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Blockchain-Focused Fund COSIMO X Acquires Seven-Figure Funding from RIT

COSIMO Ventures, an investment firm situated in Boston and Dublin, recently announced that the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has endorsed them with a seven-figure investment.

The company disclosed in a recent securitized announcement with Blockchain.news that the venture capital firm was working on developing their new blockchain-focused tokenized trust, dubbed COSIMO X.

Managing Partner of COSIMO Ventures, Robert Frasca asserted that this was the first time any university in the United States had ever directly invested in a tokenized venture fund, making RIT the first university to hold a direct tokenized economic interest in a digital security firm. He also went on to express on behalf of COSIMO Ventures that with RIT’s funding, the investment firm hoped to achieve new heights of growth and breakthrough in the development of decentralized software protocols.

The Managing Partner also backed the newly instilled blockchain-focused tokenized fund—COSIMO X—and expressed this as a great opportunity of growth for his firm’s investors:

“We believe that the growth that we can foster as an investment firm will be what really resonates with our investors. Once the market fully understands the benefits of tokenization as it relates to fund investing, a structure like ours might become the market standard.”

Blockchain Future Powered by COSIMO X

COSIMO X, the blockchain-driven fund developed by COSIMO Ventures, is focused on investing in emerging businesses that utilize digital assets and blockchain protocols. Through these means, they hope to fuel and help the growth of the emerging digital economy. With exposure to companies working in regulatory technology industries, new digital asset creation sectors, and market infrastructure platforms, the COSIMO X fund is focused on utilizing financial technology as a tool to revolutionize and dominate the market.

COSIMO X Tokens, which are utilized on the blockchain platform, are representative of economic interest in the evergreen fund in this case and are found via the Securitize powered COSIMO X website. The tokens can be purchased by institutions, international investors, and US accredited investors.

Ethereum and Venture Capital

With fintech on the rise, startup companies that are funded by venture capital firms are integrating blockchain platforms more and more into their business ecosystem. As reported by Leadblock Partners, Ethereum seem to be a popular choice among European blockchain startups. Companies favor this particular blockchain network, because it offers robustness, scalability and overall stable architecture.

US Government Seize Bitcoin Terrorism Funding for Islamic State and Al-Qaeda

The US Justice Department has revealed that it has seized Bitcoin and cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars intended to fund the activities of terror groups like the military arm of Hamas, the Islamic State, and Al-Qaeda. This breakthrough is the largest clampdown on online terrorist fundraising, according to The Washington Post.

300 cryptocurrency accounts scrutinized

Apart from the captured funds, the US officials also disclosed that they had attained court orders to get hold of 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four Facebook pages, and four websites linked to the alleged terror fundraising.

They also noted that Al-Qaeda groups mainly in Syria were to be financed using laundered Bitcoin. The funding organizations in question solicited Bitcoin donations using social media platforms like Telegram.

According to the US government’s court filing, the appeal for donations was at times disguised as charity work if the message didn’t sink in that the money was to be used to purchase weapons.

Quest for Bitcoin donations

The US authorities noted that they thoroughly investigated the military wing of Hamas called Al-Qassam Brigades after it posted a request for Bitcoin donations on its social media page as they were untraceable and could be channeled for violent causes. They were able to lay hold of 150 accounts linked to this fundraising effort.

Steven T. Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, noted:

“Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies.”

In another case, Murat Cakar was charged for being an orchestrator of the Islamic State. He was the mastermind of a coronavirus-related scam, which coerced victims that it was selling protective masks.

In May, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis indicated that ISIS was not hoarding $300 million Bitcoin war-chest. This revelation came in the wake of allegations that this terror group using crypto platforms to bypass financial security measures and conceal donations.

Democrats Request Trump Administration Briefing on Enormous Seizure of Cryptocurrency Terrorism Funding

House Democrats Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) more details from the White House on the recent seizure of cryptocurrency funding that was bound for Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorist groups.

According to a report from The Hill on Aug 25, Cleaver, who is the chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy, and Gottheimer, a member of the subcommittee—have requested that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Attorney General William Barr offer a briefing to the subcommittee on the seizure operation.

Cleaver and Gottheimer wrote in their request to the Trump Administration:

“It is vital that Members of the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy receive a briefing, at the appropriate classification level, on this action, the largest ever seizure of online terrorist financing, from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury on this investigation.”

Gottheimer was part of the House Bipartisan group that, in 2019, pressured Twitter to remove several accounts tied to Hamas and Hezbollah, which Twitter did in the end.

On Tuesday Gottheimer said, “foreign terrorist organizations, including ISIS and al Qaeda, are constantly evolving and using tactics to threaten our way of life and we must continue to stay one step ahead.”

Terrorist Bitcoin and Crypto Seizure

According to the US Justice Department, two weeks ago millions of dollars in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency that was intended to fund the activities of terror groups like the military arm of Hamas, the Islamic State, and Al-Qaeda were seized by law enforcement. This breakthrough is the largest clampdown on online crypto terrorist fundraising in history.

According to the US government’s court filing, the appeal for donations was at times disguised as charity work, including scams for COVID-19 relief work.

Reddit Now Worth $6 Billion after $250 Million Funding Round Amid WSB Mania

Reddit doubles its valuation to $6 Billion after raising another $250 million in a Series E fundraising round, as announced by the company on Monday night. The news comes just weeks after the social media platform made the headlines for facilitating the discussions of day trading hedge fund disruptors in its subreddit r/WallStreetBets.

Reddit Inc. doubled its valuation to $6 billion in a new round of funding that comes as the social-media company has been in the headlines for its role in facilitating the Wall Street trading frenzy of GameStop and AMC coordinated buying attacks.

Reddit on Monday said it raised $250 million in a late-stage funding round led by venture-capital firm Vy Capital.

The social media giant was previously valued at $3 billion after its last funding round in February 2019, according to PitchBook, a provider of private-market data. Reddit’s previous investors include venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Reddit Chief Executive Steve Huffman said:

“It’s a good market to fundraise […] Valuations are very high right now. It never hurts to raise money when there’s an opportunity to do so and Reddit had a strong year.”

Huffman highlighted that advertising revenue for the company had shot up 90% in the December-ended quarter from the previous year.

Reddit And Coordinated Buying Attacks

Coordinated buying attacks are multiplying and spreading throughout the cryptocurrency sector inspired by members of a Reddit Forum called WallStreetBets.

Over the last few weeks, traders have been emboldened and inspired by a group of amateur day traders based on a Reddit forum called WallStreetBets (WSB), who recently launched a coordinated buying attack on the video game retailer Gamestop, triggering a short squeeze and inflicting heavy losses for hedge funds like Melvin Capital.

While Reddit is just the platform being leveraged to facilitate day trader discussions, along with platforms like Telegram, the recent surge of attention appears to have aided Reddit in its late-stage funding round which has now seen the platform reach a valuation of $6 Billion.

Argo Blockchain Secures $20M Loan to Build Out West Texas Mining Facility

Argo Blockchain Plc, a London-based publicly listed crypto mining firm, has announced that it has secured a £14 million ($20 million) loan from Galaxy Digital.

As unveiled by the firm, the loan will last six months and support the firm in its expansion drives without selling off its current Bitcoin holdings.

According to the firm, the loan facility will bolster earlier funds raised by the firm and build a new data centre in West Texas. The company is also seeking to use the loan proceeds to meet operating cash flow requirements. The firm has filed in its Bitcoin assets as collateral for the loan.

“We are delighted to work with @GalaxyDigitalHQ as we pursue our growth plans and to form a solid relationship with them as a financing partner,” said Peter Wall, the Chief Executive Officer of Argo Blockchain. “This agreement allows Argo to secure competitive terms on a loan facility while also allowing us to continue to HODL our Bitcoin.”

HODLing its Bitcoin holdings is essential as the market currently experiencing a bearish downturn, and sell-offs at this time may not bring about profitability. Meanwhile, the company’s expansion into North America is coming on the heels of the Chinese government enforcing a ban on all crypto-related activities, including mining.

The ban has resulted in the migration of miners, and many industry proponents see this situation as the ideal time for industry stakeholders to take advantage of the current gap in mining to establish a foothold. The expansion into North America, and the crypto-friendly Texas state, show the company’s readiness to take advantage of the trends in the ecosystem. The company had been making plans for this move before this time as it recently unveiled the acquisition of 320 acres of land to build out the facility.

Crypto Platform Matrixport under Bitmain Co-Founder Received $100M in Series C Funding,Valued over $1B

The Singapore-based digital financial service platform Matrixport led by Wu Jihan, the co-founder of the world’s top Bitcoin mining machine provider giant Bitmain, raised $100 million in Series C financing.

The company’s market value will exceed $1 billion after completing this financing, joining the ranks of cryptocurrency enterprise unicorns.

Reportedly, the C round of financing was led by Russia’s leading Internet investment firms DST Global, venture capital company C Ventures, and Singapore venture capital fund K3 Ventures. Other investors include Qiming Venture Capital, CE Innovation Capital, Tiger Global, Cachet Group, Palm Drive Capital, Foresight Ventures, and A&T Capital.

Matrixport said that the funds raised this time will develop further research and development of its product supply and security while enhancing the user experience for platform users.

The Chief Executive Officer of Matrixport Ge Yuesheng will continue to expand financing and said in an interview:

“Crypto banking is still a fast-growing niche when compared to wallets and exchanges. Our clients are mainly high net-worth individuals in crypto who have a wide range of expectations of risk and return.”

To date, high-tech startup Matrixport has raised a total of $129 million in funding. The latest funding was raised on Apr 26, 2021, from a Series C round through Qiming Venture Partners, who also invested $100 million in funding this time.

As of March this year, Matrixport has managed and managed client assets of more than $10 billion. Ge said today that the company’s goal is to go on the public listing within three to five years and plans to increase the assets under management and custody to hundreds of billions of dollars within five years.

In January 2021, Wu Jihan resigned from the CEO and chairman of Bitmain and announced the establishment of the Bitdeer Group-previously known as the share mining machine business of Bitmain and concurrently serves as the chairman of Matrixport.

Crypto Tax Accounting Software Provider TaxBit Raises $130M From Investors

Amidst the geared up to move by investors to back innovative projects in the blockchain ecosystem, crypto tax accounting software provider, TaxBit has raised $130 million from investors.

According to the official announcement, this round funding was preceded by a $100 million capital back in January led by IVP and Insight Partners. Other angel investors, including FTX Derivatives founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried also joined in the round.

Investors are particularly optimistic about TaxBit’s proposed solutions to help all crypto stakeholders profile their tax liabilities accurately and efficiently. The firm’s software is not only beneficial for crypto investors, but it is also a vital tool for regulators to provide the proper oversight for the industry.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said:

“FTX US is excited to partner with TaxBit in bringing a world-class tax experience directly to our platform. FTX US users will have access to portfolio performance statements, tax optimisation tools, and year-end tax forms that make it easy for users to report and file their taxes. TaxBit’s technology supports FTX’s commitment to compliance while focusing on the customer experience,”

American tax regulators and authorities worldwide are continually exploring avenues to promote tax compliance amongst crypto investors or traders alike. The South Korean tax watchdogs are looking to bring compliance on a 20% capital gains tax on crypto proceeds.

TaxBit develops this tool will help aid proper monitoring and compliance for both investors and regulators alike. However, according to the firm, the new funding will be deployed to bolster its workforce and power its expansions in the United States and the UK.

“TaxBit will use the funds to scale its multi-channel ecosystem of tax and accounting offerings across the enterprise, consumer, and government sectors. The company plans to double headcount by the end of the year and continue to open new offices in the USA and UK to fuel international expansion,” the shared press release reads.

Former Goldman Sachs Staff Launch DeFi Platform Ondo with $4M Funding Round

Ondo Finance DeFi protocol, launched by two former Goldman Sachs employees, has raised $4 million through an equity funding round.

This equity funding led by Pantera Capital, including other participators such as The LAO, Protoscale Capital, Divergence, Chapter One, CMS, Digital Currency Group, CoinFund, Bixin, Genesis, as well as angel investors like Christy Choi (former Head of Investments at Binance), Diogo Monica (co-founder Anchorage), Richard Ma (founder Quantstamp), Josh Hannah (founder Betfair), and Stani Kulechov (founder Aave).

Ondo CEO Nathan Allman, a former staff of Goldman’s Digital Assets team, and Ondo’s other co-founder, Pinku Surana, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs in a technology team, launched the Ondo Finance DeFi platform after they identified a unique market opportunity to offer a suite of products that would allow institutions get risk-controlled exposure to DeFi products.

Nathan Allman, CEO of Ondo Finance, talked about the development and stated:

“ We see a huge opportunity to bring a wider array of products from traditional finance to DeFi and create new financial primitives. We are grateful for the support of our investors who recognise the immense potential for DeFi to democratise access to a wide range of financial services previously only accessible to institutions.”

Ondo is a new DeFi primitive that seeks to resolve such existing problems in the DeFi sector. Ondo Finance is an Ethereum-based DeFi protocol developed to accelerate DeFi adoption among mainstream investors to capture DeFi yield with transparent and mitigated risk while unlocking higher upside exposures.

The platform allows users to get risk-isolated, fixed yield loans backed by yield-generating crypto assets. Borrowers and lenders contribute capital together in “Ondo Vaults,” which use smart contracts to enforce loan provisions and maximise returns.

Current yields in cryptocurrency markets are volatile rates derived from a complex source of inputs. This is a barrier to entry both for institutional and retail investors who seek yields with defined risk. These are risk-averse investors who are willing to adopt DeFi to maximise returns. However, such investors are exposed to volatile yield, impermanent loss from decentralised exchanges like PancakeSwap, Uniswap etc., and commingled risk from lending protocols such as Aave and Compound.

Meanwhile, Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital, talked about Ondo during the equity fundraising event and said: “Fixed income remains the missing piece that decentralised finance needs to go mainstream. Ondo unlocks downside protection and relative certainty in forecasting returns for institutional investors looking to allocate to the attractive yields in the DeFi space. We are excited to back the Ondo team in their mission to bridge the worlds of DeFi and institutional finance.”

Image source: Ondo twitter

Celo Co-Leads $100M Capital Raise with Other Major Crypto Protocols to Support DeFi Adoption

Celo, a mobile phone-focused blockchain platform, has announced a 100 million funding program, popularly known as the “DeFi for the people” fund, aiming to make DeFi accessible to the 6 billion smartphone users across the world.

Celo is working in partnership with Ethereum-native protocols like Aave, Curve, Sushi, PoolTogether, 0x and UMA, and Ethereum infrastructure providers like Chainlink, RabbitHole The Graph, and others.

The partnership will provide up to $100 million in educational initiatives, grants, and incentives to educate people globally about decentralised finance.

The initiative, built on the Celo ecosystem, recognised a lack of inclusivity and accessibility in the traditional financial markets and, as a result, it aims to use the decentralised nature of cryptocurrency and blockchain to provide finance to six billion mobile phone users across the world.

Celo founder Rene Reinsberg talked about the development and said that the initiative aims to promote accessibility and inclusivity for the world’s unbanked population.

“Of the roughly 5 million people around the world currently using DeFi applications, less than 10% live outside of developed countries. Cost, technical knowledge and internet access shouldn’t stand in the way of this revolutionary technology. That’s why we’re spearheading DeFi for the People,”

Reinsberg mentioned that the program would make DeFi accessible, get more tools in the hands of more users around the globe, and bring the benefits of DeFi to anyone with a mobile phone. “Mobile is the key to bring DeFi to the majority of people who primarily access the internet through their phones,” he added.

The DeFi protocols have collectively committed $100 million in initial funds, with the plans to contribute more funding will follow in the future.

The smartphone focused Celo platform currently boasts more than 1 million registered wallet addresses across 113 countries. Product integration with PoolTogether, SushiSwa, Moola Market, Ubeswap and Valora are the first to launch on the Celo platform, with additional integrations planned to launch in the coming weeks and months.

PoolTogether will launch under the program with a $500,000 prize reward scheme within the next few weeks. PoolTogether is a “no-loss lottery” on the Ethereum blockchain. People pool their money into an interest-bearing investment product, with one winner getting the rewards while everyone else getting refunded.

Aave lending protocol has promised to offer $20 million in token incentives to users who access the protocol via Celo’s mobile platform. While Curve decentralised exchange has prepared to contribute $14 million in incentives under the program, Sushi is ready to channel up to $10 million in front of users who use the Celo platform. Other DeFi protocols like Chainlink, The Graph, RabbitHole, and Wrapped.com have pledged to support the delivery of education and resources.

Reinsberg said that the goal is to bring 1 billion users to decentralised finance in five years. He further said: “By starting this initiative now, we hope to make this more of an industry-wide effort, and I think it’s kind of complementary to other programs and efforts that we’ve seen.”

Avalanche Received $230M Funding with its Token AVAX Hitting a Record High of $68.89

On September 16, the Avalanche Foundation received a $230 million investment from a group led by Polychain and Three Arrows Capital. The price of Avalanche‘s token AVAX soared to a record high of $68.89 today.

Through the private sale of AVAX cryptocurrency, R/Crypto Fund, Dragonfly, CMS Holdings, Collab+Currency, Lvna Capital, and a group of angel investors and family offices participated in the $230 million financings led by Polychain and Three Arrows Capital.

Avalanche stated that the Bauhinia obtained this time will accelerate the expansion with the rapid growth of decentralised finance or DeFi, enterprise applications, and enterprise applications on the Avalanche public blockchain.

The director from Avalanche Foundation stated that Avalanche continues to develop the community to cash out its competitiveness, and still has great potential to be tapped at the intersection of institutions and decentralised finance, and said that:

“Avalanche has quickly turned promise and potential into real-world impact and value creation for DeFi users and developers.”

Avalanche network is compatible with Ethereum cross-chain. Smart contracts initially operated on the Ethereum network can be migrated to the Avalanche ecosystem to enjoy higher throughput and low-cost transactions with higher gas fees than the Ethereum (ETH) chain.

According to the project’s website, the first layer protocol can exceed 4,500 transactions per second (TPS), and the finalised time is less than 2 seconds.

According to Coinmarketcap, AVAX has risen 52.08% in the past week and is currently ranked as the 13th largest cryptocurrency by market cap with a market cap of $14,128,365,250.