All 80,000 users of German neobank Bitwala can now purchase, hold and earn interest on Bitcoin (BTC) in their bank accounts thanks to a new partnership with cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network. According to Defiprime, Bitwala is the first classic fiat bank to offer interest for holding Bitcoin in an account, with three other decentralized finance apps offering similar products. While the DeFi products have higher rates, up to 8.6% per annum, Bitwala is more regulated and offers fiat and cryptocurrency services in 32 European countries under license from leading German bank SolarisBank AG. Users can buy as little as …

By spring 2020, it became inescapable that we now live in a world with an unraveling future. The once-imminent shift, now fueled by the coronavirus outbreak, has accelerated the pace of technological adoption, and the financial field was among the first industries to accept it. The shift from a cash-based culture to card payments in many conservative European countries became even more notable, alongside a growing interest in cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in particular. What once might have required a few more years of crypto maturity became urgent as physical cash became a potential virus transmission vector, while new levels of …

German security token offering (STO) platform Black Manta Capital Partners partnered with local digital asset custody firm Finoa to develop institutional security token custody. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on May 4, the cooperation aims to develop a regulated security token custody solution explicitly aimed at institutional investors, high net worth individuals and corporations. Black Manta and Finoa will first collaborate on securing the tokens of the Berlin STO that has tokenized $12 million worth of real estate announced last month. Per the announcement, Finoa is a Berlin-based digital asset custodian that holds a crypto custody license issued …

Porsche has participated in a 5.5 million euros ($5.9 million) funding round for a German startup Gapless — the developer of a blockchain-based vehicle management system. Among other contributors, Gapless saw FinLab EOS VC Fund, a joint venture between Block.one and FinLab, and insurance entrepreneur Kersten Jodexnis, Tech.eu reported on April 29. Gapless is going to allocate the raised money to further develop its key product, an application that allows users to record a complete history of vehicles, as well as increase its user base. According to Gapless, it currently manages over 50,000 vehicles on its platform in Germany, the …

Germany’s Black Manta Capital Partners has launched a security token offering (STO) for Berlin real estate worth more than $12 million. The project is a collaboration with the German real estate firm Tigris Immobilien and includes around 2000 square metres of real estate in total, mostly comprising individual apartments from 40 to 60 square meters in size. Construction is expected to be complete by 2022 and units will be sold to investors and owner-occupiers. Token holders will share 20% of the sale profits through securitized participation rights. The company said the tokens will enable ordinary investors “to participate in a …

Could this be the year the world gets serious about cryptocurrency taxation? The coronavirus pandemic, after all, could cost the global economy as much as $4.1 trillion — or almost 5% of global gross domestic product — according to the Asian Development Bank. Governments will soon be looking to tap all possible income sources to balance their budgets, including crypto, say tax experts. “At some point, somebody is going to have to pick up the bill” for the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic stimulus packages, Peter Brewin, a PwC tax partner in Hong Kong, told Cointelegraph, adding: “We can …

The cryptocurrency trading app of Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart, exceeded 100,000 users on March 30 amid increasingly permissive regulations in the country. The Bison app, which launched on Jan. 31st, 2019, has attracted a six-figure user base in just 14 months. Bison users grow 40% during Q1 2020 Ulli Spankowski, the chief executive of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures subsidiary and developer of the Bison app, Sowa Lab GmbH, notes that the milestone has been reached amid a 40% growth in users since the start of 2020. Boerse Stuttgart’s app supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple …

World-famous car manufacturer BMW Group plans to roll out its blockchain supply chain solution to 10 suppliers this year. Dubbed “PartChain,” the platform has already been successfully tested by BMW in 2019, an official announcement on March 31 revealed. In its early version, PartChain is designed to ensure traceability and immediate data transparency for automobile components across complex supply chains that engage multiple international parties. The 2019 pilot implemented the solution for purchasing and tracking front lights, with the involvement of two of BMW Group’s total 31 plants, as well as three locations of the supplier Automotive Lighting. Andreas Wendt …

A team based in Madrid, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, has released an Iota Tango platform that helps combat the coronavirus. AidSquad GeoDB is a decentralized peer-to-peer big data sharing ecosystem which returns value to its creators, the users. Luis Gelado, GeoDB CEO and founder shared with Cointelegraph his rationale for creating AidSquad: “Having stayed home for a few weeks, one weekend, I felt a little bored, so I started thinking: we have to do something. We have a chance to develop something for a concrete problem, give back to society”. Source: GeoDB A user inputs his …

Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary Sonnen Group announced a partnership with the Energy Web Foundation (EWF) to use EWF’s blockchain to create a virtual power plant (VPP) in Germany on March 12. The virtual power plant will comprise a distributed network of residential energy storage systems intended to absorb excess wind power and reduce Germany’s renewable energy curtailment. With Germany shutting down coal-fired and nuclear energy plants in the coming years, the country has seen a boom in renewable energy production as a myriad of green energy producers launch or expand operations to meet demand. However, the seasonal nature of both …

On March 9, blockchain technology provider Unibright (UBT) announced a partnership with German startup Wasserkraft Mittelrhein to use the Unibright Framework to facilitate decentralized renewable energy trading. The partnership will see the firm join Wasserkraft Mittelrhein to facilitate trading, monitoring and data analysis of renewable energy produced by decentralized power plants using the Unibright Framework. Unibright proposes a “smart grid” system, where disparate small electricity producers engage directly with energy consumers via blockchain technology. Unibright to provide blockchain technology for “Project Power-Buoy” Wasserkraft Mittelrhein is an innovative power coming aiming to generate renewable energy using hydroelectric buoys. The “strombojen”, or …

The German financial watchdog is stopping the operations of a company KKT UG from Berlin that allows consumers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at ATMs. Lack of necessary permission According to a March 4 statement, BaFin ordered Mr. Adam Gramowski, who runs KKT UG as managing editor, to cease cross-border proprietary trading. The order was issued on Feb. 26. On its website www.shitcoins.club, the company advertises 24 bitcoin machines für purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies in Germany. Moreover, its business apparently extends across the whole of Europe. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gramowski also works as CEO of Bitcoin Technologies …