Op-ed: Consensus algorithms can be engineered to unlock blockchain for business

The following is a guest post by Venom Foundation CTO Christopher Louis Tsu. Connecting blockchain to traditional businesses is not a simple process. So-called non-crypto industries, particularly finance, banking and insurance, are markedly disconnected because each possesses a general modus operandi that does not neatly fit into current blockchain solutions. Concerns in these fields abound…

MicroStrategy will launch Bitcoin Lightning enterprise plugin in 2023

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, said on Dec. 28 that his company will introduce a Lightning Network-based product in 2023. In a Twitter spaces conversation, Saylor said that MicroStrategy’s experience building mass-deployable plugins motivated the company to create a similar tool for the Lightning Network — a  network that can process Bitcoin transactions cheaply…

MicroStrategy just bought another 2,500 BTC

Business Intelligence firm MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 2,395 BTC between Nov. 1 and Dec. 21. Michael Saylor, the founder and CEO of MicroStrategy, announced the company’s purchase on Twitter for the second time this quarter. According to the company’s 8K filing with the SEC, the Bitcoins were purchased for approximately $42.8 million in cash…

Silvergate account was at the center of FTX’s collapse, senators say

An account with Silvergate Capital may have played a key role in FTX’s collapse this November, according to a Dec. 20 report from the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cited three U.S. senators who said that an account at Silvergate “appears to be at the center” of FTX’s collapse. Those senators also said that Silvergate…

Japan’s Nomura Holdings to launch new crypto-focused unit in Switzerland

Japan-based investment bank Nomura Holdings is launching a new crypto unit in Switzerland called Laser Digital. Nomura’s head of trading and investment Steven Ashley will step down from his current role to serve as Laser Digital’s chairman, while Nomura’s head of crypto Jaz Mohideen will serve as the unit’s CEO. Christopher Willcox, former head of…

MicroStrategy records $918M impairment loss in Q2, Saylor moves to new Chairman role

MicroStrategy recorded an impairment charge of $918 million on its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings in the second quarter, according to its earnings report released on August 2. The report also revealed that the company will create a new role of executive chairman, which Michael Saylor will fill. Meanwhile, Phong Le, the company’s president and chief financial officer,…

KPMG, HSBC report identifies crypto startups with unicorn potential in Asia

A joint report by two leading financial institutions, KPMG and HSBC, revealed that over a quarter of the 6472 startups operating in the Asia Pacific region have their core businesses in crypto-related activities. Among these firms, five appeared on a top 100 startups list with the potential to become unicorns — a private startup company valued…