Payments Blockchain Stellar Hits Milestone 5460

Stellar, the open source, community-owned cross-asset payment framework has achieved the milestone of 1,000,000 accounts on its network. This was revealed in a tweet posted by OrbitLens posted on Monday, August 27.

Initially modelled and based and Ripple, Stellar has the goal of disrupting finance in three different ways simultaneously. It offers cross-asset transfer of value similar to that of Ethereum, which enables it host ICOs, although it supports a lower number of software types. The ability to facilitate exchanges between fiat and crypto makes it one of the very few options for ICOs alongside Ethereum.

Unlike Ethereum, Stellar offers extremely low fees for all transactions (0.00001 lumens) and it offers transaction speeds that are comparable to that of Ripple, making it one of the fastest payment systems in existence.

Stellar thus competes favorably against Ethereum, Bitcoin and Ripple, offering a superfast cryptocurrency-based payment system and a cross-asset transfer framework all in one package. For many investors, this nexus of functionality has made Stellar’s Lumens cryptocurrency one of the most exciting crypto assets to invest in.

Unlike Ripple, Stellar’s platform is completely open-source and decentralized, leaving only Stellar.org – Stellar’s supporting organisation – as a centralized entity in the entire Stellar ecosystem. The market has rewarded this mix of both centralized and decentralized worlds, with Stellar experiencing steady growth from $0.003 at its launch on August 5, 2014, to $0.22 on August 28, 2018.

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ZIM & Marius Nacht complete additional investment in WAVE BL, a leading provider of a paperless Bill of Lading solution 8418

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) and Marius Nacht, one of Israel’s leading serial entrepreneurs and investors, announced today that they have jointly invested in a Series B Financing round of WAVE BL, a developer of groundbreaking blockchain network supporting paperless trade in the shipping industry. The two investors co-lead a round of approximately $8 million that will accelerate global implementation of WAVE BL’s proven technology.

ZIM pioneered the first paperless electronic bill of lading pilot in the shipping industry in 2017 using WAVE BL’s platform and has since widely expanded its use to become the industry leader. Electronic bill of lading is currently offered to ZIM customers worldwide, requiring only a simple onboarding process which is supported by ZIM.

Digitization of bills of lading is revolutionizing shipping documentation, sharply reducing time, complexity, errors and costs for all parties involved, while maintaining a high level of security and, importantly, being far more sustainable than the traditional paper bill of lading.

Aligning with international rules, standards and insurance coverage such as IG P&I Clubs and eUCP 600, WAVE BL’s one of a kind decentralized, digital documentation solution is changing the shipping industry as it becomes the new industry benchmark enabling secure and efficient remote business continuity.

Proceeds will be used to support development of WAVE BL’s business and further implementation of its pioneering technology supporting paperless trade in the shipping industry, as well as in other sectors.

ZIM President and CEO Eli Glickman: “Our early adoption of WAVE BL’s blockchain based platform to promote paperless trade highlights our leadership in utilizing digital strategies to best serve customers and has proven extremely successful for ZIM and for changing the industry. Today, ZIM is an industry leader in paperless shipping processes, and we are seeing growing interest from others in our sector to adopt the platform reflecting the significant benefits it provides to both customers and carriers. This new investment in WAVE BL is a step forward in the path to a more digitized and sustainable future, in accordance with our vision and values.”

ZIM CIO Eyal Ben-Amram: “Since completing the integration of WAVE BL’s platform with our system, we can offer every customer the ability to enjoy the vast benefits of paperless shipping, which is especially crucial during COVID-19. We are pleased and proud to continue our support of this exciting and leading company.”

WAVE BL CEO Gadi Ruschin: “Our partnership with ZIM has enabled us to introduce our pioneering technology to a vast audience as we endeavor to become the shipping industry standard in paperless trade. We are extremely pleased with the continued faith and commitment of ZIM and Marius Nacht in our company and look forward to leading the wave of the future in shipping.”

Ophir Shoham, who leads Marius Nacht’s investments in high-tech: “We are proud to continue supporting WAVE BL’s remarkable technology and believe in its disruptive potential, leading to a fundamental change in the way business is conducted across countless sectors and industries. We are very impressed with the great progress the team has made and excited to invest in WAVE BL’s trail-blazing platform.”

River Financial raises $12M Series A to continue explosive growth of its Bitcoin financial services for traditional investors 8834

San Francisco-based Bitcoin financial services provider River Financial closed a $12 million Series A equity financing round to continue growing its financial service offerings for traditional investors. The investment round was led by Goldcrest Capital with participation from Craft Ventures, Polychain Capital, M13, Castle Island, Slow Ventures, and The Kraft Group.

River Financial previously announced a $5.7 million seed round in June 2020. In the nine months since the company’s seed round announcement, River’s client base has grown by almost 600%, and order volumes have increased by 3,500%. River’s recent iOS app has accelerated the company’s growth, already accounting for over 30% of all River’s order volume within five weeks of launch. River Financial continues to experience exponential growth in new customers and order volume month-over-month as global interest in Bitcoin continues to grow rapidly. Social unrest, inflation fears, and recent elections are driving droves of traditional investors to Bitcoin and River.

River is investing heavily in team growth and product development. According to Co-Founder and CEO Alex Leishman, “Bitcoin is on a trajectory to becoming a global reserve asset, and we are building the financial services that our clients will need for that future.” River’s focus on premium client services and traditional financial tooling, including tax lot tracking and account statements, is attracting increasing numbers of high-end clients who find incumbent solutions intimidating and confusing.

The majority of volume on River is driven by clients over the age of 50, but Co-Founder and COO Andrew Benson believes there is still a large underserved segment of the population, “River’s mission is to bring Bitcoin to investors around the world. Even as global interest in Bitcoin grows rapidly, most Americans over the age of 45 who want Bitcoin still don’t own any. River is helping to fix that by creating familiar, high-end financial solutions for investors who are new to Bitcoin.”

Ideanomics Invests in Italian Electric Motorcycle Company, Energica Motor Company 10039

Ideanomics (NASDAQ: IDEX) (“Ideanomics” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has acquired 20% of Italian Energica Motor Company S.p.A. (Energica) for the consideration of $13.2 million. It develops high performance 100% battery-powered motorbikes. With this investment in Energica, Ideanomics expands its global footprint in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, and complements Treeletrik’s business in the ASEAN market. This investment marks continued investment in European-based OEM.

“Energica has combined zero emissions EV technology with high-performance engineering synonymous with Italy’s Motor Valley to create a range of exceptional products for the motorcycle market. It also has proprietary EV battery and DC fast-charging systems that have applications and synergies with Ideanomics Mobility. We are very impressed with Livia and her team, and we look forward to supporting them through their next phases of growth,” said Alf Poor, CEO of Ideanomics.

The rapid increase of EV sales that began in 2019 has continued to gain momentum over the past year. The global high performance electric motorcycle market is growing at a CAGR of over 35% from 2019-2024. With its state-of-the-art battery technology development, Energica was chosen by Dorna as a single manufacturer for the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup. With this partnership, Energica has been able to test new battery solutions and innovations in extreme conditions with the best riders in the world to advance its high-performance battery technology.

“We are proud to be part of this unified global platform”, says Livia Cevolini, CEO of Energica Motor Company S.p.A. “Ideanomics’ network of innovative companies will help accelerate the growth and adoption of new EV technologies such Energica.. We look forward to leveraging Ideanomics to capture market share in the rapidly growing global electric motorcycle market”.

Max Dilendorf Serves as a Bitcoin Expert Witness in USCIS EB-5 Green Card Adjudication Proceedings 9528

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has frequently denied EB-5 applications that list Bitcoin exchange-traded-funds as a legitimate “source of funds”. Yet, in an unprecedented approach that included forensic reporting analysis, attorney Max Dilendorf provided an expert legal opinion and due diligence report proving that a green card applicants’ source of funds met the standards to be qualified under this program.

Because USCIS only requires a “preponderance of evidence” showing the legal acquisition of investment funds in EB-5 petitions and offers little guidance for applicants whose funds originated in cryptocurrency, Dilendorf’s confirming evidence was a significant achievement.

The Dilendorf Law Firm, NYC’s top law firm for the digital age, represented several clients in EB-5 matters with the USCIS concerning the clients’ EB-5 investments funded with cryptocurrencies. By submitting blockchain and cryptocurrency expert reports in these cases, the firm has provided evidence to support the legitimate “source of funds”.

The firm’s clients were software engineers and early cryptocurrency adopters who, in the opinion of the crypto compliance law firm, are legally qualified for obtaining EB-5 investor green-cards, as there was little doubt on the legality of the source of the clients’ cryptocurrency funds.

Dilendorf’s legal opinions and blockchain forensic reports, as submitted to the USCIS, included an expert assessment of the following:

  • legality of the specific digital assets and regulatory framework for the involved financial institutions dealing with cryptocurrencies;
  • origin and flow of cryptocurrencies funding the EB-5 investments;
  • mechanism and sufficiency of digital wallets, private cryptographic keys, crypto trading platforms and accounts establishing ownership of the clients’ cryptocurrency funds;
  • KYC/AML compliance measures taken at each point of the funds’ journey by clients and third parties, including crypto exchanges and OTC traders.

Max Dilendorf, Esq. is also a top forensic Bitcoin and crypto expert witness. His expertise has also made him one of the top cryptocurrency consultants for Fortune 500 companies.  Mr. Dilendorf’s recent speaking engagements have included the Thailand SEC, IBM, Berkshire Hathaway, and New York University, to name a few.

Wanxiang Blockchain Forms RISC-V International Blockchain SIG with Ecosystem Partners 9292

Wanxiang Blockchain and aitos.io announced they joined RISC-V International as strategic members and have formed RISC-V International’s new Blockchain SIG (special interest group) in collaboration with LeapFive, StarFive and SiFive. This group will help integrate blockchain technologies with RISC-V solutions, and promote the development of trusted blockchain databases.

Tu Wenhui, Senior Director of Blockchain + Technology Department at Wanxiang Blockchain, and Gary Xu, CTO of aitos.io, will take the positions of Acting Chair and Vice Chair of the Blockchain SIG, and will be in charge of the preparatory work for the official launch of the group.

RISC-V is a free and open ISA enabling a new era of processor innovation through open standard collaboration. The RISC-V ISA delivers a new level of free, extensible software and hardware freedom on architecture, paving the way for the next 50 years of computing design and innovation. RISC-V International is a global nonprofit association based in Switzerland. Founded in 2015, RISC-V International now has over 1,200 members around the world.

Vincent Y. Wang, Executive President of Wanxiang Blockchain, said that the RISC-V International Blockchain SIG initiated by Wanxiang Blockchain, aitos.io, LeapFive, SiFive, StarFive and other important partners will promote the integration of blockchain technologies with the RISC-V community. Wanxiang Blockchain has been committed to building a trusted database and collaborating with PlatONE, a next-generation blockchain consortium supporting privacy-preserving computing developed by Wanxiang Blockchain and Juzix. With its open and extensible architecture, the RISC-V ISA supports cryptographic algorithms and enables developers to create secure, trusted solutions. In the future, these companies will continue to build solutions to integrate different technologies so that more developers can take advantage of blockchain, which promises to help empower digital transformation across key industries and market segments like the Distributed Cognitive Industrial Internet, Digital Cities, Asset Digitization, etc.

“Our new Blockchain SIG will give the RISC-V community the opportunity to collaborate on blockchain technologies in order to enable the best performance and functionality in the RISC-V ISA and software ecosystem. Blockchain is already a big disruptor for the silicon industry, and we are committed to helping our members take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Mark Himelstein, CTO, RISC-V International.

“Joining RISC-V International is in line with our innovative strategy of integrating IoT applications with blockchain. By creating the Blockchain SIG and rolling out an in-depth cooperation with the RISC-V community, we will optimize our BoAT blockchain application framework to provide better support for RISC-V solutions, accelerate the application of IoT devices in blockchain-based services and build a trusted IoT database to make this data valuable and open,” said Leo Lin, CEO of aitos.io.

Aglaia Kong, CTO of LeapFive, mentioned that as blockchain is used to track value of data, it is getting more important to ensure the origin of data is from a trusted source. By placing root of trust, ensuring each SOC having a unique DNA, having dedicated compute optimized for blockchain of where data is originated become super important. With RISC-V open and extensible architecture, combining blockchain and LeapFive’ s SOC design capabilities, we are working together with Wanxiang Blockchain and aitos.io to build the “Chinese TEA ( Trusted Embedded Architecture)”, so one can ensure the data origin is known, data usage is tractable and trust worthy.

“In the current AIoT era with massive data being produced, processed and analyzed, data and computing security becomes one of the main driving forces of choosing the open and modern RISC-V ISA. It is an inevitable trend for RISC-V to enter blockchain, a promising industry.” StarFive CEO Thomas Xu emphasized with confidence, “The scope of blockchain applications is expanding. Many applications are unexpectedly innovating because of the adoption of blockchain. No matter it is cloud computing of big data, or end to end computing applied to IoT, there is no doubt that RISC-V’s diversity and outstanding functions will even flourish to the blockchain industry.”

“The adoption of RISC-V to develop blockchain technologies, and the use of RISC-V International working groups to encourage broad industry collaboration, demonstrates the power and flexibility of the freely available and open specification ISA,” said Dr. Chris Lattner, President of Engineering and Product, SiFive. “Blockchain is an area where optimized hardware and software designed together can provide tangible benefits for secure, fast processing for supply chain, logistics, or financial operations, improving efficiency and accuracy. This demonstrates the potential for members of RISC-V International working groups to develop and build industry-wide specifications that can be broadly implemented.”

Wanxiang Blockchain made its debut at MWC Shanghai 2021 with CT Wing, UNISOC, LeapFive, Fibocom and aitos.io in Hall N4. On the Leader Stage, these companies discussed IoT and blockchain trends from the perspective of blockchain companies, chip and module manufacturers, operators and platform service providers.

Earlier in 2020, Wanxiang Blockchain kicked off its efforts to build comprehensive solutions based on the integration of blockchain and big data, cloud computing, 5G, IoT, AI, and other digital technologies and successfully hosted the Sixth Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai with the theme of Integrated Innovation.

In January 2021, Wanxiang Blockchain established the Biological Asset Financial Service Platform with Sancai Digital Technology and Foidn Technology based on the BoAT + PlatONE IoT Data Platform developed by Wanxiang Blockchain and aitos.io. This platform was the first in China to integrate blockchain modules into biological asset monitoring for IoT devices, assigning blockchain IDs to 1000 cows at the Ashili Farm in Changji, Xinjiang, a province located in northwest China.

The Biological Asset Financial Service Platform can collect key data about the whole process of beef rearing in real time, and encrypts the data and records it on blockchain to make the data tamper-proof and traceable. This allows key data about the beef rearing process to be turned into valuable digital assets that can be shared among participants across the whole industry to improve operational efficiency.

This blockchain+IoT based platform can improve the efficiency of government regulation on biological assets, beef slaughter, transactions and the settlement of insurance claims, and more importantly, make beef produced in this process traceable for safety purposes. Supported by Wanxiang Trust, this platform can also make it easier for farmers to get financial support and increase their production thanks to this trusted database powered by blockchain and the IoT.

With all these benefits, the Biological Asset Financial Service Platform will help accelerate the digital transformation of the traditional animal husbandry industry by building a trusted database and inspiring financial institutions to drive economic growth in new and innovative ways.

Majid Al Futtaim Taps IBM Food Trust to Deliver Food Traceability Across Carrefour Stores Using Blockchain Technology 10812

Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia – owner and operator of the Carrefour franchise in these regions – and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Majid Al Futtaim has joined IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled global ecosystem for the food industry run on IBM Cloud. Carrefour will become the first retailer in the region to offer new levels of insight and transparency to its customers about the provenance of their food via end-to-end visibility on products throughout its supply chain, promoting increased quality, credibility and safety for its shoppers.

The initiative will start with two initial product categories, Carrefour’s own fresh chicken brand and microgreens harvested from select in-store hydroponic farms, before expanding into more product lines. All participants in this initiative across the supply chain will benefit from a smarter, and more sustainable food ecosystem. The digitisation of transactions and data provides a more efficient way of working across the supply chain for growers, processors, shippers, retailers, regulators, and consumers.

By simply using their smartphone to scan a QR code on participating products such as Carrefour’s fresh chicken, customers will be able to get immediate access to actionable food supply chain data, from farm to store shelf. The history of the product, including production process, halal and hygiene certifications, date of birth, nutrition information and temperature data, will be readily available once uploaded onto the blockchain.

The growing demand for food traceability is evidenced by research conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), showing that 73 per cent of those responding to a survey said traceability of products is important to them. Of those who said it was very important, 71 per cent of respondents indicated they are willing to pay a premium for brands that provide it.

“Trust in the food supply is becoming increasingly important worldwide, a trend accelerated by changing consumer demands and the subsequent health and wellbeing concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim Retail. “It is therefore imperative for us to invest in ensuring quality throughout the value chain while simultaneously working to build robust customer trust and loyalty. In meeting the new market expectations, we are now offering enhanced food traceability for our valued Carrefour customers and improved operational efficiency for our business.”

Majid Al Futtaim is engaging with its supplier partners to enable broader participation in this initiative, giving Carrefour customers access to traceability details across diverse products throughout the UAE, before introducing it to other Carrefour markets operated by the company in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“Thanks to the availability of advanced cloud-based, blockchain technology and the commitment of Majid Al Futtaim to deliver the highest quality to its customers, we are proud to be using this supply chain solution to provide the very best in quality, safety and trust to our customers in the markets we operate in,” Nalla Karunanithy, Chief Digital Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Retail said.

IBM Food Trust uses decentralised ledgers to record transactions in a verifiable way. Through a collaborative blockchain network, critical information such as product origin, transportation, and ingredients, can be logged effectively and accessed quickly by permissioned participants across the value chain and ultimately customers.