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Fintech company Leonteq expands crypto offering in Europe
Following the successful expansion of its cryptocurrency service within its homeland of Switzerland, fintech firm Leonteq has now launched a collaborative effort with ICF Bank — one of Germany’s leading securities trading banks — to bring crypto to institutional investors throughout Germany and Austria. Well regarded for their accolades in the Swiss markets, including being the “world’s first short tracker certificate on Bitcoin in 2017, as well as the world’s first reverse convertible on Bitcoin in 2019,” the firm is now set to make further strides in the emerging space. Following the evolution of a multi-year relationship, Leonteq and ICF Bank have teamed up in an effort to branch the former’s financial offerings beyond traditional structured assets with the introduction of 18 cryp...
Terra Virtua moves to Polygon blockchain, citing environmental concerns
Digital collectibles platform Terra Virtua has moved from the Ethereum blockchain to Polygon in an attempt to be greener. In a Monday announcement, Terra Virtua said it had switched to Polygon as part of a plan to create a more sustainable nonfungible token, or NFT, ecosystem. The platform claimed the move would reduce the energy necessary to create a single NFT by more than 99%. However, Terra Virtua will also remint all digital collectibles previously unsold on Ethereum in the move to Polygon. “Our mission is to revolutionise how audiences engage with NFTs and make them accessible to everyone, but we believe that the environment shouldn’t have to pay the price for this new game-changing technology,” said Terra Virtua co-founder and CTO Jawad Ashraf. “By harnessing the power of this new b...
Music Companies Delay Return to Office, Mandating Vaccines
Moore adds that the highly-global nature of the Spotify workforce — the company boasts 50 offices across 25 countries — made instituting a blanket vaccine mandate even more challenging. “In some countries, in some regions, it would actually be illegal to do so,” says Moore, “and so we’re just sort of taking the stance that people will make good decisions.” Notably, local ordinances in major urban centers could force companies’ hands. Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that a proof of vaccination will be required to enter indoor restaurants, gyms and performance venues in the city starting on Aug. 16 — though the order does not yet apply to offices. Last Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to look...
Maffio Launches ‘Alkatraks Music’ Record Label with New Artist Calacote: ‘This Is For the Culture’ (Exclusive)
It all begins with Calacote (real name: Luca Newton), a 22-year-old ambitious singer-songwriter who was born in North Carolina and is of Dominican and French descent. He describes his leap of faith as the ultimate “cinematic hustle move.” He began exploring music about two years ago but never thought he could pursue a career in it. He discovered his talent and passion for composing music in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and took his shot. He packed up his stuff, left Canada, where he was in grad school, moved first to New York, and later to Miami. After a few months of living in Miami, in December to be exact, he decided to direct message Maffio on Instagram. Twenty minutes later Maffio replied, they met up, and the rest is history. On Aug. 20, Calacote will be dropping his de...
Disney+ Surpasses Expectations To Hit 116 Million Subscribers
Disney has once again hit a new milestone with its very own Disney+ streaming service, beating out the Wall Street-expected 112.8 million subscribers to now boast 116 million subscribers globally after adding another 12.4 million during the third quarter of 2021 ending July 3. The new achievement comes even after Disney increased the price of its service by a dollar to now $7.99 USD a month back in March. Revenues also surpassed expectations, with the media giant recording a 45 percent growth year over year. The company’s CFO Christine McCarthy attributes much of the new subscriber success to Disney+ Hotstar, a streaming service specifically catered to India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, accounting for almost 40 percent of the 116 million. Despite the strong numbers, Variety poin...
Apple To Pay $300 Million USD Over LTE Patent Violation
Apple has been ordered to pay $300 million USD in damages to wireless company Optis over patent infringements revolving around LTE technology. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant was ordered to pay millions in royalties to PanOptis Patent Management and its Optis Cellular and Unwired Planet subsidiaries after the latter group claimed ownership over patents for the LTE cellular standard. A jury earlier decided for Apple to pay more than $500 million USD, but a retrial later lowered the sum down to $300 million USD. The lawsuit, which took place in Texas, is only a small part of a much larger claim from Optis to bring back close to $7 billion USD from Apple. Legal proceedings have been filed against the American tech giant all across the world, claiming patent violations across its i...
Microsoft wants to use Ethereum blockchain to fight piracy
Windows operating system and Office productivity suite have always been top performers on any software piracy platforms. So, it’s no wonder that Microsoft, the developer of both products, works hard to establish anti-piracy measures. In a new paper released by Microsoft’s research department, with the participation of researchers from Alibaba and Carnegie Mellon University, the Redmond-based software giant studied a blockchain-based incentive system to bolster anti-piracy campaigns. As the title of the research, Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns, suggests, Microsoft’s new system relies on the transparency aspect of blockchain technology. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Argus aims to provide a trustless incentive mechanism while protecting data co...
BTC eyes $50K breakout despite most ‘greed’ since all-time highs: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
Bitcoin (BTC) is approaching its second attack on pivotal resistance this week as bulls remain firmly in the driver’s seat. After a mixed weekend that saw both a run on $48,000 and a major rejection at that level, Bitcoin is already back, having made up all of its losses. With conditions broadly favorable for continued strength, it may only be a matter of time before the next impulse move reshapes the BTC/USD spot market. Cointelegraph suggests five factors worth taking into account when assessing where Bitcoin might be headed in the coming days. Bitcoin returns to challenge $48,000 It was a rags-to-riches story for Bitcoin this weekend. Saturday began on a high after BTC/USD jumped above $47,000, a zone which immediately borders a large resistance wall which so far remains in place. There...
Walmart seeks crypto product lead to drive digital currency strategy
North American retail giant Walmart is looking for an experienced crypto expert who can develop and drive an ambitious digital currency strategy and product roadmap. In the listing for the role, Walmart indicates it is looking for someone who has a track record in leading and scaling businesses, with at least 10 years of experience in product/program management and technology-based product commercialization. The ideal candidate would have expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related technologies and in-depth knowledge of the crypto ecosystem and its core actors. Walmart has hinted at the focus of its future digital currency strategy by noting that it already enables a “broad set of payment options for its customers” — although not yet in cryptocurrency. Back in 2019, Walmart ...
Korean internet giant Kakao expands blockchain presence to Singapore
Singapore is reportedly the next port of call for Kakao’s globalization agenda for its legacy blockchain platform Klatyn. According to a report by The Korea Herald on Monday, Kakao has established two new blockchain-based entities — the Klatyn Foundation and Krust — in the city-state. The Klatyn Foundation is a non-profit organization while Krust serves as a global accelerator for blockchain technology adoption. Kakao plans to use both entities to foster broad-based penetration of its Klatyn blockchain project in Singapore. Stating its mission during the launch earlier in August, the Kakao Foundation said that it will work “proactively and systematically” to expand the Klatyn network. “We will actively invest our human as well as financial resources in developers and businesses of the bloc...
Recording Academy’s Bill Freimuth, Lourdes Lopez and Lisa Farris Depart Following Restructuring: Exclusive
Lopez had worked at the Academy since 2002 in communications and marketing, and was promoted to VP, communications in July 2019. Farris joined in 2019 as chief digital officer, before moving to chief marketing and innovation officer last August. Mason has made other changes over the past 20 months since being named interim president/CEO in January 2020, after the Academy placed new president/CEO Deborah Dugan on leave. She was subsequently terminated in March 2020. After becoming permanent CEO/president in May (and resigning as board of trustees chair), Mason quickly relinquished the president’s title weeks later, naming Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A. Panay as co-presidents in early June. Butterfield Jones was initially hired as the Academy’s first chief dive...
INXS’ ‘The Very Best’ Sets Chart Record In Australia
Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, INXS remain one of the country’s “most adored and iconic acts,” Herd notes. The hits collection was released in 2011 and features such classics as “Never Tear Us Apart,” “Original Sin” and Billboard Hot 100 leader “Need You Tonight.” Last November, The Very Best was awarded “Diamond” status, for combined sales in-excess of 500,000 in Australia. During its journey, The Very Best ruled the national tally for seven weeks and came in at No. 1 on ARIA’s End Of Decade Australian Albums Chart. “It is truly amazing news, to hear INXS’s The Very Best has been in the Top 100 album charts for nine years,” comments founding band member Andrew Farriss. INXS formed 44 years ago in Perth, Western Australia, and would g...
