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- Toniq, a company building professional tools and services on the decentralized web, today announced the launch of the first Ordinals-specific marketplace built on a Bitcoin Layer 2. The press release describes Bioniq as “the world’s fastest Bitcoin-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace” on the blockchain and Web3 platform Internet Computer. Bioniq has two objectives: facilitating a simple means of buying and selling Bitcoin NFTs and helping alleviate Bitcoin congestion, it said. Bitcoin fees have recently exceeded those of Ethereum by a large margin, making BTC transactions significantly more expensive. Backed by crypto-focused VC firm Polychain Capital, Bioniq was designed to solve these issues, helping users to buy, sell, exchange, and auction their Bitcoin NFTs seamlessly. Bioniq offers a built-in wallet with smart wallet features, and it allows users to manage their private keys by leveraging Web3Auth, enabling log-in with Gmail accounts in a non-custodial way. In the future, the platform plans to expand its list of available services by introducing ‘Launchpad’ that allows the release of reserved Ordinals, or tokens on ICP with the exclusive right to inscribe on BTC; ‘Earn’ that allows using Ordinals as collateral to borrow crypto; ‘Super offers’ that enable placing offers on any inscription on Bitcoin and notifying the recipient; and ‘Collection offers’ to make an offer on any Ordinal in an entire collection.
- Brighty App, a Swiss neobank powered by Web3, announced its European business-to-business (B2B) platform Brighty Business. Per the press release, focused on digital banking and cryptocurrency payments, the platform was designed to streamline how businesses manage their financial operations and support the market’s ongoing evolution. Its key features include virtual and physical company-owned debit cards that employees can utilize; transactional risk-checking; cost-effective exchange, including OTC (over-the-counter) exchange; and a referral program for all B2B customers. The new platform also provides an opportunity to implement its application programming interface (API) system into clients’ platforms. Brighty App’s B2B platform has already seen engagement and positive feedback from different companies in its pilot testing phase. The company also plans a series of user experience (UX) interviews with customers, it said.
- Mummolin, Inc., a US corporation and a successor to the Eligius Bitcoin mining pool that operated from 2011-2017, announced that it raised $6.2million in seed funding, led by Jack Dorsey, Accomplice, Barefoot Bitcoin Fund, MoonKite, NewLayer Capital, the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, and other strategic partners. Per the press release, the seed funding will support the launch of OCEAN, described as the first of many mining decentralization projects for Bitcoin. Bitcoin Core developer and Mummolin co-founder Luke Dashjr said that “the role of mining pools must change for Bitcoin to exist as a truly decentralized currency.” OCEAN, he added, is “a new type of pool that enables miners to be truly miners again. We are launching as the most transparent pool and also the only non-custodial pool where miners are the recipients of new block rewards directly from Bitcoin.”
- Crypto earning platform Coinchange raised $10 million to grow its services. Per the press release, the round was led by G1.VC, Spirit Blockchain, Good News Ventures, K2.CA, and Atoia Ventures, with additional participation from Mintfox. The funds will support the company in expanding its operations and scaling its team and products “to make a meaningful impact on the financial landscape, leveraging unrivaled Yield farming strategies in decentralized finance (DeFi) markets.” Through its integrated Earn API services, Coinchange enables businesses to offer customers the ability to earn yield on stablecoins. With all its assets managed on the chain, Coinchange doesn’t have to rely on centralized counterparties for custody, trading, or lending and, therefore, potentially introduce counterparty risk to clients, it said. In addition to its Earn API, the firm also operates regulated and compliant brokerage services in the US and Europe.
- Taste of Home, the multi-platform culinary hub under TMB, with 20 million monthly site visits and over 10 million avid social followers and readers, announced its collaboration with Theta Network, a video and entertainment blockchain. This venture will launch an exclusive free-to-claim Web3 holiday cookbook titled Taste of Home Holiday Favorites, available directly on the Taste of Home website, powered by Theta, said the press release. It added that users can “explore a plethora of festive recipes within this embedded, white-labeled environment, fostering a unique and engaging online experience.” This drop marks the first for Taste of Home, following a long-standing partnership between Theta Labs and TMB and their successful collaboration with the animal-focused media platform The Pet Collective, it said.
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