Dave Barr – Startup Fortune https://startupfortune.com Startup News, Guides, Training and Entrepreneur Community Forum Sat, 15 Apr 2023 03:08:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.8 https://startupfortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ICON.png Dave Barr – Startup Fortune https://startupfortune.com 32 32 10 of the Top Crypto Thought Leaders of 2023 https://startupfortune.com/10-of-the-top-crypto-thought-leaders-of-2023/ https://startupfortune.com/10-of-the-top-crypto-thought-leaders-of-2023/#respond Sat, 15 Apr 2023 03:08:05 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=4321 What would crypto be without its influencers and thought leaders? From the earliest Bitcoin evangelists, spreading the word when the world was ignorant, to the latest YouTubers picking new projects and sharing the knowledge, crypto has a long history of thought leaders who aren’t afraid to speak up.

Some have the power to move markets, while others move communities, engaging with crypto users, educating them, and alerting them to the latest opportunities within the space. While the names of the top crypto influencers changes, as new figures enter and exit the game, their mandate doesn’t: to form the hype men and women responsible for onboarding millions to crypto. Here are 10 of the best.

Bohdan Prylepa

Where Bohdan Prylepa goes, the market usually follows. As CEO of metaverse exchange QMall, Bohdan has his finger on the pulse and is instinctively aware of the narratives that will drive the next crypto cycle. The WeWay co-founder is a crypto entrepreneur with an uncanny knack for capturing the zeitgeist and shaking it by the scruff of the neck. Which is to say he’s usually ahead of the curve and it pays to keep tabs on his projects. Both WeWay and QMall were voted top projects of 2022 according to Cryptorank. Proof, lest it were needed, that Bohdan Prylepa’s influence runs deep.

Mykola Udianskyi

A bonafide blockchain galaxy brain, Mykola Udianskyi has a lot going for him. Listed in Ukraine’s top 100 rich list, Mykola has made his money by being early and being right. Whether it’s identifying the hottest startups to invest in or the most promising crypto projects to build, when the entrepreneur swings he doesn’t miss. In addition to being the founder of Bitcoin Ultimatum – an innovative Bitcoin fork – Mykola is CEO of the global marketing firm PRMR, co-owner of Parlament Media Group, and a budding scientist and philanthropist in his spare time. 

Yawn Rong

Few crypto projects can justifiably be called game-changing, but STEPN is one such contender. It literally changed the game by rewriting the rule book for crypto incentivization and tokenomics. The world’s first move-to-earn app, STEPN inspired a clutch of x-to-earn copycats that have failed to match the success of the dapp that started the trend. Co-founder Yawn Rong is a serial entrepreneur who’s built two successful brands in Australia before entering the crypto industry in 2017. In 2021, he started STEPN with his neighbor Jerry and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sunny Lu

Supply chain management is the milieu of Sunny Lu. An engineering graduate of ​​Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Lu’s first job was with IT company Netstar, and the experience he gained in this role paved the way for Vechain. Nestar played a pivotal role in developing a vehicle tracking and recovery solution in South Africa. Vechain has subsequently focused on working with automobile manufacturers, while a subsequent job with Louis Vuitton China further prepped Lu for what lay ahead. The Vechain founder is today one of the blockchain industry’s best known Chinese entrepreneurs, with close ties to the business world where his technology is utilized by global brands and major corporations.

Hayden Adams

As the genius behind Uniswap, the first Ethereum AMM, Hayden is DeFi royalty. The New York founder of Uniswap Labs worked as an engineer at Siemens before diving down the Ethereum rabbit hole and emerging with a concept that has been more widely imitated, cloned, and forked than any other crypto protocol. By 2020, at the height of DeFi summer, Uniswap was pulling in more daily volume than Coinbase. The subsequent release of the capital efficient Uniswap v3 has shown that Hayden Adams hasn’t lost his ability to innovate.

Sergey Nazarov

Chainlink’s founder and CEO is a smart cookie with an army of memetic wizards at his back. The Link Marines may be responsible for transforming Chainlink into the most viral community in all of crypto, but its leader is the one who made it all possible. In 2017, Chainlink’s solution to “the oracle problem” was proposed in a whitepaper by Sergey Nazarov and his fellow authors. Two years later, the Chainlink network launched, by which time oracles were big business and Chainlink’s founder was the man whose likeness had birthed 1,000 memes. 

Jaynti Kanani

Originally known as Matic, the Ethereum scaling solution co-founded by Jaynti Kanani has evolved into the blockchain powerhouse that is Polygon. Not only has its network grown into a viable alternative to Ethereum in its own right, and boasts more daily transactions and active users than Eth, but it’s since released its own zkEVM. Kanani was inspired to create Matic Network by the congestion surrounding the viral success of CryptoKitties on Ethereum. Today, he oversees a multi-billion dollar network that’s inked partnerships with the likes of Starbucks and Disney. It’s been a remarkable journey and Kanani has plenty more in the pipeline.

Emin Gün Sirer

Turkish-American computer scientist Emin Gün Sirer is happiest when tinkering with blockchain consensus models – or debating them with the crypto community on Twitter. The giga-brain researcher created the consensus protocol powering Avalanche and is the CEO of its lead development company, Ava Labs. Since graduating with a computer science degree from Princeton, Emin hasn’t looked back, paused for breath, or possibly even slept. Avalanche was born in 2019 and rapidly risen to become one of the leading EVM-compatible networks.

Sébastien Borget

The Sandbox is a metaverse primitive that provides the foundations – or rather the land – for everything that’s built next. Its co-founder and COO is Sébastien Borget, a bright spark who’s capable of seeing the big picture without drowning in the details. He paints a compelling vision of the digital world in the near future, when the metaverse has become a living reality. With more than 170 brands having already snapped up plots in The Sandbox and half a million active users, Borget is well on his way to positioning himself as the king of virtual reality real estate.

Juan Benet

Even if you haven’t heard of Juan Benet, you’ve almost certainly benefited from his inventions. The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) creator is the daddy of decentralized storage. Benet is the founder of Protocol Labs, the research firm responsible for maintaining IPFS and Filecoin. Juan Benet studied Computer Science at Stanford University and is known for his passion for tech and science in all their myriad forms. Thanks to his efforts, web3 users have greater privacy and security in abundance.

Tagged with: QMall, Bohdan Prylepa, Mykola Udianskyi, Yawn Rong, STEPN, Vechain, Netstar, Sunny Lu, Hayden Adams, Chainlink, Sergey Nazarov, zkEVM, Jaynti Kanani, Ava Labs, Emin Gün Sirer, Sandbox, Sébastien Borget, Juan Benet, Protocol Labs, IPFS, FilecoinCrypto Thought Leaders 2023, Crypto Leaders 2023, Crypto Thought Leaders, Crypto Leaders,

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/10-of-the-top-crypto-thought-leaders-of-2023/feed/ 0
9 Things to Know About Astar Network, the Next-Gen Blockchain Tech in Polkadot https://startupfortune.com/9-things-to-know-about-astar-network-the-next-gen-blockchain-tech-in-polkadot/ https://startupfortune.com/9-things-to-know-about-astar-network-the-next-gen-blockchain-tech-in-polkadot/#respond Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:00:23 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=4303 Blockchain technology continues to disrupt the world with fast, efficient, and secure decentralized solutions. Astar Network is a leading blockchain network that offers real-world applications from decentralized finance to supply chain management. Here are 10 things you should know about Astar Network.

High-Performance: Astar Network stands out for its high-speed and low latency capabilities. This makes it ideal for real-time processing decentralized applications, including decentralized exchanges and gaming platforms.

Scalability: Astar Network is designed with scalability in mind to handle a growing user base with ease, allowing developers to confidently build and launch new applications.

Security: Security is a top priority for Astar Network with advanced features such as multi-layer encryption and secure data storage to provide users peace of mind.

Cross-Chain Communication: Astar Network enables easy cross-chain communication, connecting to other blockchain networks and opening up new opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

User-Friendly Design: Astar Network prioritizes user experience with its user-friendly interface, encouraging developers to create simple and intuitive applications.

Sustainability: Astar Network considers sustainability by using efficient consensus algorithms that reduce energy consumption and minimize the environmental impact of decentralized technology.

Supportive Community: Astar Network has a strong community focused on innovation and collaboration through regular meetups, hackathons, and other events.

Robust Governance System: Astar Network features a robust governance system that allows for decentralized decision-making and community-driven approach, ensuring the network evolves to meet the needs of its users.

Future of Decentralized Technology: Astar Network is leading the way for the future of decentralized technology with its combination of performance, security, and user-friendly design.

Join the Astar Network community to be a part of the future of decentralized technology with a fast, efficient, and secure blockchain network designed for real-world applications.

Astar Network offers a cutting-edge solution for real-world applications with its high-performance, security features, and user-friendly design. It is poised to revolutionize the DeFi experience.

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/9-things-to-know-about-astar-network-the-next-gen-blockchain-tech-in-polkadot/feed/ 0
How It Was Built: The Reputation Resolutions Story https://startupfortune.com/how-it-was-built-the-reputation-resolutions-story/ https://startupfortune.com/how-it-was-built-the-reputation-resolutions-story/#respond Mon, 07 Nov 2022 15:45:10 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=4278 The internet has proven to be a wonderful resource for millions of people around the world. It has connected communities and made things possible that could only be dreamt about in times past.

At the same time, the very unstructured and largely unregulated nature of the internet that was so attractive to early adopters has given birth to an environment where businesses and individuals have been increasingly vulnerable to online attacks on their reputations. Unfortunately, it has become commonplace for disgruntled customers and business competitors to weaponize defamatory reviews, complaints, lawsuits, and other types of harmful tactics to destroy online reputations.

Too often, a company or individual’s online reputation does not accurately reflect the true nature of their history, service offerings, and capabilities in a way that helps generate new business or attract new opportunities. That’s where the artful science of online reputation management comes in. The Reputation Resolutions vision statement reflects this: 

Reputation Resolutions was created to help people and brands around the world realize their full potential by helping them look their best online. 

Online Reputation management is the practice of improving, protecting, and managing the reputation of an individual or brand in search engine results. It is no longer simply the repair of a damaged reputation that has become an essential part of any effective marketing strategy. Marketing executives know you can’t build a successful business in the digital age without a strong and trusted online reputation.

Anthony Will and his close friend, the late Stephen Van Delinder, founded Reputation Resolutions in 2013 when they recognized that a vast number of people and businesses were being negatively impacted, sometimes irreparably, by negative, false, and defamatory content on the internet.

As recent college graduates, Anthony and Stephen sought out investment funds and successfully built one of the leading online reputation management firms in the United States and globally. In those early days, the emerging online reputation industry consisted of only a few companies whose service offerings provided no guarantee of success to customers. 

Out of these circumstances, the vision for what Reputation Resolutions is today was born. Reputation Resolutions was the industry’s first online reputation management firm to offer 100% results-based (guaranteed) services to remove negative, false, and defamatory content on the Internet. This model is still in place today, and clients are only charged for their removal services after the negative or harmful content is removed. 

Now, nine years later, the company has grown to be one of the top online reputation management firms globally, according to four different independent rating agencies, and even was rated by Business.com as the #1 online reputation management firm in the world for helping those dealing with negative content and online attacks

Since those early days, reputation management has evolved in response to the growing importance of a Google search, which has become a “first impression” for the world to see. Over the years, Reputation Resolutions has evolved its service offerings to combat negative online content and proactively improve, monitor, and manage clients’ Google search results. The company now regularly works with individuals and brands of all sizes to create and publish new positive content to help them put their best foot forward in Google search results. 

“We still offer results-based removal services for negative, false, and defamatory content,” Anthony Will says. “However, we have also expanded into PR, branding, and thought leadership-based services to help clients look their best online.”

Reputation Resolutions has sustained its leadership position in the online reputation industry for close to a decade by consistently offering only the most effective and cutting-edge strategies to assist clients with their online reputation needs. It will be interesting to see how Reputation Resolutions evolves in the coming years as your online reputation becomes increasingly important in our digital age.

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/how-it-was-built-the-reputation-resolutions-story/feed/ 0
An interview with Jason Blick, Chairman of EQIFI https://startupfortune.com/an-interview-with-jason-blick-chairman-of-eqifi/ https://startupfortune.com/an-interview-with-jason-blick-chairman-of-eqifi/#respond Wed, 28 Jul 2021 11:21:46 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3870 Over the last year and a half, DeFi has brought decentralized global banking, thus making it possible for the first time in history to provide banking services to anyone in the world, no matter where they are. Of course, there is still the matter of adoption, as not everyone uses DeFi as of yet.

Even so, projects like EQIFI make it possible to democratize financial products that were previously only available to the privileged minority. The project harnesses the power of DeFi, which positioned it to become an industry leader on the global stage.

What would you say is the biggest problem with traditional banks today? 

Centralized institutions have a monopoly on wealth, causing every financial crisis in history. In traditional finance, distinctly separate silos of function have been reinforced by legacy systems developed to meet the needs of centralized institutions. This idea of assigning separate silos to each banking product, such as one for a current account, another for a credit card, and another for a mortgage loan, has been central to every financial crisis, increasing distrust of banks. A lack of vision has prevented the creation of a single ecosystem to streamline financial services.

Traditional banks have failed to offer a fair and sustainable business model to maintain safe and secure lending strategies. They are simply too big to adopt a full-scale solution to replace their infrastructure, brick and mortar costs, technology, and antiquated operating models. Their levels of hierarchy, antiquated mainframe systems, siloed business models, mountains of paperwork, hidden or difficult-to-understand fees and payment schedules have been the subject of criticism for several years. Users and their assets are under the control of centralized institutions they do not trust and often can’t access.

The Booth/Kellogg Financial Trust score indicates that trust in the financial system has dropped 33% since peaking in 2019.

Trust is one of the most important factors consumers consider when purchasing financial products. It ranks second only to “ease and convenience,” and even then it’s by a tiny margin. 

Trust even outranks price.

How can DeFi help?

First of all, it’s worth pointing out that EQIFI is the first DeFi protocol in partnership with a fully licensed and regulated digital bank in EQIBank, which offers seamless cross-platform transactions for the mass market along with a guaranteed fiat gateway. EQIFI itself is a decentralized protocol for pooled lending, borrowing, and investing for ETH, ERC-20 tokens including wBTC, Stablecoins, and a select number fiat currencies. EQIFI provides a single platform for DeFi products with access to EQIBank accounts, custody, debit and credit cards, as well as OTC, and wealth management. 

EQIFI is designed to solve the trust problem in CeFi and also grow the entire DeFi section by offering users the chance to manage their entire banking, lending and trading requirements on one platform. Basically, we’re taking all of the benefits of DeFi and offering even more convenience and ease of use for our clients.

While a revolutionary concept, DeFi still has its own issues. Could you tell us about a few of them, and how might they be solved?

The truth is, the majority of lending platforms for blockchain assets are centralized platforms with traditional trust-based concerns. These are limited to particular groups or assets and very rarely allow movement of a position on-chain. Decentralized protocols, which have developed materially in the past few years, still face material issues, including achieving a seamless user experience and secure industry standards. They often incur smart contract vulnerability, lack of interoperability with wBTC and other blockchains, low liquidity, over-collateralization, difficulty switching between blockchains, and issues with fiat on/off ramps.

Some of the more prominent risks present in the fledgling DeFi field come from issues with error of both the smart contract and human variety, volatility in the marketplace, a distinct lack of insurance on loans, low liquidity, and interoperability between blockchains that is quite simply inadequate.

When it comes to lending and borrowing, one of the biggest issues today is over-collateralization. As there are no guarantees with such a volatile market, lenders want significantly higher collateral for their loans. This provides us with a situation where many lenders simply won’t work with a borrower unless they can front a significant amount of assets, which undermines the essential function of borrowing. The situation then does not fulfill one of the main philosophies of DeFi, which is, of course, to bank the unbanked. It also causes notable cuts into profits made on leverage trading, discouraging that use case as well.

That’s where EQIFI enters the picture. What solutions do you offer?  

EQIFI is a global financial protocol built on the value proposition that all products and services should be uniformly available and delivered digitally. Here at EQIFI, we have built a multi-faceted decentralized financial system, native to crypto, to both recreate and improve our legacy financial system. EQIFI successfully bridges the gap between fintech and DeFi, working to combine both in one single ecosystem, with the help of a licensed and regulated digital bank. EQIFI provides a range of DeFi products and services, all entirely governed by the community, and regulated where appropriate, by a financial authority.

The interoperability of EQIFI products establishes a spectrum of entirely new financial products and services. All on one platform, for the very first time.

The EQIFI Protocol provides an open, secure, and transparent DeFi market, offering the issuance of credit, loans, and investments to a much larger group of people than ever before. This comprises a symbiotic partnership of DeFi and digital banking with the delivery of DeFi lending, derivative and investment products, connected to bank accounts, credit cards, loans, OTC, wealth management, custody service and other complementary fields of financial products.

Our main products and attributes are both fixed term and variable rate loans, a yield aggregator, and interest rate swaps. 

We are the first DeFi platform to partner with a licensed bank, providing, among other things,  world-class fiat integration, community-based voting and governance, as well as low fees and higher LTVs. 

The token also allows users to participate in governance. Does any holder get to participate in decision making? 

The EQIFI protocol is governed by EQIFI (EQX) token-holders. Any holder of 800,000 or more EQIFI Tokens has the right to propose governance actions in executable code.

EQIFI structure gives the community complete control over all proposals, voting, and the execution of changes via the governance functions of the EQIFI platform. The community can propose new asset classes, new interest rates, and new fees, delivering a completely new governance model for banking.

The EQIFI community has control over all core functions, including the listing or delisting of new tokens and asset types, the adjusting of interest rates per the market and within commercial variable levels, and pausing deposits or loans for a reasonable timeframe which could offer consistency in cases of high volatility, and much more. We encourage all of your readers to check out our website for more in-depth information.

What are the other benefits of holding EQX token? 

EQIFI has one of the most expansive sets of Token Features in the DeFi sector today. The benefits of holding EQX include up to 25% APY and passive returns, the opportunity to take part in EQIFI’s community-based governance, our early adopters bonus, priority access to bank accounts, higher LTVs and preferential bonuses in the form of rewards.

There are many more benefits on offer, with information available on the EQIFI website.

Token holders also receive passive income from EQX. Can you tell us a few details about EQX staking?

EQIFI has one of the best staking bonuses available on any DeFi platform. Token holders who stake their tokens receive substantial and preferential bonuses in the form of rewards. This is in addition to the bonuses listed above and on our website.

Your platform is also the first to partner with a licensed bank. What does that mean for EQX?

It puts EQX into rarified air as far as DeFi is concerned.

Globally trusted and licensed, EQIBank works with EQIFI to provide innovative, distributed financial (DeFi) products to customers. 

EQIBank Limited is one of the world’s leading digital banks boasting users on every major continent. It offers competitive rates, 24/7 service, trusted security, and an innovative, simple online global banking experience across all devices. EQIBank offers tax-neutral personal and corporate banking services in multiple currencies to users located in nearly 180 countries. User relationships are built on partnership, continuity, and mutual trust, and jurisdictional advantages are synonymous with best-in-class banking, investment, and wealth planning solutions. These foundations are complemented by prudent financial and risk management. 

EQIFI users are offered and encouraged to secure a number of services through EQIBank, including current and savings accounts, lending, custody, debit and credit cards, wealth management and OTC services.

Finally, can you tell us what is the next step for EQIFI? What are your goals for the second half of 2021?

All four of our products will launch in the beginning of August. We will then scale to around $1BN AuM by the end of the year from the already active DeFi sector but also from traditional banks, wealth managers, funds, family offices and capital markets.

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/an-interview-with-jason-blick-chairman-of-eqifi/feed/ 0
Rikkei Finance Raises $5.6 Million to Build The First Open Lending Platform with Cross-chain Support and NFTs Collateralization https://startupfortune.com/rikkei-finance-raises-5-6-million-to-build-the-first-open-lending-platform-with-cross-chain-support-and-nfts-collateralization/ https://startupfortune.com/rikkei-finance-raises-5-6-million-to-build-the-first-open-lending-platform-with-cross-chain-support-and-nfts-collateralization/#respond Fri, 28 May 2021 14:33:56 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3831 Rikkei Finance is a Vietnamese DeFi startup, a team of industry experts who’re building a blockchain lending platform. They are using decentralised technology to innovate on old ideas like money lending, credit, and even insurance. The platform utilizes blockchain tech that enables cross-chain integration, meaning they can accept digital assets that operate on any blockchain network and render it at an equivalent rate, making them a real-time currency exchange network as well. 

We’re rapidly entering a brand new age of commerce. With the popularization of cryptocurrencies and the expansion of unique digital goods trading options such as open market trading and the emergence of NFTs, there is a new kind of money and a new way to manage it. Where there is progress that is this explosive comes chaos. Scams are rife and options may be limited to those who don’t understand what’s going on. The common people have to defer their decisions to expert opinions, and who can they turn to for something so unique? Thankfully there are already experts in this growing field who know how to keep things under control.

The team is already looking into new digital asset collateralization as well, including NFTs. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are unique pieces of blockchain data, long character strings that represent a singular file or piece of data that registers it as a one of a kind unique digital entity. It’s the modern-day art trade, taking a one of a kind piece of art with a hand-made signature and printing number and giving it a value in which people invest and trade for. 

But it’s all digital. The keys are tied exclusively to accounts and their exchange across the blockchain can be tracked as they are traded from one person to another, along with the money that is spent to trade them, which adjusts the overall value of the object in real time. It’s safer than a standard paint and canvas print. 

“Since we got into the crypto ecosystem in 2012, our main strategy was to invest in people. What can be found in more than 60 projects I invested in is that they all have a team with strong technical, research and operational competency as well as a clear business mindset. Rikkei Finance is exactly what I’m looking for. We’re glad to support it. They’re building a decentralized system for frictionless borrowing of any tokens with cross-chain compatibility, allowing proper money markets to function and creating a safe positive-yield approach to store assets. I am looking forward to seeing their platform have a big impact in the DeFi ecosystem” adds Stelian Balta, founder of HyperChain Capital who’s a big supporter and one of the early investors in the project.

Rikkei Finance has attracted powerful names to its main team. Rikkei was founded by Dang Thai Hoa and Vu Thanh Tung. Its main Advisor is John Ng Pangilinan, who is a managing partner at Signum Capital and Luu The Loi, who is the CEO of Kyber Network. These two companies also helped secure Rikkei’s initial funding of $5.6 million. They also have experts from their end. Dang Bao Duc, Rikkei Finance’s CFO and a former Quantitative Researcher at Keebeck Alpha, is passionate about building a sustainable lending protocol with high-standard risk management that can enhance users’ experience and encourage greater participation. 

In the words of John Ng Pangilinan – managing partner at Signum Capital, “I have been privileged to be part of Rifi’s roadmap; from its conceptualisation to the development of Rikkei Finance Protocol. Rifi has continuously forged ahead, despite the overarching, global economic conditions. Hence we have participated in its fundraise because we believe in endorsing the future of Rikkei Finance. With every investment decision, it comes with the need to balance risks and returns, Rifi prioritises the importance of reducing users’ risk profiles whilst optimising sustainable investment returns. This was made possible, with the collaboration of an insurance protocol.”

Rikkei Finance has received funding from some of the most reputed investors in the blockchain industry, including HyperChain Capital, Kyber Network, Signum Capital, PNYX, X21digital.com, LD Capital, Tomochain, Kernel Ventures, Trade Coin VietNam, Coin98, Kyros Ventures (Coin68), YBB Foundation Limited, Ark Stream Capital and Inclusion Capital.

What’s unique about Rikkei Finance’s lending platform?

The vision of the RiFi team is to build a very safe, solid and convenient protocol that makes lending easy and secure. One disadvantage of the current interest rate model is it makes borrowing more cost prohibitive in periods of low utilization rate. RiFi’s multi-kinked interest rate model makes the lending platform robust and sustainable. 

The protocol lowers the interest rate to increase borrowing incentives and to encourage more people to step forward providing digital assets to lending, the platform rewards suppliers with RiFi tokens.

The protocol also ensures system sustainability through its 5-phase asset selection process, which employs a self-developed liquidity ranking system. Assets will be evaluated and ranked based on multiple liquidity metrics, then be further analyzed and entered into the voting section before being officially added into the pool.

The team envisions doing great things adapting to blockchain tech. Rifi.Lending will have more cross-chain compatibility and the Rikkei Finance team is working towards changing the world of digital assets. 

More details about the project can be found at: https://rikkei.finance 

Litepaper: https://rikkei.finance/litepaper

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RikkeiFinance

Telegram: https://t.me/RikkeiFinance


Media Contacts:

Ngan Chu

Rikkei Finance

support@rikkei.finance

https://rikkei.finance

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/rikkei-finance-raises-5-6-million-to-build-the-first-open-lending-platform-with-cross-chain-support-and-nfts-collateralization/feed/ 0
Fantom Joins F1 Racing with Scuderia AlphaTauri At The Prestigious Monaco GP https://startupfortune.com/fantom-joins-f1-racing-with-scuderia-alphatauri-at-the-prestigious-monaco-gp/ https://startupfortune.com/fantom-joins-f1-racing-with-scuderia-alphatauri-at-the-prestigious-monaco-gp/#respond Sat, 22 May 2021 14:24:14 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3818 One of the fastest growing blockchain companies has joined the fastest sport on the planet. The logo of Fantom, the fastest blockchain will be prominently displayed on the vehicle of Formula One™ racer Pierre Gasly for the team Scuderia AlphaTauri at the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2021.

The partnership represents an alignment of ideals. Fantom delivers incredibly high speed technology solutions through their blockchain technology. Partnering to sponsor a Formula One™ racer is all too fitting, as the sport not only represents the highest class of speed it is also one of the most technically demanding events in the world.

They also share a belief in sustainability. Fantom is one of the leading tech companies in utilizing green energy to power their networks. Scuderia AlphaTauri’s vision of sustainability through their use of the Honda Hybrid technology shows a deeper bond than speed between the two groups.

The famous race has cars speeding and steering through sectioned-off streets of Monte Carlo, Monaco, a sovereign nation between France and Italy. It attracts the world’s best racing teams, each of which is sponsored not just by the automotive manufacturers but by prominent, global branded companies. It’s the most important race for F1 cars and drivers of the year.

Pierre Gasly, the driver of the car, was happy to be part of the partnership. In a tweet, he stated: “Fantom is the world’s first smart contract platform ready for mass adoption, allowing instant transactions and nearly zero cost.” Gasly is AlphaTauri’s all-time highest point scorer in heats and races.

The partnership will last throughout the season as Gasly acts as the brand ambassador. His car and helmet will proudly display the Fantom logo and name as he drives the tight streets of Monaco. A Thursday practice run put him in a promising place, coming in with a combined +0.75 gap to finish in the racing simulation. The leader for the practice runs was Red Bull Racing. Qualifications begin Saturday, the 22nd. The race will be held on Sunday the 23rd.

This partnership was facilitated by Quantum Fintech Group, a hedge fund that invests in powerful new technology firms who are making great changes in the tech space. Harry Yeh, the group managing director, said: “We are extremely excited about this partnership. Fantom’s technology is incredibly fast but at the same time it is following a green and eco-friendly approach, which aligns perfectly with the Scuderia AlphaTauri and with the ambitious sustainability strategy of the sport.”

Fantom has recently released its applications and networks in Central and South East Asia to help combat developing issues and provide stable, secure infrastructure for countries that are still lagging behind in terms of their technology. Their ecosystem currently supports over 100,000 daily users across all of their applications and platforms.

“I haven’t been this bullish about a tech start-up investment as I am with Fantom,” said Yeh. “We want to continue to attract even more people globally to the platform through this partnership.”

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/fantom-joins-f1-racing-with-scuderia-alphatauri-at-the-prestigious-monaco-gp/feed/ 0
Kika — A New Lending Pool Protocol for HECO https://startupfortune.com/kika-a-new-lending-pool-protocol-for-heco/ https://startupfortune.com/kika-a-new-lending-pool-protocol-for-heco/#respond Tue, 18 May 2021 21:02:59 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3812 The year 2021 has brought a lot. Crypto prices have skyrocketed, the NFT market exploded, and DeFi continues to blow up, with a year-long almost uninterrupted surge. While DeFi offers a variety of services, such as DEXes, staking, yield farming, and more, lending still seems to be the leading type of DeFi activity in the sector.

However, with the launch of Huobi ECO Chain, a number of new projects with great potential to become new leading DeFi protocols have emerged. One example is Kika— a protocol that supports the launching of lending pools for any HRC-20 token asset.

What do You Need to Know About Kika?

First things first — it should be noted that Kika just launched recently, with some excellent performance, with its TVL exceeding $150 million in only two days. The project is already quite big, and it managed to attract over 20,000 community members even before it saw the launch. In other words, it is safe to say that it is widely adopted, as it supports all kinds of HRC-20 standard token assets. 

Naturally, it is fully decentralized, with all rights belonging to the communities that run it. Also. it offers a new type of multi-lending mode, which reduces the risk of system liquidation, which makes it safer and more attractive to investors than many of its peers from other chains.

The project was launched without pre-mining, and it will eventually be fully controlled by the community DAO, with 90% of the total supply in circulation. With the total supply being 1 billion tokens, that means that 900 million will be owned by the community.

Distribution itself will take four years to complete, and it will be completed through liquidity mining. As for the remaining 10% (100 million), it will be used as incentive for the development team, as it will support the team’s continuous development and optimization of the protocol.

Functions and Benefits of Kika Token

Of course, we should also talk about the Kika token, which is both — a governance and utility token. That means that its holders will have a say in the way development is heading and will be able to vote on what the project is going to focus on. This will be KIKA’s only use case for the first 29 days of its existence.

However, following that 29th day, liquidity mining will go live, and a certain percentage of KIKA tokens will be required as deposit certificates in order for people to start participating in the mining process.

Lastly, later down the road, a certain hierarchical equity system will be created, where users will be positioned higher or lower depending on how much KIKA they hold.

The launch took place recently, as mentioned, and Kika double currency mining pool launched KIKA-USDT. KIKA APY reward can now go up to 7,000%. So far, there have been several single-currency pools, including HETH, HBTC, USDT, HUSD, MnW, HFIL, HDOGE, WHT, BQB, and DOG. Now, however, a number of additional pools of this kind are coming. According to what is known, the DOGE mine pool has an APY of 6235%.

It is also worth mentioning that the project is growing at an extreme pace, with its TVL exceeding $80 million in 6hours. It is also compatible with 8 major wallets, including Huobi wallet, imtoken, Tkeep, Codebank, Bitkeep, and Tokenpocket. This is not surprising, given the number and quality of advantages that Kika has over its mainstream competitors. For example, it adopts all kinds of HRC20 tokens, it held a fair launch with no pre-mining, it has the ability to go margin short on many different tokens, and more.

Contact Person: Strawberry

Contact Person Title: Supporting Manager

Company E-mail: support@kika.finance

Website: https://kika.vc 

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/kika-a-new-lending-pool-protocol-for-heco/feed/ 0
YOP App Launches to Bring DeFi to the Masses https://startupfortune.com/yop-app-launches-to-bring-defi-to-the-masses/ https://startupfortune.com/yop-app-launches-to-bring-defi-to-the-masses/#respond Mon, 10 May 2021 07:04:58 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3797 Yield Optimization Platform & Protocol (YOP) today announces the official launch of YOP App, the first all-in-one mobile app that makes it easier for everyone to access DeFi. The V0 version is now available for early access to testers ahead of the public launch at 4pm UTC on 18 May.

YOP is an exciting new platform and protocol that provides mainstream access to DeFi, the global crypto financial marketplace. It allows users to deposit funds and earn yield through decentralised deposit contracts. Powered by the $YOP token, the App combines a slick user interface with a leading Yield Optimization Protocol to give users access to yield markets in one simplified, easy-to-use application. In addition to yield markets, YOP combines key tools to improve new customer experience in crypto. The platform hosts a digital wallet, market data, swap DEX and a portfolio dashboard.

“DeFi is the third wave of the crypto economy, with YOP enabling access to decentralised financial products on a new global scale,” said Atif Yaqub, Founder of YOP. “With YOP, we provide simplified access to yield markets, giving you direct control, custody, insights and flexibility in one single application. This allows users to supercharge yield on the move, where over $70 billion is currently locked in DeFi. We are extremely excited to launch V0 today, which will demonstrate the benefits of an all-in-one DeFi app and help to grow the crypto economy.” 


Keeping true to the essence of crypto, all customers will have access to their own private key and the ability to back up their wallet. YOP V0 will host the primary functions and will run as a Beta until it is replaced with V1. YOP has built the propriety technology that lays the foundation and infrastructure to layer additional features into the next versions. 


The first version will run on Apple iOS and YOP will subsequently introduce Android, Web and Tablet support. V0 will primarily support Ethereum based services while further versions will include cross-chain services, integrating leading networks; Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot and Solana alongside Layer 2 networks such as Polygon. Some of the key updates to follow will also provide IDO Access, Fiat On Ramp, NFT Access Point, Enhanced Portfolio and Market Data, Additional Yield Contracts, Multi Asset Staking and ETH 2.0 PoS support. 


Since launch in January 2021, YOP has made significant progress and earned a reputation as one of the most exciting projects in the crypto space. The global team has built more than 30 partnerships and holds over $3m liquidity across multiple platforms with over $150m volume traded. YOP was the first company to announce a Launchpad Aggregator for IDOs and the first to offer NFTs for IDOs, including the exclusive NFT collection by renowned artist FVCKRENDER.  


“We are just getting started and laying the foundations for huge growth,”
added Atif Yaqub. “In the four months since launch, we have been developing non-stop, growing the YOP ecosystem, adding product lines and building the customer base to go with it. With the launch of YOP V0, we are now primed for an exciting growth phase by bringing DeFi to the masses.” 

About Yield Optimization Platform & Protocol (YOP) 


Yield Optimization Platform & Protocol (YOP) that operates on the Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, Solana and others. A high-quality UX/UI-driven product while staying decentralized, it operates in multiple verticals having a huge competitive advantage over similarly placed products that generally only offer single-stack solutions. Their platform brings together all the tools and their protocol brings together all the access—all powered by their token, $YOP. For more information, visit https://yop.finance 


Contact: 


Email: hello@yop.finance

Website: https://yop.finance 

Company: YOP

 

]]> https://startupfortune.com/yop-app-launches-to-bring-defi-to-the-masses/feed/ 0 Gather Offers a New Way for Digital Publications to Monetize Online https://startupfortune.com/gather-offers-a-new-way-for-digital-publications-to-monetize-online/ https://startupfortune.com/gather-offers-a-new-way-for-digital-publications-to-monetize-online/#respond Sat, 06 Mar 2021 05:05:31 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3753 If you compare the web experience of major news publications from just a decade ago to today, you’ll notice one major difference. And that’s the sheer number of membership paywalls you encounter, with many of them being unquestionably obtrusive.

The result is a web experience that is not only frustrating for the user, but increasingly difficult for publishers and organizations who are forced into membership revenue models for survival.

One blockchain-based project is looking to change all of that, and it’s called Gather. Gather is a network that enables publishers to monetize without ads or memberships, and it’s set to change the way companies do business online.

A More Authentic Web Experience

Major news publications like the New York Times have seen a huge shift in their revenue model over the last several years, from ad based to paywall membership, and this has created a problem for publishers who strive to deliver unbiased journalism.

Using a membership revenue model simply means catering to your paying members. This means the views of the non-paying users are essentially ignored. And in a hyper-partisan political environment, specific views and narratives get pushed more than others, based on who’s paying for memberships.

But with Gather, major news publications wouldn’t have this problem. Catering to a specific audience automatically becomes less of an issue because publishers would derive income based on the number of visitors to their website or application, not the number of ads or memberships they sell.

The result is more authentic journalism and a positive web experience for readers because they can spend more time on the website with no friction, and publications can naturally attract a wider audience.

Say Goodbye to Paywalls and Pop-Ups

Truth is, no one really likes ads and paywalls that force you into membership. They are often clunky, time consuming, and completely take the user out of their natural rhythm of absorbing content. Publishers realize this, but had few good options before Gather.

Further, users are being forced to find places where ads and membership paywalls are not the norm. Or worse, forced into using ad blocking technology. However, on major publications’ websites these attempts are usually met with pop-ups warning the user to disable their ad blocker. All in all, an unenjoyable experience.

And that’s another reason why Gather is so important. It takes the vision of what the web should be, and helps to make that a reality by ensuring publishers get paid, and users get to enjoy the web on their terms. With Gather, the need for ads, pop-ups, and membership in order to survive will become a thing of the past.

How It Works

Gather runs in the background of the publisher’s website, and with the consent of the user, it aggregates the idle processing power of that user’s computer. From there it distributes it to enterprises who really need it for things like cloud computing and to developers for crypto currency mining.

The result is that website publishers, like the New York times, would receive payment and users get to enjoy an ad or membership-free browsing experience. And being that the user’s experience is so frictionless, they are likely to return to the publisher’s website, thus starting the cycle again. It’s a win-win for the publisher and for the user.

Current revenue generating methods don’t allow publishers to offer an optimal experience for users. But with Gather’s innovative revenue generating solutions, news publications can monetize without impacting the user experience.

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/gather-offers-a-new-way-for-digital-publications-to-monetize-online/feed/ 0
Reddit User Earns from Posting Comments on the Website to Pay For Hotel Room https://startupfortune.com/reddit-user-earns-from-posting-comments-on-the-website-to-pay-for-hotel-room/ https://startupfortune.com/reddit-user-earns-from-posting-comments-on-the-website-to-pay-for-hotel-room/#respond Tue, 02 Feb 2021 13:45:56 +0000 https://startupfortune.com/?p=3744 No that’s not a clickbait title.

This actually happened to someone who was actively using the social media platform Reddit as a medium to learn about cryptocurrencies and share posts and comments. He earned enough to pay for his hotel room by engaging on the website’s cryptocurrency community (a sub reddit) and sharing posts and making comments. 

The Cryptocurrency enthusiast, a user named Xen stumbled across a Reddit page discussing ‘CryptoCurrency Moons.’ He didn’t think anything of it at first and didn’t inquire further to learn about what it is. This was until he learned about ‘Moons’, a fun cryptocurrency token offered to its users based on their engagement and popularity. Yes, it is true, it can be considered as a cryptocurrency that offered as rewards to the community’s users.

At this point, Xen went from mildly interested in cryptocurrency moons to realizing this was something he needed to check out. He claimed his ‘Moons” in the Reddit App’s Vault (an option built in the app that stores the Moon rewards) and got a few thousand ‘moons’ based on his popularity in the CryptoCurrency sub reddit, and more specifically his number of upvotes.

The cryptocurrency admirer describes the simple process in 3 steps: 1) Get the Reddit app, 2) Enable the Reddit App Vault (which makes a wallet to store moons), and 3) Engage in the community, based on the upvotes you get, each month you’re rewarded with ‘moons’.

Xen was taken aback by the value of a moon trade having discovered that the price for a moon is:  $0.062. He withdrew his accumulated ‘moons’ from his vault (the wallet in the reddit app) and traded it for actual money (actually to Nano, another crypto currency).

Xen then used that money to book a hotel room, on a cryptocurrency-friendly travel site. After successfully booking, Xen enjoyed a night in his reddit-community-moons-funded hotel room with his significant other.

So what are the takeaways from this story?

Well, put simply you can use the cryptocurrency community on Reddit to make money and get rewards! 

To do this consider the following:

1. What is Your Background Knowledge on CryptoCurrency?

You want to be able to know enough within these communities to have a basis of knowledge that allows you to interact effectively with others in the community. You can absolutely learn through using these communities but make sure you are also putting something of value back into them with your comments!

2. Do You Have Content to Share?

Ultimately, more upvotes. lead to more moons which lead to Nano and then money and/or rewards. As such, you want to share content that is valuable to the community members within the cryptocurrency groups on Reddit. Ask thought-provoking questions, offer different perspectives, or propose new strategies to boost your upvotes!

3. Do You Know What to Do With Your Moons

Familiarize yourself with the whole process. Research cryptocurrency-friendly establishments to see where you can use your Nano. Work hard for the rewards but also ensure you are able to reap them!

Disclaimer: We are not giving financial advice. We are simply sharing the experience of a fellow cryptocurrency enthusiast. 

Source: https://frankthepokemon.medium.com/how-i-used-my-reddit-comments-to-book-a-hotel-room-15e02ca12a3a

]]>
https://startupfortune.com/reddit-user-earns-from-posting-comments-on-the-website-to-pay-for-hotel-room/feed/ 0