A company says it is combining the power of IT and marketing to deliver high-security, functional and profitable pieces of software that not only work flawlessly, but also sell. CPI emphasizes its software is scalable and geared toward the finance and blockchain industries. The firm offers white-label products that allow businesses to achieve their financial goals by converting casual visitors into paying customers. Among its suite of products is a crypto exchange that is available on the web and through mobile apps. The platform delivers high-frequency trading for virtual currencies and fiat, along with assets such as real estate that …

Facebook’s own cryptocurrency, if launched, could potentially generate $19 billion in additional revenue by 2021, CNBC reports on March 11. Barclays internet analyst Ross Sandler wrote in a client note that a cryptocurrency could establish a new revenue stream for Facebook, aiding its share price that tanked amid a series of high-profile scandals last year. In his forecast, Sandler pointed out that the crypto-based revenue option is something “sorely needed at this stage of the company’s narrative,” stressing that any advertising-free revenue streams are likely to be well-perceived by Facebook’s shareholders. Sandler said that his more conservative revenue estimate for …

Top Stories This Week Nasdaq Begins Listing Brave New Coin’s Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Indexes Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange, began its live listing of two crypto price indexes from United States blockchain and crypto market data company Brave New Coin (BNC) this week. The listings, which had been announced earlier this month, are BNC’s Bitcoin Liquid Index (BLX) and Ethereum Liquid Index (ELX). According to the announcement, the indexes will show reference rates for the price of 1 BTC and 1 ETH, quoted in USD and refreshed every 30 seconds. Brave New Coin has also announced future plans …

Facebook is “hoping to succeed where Bitcoin failed” with its highly secretive cryptocurrency project, a New York Times (NYT) article published today, Feb. 28, argues. Citing multiple anonymous sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Times pieces together the alleged contours of the project, which will reportedly aim to integrate cryptocurrency payments into its messaging services. Notably, Facebook plans to rehaul its messaging infrastructure and integrate its three wholly-owned apps — WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram — under one canopy. As the Times notes, this would provide a future crypto token with exposure across the combined 2.7 billion who …

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg considered the ramifications of blockchain-based authorization of user data during an interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain on Feb. 20. During a discussion covering such topics as the future of technology and society, Zuckerberg noted that he “think[s] about the work we [Facebook] are a decentralizing force in the world.” Zuckerberg said that people of his generation got into technology because “it gives individuals power, and is not massively centralizing.” Zuckerberg mentioned that he was considering a potential blockchain use case by which users could have control over their data, adding “Basically, you …

Top Stories This Week Facebook Reportedly Acquires Blockchain Startup in First Blockchain-Related Acquisition Social media network Facebook has reportedly acquired blockchain startup Chainspace in its first apparent blockchain-related acquisition. According to news outlet Cheddar, the acquisition is considered an “acquihire,” or an acquisition of a company made in order to get the skills or expertise of its staff, as opposed to the company’s service or products. According to Cheddar, four of the five researchers that worked on Chainspace’s academic white paper will be joining Facebook. Facebook had told Cheddar that it had not acquired any of Chainspace’s technology. Leaked Mt. …

Social media network Facebook has reportedly acquired Chainspace in its first apparent blockchain-related acquisition, Cheddar reports on Feb. 4. Sources purportedly told Cheddar that Facebook acquired Chainspace, a small blockchain startup, in an ‘acquihire,’ or an acquisition of a company made primarily for the skills or expertise of its staff, rather than the service or products the company provides. Per Cheddar, four of the five researchers that worked on Chainspace’s academic whitepaper will be joining Facebook. A Facebook spokesperson told Cheddar that, while the social media giant had hired on the new researchers, it had not acquired any of Chainspace’s …

Cryptocurrencies were never apolitical. The fateful 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto treatise did not appear in an ideological vacuum: Notions of online privacy, proactive use of cryptography for protecting individual freedom, and denationalization of currency that informed the Bitcoin creator’s vision had been brewing for at least two decades, at least since the rise of the cypherpunk movement in the early 1990s. The libertarian spirit of individual sovereignty and suspicion of governments and central banks has dominated the intellectual milieu where the concept of digital cash was forged and developed into a working technology. As cryptocurrencies went more mainstream, the core community’s …

A company is giving Facebook users a way to securely send and receive crypto through Messenger — all while keeping sensitive information private. Lite.IM says its bot currently supports four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and its own native currency, ZTX. The company says it is “driven by a vision of what the world might look like if the founding ideals of the cryptocurrency revolution were actually realized” — a place where anyone can enjoy financial freedom irrespective of their technical skills or the region of the world where they reside. A presence on Facebook Messenger is the latest milestone for …

Finding your way around a new city, or even discovering exciting things to do in areas you know well, is hard. Meanwhile, local economies have been struggling to prosper — with small businesses increasingly reliant on online behemoths such as Facebook and Google where users face information overload. A new blockchain-based startup believes the golden era for apps is over and says the public wants a more personalized experience when they are finding things to do. Rather than depend on potentially biased platforms, which often fail to capture the full breadth of nearby venues, Localflow says the future lies in …

On Dec. 20, Bloomberg reported that Facebook is making a stablecoin for WhatsApp users. The cryptocurrency will reportedly be used for money transfers made within the messaging app and will focus on the Indian market. The move provides a curious juxtaposition for the social media giant, which banned cryptocurrency-related advertising across its network back in January and then partly reversed it in June. Here’s how Facebook’s relationship with cryptocurrencies and blockchain has been developing in 2018 — overall, it has been a patchy road. January: Zuckerberg is being bullish about crypto; Facebook bans crypto ads On Jan. 4, Mark Zuckerberg …

Bitcoin (BTC) still has “lower to go” despite its bull run to above $4,000 last week, Morgan Creek Digital Assets founder Anthony Pompliano told CNBC on Dec. 26. Speaking in an interview, Pompliano, who is also a frequent markets commentator on social media, became the latest figure to claim Bitcoin markets will only bottom out when the price drifts below $3,000. “Short term, I actually think we have lower to go,” he told the network. In November, Pompliano had predicted a plunge to $3,000 for BTC/USD, which subsequently occurred earlier this month. Since then, prices across the crypto markets have …