Seoul, South, Korea, November 20th, 2024, Chainwire

Hashed and its technology arm, ShardLab, have joined forces with Naver Pay, one of the highest-used mobile payment services in South Korea, to integrate NFT-based ticketing technology.

The collaboration, which debuted at Naver’s annual technology conference, DAN24, saw over 20,867 NFTs issued and 8,849 transactions processed during the two-day event, with a total of 6,000 attendees, making this initiative one of South Korea’s largest deployments of NFTs for real-world and event-based utilities.

During the event, these digital assets were seamlessly integrated into the Naver Pay wallet, enabling their use for admission, activity verification, and prize entry. The integration of NFTs into an existing payment system used by millions represents a strong use case bridging Web2 and Web3 for mainstream audiences and provides proof of concept for broader applications in events, concerts, and large-scale activities. 

The integration leverages ShardLab’s proprietary NFT technology, including airdrop APIs and smart contracts, to provide a user-friendly solution. Unlike traditional blockchain applications that require separate wallets, at the event attendees could access their NFT tickets directly within their existing Naver Pay accounts, bringing a simplified process removing barriers to adoption.

“This collaboration with Naver Pay signifies a step forward in integrating Web3 technology into everyday digital experiences,” said Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed. “With our technical advisory and collaboration-friendly approach with Web2 companies, we can focus and accelerate the development of user-friendly Web3 infrastructure.”

Through the use of NFT-based tickets, attendees received proof of attendance and streamlined authentication for various conference activities. This functionality showcased the practicality of blockchain-based solutions to elevate user experience without requiring extensive technical knowledge or new tools.

“DAN24 marks our first step in bringing NFT technology to Naver Pay Wallet, following the growing trend of NFT adoption in major events, concerts, and ticketing,” said Mi-young Lee, Head of Pay Infrastructure and Business at Naver Pay. “We will continue to work with leading Web3 companies to pioneer innovative digital experiences.”

“We’re honored to provide this unique experience to DAN24 attendees,” said Hojin Kim, CEO of ShardLab. “This collaboration demonstrates the technical maturity and practical potential that Web3 holds, redefining what is possible to achieve widespread adoption in the digital landscape.”

With 2.3 million users and $13 billion in quarterly transactions, Naver Pay offers a robust platform to scale Web3 integrations. ShardLab, an R&D partnership between Hashed and SCBX, brings blockchain expertise, enabling seamless Web3 experiences through Naver Pay’s trusted ecosystem.

The collaboration between Hashed, ShardLab, and Naver Pay is expected to expand into additional use cases, supporting the adoption of blockchain technology across industries.

About Hashed

Hashed, established in 2017, is a blockchain-focused venture capital firm that conducts extensive investment and research activities in global startups and decentralized projects pursuing protocol economy. Operating globally, Hashed maintains presence in major cities including Seoul, San Francisco, Singapore, and Bengaluru, India.

The firm has made early-stage investments in innovative blockchain startups worldwide, including Story Protocol, CryptoQuant, and dYdX. Rather than functioning as a traditional venture capital firm, Hashed operates as a ‘second team’ to its portfolio companies, providing hands-on business development support to help them connect with the global Web3 ecosystem and accelerate their growth.

About ShardLab 

ShardLab is the innovation arm of Hashed, a leading global Web3 venture capital firm based in Asia. Under the strategic partnership between Hashed and SCBX (the mothership of Thailand’s leading financial technology group and the parent company of Siam Commercial Bank), ShardLab is having various innovative activities, such as Web3 R&D, venture building, and ecosystem building. The firm’s vision extends to fostering mass adoption of Web3 in Southeast Asia, making technology accessible, and empowering communities in this dynamic digital frontier.

About Naver Pay

Naver Pay is a fintech service provided by Naver Financial (Subsidiary of Naver, the largest IT and search engine service in South Korea) that allows users to make simple payments through pre-registered payment methods such as bank accounts, debit cards, or credit cards.

Naver partners with e-commerce sellers of all sizes to enable Naver Pay on their own websites, promoting it as a way to increase convenience and accessibility for users.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Contact

Community Lead
Wooster Han
Hashed
wooster@hashed.com

Singapore, Singapore, November 14th, 2024, Chainwire

VALR, the Pantera-backed crypto exchange and the largest crypto trading platform in Africa by trade volume, announced today that its user base has doubled in 2024, surpassing the one million mark. This growth comes on the back of VALR’s ongoing global expansion efforts as crypto markets heat up and Bitcoin is charting new highs north of $90,000. 

This year, VALR added 500,000 users to its platform, a marked increase from the initial 500,000 who joined during the first 5 and a half years since VALR’s founding in 2018.  This includes over 1,100 institutional and corporate clients. The proportion of international users has grown and now more than 1 in 4 VALR customers comes from outside South Africa’s borders.  

In 2022 VALR raised its $50 million Series B round – the largest crypto raise in Africa to date – led by prominent investors including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and F-Prime, an investment arm of Fidelity. VALR has now raised $55 million in total.

VALR started as a spot-only crypto exchange and have since added multiple products to serve their international client base, including spot margin, perpetual futures, staking, lending, an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk and a leading application programming interface (API) for its high-frequency traders. 

VALR’s user growth and brand recognition have been bolstered by a focus on both African markets and other jurisdictions in Asia and Europe, reaching key milestones in 2024, including being one of the first exchanges to obtain a Category I & II license from South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

This year, VALR’s team embarked on an international tour, engaging with partners and communities across 12 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, further raising the brand’s global profile. As a Platinum Sponsor at Token2049, the world’s largest crypto event, VALR positioned itself as a values-driven exchange that prioritizes customer experience and high standards in both technology and service.

Farzam Ehsani, Co-Founder and CEO of VALR, reflected on VALR’s journey: “It’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come since 2018. Surpassing one million users, with half a million joining us this year, is a testament to our team’s dedication, the trust our customers place in us, and VALR’s momentum. As we continue our growth, we remain committed to providing innovative, high-quality services that serve not just individual traders, but also larger institutions and fintechs looking to build the future of finance.”

As part of its growth strategy in 2024, VALR introduced several initiatives to attract new users, including VALR’s Grand Slam – a year-long futures trading competition with monthly reward pools of up to US$5 million – and VALR’s Futures Trade Arena, where traders compete on return-on-investment (ROI) and profit and loss (PnL) performance with weekly and monthly prizes.

In October, VALR launched a Chinese version of its app, featuring a localized brand and logo, further catering to the platform’s growing Asian user base. VALR’s expansion into Asia complements its established presence in Africa and reflects the global demand for secure, efficient, and values-based crypto services.

About VALR

VALR provides a comprehensive suite of crypto products and services, including Spot Trading, Spot Margin, Perpetual Futures, an API for high-frequency traders, Subaccounts with governance features, OTC Trading, Staking, Lending & Borrowing, Simple Buy/Sell Swap, and VALR Pay.

Founded in 2018, VALR is Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, serving over 1,100 corporate and institutional clients and more than 1 million users globally. Headquartered in Johannesburg, VALR is licensed by the FSCA in South Africa, with regulatory approvals in Europe and initial approval from Dubai’s VARA. VALR has secured $55 million in equity funding from top investors, including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, GSR, and F-Prime, affiliated with Fidelity Investments.

For more information, visit valr.com.

Contact

VALR
press@valr.com

Singapore, Singapore, November 7th, 2024, Chainwire

Solv Protocol has announced its classification of underlying assets for its SolvBTC reserve. By this, Solv protocol ensures security for users as well as yield-generating opportunities while maintaining liquidity.

These classifications help to ensure stability with various asset types, with minting caps and cross-chain rate limits being implemented for innovative reserves to manage and minimize risk. 

This standardization serves as an essential layer of protection as the protocol continues to scale. The SolvBTC reserve categorizes assets into two groups: Core Reserve and Innovative Reserve. Core reserves consist of native BTC and BTCB (Binance-backed), while innovative reserves include wrapped assets WBTC, cbBTC, FBTC, BTC.b and tBTC. 

Solv is now one of the largest BTC Liquid Staking Token (LST) issuer to go multichain in terms of TVL and network connections, accessible across more than ten blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum, with over 25,000 BTC in reserves (over $2 Billion). 

This multichain expansion means users can engage BTC in diverse DeFi strategies with its added utility, allowing staking and lending to maximize BTC’s liquidity and versatility across networks.

In addition, Solv is marking the first introduction of the SOLV token utility making Solv Protocol as one of the first BTCFi protocols to classify its reserve assets.

Currently, the classifications and parameters are decided by Solv Protocol, but as the platform transitions to fully decentralized governance SOLV token holders will make the determination.

Solv’s token utility is further amplified as SolvBTC was accepted into the core pool of Venus Protocol, the largest lending protocol on BNB Chain and in the top five globally on DeFiLlama. SolvBTC joins BTCB as the only BTC assets in the Venus core pool, enabling users to collateralize SolvBTC to borrow assets like BNB, further facilitating DeFi strategies, including participation in the Binance Launchpool.

“SolvBTC’s multichain deployment and our fresh approach to categorizing BTC reserves is providing diversification and setting a higher standard for Bitcoin utility in DeFi,” said Ryan Chow, Co-founder & CEO of Solv. “With our robust network connections and TVL, we are allowing Bitcoin to work across chains with more ways for users to leverage BTC in a secure and robust ecosystem like never before.”

This announcement follows Solv’s recent move to bring Bitcoin staking to wider adoption with its Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL). The SAL framework has facilitated the launch of four SolvBTC Liquid Staked Tokens (LSTs): SolvBTC.BBN (Babylon), SolvBTC.ENA (Ethena), SolvBTC.Core, and SolvBTC.JUP (Jupiter). The full tokenomics and additional utility of the SOLV token will be introduced in a multiphase rollout. 

To learn more about Solv’s new reserve classifications, click here. 

About Solv

Solv Protocol is the leading Bitcoin staking platform, powered by its innovative Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL). Through SolvBTC, a Bitcoin Reserve for everyone, we unlock the full potential of over $1 trillion in Bitcoin assets. With SolvBTC.LSTs (Liquid Staking Tokens), Bitcoin holders gain access to diverse yield opportunities without sacrificing liquidity, allowing them to seamlessly participate in DeFi ecosystems. Solv acts as a comprehensive gateway to BTCFi, paving the way for institutional and traditional funds to confidently enter the crypto space.

Solv Protocol is backed by prominent investors such as Binance Labs, Blockchain Capital, Laser Digital, and others. Solv Protocol has undergone extensive security audits by leading firms, including Quantstamp, Certik, SlowMist, Salus, and Secbit.

Contact

PR & Partnerships
Catherine Chan
catherine@solv.finance

Singapore, Singapore, October 29th, 2024, Chainwire

Foresight Ventures, the leading investment firm specializing in Web3 projects, today announced a strategic partnership with Deep Blue, a newly launched Jersey-based stablecoin issuer and Arta TechFin Corporation Limited (Arta TechFin, HKSE: 0279), a Hong Kong listed company via its subsidiaries operating regulated financial institutions and leading blockchain developments. The alliance aims to drive innovation and growth of the Stablecoin and Real-World Asset (RWA) ecosystem

Deep Blue is an issuance platform for Stablecoins bringing best-in-class practices and best partners in both digital assets and traditional finance, enabling users to operate across multiple use cases.

Arta TechFin will bring in its capabilities as a regulated blockchain financial services provider, collaborating with Foresight Ventures and Deep Blue on Stablecoin and RWA businesses including but not limited to origination, tokenization, market making, and providing liquidity. 

Julien Bahurel, co-founder of Deep Blue, commented on the partnership: “We are excited to join forces with Foresight Ventures to accelerate our efforts in the Stablecoin and RWA sectors. This partnership represents a significant step forward in our mission to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the emerging blockchain economy; leveraging on key crypto partners, large Asia-based conglomerates and financial institutions.

Foresight Ventures, known for its commitment to fostering Web3 projects that promote decentralization and mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, will provide Deep Blue with strategic collaborations that include media and network resources. This partnership is expected to elevate Deep Blue’s initiatives, bringing them to a wider audience and enhancing their impact on the global financial landscape. Both parties look to leverage off each other’s access to the blockchain and traditional finance ecosystems. 

Forest Bai, Representative at Foresight Ventures, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Deep Blue and ArtaTechFin, companies that share our vision of a decentralized future where blockchain and traditional finance coexist seamlessly. Our strategic resources and industry expertise will help Deep Blue scale its ecosystem and make a lasting impact in the stablecoin and RWA domains.”

This strategic partnership marks a new chapter for all companies as they work together to pioneer cutting-edge financial solutions that will shape the future of the global economy.

 For more information , please visit Deep Blue Limited or ArtaTechFin

About Foresight Ventures

Foresight Ventures is the leading global crypto venture capital firm, managing over $400 million in assets across 100+ investments. With a research-driven approach, Foresight Ventures bridges Eastern and Western markets, focusing on early-stage opportunities in Web3. Its diverse portfolio spans blockchain infrastructure, AI and consumer applications with investments in top companies like Bitget, Aptos Labs, and TON. Through its premier owned media network, including The Block, Coinness and BlockTempo, the firm provides exposure to transformative technologies that shape the future of financial ecosystems.

Foresight Ventures backs the boldest upcoming innovations, encouraging concepts that challenge conventional platforms with real-life use cases built on emerging technologies. Dedicated to accelerating crypto adoption for billions of people worldwide, Foresight Ventures breaks down barriers empowering global financial freedom and inclusion to all.

For general enquiries, please email: fv@foresightventures.com

Contact

Media Team
Foresight Ventures
fv@foresightventures.com

Singapore, Singapore, October 24th, 2024, Chainwire

Hybrid cryptocurrency exchange GRVT (pronounced “gravity”), which aims to become the “Goldman Sachs on blockchain”, is thrilled to announce its latest partnership with XY Finance, a cross-chain DEX and bridge aggregator, addressing one of the biggest challenges facing crypto traders today: the complexity and cost of moving assets across different chains and exchanges. 

The partnership introduces an innovative cross-chain bridging UX by leveraging XY Finance’s Proxy Bridge, to enable CEX-like, gas-free bridging for DeFi. It allows users to seamlessly deposit funds from a CEX directly into GRVT’s smart contract, with no gas fees and no need for multiple wallet transactions — an industry first for DEXs. 

More importantly, this solution significantly simplifies access for non-crypto native users, who often struggle with the complexities of gas fees, bridging, and related concepts, setting new standards for DeFi and the broader industry.

Watch the video to learn more about how this makes DeFi deposit easy. 

Solving the Biggest Hurdle On-Chain: Cross-Chain Money Moving

As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to expand, traders often face significant friction when attempting to move assets between different exchanges and blockchain ecosystems. According to GRVT’s survey with close to 3,000 community members, three key issues are identified with the DeFi user experience: 

1. Difficulty in moving money on-chain (45%); 
2. Challenging wallet creation and management (20%); 
3. Gas fees are a barrier (15%).

For retail and institutional users alike, these barriers have slowed the adoption of DeFi and made seamless trading a challenge. GRVT and XY Finance are stepping up to eliminate these pain points, bringing a new level of efficiency and ease to the crypto trading experience.

Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of GRVT, commented, “DeFi adoption remains low, largely because the current landscape requires a steep learning curve, especially for first-time users, with the bridging process being a major pain point. Previously, users had to hold tokens to cover gas fees and complete multiple transactions just to deposit funds into a DEX smart contract. GRVT removes this friction by making these complex DeFi components invisible to the user. Our goal is to bring the benefits of DeFi to a wider audience by simplifying the experience.”

Wei Hsuan Huang, Founder and CEO of xSync Network and XY Finance, highlighted, “With the support of xSync Network’s omnichain infrastructure, XY Finance is enabling seamless, bridging from CEXs and any blockchain directly to GRVT. Together with GRVT, we are committed to eliminating the traditional complexities that have kept new users from fully embracing DeFi, offering a streamlined experience that simplifies cross-chain transactions and accelerates broader adoption.

This partnership marks another significant milestone for GRVT, as it prepares for the Q4 Mainnet launch. GRVT’s Open Beta Testnet is currently live, with more than 2.5 million users registered on waitlist.  

For more information and to join the GRVT community, visit grvt.io.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies carry high risks. This content is not a distribution of, or an offer or solicitation to provide, financial services or products, nor a representation as to their suitability or legality for you. GRVT is not a regulated entity and your funds are not subject to regulatory protection. Before making any decision based on this content, please seek financial and legal advice, and carefully review our [Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer] in full.

Singapore users: GRVT is not licensed, approved, authorised, designated, recognised, registered or otherwise regulated under any legislation administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). As such, users will not have the benefit of any regulatory safeguards imposed by the MAS.

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About GRVT

GRVT (pronounced “gravity”) is a hybrid derivatives exchange founded in 2022, offering off-chain order matching and on-chain settlements at an impressive 600,000 TPS. GRVT’s vision is to reinvent the global financial system from its core by leveraging blockchain technology, giving more people the power to generate and fully own their wealth without barriers. With the ambition to build the “Goldman Sachs on blockchain”, GRVT brings institutional expertise to decentralized finance. Our goal is to build an open, scalable marketplace—akin to the “Amazon of DeFi”—where individuals can easily access financial products.

GRVT official website: https://grvt.io/ 

For media inquiries, contact: press@grvt.io 

Social and Community: X | LinkedIn | Telegram | Discord

About XY Finance

XY Finance, powered by omnichain service provider xSync Network, is a leading Cross-Chain DEX and Bridge Aggregator, facilitating over $2 billion in volume across 25+ major blockchains and serving a user base of more than 800k.  XY Finance allows users to bridge and swap any token across multiple chains, offering the best rates and routes. Developers can leverage XY Finance’s bridge & dex aggregator API and widget to expand their projects, seamlessly connecting to all supported chains to drive growth and adoption.

XY Finance Official Website: https://xy.finance/ 

For media inquiries, contact: alina@xy.finance

Social and Community: X | DeBank | Telegram | Discord

Contact

GRVT
press@grvt.io

Singapore, Singapore, October 23rd, 2024, Chainwire

VALR, the Pantera-backed crypto exchange, is proud to announce the launch of VALR’s Futures Trade Arena, a competitive trading hub where traders can vie for weekly and monthly prizes based on their Return on Investment (ROI) and Profit and Loss (PnL) performance. This new initiative, which runs from October 1, 2024, until at least April 30, 2025, levels the playing field by rewarding performance, not just trade size.

The Futures Trade Arena offers up to 120,000 USDT in prizes each month, with prize distribution adjusted by the number of eligible participants. Monthly prizes range from 2,000 USDT to 10,000 USDT for the top traders by ROI and PnL, while weekly prizes range from 25 USDT to 2,880 USDT for the top 10 traders in each category

To be eligible for the Futures Trade Arena, traders must have cumulatively traded at least $2,000 in Futures on any of VALR’s Futures pairs during the 14 days before the start of a Weekly Competition Round. Once the $2,000 trading threshold is met, traders are automatically entered into the next Weekly Competition Round and the corresponding Monthly Competition Round of the same month. This structure ensures that traders of various skill levels can compete, regardless of when they meet the eligibility criteria, and ensures fair competition for rewards based on performance.

Each Monthly Competition Round consists of four consecutive Weekly Rounds. Prizes are awarded for top performers in both ROI percentage terms and absolute USDT-denominated PnL, providing multiple ways for traders to excel. The competition is open to all new and existing fully KYC-verified VALR customers, excluding VALR employees, contractors, and residents of prohibited countries.

This new offering from VALR is designed to allow traders of all sizes and backgrounds to showcase their trading skills, without being overshadowed by those making larger trades. The Futures Trade Arena focuses on rewarding smart, effective trading strategies, with performance-based prizes that create opportunities for all participants.

Ben Caselin, Chief Marketing Officer of VALR, commented on the launch: “The Futures Trade Arena is a game-changer. We’re not just focusing on volume but on rewarding real trading performance. This initiative truly levels the playing field, allowing both professional and retail traders to compete on strategy, not just trade size. It’s all part of our ongoing commitment to building VALR as a global brand that prioritizes fairness and opportunity for all.”

About VALR’s Grand Slam and Futures

The Futures Trade Arena complements VALR’s Grand Slam of Trading Competitions, a global futures trading program that launched in May 2024. The Grand Slam features one of the world’s largest prize pools, with up to 60 million USDT available across a 12-month period. It automatically includes all users trading Perpetual Futures on VALR, with monthly prize pools ranging from 33,000 to 5 million USDT, depending on the total trading volume for the month.

The Grand Slam is designed to attract both professional and retail traders, allowing all participants to benefit from the platform’s growth. This global initiative has garnered significant interest from some of the largest trading firms and highlights VALR’s continued commitment to expanding its footprint in the global crypto space.

About VALR

Founded in 2018, VALR is the largest crypto exchange in Africa by trade volume, serving over 1,100 corporate and institutional clients and more than 950,000 users globally. Headquartered in Johannesburg, VALR is licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa and has approvals to offer services in Europe and initial approval from Dubai’s VARA. VALR has raised $55 million in funding from top investors, including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, GSR, and Avon Ventures, an affiliate of Fidelity Investments.

VALR distinguishes itself through its customer-first philosophy, offering secure, transparent, and innovative solutions for both professional and retail traders. As a leader in the African crypto market, VALR connects global markets, leveraging opportunities in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the world. For more information, visit valr.com.

Contact

VALR
press@valr.com

Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands, October 22nd, 2024, Chainwire

0G Foundation, furthering the first decentralized AI Operating System built for fully on-chain applications, is launching its highly anticipated node sale on November 11, 2024. As AI rapidly reshapes industries, there is an increasing need for robust, decentralized infrastructure capable of handling vast data flows while maintaining the integrity of AI systems. The 0G AI Alignment Node Sale is a crucial step toward creating a safe, reliable, and high-performance AI network.

AI is changing the world. Both Web2 and Web3 AI use cases need performant infrastructure that can handle vast data flows – all while keeping AI honest. The 0G node sale is key to ensuring that on-chain AI is safe, reliable, and humanity-aligned.

Why AI Alignment Nodes? 

0G AI alignment nodes are designed to ensure the integrity and transparency of AI operations on the 0G network. By monitoring AI behavior and detecting any deviations from expected protocols or ethical standards, these nodes can help prevent AI from “cheating” or acting maliciously. Additionally, they contribute to the overall robustness and censorship resistance of the 0G network by distributing control over AI alignment.   

Earn Rewards and Build the Future of AI

Node operators will be able to earn up to 15% of the total 0G ecosystem token supply over the next three years, which once earned will further enhance the ability to secure and monitor the network. By operating AI Alignment Nodes, participants will help ensure the correct behavior of data storage, DA, and model serving nodes, safeguarding the integrity of the data and AI systems running on the 0G network. Additional rewards will be distributed from the broader 0G ecosystem, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a secure and decentralized AI platform.

Node Sale for the Community

The 0G node sale is an opportunity for the community to purchase nodes and become part of the decentralized AI operating system. With a wide range of tiers (32 unique tiers) and affordable pricing (Starting at 0.05 ETH per node), the sale ensures that participants have an equal chance to contribute to the growth and decentralisation of the 0G network. By participating, individuals can help shape the future of AI and benefit from the long-term value and engagement that comes with being an active owner and contributor.

“Our goal is to empower a decentralised community, and this node sale is a crucial step toward making that vision a reality—It’s not just for investors or partners, it’s for those who want to help build a more transparent AI infrastructure,” said Michael Heinrich, CEO of ZeroGravity Labs.

Key Dates  

• Whitelist Node Sale Launch: November 11th, 2024, at 12 PM UTC (available for 2 days), only for users with Whitelist to purchase.
• Public Node Sale Launch: November 13th, 2024, at 12 PM UTC, all users can purchase.

This sale is limited in nature and only for eligible participants in certain countries. Please review all disclaimers and important details regarding the 0G Node Sale by visiting our disclaimer here: node.0g.ai/disclaimer. Only persons who meet the requirements for the sale are allowed to participate.

The sale will take place on www.node.0g.ai. Join us in building a decentralised AI future, starting today.

About 0G Foundation

The 0G Foundation is an organization dedicated to driving innovation and growth maintaining the world’s first decentralised AI Operating System. Focused on creating an open, transparent, and scalable infrastructure, the 0G Foundation is committed to fostering a vibrant, decentralized ecosystem where AI can operate as a public good. Through strategic partnerships, community initiatives, and innovative technology, 0G Foundation strives to ensure the long-term sustainability and integrity of the 0G network. 

Contact

Leora Schreiber
pr@marketacross.com

Panama City, Panama, October 16th, 2024, Chainwire

Hermetica, the creator of USDh, the first Bitcoin-backed, yield-bearing synthetic dollar, is thrilled to announce the successful close of its $1.7 million seed funding round.

Key Backers

UTXO Management led the round, with additional support from prominent investors including CMS Holdings, Ethos Fund, Trust Machines SPV, Newman Capital, Silvermine, and strategic angels such as Tycho Onnasch (Founder & CEO, Zest Protocol), Robin Obermaier (Founder & CEO, Liquidium), Mithil Thakore (Founder & CEO, Velar), Matt Maduno (Founder & CEO, Arch Network), and GM Chung (Founder & CEO, DeSpread).

Fueling USDh’s Expansion

The capital will accelerate the growth of USDh. USDh is natively issued on Bitcoin Layer 1 through Runes and Layer 2 through the Stacks network and is available to purchase on decentralized exchanges.

With the global stablecoin market expanding over 100% year-over-year to now exceed $160 billion – accounting for 50% of all on-chain transactions – USDh is well-positioned for rapid growth. Despite Bitcoin’s $1.3 trillion market cap, only 1% of its value is locked in DeFi, leaving an untapped $1 trillion market for USDh to unlock.

Hermetica aims to empower Bitcoin users to hold and transact with a stable, liquid dollar asset redeemable for Bitcoin (1 USDh = 1 USD worth of Bitcoin), enabling Bitcoin market participants to securely hold dollars without exiting the Bitcoin ecosystem or converting to fiat.

“We believe stablecoins are a foundational building block for a decentralized financial system. USDh is the ideal Bitcoin-backed stablecoin—capital efficient, independent of the fiat system, and yield-generating.” said Hermetica Labs CEO Jakob Schillinger.

Looking Ahead

The capital raised will fuel the further development of USDh’s integrations across the Bitcoin ecosystem, including enhanced liquidity, institutional-grade custodial partnerships, and scalable off-exchange settlement solutions. Hermetica is building on Bitcoin’s foundational strengths to offer a decentralized, secure alternative to traditional fiat-backed stablecoins.

Testimonials by some of our Investors:

“USDh represents a breakthrough for Bitcoin-backed stablecoins. Hermetica’s innovative approach to delta-hedging positions USDh as a key player in the evolving stablecoin landscape. We’re excited to support Hermetica as they continue to lead the charge in Bitcoin DeFi.” – Tyler Evans, Managing Partner, UTXO Management

“We are excited about Hermetica because they are unlocking significant value within the Bitcoin ecosystem with the creation of USDh. We believe their ability to seamlessly integrate stablecoins into Bitcoin’s Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks presents a massive opportunity. USDh will become a fundamental tool for Bitcoin users seeking a reliable dollar asset without leaving the ecosystem.” – Simon Shin, Managing Partner, Ethos Fund

About Hermetica

Hermetica is a crypto-native team with deep expertise in financial technology, bringing together experience from major institutions such as Kraken and State Street. Hermetica is focused on creating innovative financial products that leverage Bitcoin’s security and transparency.

Earn up to 25% APY on app.hermetica.fi.

About Stacks

Stacks is a Bitcoin L2 that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications to use Bitcoin as a secure base layer. The 2024 Nakamoto and sBTC releases will bring faster speeds and transactions backed by 100% Bitcoin finality. ‍Stacks is the current leading Bitcoin L2 by developer traction and market cap and is poised to help unlock Bitcoin and its $500B in passive capital as a fully programmable, productive asset. The Stacks (STX) token, used as gas on the L2, was the first to undergo an SEC-qualified sale in the United States. The project explicitly decentralized with the mainnet launch in 2021. In the Stacks ecosystem, there are currently 30+ contributing entities including a non-profit Stacks Foundation, a developer tooling company Hiro, Xverse, Trust Machines, Mechanism, Bitcoin L2 Labs, ALEX, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, and more. 

Contact

Jakob Schillinger
jakob@hermetica.fi

Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, October 15th, 2024, Chainwire

SingularityDAO, Cogito Finance, and SelfKey have announced a strategic token merger to launch Singularity Finance, an EVM Layer-2 for tokenising the AI economy’s Real World Assets (RWA).

Combining the trio’s complementary technologies will power a platform optimised for Artificial Intelligence tokenisation that will accelerate Web3. Tokenising AI assets such as GPUs and integrating them into existing DeFi applications will create new onchain primitives, enabling more efficient funding sources for AI-driven innovations.

Singularity Finance will bring RWAs onchain using Cogito’s tokenisation framework, creating decentralised markets where users can easily participate with the support of SelfKey’s compliant identity solution. Singularity’s Layer-2 will offer AI-powered financial tools services that enhance and automate analysis, portfolio, and risk management leveraging SingularityDAO’s AI-driven DynaVaults and other technologies.

Cogito Finance CEO Cloris Chen said: “The rapid growth of the AI sector is creating significant opportunities for both institutions and retail participants. However, barriers still exist on both the demand and supply sides, limiting broader participation in the AI economy. By developing our own Layer-2 solution democratising AI-Fi, we can overcome these challenges and remain agile in adapting to an evolving regulatory landscape.”

SingularityDAO co-founder Mario Casiraghi added: “We stand at the intersection of AI and DeFi, where much of the innovation currently taking place within the Web3 space is occurring. AI-Fi harnesses the immense potential of the AI economy by tokenising the AI value chain, creating unprecedented opportunities to access, exchange and monetise these assets.”

As part of the merger, the three existing tokens—SDAO, CGV, and KEY—will be converted into a unified token, SFI, which will serve as the network token for Singularity Finance. Initially, the SFI token will be available on Ethereum and BNB Chain, with mainnet released planned for the first half of 2025 and with the conversion ratios between SDAO, CGV, and KEY set as follows:

• SDAO migration to SFI at a ratio of 1:80.353 (1 SDAO = 80.353 SFI)
• CGV migration to SFI at a ratio of 1:10.890 (1 CGV = 10.890 SFI)
• KEY migration to SFI at a ratio of 1:1 (1 KEY = 1 SFI)

The pricing is based on the 200 days moving average of each token in the period up to 20th August 2024. 

Upon closing of the merger, a leadership council for Singularity Finance will be established to oversee and guide the operations of the newly merged financial ecosystem. The council will be led by Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET and the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance; Cloris Chen, CEO of Cogito Finance; and Mario Casiraghi, CFO of SingularityNET and Co-Founder of SingularityDAO. Following the merger announcement, the community will have the opportunity to participate in a governance vote, which will run from 21 to 31 October.

The merger will address the significant challenges currently faced in the ownership and accessibility of AI-related assets and yield. By leveraging SFI compliant tokenisation infrastructure users will be able to access yield opportunities from compute and AI agents; in addition, AI market participants will be able to foster extra liquidity for their assets thereby making AI and hardware-backed high-quality yield more accessible. Singularity Finance will solve these challenges through its Layer2 including built-in legal frameworks, distribution channels, marketplace, and AI-driven asset management tools.

About SingularityDAO

SingularityDAO is a decentralised Portfolio Management Protocol designed to democratise access to sophisticated crypto asset management tools. The upcoming DynaVaults, multi-asset, multistrategy vaults leveraging AI-enhanced analytics and risk management tools, provide the much needed infrastructure in the volatile world of DeFi.

Learn more: https://singularitydao.ai/

About Cogito Finance

Cogito’s mission is to bring traditional assets onchain for increased liquidity, security, and transparency. It offers a suite of carefully-engineered, fully transparent, and institutional-grade investment products. Led by a team of finance and technology experts, Cogito is pioneering the future of onchain finance.

Learn more: https://www.cogito.finance/

About SelfKey

A blockchain-based identity platform that enables individuals and organisations to securely manage and control their digital identities, enhancing compliance with KYC requirements through decentralised technology. With a team experienced in decentralised identity since 2014 across major companies, SelfKey aims to revolutionise the KYC onboarding process by lowering costs, improving security, and upholding the principles of self-sovereign identity.

Learn more: https://selfkey.org/

Contact

Avishay Litani
pr@marketacross.com

Bangalore, India, October 14th, 2024, Chainwire

India Blockchain Week (IBW), the country’s flagship series of blockchain and web3 events held in Bangalore, is set to return for 2024 after an enormously successful 2023 edition. Spanning from November 30th – December 8th 2024, the web3 festival will feature an array of 100+ web3 events, including flagship events such as IBW2024 Conference, ETHIndia, IBW Demo Day and many other side-events hosted by Indian & global blockchain industry stakeholders.

The IBW2024 Conference, the two-day headline event anchoring India Blockchain Week (IBW), will be held on 4-5 December 2024, 9am-6pm, at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center. It’s the first-ever platform for Indian Web3 builders and innovators to explore collaboration opportunities with global industry leaders. The main conference is hosted by Hashed Emergent, a web3 venture capital firm dedicated to accelerating the mass adoption of web3 in India and other emerging markets. 

India has ranked #1 in crypto adoption for two consecutive years, as per Chainalysis. The country is playing an increasingly important role in the global web3 ecosystem, accounting for over 12% of the global web3 developer base. It is also home to over 1,000 web3 startups, according to a joint report by Hashed Emergent, KPMG in India, Devfolio, Coinswitch, and Kratos Gaming Network (KGeN). These achievements highlight India’s resilience and enthusiasm for digital assets despite the perception of stringent regulations.

“As a host of India Blockchain Week Conference, we are committed to amplifying India’s thriving web3 landscape on the global stage,” said Tak Lee, CEO & Managing Partner of Hashed Emergent. “Our goal is to foster collaboration across the Indian ecosystem by bringing together local innovators and global stakeholders. We’re excited to return with the second edition of IBW, continuing our work to nurture and grow the web3 community in India and other emerging markets.”

The government of India itself has taken initiatives to leverage blockchain technology for better governance. Its National Blockchain Framework (NBF) aims to secure digital governance with blockchain technology. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)’s Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack offers Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) with a geographically distributed infrastructure designed to support blockchain-based applications.

Moreover, a panel led by the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is reportedly working on a consultation paper seeking inputs from stakeholders including industry experts, companies, and the public, on how cryptocurrencies should be regulated in India. In the backdrop of evolving regulations, the IBW Conference will offer attendees insights into the country’s regulatory landscape and its impact on the future of crypto and web3 in India.

The full list of confirmed speakers will be revealed later, but it will include prominent global and local leaders of the blockchain industry such as Aptos Co-founder & CTO Avery Ching, Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Monad CEO Keone Hon, Startale Labs CEO Sota Watanabe, and BitGo COO Chen Fang.

Avery Ching, the Co-founder & CTO of Aptos Labs, commented, “India is home to incredibly talented developers and leaders who are advancing web3 in remarkable ways. It’s inspiring to see the impact builders in India have had on the entire Aptos ecosystem, and I hope to see more builders after our activation at IBW this year.”

Hailed as India’s first and biggest world-class, multi-chain web3 conference with a pan-industry agenda, the IBW Conference will feature 100+ innovators, entrepreneurs, policy makers and thought leaders across the entire spectrum of the blockchain industry engaging in keynote speeches, panel discussions, fireside chats, and moderated debates.

“I am honored to be participating in India’s flagship blockchain and web3 conference. India is at a unique inflection point in web3 adoption, with its thriving developer community, commitment to entrepreneurship, and pace of economic activity. I am excited to speak about opportunities for Monad Labs to collaborate with the local web3 ecosystem in advancing blockchain innovation,” said Monad CEO Keone Hon.

Last year’s IBW Conference featured Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum), Mo Shaikh (Aptos), Emin Gün Sirer (Avalanche), Jesse Pollak (Base), Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon), Sebastien Borget (Sandbox) and others as speakers. The 2023 event was sponsored by Avalanche, Near, Aptos, Polkadot, ICP, Ledger, Sui, dYdX, Berachain, CoinDCX, and Transak.

Some of the key highlights of the gathering include:

• IBW2024 Conference: Held on 4-5 December 2024 at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield, it features keynote speeches and panel discussions on the latest developments and opportunities in the web3 space, and examining the policy landscape. It will also feature stage events and workshops by Aptos, Starkware, and other companies.
• IBW Hackathon: Taking place from 30th Nov – 2nd Dec at the Fortune Select Trinity, Whitefield, the hackathon is expected to see the participation of over 250 enthusiastic individuals. The ten finalists of this chain-agnostic hackathon will get to present their innovative solutions at the conference. Other rewards for participants include bounty prizes and free tickets to the IBW Conference.
• IBW Demo Day: The Demo Day will be held alongside the main conference on the 4th of December. It will spotlight 15 notable Indian web3 startups at the IBW2024 Conference venue. The Demo Day will cater to the broad audience  including investors, founders, builders and others.
• ETHIndia: Organized by Devfolio from Dec 6-8, it is one of the world’s largest Ethereum hackathons, hosting over 1,500 builders and 25+ workshops.

The IBW organizers would like to thank the sponsors for their help in making it the most important event in the country for conversations about crypto, blockchain, web3, and policymaking. The key sponsors include Aptos, Polygon, Starkware and Starknet Foundation, with many more in the process of joining the list to support the event.  

About India Blockchain Week (IBW)

India Blockchain Week (IBW) is a movement unifying the Indian web3 ecosystem and a platform to connect with the global community. It is India’s biggest pan-industry series of blockchain and web3 events, spanning from November 30th- December 8th 2024 across Bangalore, India. IBW is a week-long array of 100+ web3 events, including flagship events such as the headline IBW Conference, ETHIndia, FILBangalore and many other side-events, networking events, workshops, parties etc hosted by Indian & global blockchain industry stakeholders.

The IBW Conference is the two-day headline event anchoring India Blockchain Week (IBW) on 4-5 December 2024 at the Sheraton Grand, Bangalore and hosted by Hashed Emergent – a web3 venture capital firm dedicated to accelerating the mass adoption of web3 in India.

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For more information about IBW, visit:  Website  |  Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  Telegram

About Hashed Emergent

Hashed Emergent is the venture capital arm of Hashed, backing builders from India and emerging markets shaping the on-chain frontier. It invests at the earliest stages of a web3 startup’s journey, using its expertise, experience, and network to amplify their growth and success. The team is rooted in the cultural hubspots of web3 in emerging markets, spanning across Bangalore, Seoul, Singapore, Lagos and Dubai. Hashed Emergent drives web3 focused ecosystem and community expansion in these markets through its purpose-built initiatives. 

For media queries, please contact: Irshad Ahmed, gm@indiablockchainweek.com

Contact

Irshad Ahmed
gm@indiablockchainweek.com