Social media platform Gab has made a bid to seal $10 million in a Series A crowdfunding round that will enable it decentralize its infrastructure and integrate bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network payments. Founded in 2016, Gab has risen to notoriety due to a perception that it serves as an “echo chamber” for “extremist,” alt- or far-right views as it welcomes users who have been banned from sites like Twitter and Facebook for their alleged violations of hate speech rules. More broadly, the site targets a user base of libertarian, nationalist, populist or conservative leanings — or anyone who dissents …

Decentralized CPU power developer Golem is spinning off a new entity using funds of the original capital raised in its crowdfunding back in 2016 In a blog post on June 28, Golem Factory CEO Julian Zawistowski announced the launch of a new division called the Golem Foundation, which will purportedly allow Golem to expand its solutions and “potentially increase the value of the entire project.” The Golem Foundation intends to develop some new approaches for its Golem Network Token (GNT), Zawistowski wrote in the post, adding that the initiative includes testing some “new hypotheses,” which envisions an “even better use” …

United States-based crowdfunding platform SeriesOne has partnered with security token protocol platform Polymath, according to a press release published on March 19. The new partnership intends to create a digital securities offering ecosystem via the SeriesOne platform. According to the press release, the partnership between SeriesOne and Polymath will let token issuers create and manage regulatory-compliant security tokens from the initial offering stage to trading on a secondary exchange. SeriesOne CEO Michael Mildenberger expressed confidence that Polymath’s security token protocol, ST-20, is set to improve the process of raising capital on the platform. Polymath’s ST-20 protocol is a token standard …

Insurance giant AXA XL and insurance technology startup Assurely have jointly launched a new insurance product covering equity crowdfunding and Security Token Offerings (STOs), according to a press release published on March 6. The new product dubbed CrowdProtector is designed for issuers and investors, and purportedly protects new online capital formation strategies like equity crowdfunding and STOs. The product also aims increase trust, confidence and safety to potential investors guaranteeing that the issuer is insured. According to Ty Sagalow, CEO of Assurely, the parties have managed to increase underwriting. The releases states: “CrowdProtector provides Issuers protection against investor complaints and …

Goldman Sachs-backed cryptocurrency finance firm Circle announced that it closed the acquisition of SeedInvest, a crowdfunding platform and registered operator of a broker-dealer. The news was reported via a post on Coinbase’s official blog published March 4. Cointelegraph first reported about the ongoing acquisition in October last year, noting that the deal will enable Circle to expand SeedInvest’s offerings to support cryptocurrencies, including fiat stablecoins and issuing and offering tokenized securities. At the time, the acquisition was put on hold until the United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approved the deal. According to the announcement, the acquisition concluded after …

A new blockchain platform is vowing to take on established crowdfunding sites — and argues that their lack of accountability means greater numbers of projects fail to deliver what they promised. Pledgecamp says its approach involves offering transparency through the form of smart contracts — and ensuring that entrepreneurs and the platform they host their projects on are equally invested in a campaign’s success. One of the startup’s features is known as Backer Insurance. Instead of funds being released in full as soon as a target is met, project creators must propose “clear development milestones” before contributions are made. An …

For every Da Vinci funded by the Borgias and Edison patronized by Ford, there are tens, if not hundreds of inventors and genius scientists, whose innovations have never been noticed. In many cases, it was the inability to attract investors that buried promising technologies. A startup called ScientificCoin, based in California, aims to have a solution for this centuries-old problem. Nerds to the rescue The company has developed an algorithm for a bias-free, decentralized evaluation of projects so that investors can fund venture projects in science and other areas including initial coin offerings (ICOs) with more confidence. Vladimir Kozhevnikov, the …

For small indie game developers, the advent of Apple’s App Store and Google Play has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. While one-man bands were able to upstage some of the world’s largest game publishers initially – Flappy Bird, anyone? – established studios have started to catch up, with competition in the marketplace rife and high commission fees eating into already tight profit margins. However, a decentralized “crypto arcade playground” is hoping to help smaller creators survive and succeed by enabling them to target gamers through blockchain – giving them a chance to market and monetize their …

Members of the European Parliament along with blockchain experts met Tuesday, September 4, to discuss possible regulations for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). At the recent EU event entitled “Regulating ICOs — Is the Crowdfunding Proposal what we were looking for?” the attendees examined the potential complications currently arising in the ICO industry. Ashley Fox, a British Member of the European Parliament, pinpointed three main issues to consider at the meeting: challenges faced by ICOs in raising capital, the existing regulatory approaches on the matter, and the future perspectives of the industry. In his testimony, Peter Kerstens, chairman of the the …

The international crowdfunding firm Indiegogo will promote a new real-estate-backed token, according to a post on the company’s website. The asset-backed cryptocurrency will enable accredited investors to buy shares of the St. Regis Aspen hotel in the form of digital tokens. According a report from The Verge, the upcoming digital token Aspen Coin is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and will be available for purchase with U.S. dollars, as well as major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The crypto-based crowdfunding project aims to raise $12 million of investment for the St. Regis Aspen hotel, and …

The growing adoption of Blockchain technology has been disrupting a number of industries, including financial services, data management, healthcare, agriculture, supply chain, gambling, gaming, public services, music, airline ticketing and many more. Several companies are already piloting the technology to facilitate and improve the transparency of their transactions. One of these companies is the American retail giant Walmart, which recently launched a project to test the technology for supply chain management. The initiative aims to leverage distributed ledger technology to monitor and trace pork sourced from China and sold in the US. The use of Blockchain in the remittance industry …

Based on the mega-successful initial coin offerings (ICO) from companies including Iconomy, Singular DTV, First Blood and Decent, it is fairly evident that the cryptocurrency community supports the crowdsale of tokens from private Blockchain-based startups. However, the entire mechanism of cryptocurrency presale has received criticisms from experts, who present convincing arguments against the legitimacy of ICOs. Any Blockchain startup can engage in an ICO, even with several snippets of code or superficial descriptions of their service. The simplistic idea behind crowdfunding a non-existent software or system has become a trend in the cryptocurrency industry, with private companies raising millions of …