business
Crypto.com will air campaign in support of Ukraine during Academy Awards
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com plans to use its ad time during the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday to air a TV spot regarding the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In a Wednesday announcement, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the exchange had partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, to launch a campaign aimed at helping those suffering under war-torn conditions in Ukraine. The CEO did not specify what the campaign would entail, but the platform already allows donations in crypto, fiat and nonfungible token purchases to the humanitarian network Red Cross Red Crescent. The exchange will match up to $1 million in donations until March 31. “The humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, and I believe it’s our responsibility to su...
Ukraine launches NFT museum ‘to keep the memory of war’
The Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine has started an online nonfungible token museum aimed at preserving the timeline of major events starting with the Russian military invading the country. In a Friday tweet, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the government launched an initiative with nonfungible token, or NFT, artwork depicting key moments from the Ukrainian perspective from Feb. 24 onward. The NFTs feature events starting at 5:45 AM local time on the day of the conflict, when Russia announced a “special military operation” in the Donbas region of Ukraine. According to the NFT museum website at the time of publication, 54 NFTs of key moments in the war between Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 will be available starting on March 30, with proceeds of the sal...
New York Music Workers Seek Eligibility for Pandemic Relief Grants
New York touring musicians – led by the Music Workers Alliance – are seeking additional pandemic relief from the state after a tumultuous touring season this winter. Musicians including Esperanza Spalding and Marc Ribot are advocating on behalf of New York’s touring workers to be included in the New York State Legislator’s Small Business Recovery Grant — included in the New York State Senate’s budget proposal — as micro-businesses. Inclusion in the grant program would give music workers — or “independent arts contractors,” as they’re described in the budget — access to possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in relief funds. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) ended in September 2021. Shortly thereafter, touring musicians were inundated with another wave of cancellations due to the unp...
Exxon Mobil is using excess natural gas to power crypto mining: Report
United States-based energy producer Exxon Mobil has reportedly been running a pilot program aimed at using the energy from excess gas to power crypto mining rigs — and it may be expanding its operations to four other countries. In a Thursday report, Bloomberg said Exxon Mobil had inked a deal with Crusoe Energy to use excess gas from oil wells in North Dakota to run Bitcoin (BTC) miners. The project reportedly uses 18 million cubic feet of natural gas per month — roughly 0.4% of the oil giant’s reported operations in the state, producing 158 million cubic feet of natural gas each day. The company launched the pilot program in January 2021 and is now reportedly considering expanding to Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana, and Germany in addition to launching a similar project in Alaska. Cointelegrap...
CTS Eventim Revenues Grew Nearly 60% in 2021 With Help of Economic Aid
German ticketer and concert promoter CTS Eventim generated revenue of 407.8 million euros ($449 million) in 2021 – half of which came from government COVID-19-related economic aid, the company announced Thursday (March 24). That was up 58.8% from 256.8 million euros ($283 million) in 2020 but less than one-third of its revenues of 1.44 billion euros ($1.54 billion) in 2019 and less than half of the 1 billion-plus euros it achieved in both 2017 and 2018. Ticketing revenue of 224.1 million euros was 39.7% above 126.6 million euros in 2020 but less than half of pre-pandemic levels in 2018 (447.1 million euros, $492 million) and 2019 (481.6 million euros, $530 million). The segment’s revenues were helped by 112.2 million euros ($124 million) of COVID-19 economic aid from Germany and other gove...
Multiplayer P2E game Mavia seeks ‘Verified by Machinations’ seal
The seal demonstrates dedication to maintaining a sustainable and healthy in-game economy The Heroes of Mavia strategy game is backed by leading exchanges Crypto.com and Binance Skrice Studios’ multi-player play-to-earn online game Heroes of Mavia has just announced an initiative towards a sustainable in-game economy as it seeks the Verified by Machinations’ seal. Heroes of Mavia is backed by crypto exchanges Crypto.com and Binance and offers players gaming actions largely rewardable by RUBY, the game’s native token. Machinations will track Mavia’s economy Gaining the Machinations seal is crucial in ensuring the viability of P2E gaming platforms, especially those built around crypto and the general Web3 space (characteristic of liquidity pools, decentralised autonom...
Google to Reduce App Commission Fees for Spotify Under Expanded Pact
Users who download the Spotify app from the Google Play store will soon be able to decide whether to subscribe to the audio streaming service using Google Play or Spotify’s separate payment services, the companies said Wednesday. The updated payment feature will roll out later this year and will essentially allow Spotify to lose less in commission fees to Google, should users choose to subscribe to the streaming service via Spotify’s payment service. Last October, shortly after the high-profile antitrust case between Apple and Epic Games that ruled, in part, that Apple’s 30 percent commission fee for in-app purchases was acceptable, Google said it would be decreasing its service fees on in-app Android subscriptions to 15 percent beginning in January 2022. Specific terms of the revenue shar...
Acorns brings Bitcoin exposure to its savings and investment app
Acorns users can now allocate up to a maximum of 5% of their portfolio the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy (BITO) ETF The personal finance app has plans to create room for other cryptocurrencies in the future Backed by Galaxy Digital, savings and investment firm Acorns has announced the introduction of Bitcoin exposure to its portfolio, targeting long-term investments among its users. Through a Twitter post, Acorns said that it is glad to add “Bits of Bitcoin” to diversify its portfolio. With an increased rate of exposure to crypto among fintech firms, Acorns explained that it had to offer its investors the opportunity to diversify their holdings. The company cited the ‘low correlation’ between crypto and stocks as the rationale for the decision. In contrast, though, at ...
Nexo Ventures launches as a $150M Web3-focused fund
The fund aims to promote and push for wider adoption of digital assets Nexo is betting on the role of blockchain tech in the future of finance Switzerland-headquartered digital asset firm Nexo has today announced the launch of Nexo Ventures, an investment arm that will help it interact with Web3 start-ups and institutional projects in areas including NFTs, blockchain gaming, decentralised finance, payments and trading infrastructure, crypto applications, and compliance solutions. Investors to captain the fund’s inaugural release include Texture Capital, Bware Labs, Mizar, Yield Protocol, Qredo, BlockFills, and 1inch. Crypto adoption is the principal focus Via this launch, the firm aims to push for the continued adoption of crypto assets, with the belief that blockchain tech wil...
Crypto exchange Coincheck will soon list on Nasdaq via a merger
The Asian exchange will list via a special purpose acquisition with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV Coincheck has in the past suffered breaches and serious cyber-attacks Coincheck, a ‘vintage’ crypto exchange and digital wallet firm, on Tuesday said it will soon list on the Nasdaq after completing a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV at a $1.25 billion pre-money valuation. The SPAC deal will see the Coincheck crypto exchange become a subsidiary of Coincheck Group (CCG). However, the statement insisted that CCG shall remain under the umbrella of Monex Group, which took over the crypto exchange in 2018. Monex Group currently owns 92% of Coincheck and will own 82% of the new ‘combined’ firm. Via the combined holding, Coincheck...
Yuga Labs raises $450M as it sets sights on a native metaverse
Yuga labs recently announced the planned launch of Otherside, a metaverse powered by ApeCoin Part of the funds raised in this seed round will be invested in the metaverse project Miami-based NFT creator and parent company of the famed Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs, has completed a $450 million raise at a $4 billion valuation in a just-concluded seed round. It was led by venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), but also saw the participation of other big names in and around crypto, including Animoca Brands, Thrive Capital, MoonPay, Sandbox, FTX and Google Ventures. Founded by Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano in 2021, the company has seen massive growth as a maker of high-value collectables. It now aims to expand to maintain this growth. The resources it has raised will be us...
Crypto.com’s sports sponsorship play to include the Qatar 2022 World Cup
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek says the deal will help drive awareness of the exchange and its services The last World Cup had about 3.5 billion viewers Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has sent out a statement today confirming that payment and cryptocurrency exchange platform Crypto.com will be “the exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform sponsor” of the coming Qatar 2022 World Cup. The terms of the agreement, however, remained undisclosed. The publicity that could potentially be gained from this sponsorship should help introduce Crypto.com to a new demographic. The FIFA World Cup, which is expected to run from November 21 through to December 18, has historically enjoyed massive viewership numbers. For context, 3.5 billion people watched the previous e...
