BEST OF THE BEST EXPANDING CIRCLE: Jeremy Allaire, CEO of crypto finance firm Circle, has said that, despite the gloomy market over the last year, the company is
not struggling. “We had very significant growth year last year, even though there was a crypto bear market,” he told Fortune. Allaire conceded that the prolonged bear market has brought a business downturn on Poloniex, the crypto exchange it acquired last year, and has also impacted Circle’s OTC cryptocurrency trading numbers. However, revenue and customer base have both grown over the period, he said.
THE REST PATENT HOARD: Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright, who has controversially claimed to be bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, is trying to build a sizable
stash of cryptocurrency and blockchain patents , according to The Next Web. An investigation of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) data shows Wright has now had 155 patent filings published via nChain Holdings, the firm for which he acts as chief scientist. Most of Wright’s applications relate to blockchain tech, TNW found, with the term “blockchain” appearing 114 times in patent titles, while “cryptocurrency” only produced six results and bitcoin none.
SWISS OVERSTOCK: Digitec Galaxus, Switzerland’s biggest online retailer, now
accepts cryptocurrencies as a means of payment through a partnership with payments processor Coinify, reports Watson. At launch the firm will take customers’ bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and XRP, of course, but more unusual is the inclusion of coins like tron, omisego and neo, as well as Binance’s exchange token, BNB. There’s a minimum order of 200 Swiss francs, but as far as maximums go, the sky’s the limit.
