It has become known that Everledger, Tencent and Alrosa will sell diamonds with blockchain IDs. A blockchain startup Everledger will serve as a basis for the retail mini program which is exclusively for WeChat customers. Having one billion Chinese folks using it in everyday tasks, the app gives transparent and truthful details about different things. And now – including the luxury stones. The feature is using blockchain for traceability and transparency. Customers will be able to obtain...
Read More »Uber to Offload Uber Eats India to Zomato as It Aggressively Cuts Losses
Uber is reportedly very close to selling off its Uber Eats food delivery business in India. According to a TechCrunch report citing three people familiar with the matter, Uber is at the final stages of negotiations with Indian rival company, Zomato. If negotiations are successful, Zomato will take it over.Valued at more than $2 billion, Zomato is easily one of the largest food delivery businesses in India and hasn’t made it very easy for Uber Eats since the latter launched in May 2017. The...
Read More »As China Looks to Become World’s Leader in Blockchain, What’s Next for 2020?
Blockchain technology by most standards is still quite nascent. Regardless, there are already quite a few impressive applications of the technology, with constant efforts at development. The first and probably the most popular use of blockchain is the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, which went live over a decade ago. However, since then, applications have been seen in several different sectors including finance and healthcare. Because it is still somewhat new, there is still a lot of room for...
Read More »Tencent’s WeBank to Handle Tech Infrastructure for China’s National Blockchain Network
WeBank, China’s first digital bank in the sphere of helping small businesses access funding needed for operations, will now provide the technical infrastructure required for the deployment of China’s national blockchain network.According to a report from state-owned Financial News media platform, WeBank will be in charge of the creation and delivery of FISCO BCOS (Be Credible, Open & Secure) open-source consortium chain, for the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN). The BSN Development...
Read More »Call of Duty: Mobile Surpasses 170M Downloads and Brings $87M in 2 Months after Launch
Nowadays it is becoming more and more popular to play games on your mobile device, rather than your PC. And it’s nothing strange since mobile phones are today more developed than ever. One of these popular games is rolled out by Activision Blizzard. It is Call of Duty: Mobile that has recently, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates, brought in around $87 million in global player spending and more than 172 million downloads in only two months of its existence.Even though there...
Read More »Crypto Exchange Huobi Joins China’s State-Backed Blockchain Alliance
On Sunday, December 1, crypto exchange Huobi along with other Chinese telecom players joined the country’s state-backed popular blockchain consortium Blockchain Services Network (BSN). Huobi has joined as one of the first members of BSN which is an industry alliance initiated by the State Information Center (SIC).The BSN was just launched in the last month of October by the SIC with an aim to boost the blockchain sector growth and further encourage the development of smart cities in the...
Read More »Alibaba’s Hong Kong Debut Is World’s Largest Listing in 2019
Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba saw a great launch in Hong Kong on Tuesday, after pricing its shares at 176 Hong Kong dollars (approx. $22.5) apiece. This is the biggest listing this year so far, larger than the approximately $8 billion raised by Uber in May. This also came as an excellent boost for the Hong Kong market which had problems since the pro-democracy protests escalated in recent weeks. Alibaba trades under the stock code 9988 in Hong Kong. Nine and eight are considered...
Read More »Argentine Fintech Startup Ualá Raises $150 Million from SoftBank, Tencent and Others in Series C Funding
Fintech startup Ualá which is a finance app that helps people with all things financial has just finished its Series C funding to the tune of $150 million. This round was led by Tencent and Softbank’s Innovation Fund which has as its specific aim the Mercursour region. The app functions very much like Monzo, Nubank and Revolut but this time the focus of this app is on the Argentine market without the trappings and requirements of financial institutions and regulations. With its CEO Pierpaolo...
Read More »Tencent to Lose Billions and Significantly Fall behind Alibaba Following NBA Streaming Mishap
Tencent Holdings Ltd, one of China’s biggest firms, generally has its hands in a little bit of every pie including gaming and sports. However, it would seem like there are dog days ahead for the giant firm, following a simple tweet in support of protests in Hong Kong.Back in 2018, Tencent successfully bagged a heavy and expensive deal worth $1.5 billion, which gave the company fully exclusive rights for streaming access to several games in the National Basketball Association (NBA) league....
Read More »Hong Kong Grants Chinese Tech Giant Tencent a License to Open Virtual Bank
It’s a big win for Chinese tech giant Tencent as Hong Kong’s top-most regulator – Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) – has recently granted them a new license to open a virtual bank.On Friday, November 8, speaking at the World Blockchain Summit in Wuzhen, China, Tencent’s chief of blockchain division – Yige Cai – said that his company has received a go-ahead from the SFC to open blockchain-based virtual banking system in the country.Although not many details of the bank’s launch are...
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