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With $158 million of total capital raised since 2019, Fnality plans to launch the Sterling Fnality Payment System in 2023, subject to approval by the Bank of England. Global investment bank Goldman Sachs and French universal bank BNP Paribas have reportedly led a new funding round for Fnality, a blockchain -based wholesale payment s firm backed by Nomura Group. Fnality has raised 77.7 million British pounds ($95.09 million) in a second round of funding , Reuters reported on Nov. 13. In addition to Goldman and BNP Paribas, the fund raise involved participation by settlement houses like Euroclear and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. Other investors included the global exchange-traded fund firm WisdomTree and Fnality’s existing investor Nomura. There was also additional investment from initial round backers Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Barclays, CIBC, Commerzbank, ING, Lloyds Banking Group, Nasdaq Ventures, State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and UBS. As previo...

The accelerator will invest between $50,000 and $250,000 per project that builds on TON and has an MVP. On May 22, The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain previously created by Telegram, announced the launch of a $25 million fund for projects building on its ecosystem.  The venture, dubbed “TON Accelerator Program,” will invest between $50,000 and $250,000 per project and be accompanied by partnerships and mentorships from TON’s staff. Justin Hyun, head of incubation and growth at TON Foundation, commented: “Funding forms part of our local hubs rollout strategy and our ecosystem will work to attract new developers as well as successful repeat founders, based across a variety of key global locations.” The initial pool of recipients for the funding will be geared toward projects that participated in a recent TON hackathon, with investment particularly focused on incubating decentralized finance, or DeFi, projects. In addition to having the prerequisite of building on TON, project...

Given the uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, Bitcoin price bulls have no reason to bet against a six-week descending wedge pattern. A bearish market structure has been pressuring cryptocurrencies’ prices for the past six weeks, driving the total market capitalization to its lowest level in two months at $1.13 trillion. According to two derivative metrics, crypto bulls will have a hard time to break the downtrend, even though analyzing a shorter timeframe provides a neutral view with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and BNB, on average, gaining 0.3% between May 12 and May 19. Total crypto market cap in USD, 12-hour. Source: TradingView Notice that the descending wedge formation initiated in mid-April could last until July, indicating that an eventual break to the upside would require an extra effort from the bulls. Furthermore, there’s the impending U.S. debt ceiling standoff, as the U.S. Treasury is quickly running out of cash. Even if the majority of investors believe that the B...

The Virunga National Park's Bitcoin mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo monetizes surplus energy for conservation efforts. Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the first national park in the world to run a Bitcoin (BTC) mine in an effort to protect its forests and wildlife. Cointelegraph spoke with Sébastien Gouspillou, CEO of Big Block Green Services, and the man who introduced Bitcoin mining to the park.  Speaking via video call, Gouspillou said with a smile: “Bitcoin mining saved the park from bankruptcy.” Virunga is Africa's oldest protected park and a symbol of the continent's biodiversity. A report by journalist Adam Popescu, published in MIT Technology Review, explained that the region was plagued by issues prior to Bitcoin mining. From local militias that waged violent attacks on its animals and employees to outbreaks of Ebola to kidnappings, the emblematic national park has struggled for revenue in recent years.  The...