcoin and other cryptos have gone live for trading in Europe.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, March 13th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
——————-
Kakao’s Blockchain Arm Raises $90 Million in Private Token Sale
Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean messaging giant Kakao, has raised $90 million in a private coin offering.
As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, Ground X CEO Jason Han said that IDG Capital, Cresendo Equity Partners and Translink Capital had participated in the round.
The firm is also reportedly planning to raise “a similar sum†in another round starting Tuesday, before launching its blockchain platform in June.
Kakao first revealed its plan to set up a blockchain subsidiary back in March 2018, soon after confirming that it had launched Ground X to develop a blockchain-powered platform as a foundation for application developers. Kakao’s top execs said at the time that the plan was to integrate future blockchain-based services with Kakao’s existing internet offerings, such as the Kakao Talk messaging app.
Ground X launched
a test network (or testnet) for its proprietary blockchain network,
dubbed Klaytn, last autumn. It has already partnered with 26 companies
that aim to run apps on Klaytn, Han told Bloomberg. These include South
Korean video game developer Wemade and video streaming platform Watcha,
as well as a unit of Chinese travel agency Zanadu.
The subsidiary has also said it
will work with the Seoul Digital Foundation, an organization created by
the Seoul Metropolitan Government, to develop blockchain projects
focusing on social and public services.
Ground X could be summed up as “partial or gradual decentralization,†Han told CoinDesk Korea last year, adding that some of Kakao’s services could be decentralized.
He added:
“The token economy is a business model that no one could have
imagined before. Until now, Kakao has only operated in Korea, but
through blockchain we could expand into the global market. That means
taking a portion of the profits we earn as an intermediary and using it
to expand our market by sharing it with users.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:58 AM on Tuesday, March 12th, 2019
Polymath formed a consortium in close collaboration with KABN (www.kabn.network),
Polymath is leading the effort to make it easier for organizations to create digital securities from traditional assets through partnerships and a community that supports a transparent and compliant process for issuers and investors
TORONTO & SAINT MICHAEL, Barbados & GIBRALTAR — Polymath (www.polymath.network), the global leader in software solutions that enable assets to be digitized, distributed, fractionally owned, and ultimately liquidated, has formed a consortium in close collaboration with KABN (www.kabn.network), a global financial services platform that has developed, among its suite of products, a patent pending, blockchain based, GDPR compliant, Always On, global identification and accreditation as a support service for investors and other types of contributors.
Polymath is leading the effort to make it easier for organizations to
create digital securities from traditional assets through partnerships
and a community that supports a transparent and compliant process for
issuers and investors. Through its extensive service provider network
with firms like KABN, Polymath provides security token issuers with
access to top quality service providers.
“Our solution supports the creation of digital securities from a wide range of traditional and non-traditional assets,†said Kevin North, CEO of Polymath.
“The intention of this partnership is to create a best practice model
for customers who need help with the full lifecycle of an STO (Security
Token Offering). In this model, the issuer would work with an integrated
network of providers who are committed to ensuring that offerings are
compliant with securities laws, rules, and regulations across multiple
jurisdictions and trading platforms, increasing the value proposition by
reducing the distance and friction between investors and issuers. To
date, the full STO path is not clear for most of our issuers, so we
formed this partnership with the intention of making this a less
daunting journey.â€
KABN will also be the first organization to launch its digital
securities offering using this process. More information about the KABN Security Token Offering can be found at: www.KABNtoken.com
“Working with Polymath, KABN supports the compliance requirements for digital securities with its Always On
solution providing a faster, better and more economical solution for
issuers and investors to validate and verify identity, KYC and AML, and
manage liquidity programs,†said Ben Kessler, CEO of KABN.
“KABN is also the first company to tokenize its company assets and
create digital securities with this process, proving the model and
paving the way for others to do the same in a manner that meets
jurisdictional securities rules and regulations and supports a value
proposition for stakeholders, the Blockchain community, issuers and
investors.â€
Polymath and KABN are receiving overwhelming support from the capital
markets and blockchain communities as it introduces the framework to
program partners to advance the creation of digital securities and make
it easier for issuers and investors to interact through decentralized
platforms globally.
Together with Pegasus Fintech (Gibraltar) Limited, a consultant
organization, a consortium of Professional Service providers, Broker
Dealers, Blockchain Developers, Exchanges, Authorized Agents and other
Solution Providers have committed to supporting this process and the
KABN Token offering. The initial parties committing their support to
this growing consortium include:
Polymath Network (Polymath) is a decentralized platform that makes it
easy to create security tokens. The platform simplifies the complex
technical challenges of creating a security token and aims to bring the
multi-trillion dollar financial securities market to the blockchain.
KABN, a integrated financial service platform offering neo banking
type solutions, has received approval by Visa to launch its
crypto-linked card and banking wallet program. KABN has partnered with
Transact Payments Ltd, a European e-money institution and Principal
Member of Visa, global processor GPS and platform technology provider
Panovate to launch the program in the UK and subsequently the EEA in the
2nd quarter of the year.
Branded the Pegasus Flyte Visa card, the KABN card program offers an
“on/off ramp†conversion process for a variety of cryptocurrencies to
fiat together with multi-currency fiat transactions. Cardholders will be
able to use their Pegasus Flyte Visa cards to spend in-store, online,
and at ATMs wherever Visa is accepted globally.
The Pegasus Flyte program will also offer a robust loyalty and
customer engagement platform. The anchor of the program is KABN ID, a
Blockchain and biometrically-based, “Always On†validation and
verification process. This patent-pending, GDPR compliant process allows
for efficient and frictionless customer acquisition and onboarding.
Pegasus Fintech is a full-service Blockchain, technology and
accelerator growth advisory that supports regulatory compliant programs
and offerings.
Forward-Looking Statements: Except for
historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press
release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, words such as “mayâ€, “willâ€, “toâ€, “planâ€, “expectâ€,
“believeâ€, “anticipateâ€, “intendâ€, “couldâ€, “wouldâ€, “estimateâ€, or
“continueâ€, or the negative other variations thereof or comparable
terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent
our management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof.
Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual
results could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in
the future.
Tags: Bitcoin, bloc, blockchain, code, hive, Polymath Posted in Blockchain stocks, KABN | Comments Off on Polymath and #KABN Announce Consortium to Accelerate the Creation, Distribution, and Management of Digital Securities Across Multiple Jurisdictions and Platforms $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:58 AM on Friday, March 1st, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
——————-
10 Major Blockchain Trends in 2019
While cryptocurrencies took a hammering, 2018 was huge for Blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin and a myriad of other coins.
Blockchain has plenty of use cases outside of the cryptocurrency space with IBM, Oracle, and Amazon and other multi-billion dollar companies trying to capitalize on the disruptive technology.
Now, it’s time to find out what major Blockchain trends will define the current year.  Â
By: Alex Morris Â
From the Internet-of-Things (IoT) convergence to startups for the unbanked — find out what to expect from Blockchain in 2019
While cryptocurrencies took a hammering, 2018 was huge for Blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin and a myriad of other coins. Blockchain has plenty of use cases outside of the cryptocurrency space with IBM, Oracle, and Amazon and other multi-billion dollar companies trying to capitalize on the disruptive technology. Now, it’s time to find out what major Blockchain trends will define the current year.  Â
STOs replacing ICOs
Security tokens (STOs)
have been a hot topic in the crypto space, and it looks like they will
continue to be hot now that Overstock’s tZERO announced the launch of
the new STO platform on Jan. 21. The Blockchain-powered platform will
provide any company with the opportunity to raise funds by launching its
own STOs. Prior to that, the startup made an announcement about the
completion of its utility token distribution.
STOs, which combine the best features of the stock market and
cryptocurrencies, arose as a fully regulated alternative to ICOs, which
turned out to be the passing fad of 2017.
Tokenization creating more investment opportunities
The launch of the Estonia-based DEX,
which buys the shares of the biggest companies in the world in the form
of ERC20 tokens, proved that 2019 is all about tokenization. The
Ethereum-powered startup will allow non-US investors to engage in the US
stock market without any limitations pertaining to their location or
investment amount.
Crypto startup Zilliqa also recently introduced Hg Exchange, a fully regulated exchange that allows accredited investors to buy US stocks.
Tokenization already became a pervasive trend in 2018, going far
beyond the stock market, but this is the year when pretty much
everything will be tokenized – art, wine, real estate, etc.
Blockchain and IoT forming an alliance
Back in January, leading digital security company Gemalto released a report
that states that 23 percent of responders think that Blockchain
technology could be a boon for securing IoT-powered devices. Meanwhile,
almost 91 percent of businesses who do not utilize Blockchain consider
making use of the technology in the future.
The number of IoT-powered devices is expected
to reach 26.66 bln in 2019, but less than half of all businesses can
detect whether their device experienced a security breach.
IBM also illustrated the benefits for this convergence with the help of
their game-changing platform Watson IoT. Apart from bringing more
security to the table, Blockchain significantly simplifies the task of
managing different devices and increases the efficiency of the
transaction.
Wall Street transitioning from dabbling to actions
The fact that cryptocurrency prices took a nosedive in 2018 doesn’t
mean that the global financial industry is going to suddenly give up on
Blockchain. As U.Today reported earlier, Bakkt,
the ICE-backed exchange, was supposed to go live in January, but its
launch was eventually delayed due to the longest government shutdown in
history. Speaking of other ‘big-fish’ players, NASDAQ and the NYSE
plan to launch Bitcoin futures while also being keen on Blockchain.
Since the crypto hub died down, there is a good reason to believe that
2019 will be the year of exciting developments in the Blockchain space.
More decentralized exchanges appearing on the horizon
Decentralized exchanges, while actually living up to Satoshi’s
vision, have numerous usability issues that take a toll on their
popularity. There is no centralized authority that manages the users’
funds, but it’s also a double-edged sword problem – there is no way to
revert a certain transaction if private keys are stolen or lost. Keep in
mind that there are certain degrees of centralization. Case in point:
the Bancor DEX, which suffered from a $13.5 mln hack, though Charlie Lee later claimed that no decentralized exchange can lose its funds.
With that being said, major crypto startups – from Binance to Tron – have launched their own DEXs in order to spearhead the shift towards decentralization in the crypto world.
Governments will continue looking into Blockchain
The wide variety of Blockchain applications are being explored by
governments across the globe (even those ones who are openly hawkish
towards cryptocurrencies). China cracked down on Bitcoin, but this
country is hell-bent on becoming the leader in the Blockchain race.
Shanghai, Guangzhou and other major cities are all supporting Blockchain
developments. As reported by U.Today, the Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology (MIIT) launched
an initiative to incentivize business who are working with the DLT
technology. Moreover, there are specific Blockchain guides in China for
educating government officials.
Estonia is yet another country
that is focused on the e-Estonia program that will digitize the
government. Meanwhile, Dubai could become the very first government that
is powered by Blockchain. The implementation of Blockchain could help Dubai save up to $1.5 bln per year by cutting the red herring and creating a fully paperless government.
Blockchain-powered startups banking the unbanked
Africa, where a substantial part of the population remains unbaked,
represents a breeding ground for different startups that utilize
Blockchain technology in order to increase economic inclusiveness. The Rohingya Project
went even further by using Blockchain to restore the identity of
stateless Rohingyas and give them access to banking services.
Real-word use cases beyond fintech
It is worth noting that Blockchain is the most disruptive technology
of the last decade, but it remains unknown to the general public. Yes,
along with Bitcoin, Blockchain was one of the buzzwords in the tech
space, but it’s all about real-world adoption. According to PwC research,
84 percent of companies have dipped their toes into Blockchain, but
they are not ready to embrace it due to numerous ‘trust issues.’ Those
who will be able to integrate Blockchain into their businesses will turn
out to be the true winners of 2019.
Scalability becoming one of the main issues
Without a doubt, scalability is one of the major bottlenecks of
Blockchain, which poses a major hindrance to mainstream adoption. That
became very evident when CryptoKitties, one of the best-known dApps,
created congestion on the Ethereum network. Bitcoin and Ethereum are
only able to handle seven and 25 TPS (this level of scalability doesn’t
hold a candle to mainstream payment processors in the likes of VISA).
Hence, many promising solutions, such as sharding and sidechains, are expected to be implemented in 2019. Bitcoin’s Lightning Network (LN),
for example, is witnessing growing popularity with major industry
players, with an eye-popping 830 percent surge in half a year. LN will
significantly boost Bitcoin adoption while solving scalability pain
points.
Blockchain jobs will become more common
Despite Bitcoin, the major use case of Blockchain, taking a hammering
in 2018, the number of Blockchain-related jobs continued to grow
throughout the year. Moreover, as reported by CNBC,
the salaries of Blockchain engineers skyrocketed to $175,000 per year,
which means that they receive the highest salaries in the software
development niche on par with AI specialists. According to Hired CEO
Mehul Patel, ‘there’s a ton of demand for Blockchain.’ On top of that,
Upwork, the leading freelance platform, had a 35,000 percent uptick in
the number of Blockchain freelancers (it’s the fastest-growing freelance
sector).
However, earning a six-figure salary is not an easy feat. Blockchain developers
have to code in numerous languages, including Go and Solidity. As
mentioned above, major companies do not want to miss the boat on
Blockchain, so they are striving to hire talented programmers.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:38 AM on Thursday, February 28th, 2019
SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by
legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based
venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap
companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just
lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap
exits. Click Here For More Information.
——————-
A blockchain-based home equity loan platform, Figure, has raised $65 million from various major financial and venture capital firms, tech news site TechCrunch reports on Feb. 27.
The firm, which was founded by SoFi founder and former CEO Mike Cagney, reportedly raised the funds from such majors as Morgan Creek, DST Global, DCM, Ribbit Capital and Nimble Ventures. The recent investment bumps the total funds raised by the firm up to $120 million, according to TechCrunch.
Cagney’s new firm, which reportedly has issued over 1,500 equity
lines, is purportedly targeting older clients who are “cash light and
rich in equity†or “CLAREs.†The company is currently lending $1.5
million per day, a figure which Cagney expects to double every few
months, reports American Banker.
The founder told American Banker, “At the end of 2019, Figure should
look like a robust financial platform that can meet the needs of our
customers.” Cagney also added that Figure is moving into other areas
like wealth management, checking accounts, and unsecured consumer loans.
Cagney’s former company SoFi is partnering with major United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase
to roll out crypto trading support. The partnership with Coinbase will
purportedly allow SoFi to launch crypto services by the second quarter
of this year. CEO Anthony Noto said in an interview:
“Our target audience wants to see what the price of cryptocurrency
is, and to buy it. They have a desire to do that and in many cases they
already are.â€
Noto assumed the role of SoFi CEO after Cagney stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations in 2017. Cagney told American Banker:
“One of the biggest takeaways is that at SoFi, we grew so fast and we
never really understood what we were going to grow into, and culture
never took a front seat. [At Figure] we have a very clear adherence to a
‘no-asshole’ policy.”
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 7:52 AM on Monday, December 24th, 2018
Executed an agreement with Prego International Group AS to develop and integrate certain proprietary technologies in a Global Multi Payment and E-Money Services Platform
Prego, based in Norway, is a global payment solution provider which develops and operates a range of payment services for partners and clients worldwide
Montreal / December 23, 2018 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX)(OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to announce that on December 21, 2018, it executed an agreement with Prego International Group AS to develop and integrate certain proprietary technologies in a Global Multi Payment and E-Money Services Platform.
Prego, based in Norway, is a
global payment solution provider which develops and operates a range of
payment services for partners and clients worldwide, including Everyday
Digital, a solution which is Prego`s proprietary white label
alternative e-money and payment platform. Everyday Digital is fully
flexible and configurable, combined on conventional processing platform,
integrated with blockchain technology with real-time processing
providing everything from specific payment functionality to full current
accounts including Direct Debit, Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS and
contactless Visa & MasterCard debit cards and Closed Loop payment
cards (Virtual Everyday $ cards).
Under the Agreement, ZeU and Prego will share equally the costs of the Services as follows:
– Phase 1 –
preface/innovation lab: USD$675,000, which shall include the setup cost
and license fees of the full platform, prepared for pilot operational
phase (timeline – Q2 2019);
– Phase 2 – pilot
operational: USD$750,000, which shall include full system integration
with “POC” testing and user testing with stress test of the platform in
60 days with a complete report (timeline – Q3 2019); and
– Phase 3 – project launched
and running – upscale/internationalization. It shall include a full
platform, service ready to go, for implementation in multiple global
markets. (timeline – Q4 2019).
“(…) We believe that this
technology agreement will open opportunities to provide blockchain based
services combined with conventional payment services to the market in a
very smart and user friendly way.(…) This agreement will strengthen
both companies market opportunities and will pave the way to many more
new initiatives to come (…) commented Ronald Erikson, Prego Executive
Chairman.
Frank Dumas, President and
CEO of ZeU, indicated that “The team at ZeU is excited to be working
with Prego to provide a key complement to the foundation for its
advanced end-to-end Global Multi Payment and E-Money Services, deploying
proprietary software, and innovative business models. We expect to
leverage the equal revenue sharing agreement between the two companies
to accelerate the development and deployment of our business initiative
(…)”
Other Corporate Matters
BigData on Blockchain
In early December, ZeU filed for an additional provisional patent named ‘System and Method for Augmenting Database Applications with Blockchain Technology’.
The application developed by
ZeU and related to this invention patent provides a migration method
that allows a database application that accesses a local database to be
synchronized with a blockchain. Data to be written into the database,
but requiring synchronization, will be sent to a blockchain for
consensus voting automatically, and only the data that gets consensus is
made to persist and viewed by application. It also allows a software
application to access a local relational database and via a migration
service synchronize the status and data of the database with blockchain.
The data is sent to the blockchain for consensus automatically, and
only thereafter viewed by the application. This approach resolves
transaction conflicts both in local nodes and globally. The invention is
protocol agnostic and ZeU management believe that it could be used as a
gateway to share data between application using different protocols.
Additional Patent Applications
ZeU management is working on
additional patents related to random number generation and encryption
in relation with blockchain application. These technologies are being
developed to be used in payment solutions, gambling industry and secure
messaging.
CSE Listing
ZeU is pursuing its listing process on the CSE and expect to be listed in Q1 2019.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Frank Dumas”
FRANK DUMAS, DIRECTOR & COO / President & CEO of ZeU Crypto Networks Inc..
About St-Georges
St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the some of the most common environmental problems in the mining industry.
The Company controls
directly or indirectly, through rights of first refusal, all of the
active mineral tenures in Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the
Julie Nickel Project & for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North
Shore and for lithium and rare metals in Northern Quebec and in the
Abitibi region. Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed
on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and
on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1.
The
Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this
release.
