ChainCatcher news, according to Crowdfund Insider, Blockchain.com announced a partnership with Bakkt to expand its cryptocurrency trading operations to all 50 states in the U.S. Bakkt is a regulated digital asset exchange that offers services such as custody and other infrastructure.Previously, Blockchain.com was unable to operate in eight states due to regulatory hurdles.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency trading platform Blockchain.com announced plans to increase its workforce by 25% in the first quarter and seeks to enter new markets such as Nigeria and Turkey.The company has also hired Curtis Ting, former head of global operations at Kraken, to help establish a new hub in Paris and create local entities across Europe to comply with new regulatory requirements. Currently, Blockchain.com’s European operations are managed through a single entity located in London.Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith stated in an interview that the company will also seek more local licenses. The company currently has about 300 employees and plans to enter the Nigerian and Turkish markets next year.

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com has completed a $110 million Series E strategic financing, led by the UK investment firm Kingsway Capital, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Lakestar, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, and others. Blockchain.com has added two new board members: Manny Stotz, founder and CEO of Kingsway, a long-time cryptocurrency investor and expert, and Nicolas Brand, a partner at Lakestar.According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, following a valuation of $14 billion in March 2022, the company's valuation has now dropped to below $7 billion. Previously, in October 2022, Kingsway Capital also led another undisclosed financing round for Blockchain.com, which concluded in the third quarter of last year.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency financial services company Blockchain.com has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing Blockchain.com to provide regulated Digital Payment Token (DPT) services to its global institutional and qualified investor clients.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Blockchain.com will suspend its asset management division. A document shows that Blockchain.com Asset Management (BCAM) applied for deregistration on Monday, and the company has not yet submitted any annual accounts.It is reported that BCAM was launched in April 2022, and a company spokesperson stated in an email: "As the cryptocurrency winter has lasted nearly a year, we made the business decision to suspend operations in this division."According to previous reports, Blockchain.com announced in January this year that it would lay off 28% of its workforce (about 110 employees). Last July, after the collapse of Three Arrows Capital, the company laid off about 150 employees. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, Birel CEO Richard Freemanson confirmed that shares of many crypto startups are currently being sold at significant discounts on Birel.io, including Alchemy, Blockchain.com, Chainalysis, Kraken, ConsenSys, Blockdaemon, CoinDCX, and OpenSea.The bulk stock offerings from the aforementioned companies range from $3 million to $50 million, with varying discounts. Shares of Blockchain.com and ConsenSys are being sold at discounts of 74% and 71% respectively from their latest funding rounds. Chainalysis shares are sold at a 61% discount, while OpenSea shares are sold at a 51% discount. Shares of Alchemy, Blockdaemon, and Kraken are discounted by 31%, 30%, and 9% respectively.Spokespeople for Chainalysis, OpenSea, and Blockdaemon declined to comment. The other companies mentioned did not respond immediately to requests for comment. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency exchange CoinFLEX recently claimed in a document that it had lent a total of 3,000,000 FLEX tokens, worth approximately $4.3 million, to the financial services company Blockchain.com last year, and is now demanding repayment by March 7, setting a deadline for Blockchain.com to remit by March 21, or face legal action.Blockchain.com responded: "CoinFLEX's claims are completely unfounded, the allegations are entirely fabricated, and CoinFLEX is currently being sued for dissolution by its clients... In fact, CoinFLEX owes for services provided by Blockchain.com, but has yet to make payment, and we will soon begin collection." CoinFLEX entered restructuring proceedings in Seychelles court last August, seeking to raise $84 million to repay its debts. (Decrypt)

ChainCatcher news, a spokesperson for the cryptocurrency exchange and financial services company Blockchain.com denied any attempts to sell assets or subsidiaries and dismissed reports of negotiations with other crypto companies regarding potential deals.It is reported that Blockchain.com laid off 110 employees (about 28% of its total workforce) in January due to a $270 million loss from loans to Three Arrows Capital. Recently, Blockchain.com's venture capital division liquidated 80% of its stake in PolySign, and anonymous sources claimed that Blockchain.com executives discussed selling part of the business to other cryptocurrency companies between December and January. (source link)

According to Chain Catcher news, as reported by The Block citing informed sources, Blockchain.com has not sold any subsidiaries and has not engaged in discussions with Coinbase regarding a potential deal. Instead, Blockchain.com has sold non-liquid positions to profit and enhance liquidity for acquisition activities. This statement has been confirmed as true by Blockchain.com.Previously, according to Decrypt citing informed sources, Blockchain.com has been selling assets to fill a $270 million funding gap caused by Three Arrows Capital. Its venture capital arm, BlockchainVentures, recently sold 80% of its stake in PolySign, and executives have been in discussions with Coinbase regarding potential business acquisitions. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has hired C.J. Rinaldi as Chief Compliance Officer. Before joining Kraken, Rinaldi served as Chief Compliance Officer at the cryptocurrency service company Blockchain.com from October 2021 to December 2022, where he expanded the company's global compliance framework.It is reported that Jesse Powell, who served as Kraken's CEO for over 11 years, stepped down on September 21, 2022, and was succeeded by Chief Operating Officer David Ripley. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com announced the layoff of 110 employees, accounting for 28% of its total workforce. ChainCatcher reported last July that Blockchain.com lost $270 million due to loans provided to Three Arrows Capital, and announced a 25% layoff (around 150 people). (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, FTX's derivatives trading platform LedgerX is seeking new buyers and has successfully attracted interest from several potential buyers, including Blockchain.com and Gemini. According to insiders, in addition to Blockchain.com and Gemini, cryptocurrency trading platform Bitpanda and event prediction contract trading platform Kalshi have also expressed interest in LedgerX, along with about six other potential buyers, with the possibility of more buyers entering the fray. Furthermore, there are signs that negotiations are becoming more formal, with at least some parties having signed relevant confidentiality agreements regarding the acquisition.Bloomberg states that LedgerX, as a derivatives trading platform registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is a cornerstone of SBF's many efforts in Washington and is considered one of the most valuable assets related to FTX. As of the documents submitted on November 17, LedgerX has approximately $303 million in cash assets, and it is currently unclear how much this sale might yield for FTX.Previously, LedgerX was established in 2017 and raised a total of $35 million in funding, and was subsequently acquired by FTX.US in August 2021, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources that the cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com is in talks for a new round of financing, and the valuation for this round is expected to drop significantly, from a valuation of $14 billion in March to between $3 billion and $4 billion.According to previous reports, Blockchain.com announced that it would complete a new round of strategic financing in early Q3 this year, with the specific amount of financing not yet disclosed, and this round is led by Kingsway Capital. In March of this year, Blockchain.com was valued at $14 billion in a Series D financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and in April it revealed plans to potentially launch an IPO as early as this year. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com announced that it has completed a new round of strategic financing at the beginning of the third quarter of this year, with the specific amount of financing not yet disclosed. This round of financing was led by Kingsway Capital, with participation from Baillie Gifford and Lightspeed Venture Partners.Previously, ChainCatcher reported that in March of this year, Blockchain.com was valued at $14 billion in a Series D financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and in April, it revealed plans to launch an IPO as early as this year. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, Blockchain.com and Crypto.com have begun to restrict account functionalities for Russian citizens. Among them, Blockchain.com will no longer provide custodial services to Russian nationals, and notified users must withdraw their custodial funds and other rewards by October 27, after which their accounts will be frozen; Crypto.com has already blocked relevant users from accessing its app. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency trading platform Blockchain.com announced that it has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to offer digital payment token services in Singapore.On October 11, Coinbase also announced that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has granted in-principle approval for Coinbase Singapore to provide regulated crypto services locally under the Payment Services Act. It is reported that since 2020, approximately 180 cryptocurrency companies have applied for this digital asset license, with Blockchain.com being the 18th cryptocurrency company approved to operate in Singapore. (CoinDesk)