By : Liquid, a -backed Japanese platform operated by Singaporean crypto exchange Quoine, plans to expand into the United States. Liquid hopes to on-board U.S. clients by January 2020.
In an April 29 , Liquid said it partnered with a consortium of crypto and investors called Virtual Currency Partners (VCP). The two entities then launched a joint venture called Liquid Financial USA, which will manage the U.S. expansion.
Liquid Co-Founder and CEO Mike Kayamori says he’s making the move into the United States in response to “widespread expressions of interest” from Liquid’s corporate and institutional .
Liquid USA, which has offices in New York and Atlanta, is currently working on getting U.S. regulatory approvals.
Liquid claims it’s a tech unicorn
This American build-out comes three weeks after Liquid closed on financing that it claims raised its valuation to more than $1 billion.
In an April 3 , Liquid said the latest round of funding was led by investment firm IDG Capital, with participation from Bitmain, the world’s largest maker of rigs.
“Founded in 2014, Liquid has achieved unicorn status in less than five years. This investment in Liquid marks an addition to IDG’s current portfolio of crypto investments, which include , , Bitmain and Kakao’s crypto unit.”
It’s ironic that Bitmain is supposedly investing in Liquid since it announced in December 2018 that it’s of its staff. At the time, Bitmain had almost 2,000 employees in its and development segments.
Crypto industry is struggling after brutal winter
All these changes are occurring against the backdrop of continued volatility in the industry. As CCN reported, Coinnest — fifth-largest crypto exchange — .
A few days before that, ConsenSys — the flailing development studio — announced that it’s from outside investors to stay afloat.
The fundraising drive came just four months after the Brooklyn-based startup of its workforce.
Struggling Giant ConsenSys Seeks $200 Million Raise at Billion-Dollar Valuation
— Crypto News (@PaveIt_)
bitcoin can’t escape negative perception
shills are putting on a happy face and insisting that the brutal crypto bear market is finally over, but the stagnation and panic within the industry are palpable.
Not only has there been little progress with regulatory clarity that could legitimize the nascent ecosystem, but the industry continues to be plagued by the public perception that — especially — are only useful for criminal activity.
is overwhelmingly the most popular and widely used of the 2,000 digital currencies around today. In fact, is used in .
“ is by far the favorite,” says Jonathan Levin, co-founder of Chainalysis, a forensics firm used by the IRS and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Many recent drug busts involving fentanyl purchases were uncovered through analysis because buyers paid for the illegal opioid with .
is Criminals’ ‘Favorite’, Claims Forensic; Used in 95% of Crypto Crimes
— CCN.com (@CCNMarkets)
Published at Tue, 30 Apr 2019 18:22:52 +0000
