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MinePlex Digital and Crypto Bank Secures $100M in GEM Funding

The funds will be used in new banking technologies, including a collaboration with Mastercard and Visa for cryptocurrency transactions.

In another round of investments in the cryptocurrency space, Singapore-based crypto bank MinePlex has secured $100 million from digital asset investment firm GEM Digital Limited (GEM) with the aim of bridging the gap between the digital assets and traditional banks.

According to an announcement on Oct. 11, MinePlex will use the funds to develop new banking technologies, including a collaboration with Mastercard and Visa for transactions that accept Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and TRON (TRX). .

Uniting digital assets and traditional banking services is the great bet of MinePlex.

The platform offers fiat and crypto asset services within the same app, enabling transactions such as bill payments and crypto asset purchases.

Introducing CrossFi, MinePlex co-founder and CEO Aleksandr Mamasidikov explained to Cointelegraph:

“We created CrossFi, a new technology running on the LPoS (Liquid Proof of Stake) consensus algorithm and the innovative MinePlex blockchain, offering advantages such as simplicity, operational speed and low fees.”

According to MinePlex, its native MinePlex token (PLEX) will also be listed on the new exchanges as part of the fundraising efforts.

The company also plans to open new offices in South Africa, Australia, India and Brazil, in addition to those already established in Barcelona, ​​Dubai, Uruguay and Singapore. The company claims to have processed more than five million cards in 50 banks in Russia, Europe and Asia.

GEM is a $3.4 billion alternative investment group that has been a source of capital for other startups in the cryptocurrency space.

In September, ParallelChain Lab secured $50 million in funding from GEM following the launch of its parent XPLL token, while Sports Metaverse startup LootMogul secured a $200 million investment commitment from Gem Global Yield.

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Visa Launches Bitcoin and Crypto Debit Cards in 40 Countries in Partnership with FTX

The partnership allows FTX Exchange users in 40 countries to easily spend their bitcoins and cryptocurrencies at any merchant that accepts Visa cards.

FTX is launching bitcoin and cryptocurrency-backed debit cards in 40 countries.

The exchange has partnered with Visa and will focus on Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Despite the bear market, Visa believes bitcoin holders still want to use BTC for payments.

Visa has partnered with one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, to launch bitcoin and cryptocurrency debit cards, according to a CNBC report.

The offer will be available to FTX users in more than 40 countries, with a focus on Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Visa, along with its competitors in the market, continues to assert that bitcoin and cryptocurrency users still want to use their holdings as a medium of exchange, even amid a bear market downturn.

“While stocks are down, there is still a steady interest in cryptocurrencies,” said Visa Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu, according to the report.

Debit cards, which are already available in the US, simply connect to the FTX platform, allowing users to spend digital assets in their wallets without the need to withdraw assets from the exchange platform.

“We don’t have a position as a company on what the value of cryptocurrency should be, or if it’s a good thing in the long run — as long as people have things they want to buy, we want to make it easy.” said Prabhu.

Visa’s main competitor, Mastercard, has also partnered with several different companies to offer debit cards that support bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. American Express has also expressed interest in offering a similar product, though its chief executive said it likely wouldn’t be “any time soon”.

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Spanish Football League Laliga partners with Globant to support new Web3 and Metaverse initiatives

Laliga, the top soccer league in Spain, announced a partnership with Globant, an Argentine software giant, to bring Web3 and metaverse experiences to its fans. The association will combine Globant’s technological resources with Laliga’s technology division to create products that expand the organization’s reach in the digital world.

Laliga asks Globant to help him build his metaverse stack

Large sports organizations are approaching the digital world as a way to reach new fans and offer new interaction possibilities for their users. Laliga, the main football league in Spain, recently announced a partnership that will serve to expand the company’s digital reach. The organization has partnered with Globant, a software giant based in Buenos Aires, to create metaverse and Web3 experiences for current fans and new users.

These new additions would complement the current digital offer of Laliga’s technology division, which currently includes fantasy games, web design and development, among other areas. The press release outlining the deal hints at possible game development using these new technologies. However, no specific products were announced directly as a result of the partnership.

Oscar Mayo, CEO of Laliga, stated:

LaLiga Tech was created to help sports and entertainment accelerate their digital transformation, and the increase in demand we have seen shows that it remains a core priority for the industry. Partnering with Globant will allow us to continue this growth on a global scale while creating the most immersive and valuable technologies for our customers.

Laliga metaverse movements

Laliga is one of the sports league organizations that has been making several moves to digitize part of its operations. This month, the company partnered with Ethereum-based metaverse platform Decentraland to offer licensed IP experiences in one of the packages available in its metaverse. In addition, the organization recently launched its own application, called MAS, which includes blockchain technology to protect the identity of its followers.

Additionally, the company is entering the traditional game asset market by offering licensed products in Mojang’s Minecraft block game. In the game, users will be able to purchase a pack of skins to equip any character with jerseys from the different teams present in the Laliga squad.

Laliga has also featured NFT-based projects before. In 2021, it partnered with Dapper Labs, makers of NBA Top Shots and Cryptokitties, to issue NFTs depicting the greatest moments in league history.

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Digital bank FV Bank integrates USDC stablecoin for direct deposits

In addition to USDC support, FV Bank also plans to launch an escrow service in Q4 2022, targeting major currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Global digital bank FV Bank is the latest financial platform to allow deposits into the Circle-backed USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.

FV Bank on Wednesday announced the launch of a new service that allows account holders to make direct USDC deposits to bank accounts in US dollars. The new feature allows customers to receive USDC into their accounts in a similar way to traditional deposits such as wire transfers or the automated clearing network.

Per the announcement, received USDC funds are instantly and automatically converted to United States Dollars (USD) at the time of deposit. This new solution allows FV Bank users to issue invoices to their international customers in USDC, enabling faster and cheaper transactions and conversions, the company said.

“We believe this feature will greatly improve the user experience and open up smoother trading,” FV Bank CEO Miles Paschini told Cointelegraph.

Paschini noted that USDC will be the first stablecoin accepted for USD deposit at the moment, but FV Bank may consider more stablecoins in the future.

“We chose USDC because of its license, reserve certifications, and real-time 1:1 liquidity,” noted the CEO.

In addition to integrating USDC, FV Bank also plans to launch its own escrow service in Q4 2022, which will allow customers to hold digital assets in a escrow account alongside their escrow account. According to Paschini, FV Bank custody will support major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other currencies “based on our supported asset criteria.”

FV Bank is a cryptographic digital bank regulated by the Office of the Financial Institutions Commissioner of Puerto Rico. The company originally planned to launch cryptocurrency custody services in 2021, following the lead of major US banks such as Standard Chartered.

According to the CEO, the company’s cryptocurrency roadmap has not suffered any issues despite the ongoing crypto winter.

“Overall, the bear market has not affected our business as we continue to grow and expand our services responsibly,” said Paschini.

FV Bank is not the only financial institution to join the USDC recently. On Tuesday, cryptocurrency-compatible stock trading app Robinhood announced the USDC listing. The stablecoin will be available for transfer on the Polygon and Ethereum networks today.

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Payments company Bolt cancels deal to acquire cryptocurrency company Wyre

California-based online payments company Bolt pulls out of a deal to buy cryptocurrency provider Wyre. News of the scrapped deal, which was agreed earlier this year, comes amid plummeting valuations in the cryptocurrency and fintech sectors.

Bolt Abandons Wyre’s $1.5 Billion Acquisition Plan

Bolt Financial, a San Francisco-based U.S. technology company, said on Friday that it had canceled a deal to buy cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Wyre Payments, Reuters reported Saturday. The e-commerce platform announced in early April a definitive agreement to acquire Wyre for $1.5 billion.

The deal was considered one of the biggest acquisitions of cryptocurrency companies this year. After a funding round in January, Bolt was last valued at $11 billion. The report notes, however, that high-tech valuations are under more pressure as investor confidence has been hit by recession fears and negative stock market developments.

Payment processor Stripe and fintech firm Klarna Bank also made significant valuation cuts, Reuters noted. Industry valuations have also dropped significantly in the cryptocurrency sector during the market slump in recent months.

In a statement released, Bolt emphasized that he will continue his partnership with Wyre. The online payments company explained that remaining independent would allow it to focus on its core areas of business. The company’s CEO, Maju Kuruvilla, was quoted as saying:

We will continue our existing business partnership with Wyre to pave the way for the integration of cryptocurrencies into our ecosystem, bringing Wyre's innovative cryptocurrency infrastructure to the world.

Wyre offers blockchain-connected payment APIs and fiat ramps for cryptocurrency, forex and cryptocurrency liquidity to users of various cryptocurrency projects. It was created in 2013 and, like Bolt, which was founded a year later, is based in San Francisco.