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BSV association partners with Saudi Digital Academy to launch BSV Blockchain Academy in Saudi Arabia

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The BSV blockchain’s Switzerland-based industry association and the Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a BSV Blockchain Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is the first full-scale blockchain academy in the Middle East region.

The SDA is a key national initiative by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) of Saudi Arabia, which aims to develop human capital and the digital capabilities of Saudi youth. It builds a national academy with international standards to educate Saudi talent in emerging technologies, and prepare them for careers in the communications and IT sector that advance the Kingdom’s digital transformation and ‘Saudi Vision 2030’.

Through the new blockchain academy in Riyadh, the BSV association and SDA will collaborate to provide blockchain learning and development resources for a variety of audiences – including developers, students, start-up entrepreneurs, business executives and government agency representatives. The academy will focus on the BSV blockchain, an enterprise-grade network that can support big business and government-scale data applications with high volumes of transactions at minimal cost; BSV median transaction fees are often a small fraction of a U.S. cent.

The BSV Blockchain Academy is the latest in a series of sector-specific educational programs launched by the SDA. As Eng. Faris AlSaqabi, Deputy Minister for Future Jobs & Capabilities at MCIT explains, “Because the Fourth Industrial Revolution involves many emerging technologies, the SDA seeks to attract multiple digital academies in order to provide training across all fields that will be vital to Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation. Since the initial academies announced at our launch event in October 2021, we continually look to add new fields of learning. Given the high interest in blockchain technology, we are proud to work with BSV’s team to bring world-class blockchain training to Saudi Arabia in this landmark initiative for the Middle East.”

The BSV blockchain’s association and SDA announced their educational partnership during a signing ceremony on the final day of LEAP 2022 – the global technology conference in Riyadh which took place on 1-3 February 2022. LEAP 2022 was the biggest ever technology event debut, attracting over 100,000 people.

Commenting on the agreement, Mohammed Alsuhaim, CEO of the Saudi Digital Academy said: “We are pleased that the Saudi Digital Academy is partnering with the BSV Blockchain Association to create in Riyadh the Middle East region’s first full scale blockchain academy. This initiative will teach students, developers, business executives and government representatives across Saudi Arabia the blockchain knowledge necessary to navigate the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The BSV team shares our vision for building true blockchain utility at big scale to power data for a digital Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we anticipate this is the first step in other areas of collaboration with the BSV Blockchain Association.”

Also commenting, Jimmy Nguyen, Founding President of the BSV blockchain’s association said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of emerging technologies such as Internet of Things, robotics, smart cities, and artificial intelligence. These fields are all driven by data, and only the BSV blockchain has the scaling capacity to act as their distributed data infrastructure. We are very excited to educate Saudi youth and professionals about the power of BSV to drive digital transformation and build a better world. We look forward to this educational partnership with the MCIT and the Saudi Digital Academy, and bringing useful blockchain adoption to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Blockchain

Supply Chain Finance Market Forecast to Reach $9.4 Billion by 2029: Increasing Emphasis on Sustainable Sourcing

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Global Supply Chain Finance Market

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Blockchain

Web3 Startups Raise Nearly $1.9B in Q1 2024 Despite Overall Downtrend in Crypto VC Interest

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Venture capital funding for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects has seen a notable resurgence in the first quarter of 2024, marking its first quarterly rise since 2021. Crunchbase data released today indicates that Web3 startups secured nearly $1.9 billion in funding across 346 deals during this period. This represents a substantial 58% increase from the previous quarter, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the ongoing downward trend in overall crypto VC interest.

The recent surge in funding can be attributed to investors adopting a more long-term perspective on Web3, as opposed to the hype-driven “tourist investors” predominant in recent years. Chris Metinko, the author of the report, notes that investors are shifting their focus to the AI sector, indicating a change in investment strategy. There is a growing interest in supporting the foundational infrastructure of the decentralized internet, rather than solely concentrating on crypto wallets and lending platforms, which attracted significant investments during the peak period of 2021 to 2022.

While large funding rounds were relatively uncommon in Q1, several notable investments stood out. Exohood Labs, a company integrating AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, secured a remarkable $112 million seed round at a valuation of $1.4 billion. EigenLabs, an Ether token “restaking” platform, raised $100 million in a Series B round led by a16z crypto. Additionally, Freechat, a decentralized social network leveraging blockchain technology, secured $80 million in a Series A round. These investments, among others, contributed to the increase in valuations and the emergence of four new Web3 unicorns in Q1.

Despite the recent progress, the future trajectory of Web3 remains uncertain. Metinko suggests that the next few quarters will be pivotal in determining the industry’s direction. While investors anticipate a rebound in investment as the decentralized internet evolves, it may take another year for venture capital activity to stabilize after the exuberance of 2021. Factors such as the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the upcoming Bitcoin halving could also influence the market, given the rising prices of Bitcoin and Ether.

A noteworthy example of significant funding in the Web3 space is Monad Labs’ recent successful funding round, which secured $225 million led by Paradigm. Monad Labs is a layer-1 blockchain compatible with Ethereum, offering faster transaction processing. This funding round harkens back to the golden era of crypto funding in 2021-2022, when L1 solutions attracted substantial investments.

Earlier this year, Balance, a digital asset custodian based in Canada, announced that it had once again reached $2 billion in assets under custody (AUC) amidst the recent market recovery. Similarly, Korea Digital Asset (KODA), the largest institutional crypto custody service in South Korea, has experienced remarkable growth in crypto assets under its custody, expanding by nearly 248% in the second half of 2023.

Analysts at Bernstein Research project that crypto funds could reach an impressive $500 billion to $650 billion within the next five years, representing a significant leap from the current valuation of approximately $50 billion. This forecast underscores the growing optimism and potential for substantial growth within the crypto industry in the coming years.

Source: cryptonews.com

The post Web3 Startups Raise Nearly $1.9B in Q1 2024 Despite Overall Downtrend in Crypto VC Interest appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

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ASIC cracks down on blockchain mining firms

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Three blockchain mining companies – NGS Crypto, NGS Digital, and NGS Group – along with their directors, Brett Mendham, Ryan Brown, and Mark Ten Caten, are facing legal action from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for allegedly operating without a license, in violation of Australia’s Corporations Act. ASIC initiated legal proceedings against these entities on April 9, citing concerns about their non-compliance with financial regulations and their solicitation of Australian investors.

According to ASIC, the NGS companies promoted blockchain mining packages with fixed-rate returns to Australian investors, encouraging the transfer of funds from regulated superannuation funds to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) for conversion into cryptocurrency. Approximately 450 Australians invested a total of around USD 41 million in these packages, raising concerns about potential financial losses.

The legal action filed by ASIC alleges that the companies violated section 911A of the Corporations Act, which prohibits companies from providing financial services without a valid Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). ASIC is seeking interim and final court orders to prohibit the NGS companies from offering financial services in Australia without an AFSL.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo emphasized the importance of investors carefully considering the risks before investing in crypto-related products through their SMSFs. Longo stated that ASIC’s actions send a message to the crypto industry about the regulator’s commitment to ensuring compliance with regulations and protecting consumers.

In a separate development, the Federal Court appointed receivers for the digital currency assets associated with the NGS companies and their directors to safeguard these assets amid concerns about the risk of dissipation. Mendham was also issued a travel restriction order, preventing him from leaving Australia.

While a court date for the proceedings has not been set, ASIC’s investigation is ongoing, with the regulator continuing to gather evidence and build its case. It is worth noting that the investigated companies share a similar name with NGS Super, a legitimate Australian pensions provider, leading to potential confusion among investors. NGS Super clarified that it is not involved in selling cryptocurrency or related products and has taken legal action to protect its trademark and members’ interests.

Source: iclg.com

The post ASIC cracks down on blockchain mining firms appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

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