Blockchain Development | Blockchain Technology News

Venom Foundation launches $1bn web3 fund from Abu Dhabi

The Venom Foundation, an Abu Dhabi-based blockchain platform, and investment manager Iceberg Capital have unveiled a $1 billion venture fund to invest in web3 and blockchain projects.

The Venom Ventures Fund (VVF) plans to invest in pre-seed to Series A funding rounds with projects focused on decentralised finance (DeFi), payments, asset management, and blockchain gaming.

Venom Foundation is a layer-1 blockchain solution with a focus on “serving the needs of the Middle...

11 January 2023 | Development

Visa will ‘actively contribute’ to web3 development

Visa refuses to become a dinosaur and will “actively contribute” to developing the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Aside from maximalists, few experts believe that crypto poses an existential threat to fiat currencies. Legacy payment processors like Visa and Mastercard have increasingly been joining the web2-era disruptors like PayPal and Square in supporting the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Greater public adoption of “crypto” will likely come through CBDCs (Central...

20 December 2022 | Altcoins

Singapore central bank approves Circle and Paxos stablecoins

The Singapore central bank (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has approved licences for two stablecoin issuers, Circle and Paxos, to operate in the city-state.

US-based Circle, the issuer behind USD Coin (USDC), was granted approval for a major payments institution licence, meaning it can issue cryptocurrencies and facilitate domestic or cross-border payments.

Also a US firm, Paxos develops the Pax Dollar (USDP) and has received a licence to offer digital payment token...

3 November 2022 | Banking

Reserve Bank of India goes in-depth on its CBDC plans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a 51-page report outlining the proposed features of its in-development central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The report details the pros and cons of a digital rupee for India whilst also trying to raise awareness for the reasoning and objectives behind CBDC development.

Key motivations for issuing a CBDC, according to the report, include the promotion of trust, safety, liquidity, and settlement finality.

Reducing the...

10 October 2022 | CBDC

Jeroen van Megchelen, CTO, Ledger Leopard: On Web3 solutions for enterprises

Jeroen van Megchelen, CTO at Ledger Leopard, sat down with The Block to discuss enterprise blockchain solutions, accessibility to Web3, and Ethereum.

The Block: How would you introduce Ledger Leopard to our readers?

Jeroen van Megchelen: Ledger Leopard is a Web3 company designed to make businesses future-proof. It was created out of a lifelong passion for the next evolution of technology. Ever since 2017, we’ve been extending our experience in the area of...

6 October 2022 | Blockchain Applications

Nigeria plans to create a crypto-friendly free zone with Binance

The Nigerian government is in discussions with crypto exchange Binance regarding a potential crypto-friendly economic zone similar to Dubai’s virtual free zone.

On 2 September, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), announced that it had held preliminary meetings with Binance and tech infrastructure firm Talent City to talk over the proposed “first Virtual Free Zone in West Africa”.

The zone would focus on blockchain and the digital economy, making...

5 September 2022 | CBDC

CasperLabs: On delivering ‘the vision for Ethereum 3.0’ today

CasperLabs believes its blockchain has solved Vitalik Buterin’s infamous trilemma and is already delivering “the vision for Ethereum 3.0”.

The Block caught up with Casper Labs’ CTO and Co-Founder Medha Parlikar, and Senior Business Development Manager Niamh O’Connell, to hear more about the blockchain that claims to be several years ahead of Ethereum in technical advancements.

The Block: Vitalik Buterin’s “blockchain trilemma” suggests that any blockchain...

26 August 2022 | Altcoins

Polygon decentralised apps increase to 37,000, up 400% in 2022

Layer 2 Ethereum scaling platform Polygon has seen more than 37,000 decentralised applications (dApps) developed on its network, a 400% increase since the start of 2022.

The figures were sourced from partnered Web3 development platform Alchemy and represent the cumulative number of applications ever launched on both the Polygon testnet and mainnet.

In terms of active developer teams, Polygon reached 11,800 at the end of July, up 47.5% since March.

The project...

11 August 2022 | Blockchain Applications

Meta expands its Instagram NFT features to 100 countries

After launching a non-fungible token (NFT) pilot on Instagram for American users earlier this year, Meta has announced plans to expand its NFT features to as many as 100 other countries.

The test launch for the NFTs on Instagram went live in May to select creators in the United States.

The planned expansion will let users from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific to get in on the action.

With the enhanced allowance, users will now be able...

5 August 2022 | Development

Millicent Labs demos full-reserve digital currency for UK government

Blockchain fintech company Millicent Labs has completed a sandbox test for a full-reserve digital currency (FRDC) with co-funding from the UK government’s Research and Innovation branch.

An FRDC is a privately issued digital currency pegged to a fiat currency, according to Millicent. The company believes it avoids the pitfalls of central bank digital currency and stablecoins while bridging blockchain technology with traditional finance.

Millicent plans to introduce a...