A crypto startup that seeks to create a “stable coin” has notched a whopping $133 million funding from some big names, TechCrunch reported. Basis, which is seeking to create a coin whose value will stay at around $1, raised the funds from the likes of BainCapital Ventures. Other investors included former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and hedge fund manager Stan Druckenmiller.
An app that lets users rate different cannabis products is working on its own crypto token and blockchain applications, CoinDesk reported. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), MassRoots said that it has created MassRoots Blockchain Technologies as a subsidiary. MassRoots has a particularly interesting reason for launching its own crypto: It wants to set up a rewards system for those who post reviews.
In other news, the founder of a company that reportedly took in $50 million from an initial coin offering (ICO) posted a photo of himself at the airport and then holding a drink at a beach, TechCrunch reported. “Thanks guys! Over and out,” Yassin Hankir, founder of Savedroid, posted on Twitter. His company was reportedly working to manage investments through artificial intelligence and a credit card backed by cryptocurrency.
And the man who once claimed to be bitcoin’s founder is asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit against him, CoinDesk reported. Ira Kleiman sued Craig Wright in February on behalf of the estate of his late brother, Dave. The suit alleged that Wright plotted to take Dave’s bitcoins and rights to certain bitcoin-related intellectual property. In a court filing, Wright claimed that the lawsuit was an “attempted shakedown” and based off of “a thin soup of supposition, speculation, conflicting allegations, hearsay and innuendo.”
In other news, the owner of Arival Bank plans to travel to the U.S. to obtain a banking license, Fintech Futures reported. “I am going to the U.S. to apply for a banking licence [sic]. For the first crypto-friendly bank,” Vladislav (aka Slava) Solodkiy said. His bank seeks to serve the small-to-medium business (SMB) sector, and may be built on a set of open application programming interfaces (APIs).
And crypto funds fell nearly 30 percent in March, as regulators scrutinize virtual assets per BarclayHedge, Reuters reported. Overall, The Barclay Cryptocurrency Traders Index has tumbled more than 40 percent on a year-to-date basis. The index tracks the monthly returns of 19 funds that trade bitcoin and other cryptos.
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