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Crypto-finance company Amber Group valued at $1B following $100M raise

Cryptocurrency investment platform Amber Group has added $100 million to its coffers following a successful Series B fundraiser, bringing its total pre-money valuation to $1 billion — a major milestone for the firm as it enters its fourth year of operations. 

The cash injection will be used to “expand global operations to meet client demand and develop market solutions for the world’s leading crypto investors and companies,” co-founder and CEO Michael Wu said.

Measures of trade volume and total assets under management showcase Amber Group’s significant growth over the past four years. The company now has over $1 billion in assets under management, with more than $500 billion worth of cumulative trade volumes.

“We’ve had record months over the past quarter across both client flow and on-exchange market-making volumes,” Wu said, adding:

“Since stepping up our on-screen presence, we now account for 2-3% of total trading volumes in major spot and derivative markets and are continuing to see growth. Our cumulative trading volumes have doubled from $250 billion since the beginning of the year to over $500 billion.”

In terms of notional trade volume, Amber Group ranks 21st among global exchanges, according to BitMEX data.

Amber’s assets topped $530 million in 2020, representing a 275% increase from the prior year. At the time, Wu told Cointelegraph that his company has “already proven we can provide institutional-grade integrated crypto financial services.”

In addition to its Series B backers, Amber Group has received direct funding from some of blockchain’s biggest venture funds, including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Blockchain.com.

Related: Financial advisers lead the institutional push toward crypto adoption

Venture funds have poured billions of dollars into the crypto economy over the past six months, highlighting their conviction in the new asset class. Just this month, Solana Labs finalized a $314 million private token sale, PayPal and Salesforce contributed $14 million to TRM Labs and DeFi exchange dYdX raised $65 million through a Series C fundraiser.

Crypto-finance company Amber Group valued at $1B following $100M raise

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China Ban Triggers Crypto Sell-off – Time To Invest in Bitcoin?

China’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry has always been quite complicated. After a few years of keeping an eye on crypto, the country tried to ban it.

China declared that financial institutions were not allowed to provide services to crypto businesses, purposefully trying to suffocate the crypto sector within the country. However, it liked the idea of crypto, just not the decentralised part of it.

As a result, it started creating its own native cryptocurrency, the so-called digital yuan, which will be controlled by the central bank — the People’s Bank of China (PBoC).

The digital yuan is a central bank digital currency and as such is a digital representation of the yuan, which means it will exhibit none of the volatility of bitcoin and other private money networks.

China is expected to launch the digital yuan at the Winter Olympics in 2022. Large-scale pilots have been taking place for a year or more, with citizens receiving airdrops to use the coins. The digital yuan will be distributed via commercial banks and the large internet payment platforms such as WeChat and AliPay.

In trials it has been demonstrated how users can make transactions offline by simply touching two phones, dispensing with the need for a bank in middle as would be the case with current online payments, be it AliPay or PayPal.

China’s PBoC new joint statement

Some speculate that before it launches the digital yuan China first wants to clear the space, which would mean getting rid of every trace of decentralised cryptocurrencies.

Despite its ban on crypto, some businesses still managed to find loopholes they could slip through and continue operating in China, and the country decided that that will not do. So, it recently rehashed the old news on crypto payments, which originally emerged in 2017, about banning cryptocurrencies all over again.

More than that, this time, it also issued a joint statement from the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association and the Payment and Clearing Association of China. And, naturally, the PBoC itself participated also.

Did China statement have a greater impact than expected?

The new statement added new layers to the old crypto ban, thus eliminating even those businesses that were previously flexible enough to bypass the original law, which will likely cause another wave of crypto businesses to shut down or leave the country.

As mentioned, there is speculation that China may have done this in order to make the digital yuan the only useful cryptocurrency in the country by the time it launches. However, some also speculate that the new crackdown may have also had a role to play in causing the crypto price crash.

China Ban Triggers Crypto Sell-off – Time To Invest in Bitcoin?

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A Comprehensive Guide to Enterprise Blockchain

A Comprehensive Guide to Enterprise Blockchain

If you want to learn everything related to enterprise Blockchain, you have landed on the right page. This article talks about what exactly enterprise Blockchain is, top platforms for enterprise, and some of the notable companies that are exploring enterprise Blockchains. 

Table of Contents 

  • What is Enterprise Blockchain?
  • Top 5 Blockchain Platforms for Enterprises
  • Notable Companies Exploring Enterprise Blockchains
  • Concluding Lines 

What is Enterprise Blockchain?

It is a type of permissioned blockchain network that can be integrated and utilized for enterprise usages. Such blockchains are empowering enterprises and businesses with accountability, immutability, scalability, security, ease of use, and control, radically transforming the course of their business. 

Enterprise blockchains are generally permissioned and can be categorized as Private or Consortium. 

A private blockchain is a permissioned and restrictive blockchain that operates in a closed network. Such Blockchain is mainly used within an organization where only particular members are participants of a blockchain network. It is best suited for enterprises and businesses that want to use Blockchain only for internal uses.

Consortium Blockchain is best suited for organizational collaboration where a group of two or more parties jointly define the network rules, and each entity can contribute. The major benefit is that it offers scalability and is much secured.

If you are wondering how it is different from other Blockchains, please note that unlike permissionless ones that exist outside the control of anyone company or government and are resistant to censorship, enterprise blockchains are permissioned ones, meaning companies have direct control over them. 

If you are interested in learning more about permissioned and private Blockchains and gain an in-depth understanding of how these Blockchains work, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Expert. 

Top Blockchain Platforms for Enterprises

  • Ethereum 

Ethereum is an open-source Blockchain platform to run smart contracts on the custom-built Blockchain network. Known for its smart contracting functionality and flexibility, Ethereum can be utilized across multiple industry use-cases. 

  • Hyperledger 

Hyperledger offers various free tools and frameworks, allowing developers to build their Blockchain-based solutions. This platform aims to accelerate industry-wide collaboration to develop high-performance and reliable DLT-based technology frameworks that could be used across various industries to enhance the performance and transactions of diverse business processes. 

This platform has the ability to handle applications that require powerful throughput processing and high speed of private transactions. Due to its capabilities, Quorum is becoming an indispensable part of banks and financial institutions where privacy of information is crucial.

Corda is an open-source platform that can be used to design applications specifically for financial organizations. Initially, it was designed by the financial industry, but today it has its implications in various sectors such as trade finance, supply chain, government authorities, among others. It operates on the permissioned network and, therefore, can be used to reduce transactions and streamline business operations.

  • Notable Companies Exploring Enterprise Blockchains

Many prominent companies have realized that blockchain solutions are efficient in streamlining their business processes and lowering their costs, and therefore they are using enterprise Blockchains.

When it comes to software giant Microsoft it has taken a more significant role in blockchain development. Last year, the company announced that it is collaborating with EY to use Ethereum for Xbox gaming royalties. 

Regarding the pandemic, it was announced that the Albany Airport is experimenting with a “Wellness Trace App” to ensure the cleanliness of surfaces inside the airport built using the Microsoft Azure enterprise blockchain.

  • Ernst & Young

Big Four firm Ernst & Young is one of the leading organizations that has played an active role in leading the way for public enterprise blockchain adoption.

For instance, the company continues to contribute to the Baseline Protocol development, which uses the Ethereum public mainnet as a tamper-resistant state machine to record business data. 

Apart from this, EY plans to make Nightfall and zero-knowledge proofs easier to use for developers. 

The largest online payments system, PayPal, since 2014 is focussed on leveraging blockchain technology in order to serve merchants and users better. In November, PayPal shocked the entire crypto sector when it announced that it is planning to launch crypto services for users of its platform globally in 2021. Last year in November, it was announced that PayPal’s crypto trading and payment platform went live for U.S. users. 

JPMorgan, the biggest bank in the United States, initially showed an interest in Blockchain in 2017 when it joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. In February 2019, the bank announced its “JPM Coin” to help banks settle transactions which was launched the following year. Not only that, JPMorgan Chase announced that its native digital currency offering — the JPM Coin that can be deployed for mainstream use by one of the firm’s technical associates.

Concluding Lines 

Presently, many top companies are exploring the advantages of enterprise blockchains, but it’s also true that technology is far from taking over the world yet. 

This has led us to the end of our discussion. Hope you have gained a clear understanding of enterprise Blockchain.

If you want to build your own Blockchain, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Developer. 

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online blockchain certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

A Comprehensive Guide to Enterprise Blockchain

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Top Benefits of Blockchain Certification in Your Career

Top Benefits of Blockchain Certification in Your Career Are you confused if a Blockchain certification can take your career to the next level? This article enlists the top benefits of Blockchain certifications that will help you clear your doubts. Table of Contents Overview Benefits of Blockchain Certifications Concluding Lines: How to Become a Certified Professional? Overview At present, Blockchain is considered one of the most revolutionary technologies as it transforms the way we interact, transact, and share information. Many technocrats and Blockchain Experts also believe that it is going to be the most disruptive technology in the next decade. Blockchain’s concept of decentralization has brought finance, supply chain, healthcare, logistics, and many others closer to transparency, freedom from intermediaries, and heightened efficiency. Today, this technology is not only used by tech giants, enterprises, federal agencies, and even startups have started adopting Blockchain. In fact, they are looking for Certified Blockchain Experts and are considering certified professionals over the non-credential peers. Benefits of Blockchain Certifications In this section, let’s explore some of the major benefits of Blockchain Certifications. It is emerging as one of the favorite technologies of businesses of all sizes There is no denying the fact that today Blockchain is emerging as one of the favorite technologies of businesses of all types and sizes. Before COVID-19, many organizations were already interested in digital transformations. The pandemic situation accelerated the pace of digital capabilities across the globe, while others implemented digital capabilities for the first time as a matter of survival. Large, well-established companies and crypto-startups are choosing Blockchain as a secure and transparent network for their efficient business operations. This adoption rate indicates that the job market for Blockchain enthusiasts would continue to expand in the years to come. Such Certifications help aspirants gain an in-depth understanding of technology, including its technical and functional aspects, and strengthen professionals’ portfolios. Rising trend of job opportunities According to the exclusive report by MarketsandMarkets published in May 2020, the Blockchain market size is expected to grow from USD 3.0 billion in 2020 to USD 39.7 billion in 2025. This suggests that the job market will see rapid growth internationally, and Blockchain developers and other related professionals will be in great demand. Some of the prominently demanded roles in this domain include Blockchain Experts, Architects, Ethereum Developers, Smart Contract Developers, and much more. These Certifications help individuals to prove their Blockchain skills & understanding, gain an in-depth understanding of technology & its implementation, implement their skills across any applications and build their own Blockchain enterprise with acquired knowledge. Certifications can help people make better investments and trading in cryptocurrency. According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, cryptocurrency users have tripled from 35 million people in 2018 to 101 million people in Q3 2020. A study conducted by researchers from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority also revealed a 78% increase since 2019. Also, in October 2020, when Paypal announced that it would be introducing crypto transactions, it was reported that it was the best quarterly return in PayPal’s history. Interest in digital assets is booming. Thus a comprehensive understanding of Blockchain through certifications can help you make better investments and trading in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency certification will enhance individual confidence and provide them with the necessary skills for better hiring opportunities as well. Exceptionally high salaries of Certificate Holders The salaries of Blockchain professionals are skyrocketing. In fact, it is the most demanding skill at present. According to Glassdoor, the national average salary for a Blockchain Developer is $1,01,689 in the United States, and the national average salary of a developer is ₹5,07,137 in India. Glassdoor also reports that the average salary of a Developer is £50,137 in London, UK. But to earn high salaries, it is important to have the right skills in this space. Certifications help you with the right set of skills so that you can adapt perfectly to the rising trend of job opportunities in this space. Blockchain Council, a globally-recognized online platform known for imparting world-class training with its own market research, found that people with the right skills and certification, on average, make 30% more salary compared to equivalent job profiles. It is the technology of the future. Many technocrats and Blockchain Experts believe that it is a technology of the future. As large enterprises such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and many more are incorporating decentralized technologies into their business models, it is clear that this technology is going to bring significant change and evolution. This represents another exceptional reason to pursue Blockchain certifications. Concluding Lines: How to Become a Certified Blockchain Professional? We have talked a lot about the benefits of Blockchain certifications. Such certification benefits are not limited to exploring jobs, but they also help build confidence and ensure a competitive advantage over other players in this space. If you are interested in learning and upgrading your skills, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Expert. Backed by the extensive practical-based sessions, this online organization offers online training and certifications to aspiring trainees to render the desired competence to have a successful career in the Blockchain space. So what are you waiting for? Get enrolled now! To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council

Are you confused if a Blockchain certification can take your career to the next level? This article enlists the top benefits of Blockchain certifications that will help you clear your doubts. 

Table of Contents 

  • Overview 
  • Benefits of Blockchain Certifications 
  • Concluding Lines: How to Become a Certified Professional?

Overview 

At present, Blockchain is considered one of the most revolutionary technologies as it transforms the way we interact, transact, and share information. Many technocrats and Blockchain Experts also believe that it is going to be the most disruptive technology in the next decade. Blockchain’s concept of decentralization has brought finance, supply chain, healthcare, logistics, and many others closer to transparency, freedom from intermediaries, and heightened efficiency.

Today, this technology is not only used by tech giants, enterprises, federal agencies, and even startups have started adopting Blockchain. In fact, they are looking for Certified Blockchain Experts and are considering certified professionals over the non-credential peers.

Benefits of Blockchain Certifications 

In this section, let’s explore some of the major benefits of Blockchain Certifications.

  • It is emerging as one of the favorite technologies of businesses of all sizes

There is no denying the fact that today Blockchain is emerging as one of the favorite technologies of businesses of all types and sizes. Before COVID-19, many organizations were already interested in digital transformations. The pandemic situation accelerated the pace of digital capabilities across the globe, while others implemented digital capabilities for the first time as a matter of survival. 

Large, well-established companies and crypto-startups are choosing Blockchain as a secure and transparent network for their efficient business operations. This adoption rate indicates that the job market for Blockchain enthusiasts would continue to expand in the years to come. 

Such Certifications help aspirants gain an in-depth understanding of technology, including its technical and functional aspects, and strengthen professionals’ portfolios. 

  • Rising trend of job opportunities

According to the exclusive report by MarketsandMarkets published in May 2020, the Blockchain market size is expected to grow from USD 3.0 billion in 2020 to USD 39.7 billion in 2025. This suggests that the job market will see rapid growth internationally, and Blockchain developers and other related professionals will be in great demand. Some of the prominently demanded roles in this domain include Blockchain Experts, Architects, Ethereum Developers, Smart Contract Developers, and much more. These Certifications help individuals to prove their Blockchain skills & understanding, gain an in-depth understanding of technology & its implementation, implement their skills across any applications and build their own Blockchain enterprise with acquired knowledge.

  • Certifications can help people make better investments and trading in cryptocurrency

According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, cryptocurrency users have tripled from 35 million people in 2018 to 101 million people in Q3 2020. A study conducted by researchers from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority also revealed a 78% increase since 2019. Also, in October 2020, when Paypal announced that it would be introducing crypto transactions, it was reported that it was the best quarterly return in PayPal’s history. Interest in digital assets is booming. 

Thus a comprehensive understanding of Blockchain through certifications can help you make better investments and trading in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency certification will enhance individual confidence and provide them with the necessary skills for better hiring opportunities as well.

  • Exceptionally high salaries of Certificate Holders

The salaries of Blockchain professionals are skyrocketing. In fact, it is the most demanding skill at present. 

According to Glassdoor, the national average salary for a Blockchain Developer is $1,01,689 in the United States, and the national average salary of a developer is ₹5,07,137 in India. Glassdoor also reports that the average salary of a Developer is £50,137 in London, UK.

But to earn high salaries, it is important to have the right skills in this space. Certifications help you with the right set of skills so that you can adapt perfectly to the rising trend of job opportunities in this space.

Blockchain Council, a globally-recognized online platform known for imparting world-class training with its own market research, found that people with the right skills and certification, on average, make 30% more salary compared to equivalent job profiles.

  • It is the technology of the future.

Many technocrats and Blockchain Experts believe that it is a technology of the future. As large enterprises such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and many more are incorporating decentralized technologies into their business models, it is clear that this technology is going to bring significant change and evolution. This represents another exceptional reason to pursue Blockchain certifications.

Concluding Lines: How to Become a Certified Blockchain Professional?

We have talked a lot about the benefits of Blockchain certifications. Such certification benefits are not limited to exploring jobs, but they also help build confidence and ensure a competitive advantage over other players in this space.

If you are interested in learning and upgrading your skills, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Expert. Backed by the extensive practical-based sessions, this online organization offers online training and certifications to aspiring trainees to render the desired competence to have a successful career in the Blockchain space. 

So what are you waiting for? Get enrolled now!

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.  

Top Benefits of Blockchain Certification in Your Career

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Top Cryptocurrency Payment Apps That You Should Know

Top Cryptocurrency Payment Apps That You Should Know

Are you a crypto enthusiast? Want to perform crypto transactions using a user-friendly payment app? Want to know which are the best options that are available? This article has got you covered. 

Table of Contents 

  • What is Crypto Payment App?
  • Best Crypto Payment Apps of 2021 
  • Apple Pay To Be Used to Spend Bitcoin: Recent Announcement 
  • Concluding Lines 

What is Crypto Payment App?

Cryptocurrency payment Apps allow businesses and individuals to accept cryptocurrencies from any country as a form of transactional payment from clients and other participating parties customers in exchange for goods or services. The main purpose of such apps is to promote the widespread adoption of varieties of cryptocurrencies.

Since cryptocurrencies are backed by Blockchain technology, they facilitate easy and confidential transactions and, most importantly, eliminates banking fees.

Want to know more about cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology? Get started today with the best cryptocurrency and Blockchain certifications now! 

Best Crypto Payment Apps of 2021 

Let’s explore some of the top-rated crypto payment apps of 2021.

If you want to take control of your crypto, turn crypto into dollars, leverage multi-sig security, and manage funds across platforms, go for Bitpay. It is known to be one of the world’s largest providers of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services. It helps you manage and secure your funds with multi-signature and key encryption. Moreover, one can also keep track of their funds by receiving prompt email and push notifications related to payments, transfers, and proposals and spend all around the world. 

The BitPay Wallet app supports various cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Bitcoin Cash and many dollar-pegged stable coins. 

eToro is one of the leading trading platforms that is home to around 12 million traders across the globe. One can invest in a wide category of digital assets on this platform without spending any markups, ticketing, or management fees. Moreover, there are no restrictions on trading volume as well. 

Cryptopay is another popular platform that enables individuals to easily access cryptocurrencies across countries. With Cryptopay, one can buy BTC, ETH, LTC, and XRP with their credit card or debit card and enjoy the economical rates and flat fees. Talking about crypto transaction fees, it’s just charge 1% for the currency exchange. 

  • Coinbase 

Coinbase provides the easiest way for users to buy, sell, and manage their cryptocurrency portfolio. It offers a variety of advanced features that make it the ideal platform to start trading for beginners and experts as well. It allows android users and iOS users as well to keep track of cryptocurrencies and manage their assets securely. It also allows individuals to store their funds in a vault with time-delayed withdrawals.

  • Electroneum 

This is a unique, UK-based cryptocurrency app that is centered on empowering people to offer a mobile-first payment solution. Due to its popularity, it now has more than millions of users around the globe. 

Electroneum (ETN) is helping all those who have no visa, no MasterCard, no PayPal, etc., to pay for goods and services, both in-store and online. Electroneum app lets anyone hold and transfer value in terms of ETN immediately at a minimal cost. 

Apple Pay To Be Used to Spend Bitcoin: Recent Announcement 

According to the recent announcement, Apple Pay can now be used to spend Bitcoin. The news statements read that the US cardholders of the BitPay Prepaid Mastercard can add their card to Apple Wallet and spend in stores, in apps, and online through Apple Pay. 

As BitPay continues to improve its global blockchain solutions to make paying with cryptocurrencies faster and safer, apart from Apple Pay, Bitpay also plans to add support for Google Pay and Samsung Pay by the end of next month. Bitpay intends to empower customers to manage and spend Bitcoin and also turn it into dollars and pay with the BitPay Card.

Please note that these are not the only crypto apps. There are many others, and we have just listed a few of them. 

Concluding Lines 

Have you used any of these crypto payment apps? Which, according to you, is the best one? Let us know in the comment section below. 

If you want to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of Cryptocurrency trading right from scratch, you can get enrolled in one of the Cryptocurrency certification programs and become a Certified Cryptocurrency Trader. 

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

Top Cryptocurrency Payment Apps That You Should Know

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