According to the Times of Malta, cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has acquired a 10% stake in Palladium, a Malta-based platform for Initial Convertible Coin Offerings (ICCOs) targeting institutional investors. The platform will leverage Bittrex’s technology to facilitate institutional-grade token trading. The investment amount was not disclosed, but Palladium previously set a target to raise €150 million through a pre-sale of tokenized securities, with 50% of proceeds earmarked for acquiring a controlling interest in a European bank. Paolo Catalfamo, founder and chairman of Palladium, stated: “We are excited to have such a global player on board. Bittrex’s investment in Palladium is a confirmation of Malta’s sound decision to be at the forefront of regulating blockchain technology.”
Explosive Growth in Crypto ATM Market
Marketsandmarkets, a B2B market research firm, released a new report indicating the global crypto ATM market is expected to grow from $16.3 million in 2018 to $144.5 million by 2023, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54.7%. Among machine types, two-way crypto ATMs are projected to experience the highest growth. North America is forecasted to hold the largest market share by 2023, driven by a high concentration of hardware and software providers and a favorable investment environment, particularly in the United States. The report profiles key global players including General Bytes (Czech Republic), Genesis Coin (US), Lamassu (UK), Covault (US), Bitaccess (Canada), Coinme (US), Coinsource (US), Bitxatm (Germany), Orderbob (Austria), and Rusbit (Russia).
Firefox to Block Cryptojacking by Default
Nick Nguyen, Vice President of Product Strategy at Mozilla, announced that the Firefox browser will soon block cryptocurrency mining scripts by default. Nguyen explained that some websites deploy scripts that silently mine cryptocurrencies on users’ devices, degrading the web experience. Future versions of Firefox will block these practices by default. This move follows similar actions by Opera (December 2017) and Brave (September 2017), both of which already offer protection against cryptojacking.
Oxford University Launches Blockchain Research Centre for Green Mining
University College Oxford (Univ) has established a new “Research Centre for Blockchain,” led by Fellow Professor Bill Roscoe, who brings over 30 years of expertise in concurrency, automated verification, applied cryptography, and payment protocols. The research team aims to vastly improve mining efficiency and trust models, develop new privacy and escrow models, and create fair exchange models to support secure transactions. They will also address long-term challenges such as the threat of quantum computers to blockchain technology. Professor Roscoe commented: “The new centre focuses on bringing blockchain to the mainstream. This vision will be achieved by using green mining technology and embracing regulation through appropriate KYC guidelines.”