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Tether led the $25 million Series A round for crypto payments firm Oobit. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko also backed the platform’s investment round. Oobit, a mobile payments firm that allows users to pay with crypto , has raised $25 million in its Series A funding round .  Stablecoin issuer Tether led the crypto platform’s funding round , which also attracted the backing of CMCC Global, 468 Capital and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. The financing will help Oobit continue its development as it looks to achieve mainstream adoption, Tether noted in a press release. “ Tether’s strategic Investment in Oobit underscores our unwavering dedication to welcoming new users into the crypto currency ecosystem ,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.  He added: “ Our support is founded on a mutual vision to drive the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies on a global scale. Oobit, in our perspective, stands as a ...

On December 22, the crypto community of the /mtgoxsolvency subreddit revealed that the fallen Tokyo-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, Mt. Gox, has been sending emails to its creditors confirming that the repayment details they provided have been verified with relevant cryptocurrency exchanges. Judging by the comments, Mt. Gox has been sending emails in a staggered fashion, based on the platforms the creditors have their accounts with. For example, multiple Bitstamp users reported they had received the email, and many Kraken customers stated they were still waiting. For its part, the fallen Bitcoin exchange warned that users whose accounts have been disabled or frozen will not be able to receive re payments using said addresses and specified that the emails concern payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Mt. Gox promised it would start repaying ‘shortly’ last November The January 22 emails are likely a continuation of a Mt. Gox drive started in November 2023 that aims to return...

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network has been growing at a slow pace. What’s keeping it behind, given its high transaction throughput? Bitcoin (BTC) changed the world as a decentralized and non-governmental form of currency that can facilitate peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions that transcend national borders.  But, despite this functionality, Bitcoin’s role as a payment mechanism has been called into question due to its low transaction throughput. The Bitcoin blockchain can handle up to seven transactions per second, which means that network demand has seen the average transaction fee on the network reach an all-time high above $62 during specific periods. In order to address low throughput and high transaction fees, developers made the Lightning Network — a layer-2 scaling solution that allows for off-chain transactions. The Lightning Network creates a P2P payment channel between two parties in a transaction. The channel “allows them to send an unlimited amount of transactions that are nearly ...

Crypto-friendly bank DBS has conducted the first e-CNY transaction for corporate clients, involving a catering company in Shenzhen. Cryptocurrency-friendly bank DBS is cooperating with mainland China on the development of a new payment solution for the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY. DBS Bank China officially announced on July 5 the launch of the e-CNY merchant solution, allowing mainland businesses to receive payments in the central bank digital currency (CBDC). The new service will allow corporate clients of DBS Bank China to collect payment s from their customers in e-CNY and conduct automated settlement of e-CNY directly into their CNY bank deposit account. DBS’ solution is designed to enable a number of benefits, allowing businesses to collect CBDC “without having to go through manual settlement processes,” the announcement notes. The tool also features capabilities allowing merchants to receive payments in underserved regions with limited internet connectivity. Additionally...

Private businesses in Cuba could be poised to benefit from the cryptocurrency revolution in one of the world’s harshest business environments. Bitcoin adoption could swell in Cuba, particularly if private businesses understand the upside to accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as currency. That’s according to a Cuban businessperson and Bitcoin advocate, Erich Garcia Cruz. A recent emigrant to the United States, Cruz is a vocal proponent of Bitcoin adoption in Cuba. Cruz leads the remittance and money transfer services BitRemesas and QvaPay and has been outspoken in his support for his countrymen using Bitcoin since 2020. In an interview with Cointelegraph as part of an upcoming documentary, Cruz explained that Cubans can use Bitcoin “as a tool.” Photo of Erich and Joe during the interview. Source: Cointelegraph While some Cubans use Bitcoin as a store of value, a means of exchange, or a remittance tool, ultimately it’s about getting “out from the Matrix,” he explained. Cruz referred to the country...

The Russian government doesn’t want to enable Bitcoin for regular Russian people but exclusively for foreign trade entities. The Russian central bank is ready to consider allowing crypto currency use within the country but only as part of a legal experiment, governor Elvira Nabiullina said. “It’s possible to consider transactions through an authorized organization in the country as part of an experimental legal regime, but that would require a relevant law,” Nabiullina stated during a press conference of Bank of Russia on Dec. 16. The Bank of Russia’s only objection has always been that crypto cannot be used as a payment instrument, Nabiullina emphasized. She added that the central bank is also concerned about investor protection because the crypto market is highly volatile. While Russia formally does not prohibit its people from investing in crypto, the Bank of Russia believes that the mass adoption of crypto would inevitably lead to its use as a payment method, according to Bank of ...

On stage at AfroBitcoin, Strike CEO Jack Mallers announced plans to improve remittance payments into Africa thanks to the Lightning Network on Bitcoin. The Lightning Network has struck Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. During a conference in Ghana, Strike CEO Jack Mallers announced that the Bitcoin (BTC) payments company has partnered with the mobile app Bitnob to facilitate payments into Africa.  Mallers made the announcement on stage at AfroBitcoin, a Bitcoin conference in Ghana's capital city of Accra. He stood alongside Bernard Farah, the Nigerian CEO of Bitnob, following a short presentation on how it works.   Money transfers into Africa take advantage of the Lightning Network, the layer-2 payments network built atop Bitcoin. The feature is called “Send Globally,” and it enables instant, low-cost payments to Africa. Diagram of the money transfer from Alice in Nigeria to Bob in the USA. Source: Facebook The feature does not require people to use Bitcoin themselves, Bitnob CEO Bernard...