Crypto exchange websites saw internet traffic of 546.6 million visits in November, according to The Block Research.

The November website traffic figure is the second-highest in 2021 behind the 638.2 million visits recorded in May. December 2017 — the height of the crypto bull run from that year — is likely the monthly period with the largest cryptocurrency exchange website traffic.

Despite regulatory challenges across the globe, Binance still accounted for more than a third of total crypto exchange website traffic. Coinbase contributed almost a fifth of the total figure to place with KuCoin and Bybit in third and fourth, respectively.

According to The Block Research’s Lars Hoffmann on Twitter, retail client inflows from traders in the United States contributed to KuCoin and Bybit’s high placement in the rankings.

By reaching 546.6 million, November’s web traffic figure constituted a 15.5% month-over-month increase. Since experiencing consecutive volume declines in June and July, crypto exchange web traffic has been on the uptick.

This increase in web traffic has been in tandem with the crypto market recovery that occurred in Q3 following the May market dip that saw cryptocurrency prices fall by over 50%. Trading volume has also increased steadily during the same period.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) VP Sandy Carter has jumped aboard the Web3 train, joining Unstoppable Domains as senior VP of business development. 

Launched in 2018, the startup sees itself as a gateway to the decentralized web — selling NFT domain names linked to the Ethereum blockchain that offer a more accessible alternative to alphanumeric wallet addresses.

Carter said she views Unstoppable as a challenger to social media giants because individual users, rather than a centralized network, have control over the content they share. Whilst Unstoppable Domains’ current main focus is on NFT domain names, she thinks that this form of digital identity could be applied to fields ranging from gaming to education and even to healthcare records. 

“The whole point of decentralization is that no longer does another company hold your information but instead you own it, you control it, you decide when you want to sell it, and when you want to keep it,” she said. 

Carter will join the company after close to five years at AWS and will be in charge of the company’s business partnerships, with the goal of getting more developers using Unstoppable. 

The company will set up headquarters in APAC, Europe and the Middle East but Carter says she’d like to establish a presence in Africa too. “By 2035, there’ll be more developers in Africa than any other region in the entire world,” she says. “And so we have to be there as well.”

The women of web3

Carter is also looking at a possible partnership with Girls in Tech, which she is on the board of, to create a “Women of Web3” organization. 

“One of the very first things I talked to [CEO Matthew Gould] about was: how can we form more groups to encourage more women in Web3?” she said.  

As part of her hiring package, Carter will receive her first NFT, a Lazy Lion. However, she laments the lack of women participating in the space and wants her presence to be a signal to women to take part in this new economy. An ArtTactic report recently revealed that women only account for 16% of the NFT market. 

“I just put out a tweet, I think it was this past weekend about where are all the women-owned NFTs?” she said. “Had I known that [there were so few] maybe I wouldn’t have asked for a Lazy Lion.” 

Carter’s appointment comes with startups at the forefront of Web3 development gathering steam. On Monday, a16z invested $36 million into a Web3 infrastructure startup setup by ex-Meta employees. Last month, ConsenSys, primarily known for its MetaMask and Infura products, closed a $200 million raise, valuing the company at $3.2 billion. 

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Payments firm Tipalti has closed a $270 million round led by G Squared, valuing the company at $8.3 billion. The company said its new valuation places it among the top 15 most highly valued privately owned fintechs in the world. 

Tipalti, now just a few billion shy of decacorn status, automates the accounts payable process for mid-size, high-growth companies. It uses a localized cloud tool to address pain points from tax compliance, to supplier onboarding, to currency management. 

For its Series F, Tipalti has retained existing investors such as Zeev Ventures and Durable Capital Partners along with attracting new investors such as Marshall Wace and Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global Fund. The company sought those new backers to help realise its IPO ambitions on the New York Stock Exchange. 

“So we’re not rushing to go public, but we know that this is on the horizon,” says Chen Amit, co-founder and CEO of Tipalti. “We were looking for crossover investors, investors that like to invest just before going public, then invest in the IPO and continue investing after the IPO to have a smooth transition from public to private.”

The funding will be used to power its upcoming virtual and physical card products and integrations with expenses fintechs such as Expensify and Zenworks. Recently, the company acquired cloud procurement solutions provider Approve.com for an undisclosed amount. 

All eyes on Europe

The US-founded company opened a new office in London in October and will expand its headcount in the United Kingdom from 40 to 100 in the next year. Tipalti already has a presence in Canada, Israel and the Netherlands but isn’t currently looking at establishing a headquarters in the APAC region. 

“I think we need to first get the EU and the UK perfectly right and then when we see that we are on the right track, we can start exploring APAC,” said Amit. 

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Rangers Protocol mainnet officially launched on December 7, comprehensively supporting developers and users in NFTs and complex applications deployment as well as NFT cross-chain.

On December 7, 2021, the Metaverse blockchain infrastructure Rangers Protocol officially launched its mainnet, which carries not only a high-performance chain that supports real-time confirmation but also one of the most advanced technical solutions for the NFT cross-chain in the industry.

The Singapore-based blockchain infrastructure is a high-performance engine for complex development and data migration. It allows developers to freely create complex dapps through its highly scalable Rangers Engine and enables smooth interconnections with various public chains through its EVM-compatible bridge Rangers Connector. 

As Rangers Protocol’s core technologies, Rangers Engine and Rangers Connector are already fully functional in supporting EVM-compatible and NFT cross-chain functions. In addition, key development documentation is also available to effectively simplify the dapp developing process for a vast range of developers.

Roadmap 

What’s Been Up So Far? 

• Shortly after an extensive brand upgrade in June 2021, Rangers Protocol completed its seed and private rounds with $3.7 million raised funding.
• On October 7, Rangers Protocol Gas $RPG completed a successful IDO on Polkastarter with an initial release price of $4.
• Before the official mainnet launch, Rangers Protocol carried out 2 phases of testing by releasing a Testnet in July and its master version Robin Testnet in November.

What’s Next?

• With the mainnet being launched, all transactions can already be viewed on Rangers Scan, a mature blockchain explorer by Rangers Protocol.
• Rangers Connector will be upgraded into a decentralized blockchain that is powered by the VRF+TSS mechanism, supporting both FT and NFT cross-chain. It will realize a secure and decentralized cross-chain transaction verified by both Rangers Protocol and the target chain.
• MixMarvel, the incubator of Rangers Protocol, is about to launch its DAOVenture, investing in high-quality Metaverse projects. Games in the MixMarvel ecosystem, such as DeHero, LeCube, etc., will all be deployed on the Rangers Protocol mainnet, allowing users a better experience in terms of efficiency, price, scalability, and cross-multi-chain.

Mary Ma, Co-founder of MixMarvel and Rangers Protocol states that “Developers of blockchain and traditional games and other complex applications will get solid support and valuable resources from the Rangers Protocol technology and the MixMarvel publishing services to make a real difference in the construction of Metaverse.”

About Rangers Protocol

Rangers Protocol is a Metaverse blockchain infrastructure. It is a high-performance engine for complex development and data migration. Rangers Protocol is fully compatible with Ethereum, professionally supports NFT and complex applications, and integrates and expands cross-chain, NFT, EVM, and distributed network protocols.

Website | Telegram | Medium | Twitter | Discord | GitBook | Linktree

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Foundry Digital, a mining subsidiary of crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG), has launched a dedicated marketplace to sell bitcoin mining machines.

The FoundryX platform will let users buy as well as sell bitcoin mining machines. Foundry said it has built relationships with over 200 buyers and sellers, including public mining companies, family offices, and energy companies.

The formal launch of FoundryX comes after the firm operated the service behind the scenes over the past year, Foundry’s VP of business development Jeff Burkey told The Block. The firm has had sales of over $125 million this year from this business, serving customers in the U.S., Canada, and Norway, said Burkey.

FoundryX will sell both new and second-hand bitcoin mining machines, said Burkey. The platform will cater to mid-and-large-sized miners, not small at-home miners. The minimum order size for mining machines is 50 units, according to the FoundryX website.

Foundry said it currently has over 40,000 units of the latest bitcoin mining machines from Bitmain and MicroBT available for delivery through next year.

But why would miners buy machines from Foundry instead of manufacturers directly? Burkey said manufacturers have higher minimum order quantities, typically above 100 units. They also require large deposits six months or more ahead of delivery. Foundry, on the other hand, can fulfil smaller orders and has flexible payment options, he added.

“Our goal for 2022 is to be the market leader in the $2.5 billion [crypto mining hardware] market,” said Burkey.

The demand for FoundryX’s services will increase as Chinese miners are looking to set up operations around the globe, and new players are entering the market, including energy companies and family offices, according to Burkey.

Foundry was launched in 2019. It opened its bitcoin mining pool to the public last year and has quickly grown to become the second-largest mining pool in the world, behind only AntPool. It represents nearly 15% of Bitcoin’s network hash rate or computing power, according to tracker btc.com.

Last month, Foundry also launched crypto staking business aimed at institutions such as exchanges, wallets, custodians, hedge funds, banks, and venture capital firms.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Binance Asia Services, the Singapore entity of Binance, announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring an 18% stake in Hg Exchange, a Singapore-based private securities exchange.

It is not clear how much Binance Asia is investing in Hg to acquire the stake. A Binance spokesperson declined to comment to The Block when reached. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, and an expected closing timeline is unknown.

Hg Exchange (HGX) is a private securities exchange built on the Zilliqa blockchain, which facilitates trading in tokenized shares of private companies. HGX is also working on listing alternative digital assets, including wine, art, and real estate, said Binance.

“Crypto and traditional financial offerings continue to converge. Through this investment, we seek to work with HGX in enhancing offerings of products and services supported by blockchain technology,” said Binance Singapore CEO Richard Teng.

Teng was chairman of HGX before joining Binance Singapore in August of this year, according to an archived version of HGX’s website.

HGX is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm has a recognized market operator (RMO) license from the authority. An RMO license allows a firm to provide trading in digital tokens or securities.

HGX was founded in 2019 by three Singapore-based financial institutions: PhillipCapital, PrimePartners, and Fundnel.

Binance’s purchase of a stake in HGX comes amid reports that the crypto exchange might withdraw its Singapore application while searching for a global headquarters elsewhere. The Binance spokesperson declined to comment on these reports, saying that the exchange does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Binance Asia is currently awaiting approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide crypto services in the country. The firm, which operates the binance.sg exchange, is currently exempted from holding a license under Singapore’s Payment Services Act as its license application is being reviewed.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Lydia, France’s answer to the fintech super-app, has raised $100 million in a Series C round, according to a report from TechCrunch.

Existing investors Tencent and Accel alongside with new investors such as Dragoneer took part in the round. The company is now valued at more than $1 billion, hitting unicorn status. 

Lydia began as a P2P payments app but has since branched out into loans and savings products, netting more than 5.5 million users in the process. It recently partnered with Bitpanda, taking advantage of the Austrian trading startup’s white-label offering in order to add fractional shares and cryptocurrency trading as a feature. 

The company plans to use the fresh funding to expand to other European countries and to hire over 800 people in the next three years. Lydia co-founder and CEO Cyril Chiche told TechCrunch that he hoped that by 2025, 10 million European customers will use Lydia as their primary account. 

The startup most recently raised money in December last year, when it secured an $86 million Series B extension. 

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Payments giant Visa has announced the formation of a new cryptocurrency-focused advisory unit to help clients get to grips with the sector.

The unit will sit within the company’s broader consulting and analytics division, which offers payments-related consultancy services.

The move comes amid growing corporate demand for guidance on how to engage with cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and even non-fungible tokens (NFTs) picking up significantly.

Nikola Plecas, Visa’s crypto business lead in Europe, said the firm will offer a range of advice, from examining the impact of key trends within the sector to devising strategies for entering the market.

“The focus that we’ve seen so far, when it comes to our clients, is really on what the impact of the trends we’re seeing in crypto will be on their everyday business,” he said.

Visa has been selling consulting services to companies interested in crypto for some time, but formalized the new crypto unit in response to growing client demand, according to Plecas.

The firm is also an active operator in the sector — offering payments services to exchanges and wallet firms, as well as investing in startups and even in the acquisition of a CryptoPunk NFT. Visa currently works with 60 crypto platforms globally.

Alongside the new consulting unit, Visa has unveiled the results of a survey of more than 6,000 financial decision makers across eight markets.

Headline findings from the survey suggest that crypto awareness among this group is now at 94%. Close to one in three of those with some awareness of crypto already own or use it, and 62% of that group reported that their usage had increased in the past year.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The U.S. Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing next week focused on the use of stablecoins.

“Stablecoins: How do they work, how are they used, and what are their risks?” will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 10:00 a.m. EST. The session will convene in Dirksen Senate Office Building 538 and will also be streamed on the senate’s website. 

Alexis Goldstein, Director of Financial Policy at the Open Markets Institute and Professor Hilary J. Allen, American University Washington College of Law are confirmed as witnesses, but additional witnesses may be added ahead of the hearing. Written remarks have not yet appeared.

Scrutiny on stablecoin operators has been heating up in recent months with the release of the President’s Working Group report on stablecoins last month. That report called on legislators to restrict stablecoin issuance to banks.

Additionally, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent letters on Nov. 23 asking stablecoin operators to open up about their processes for minting and redemption and detail any special arrangements they have with specific trading platforms. As chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Brown will likely lead questioning in the upcoming session. 

The House of Representatives is also expected to focus on stablecoins at tomorrow’s Financial Services Committee hearing, which will bring six leaders of crypto-focused firms together. The recent hearing “Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government,” saw multiple witnesses from a range of backgrounds — including Goldstein — lay out the key areas crypto regulation will have to cover. 

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Certain Bancolombia customers will soon be able to buy cryptocurrencies more easily, thanks to a pilot project launching next week that will allow users of the Colombian bank to link their accounts to New York-based exchange Gemini.

The project involves connecting selected Bancolombia accounts to Gemini to facilitate cash-in and cash-out operations. This will provide an on- and off-ramp for trading bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). 

“Our whole goal with this partnership is to make sure that we’re offering users seamless and secure access to crypto,” Gemini principal for strategy & corporate development Cynthia Del Pozo García told The Block in an interview.

The yearlong pilot is one of several projects that Colombia’s financial regulator, Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC), has approved for its supervised sandbox “laArenera.” The goal is for Bancolombia to test cash-in and cash-out operations with a crypto exchange. 

Gemini will start a four-phase rollout of the pilot on Dec. 14,  Del Pozo García said.

The first step involves inviting Bancolombia employees to participate in the sandbox operations and then adding pre-selected customers to join until reaching an approved cap of 5,000 monthly active users. The program does not involve any deposit or withdrawal fees, a Gemini spokesperson said. 

Selected customers will get an email from Bancolombia saying they’re invited to participate in the sandbox program, which includes a registration link that takes them to Gemini’s website. Once the customers are formally onboarded, they’ll be able to link their bank accounts to Gemini’s platform to deposit Colombian pesos, Del Pozo García explained. She clarified that Bancolombia isn’t intervening in the process of buying and selling crypto, but rather acting as the channel that facilitates the transactions by inviting customers to participate. 

Bancolombia said in a press release that it will offset carbon emissions for the bitcoin operations completed during the program. It calculates this figure will reach 7,000 tons — which it describes as the equivalent of using 1,500 passenger vehicles in a year. The bank said it has already considered transactions using the other cryptocurrencies in its carbon neutrality program. 

Gemini thinks Latin America is one of the most promising international markets for crypto adoption and has plans to grow in the region, Del Pozo García said. It sees remittance needs and currency devaluation as the main drivers.

“We see this partnership to mark the start of the expansion in Latin America for Gemini,” Del Pozo García said, noting that the firm will be looking at multiple countries in the region. “We see this as just being the beginning for us.”

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.