Get your daily, bite-sized digest of crypto and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s news.
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- Matr1x, the platform facilitating the mobile shooting game Matr1x Fire within the Web3 domain, secured an additional $10 million in its recent A-2 financing round, following successful fundraising in 2022, bringing total funding to $20 million. Per the press release, the round was led by Folius Ventures and co-led by SevenX, with participation from ABCDE Capital, Find Satoshi Lab, Initiate Capital, and Jambo. Matr1x previously attracted financial backing from entities such as Hana Financial Group, Hashkey Capital, SevenX, and Amber Group. It is currently developing a trilogy that revolves around a narrative depicting the conflict between centralized and decentralized data entities, with an emphasis on data sovereignty and NFT transferability. It is also working on the upcoming mint of Kuku, Matr1x’s third NFT collection, which will serve as an NFT pass for governance access and revenue sharing of its creator economy, and upgradable battle pet for holders. “This raise comes during a time of hyper-growth and innovation at the company, following incredibly successful Alpha testing in August of this year, which saw 200,000 registrations, 100,000 downloads, 15,000 daily active users, with a 2-hour average session-time per day,” Matrix said.
- MapMetrics, a Web3 drive-to-earn navigation app originating from Solana, expanded to the peaq blockchain, allowing users to anonymously share location data, without it being shared with advertisers, and earn digital currency and NFTs. Per the announcement, the app will leverage peaq as part of its decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) powering a Google Maps-style service. MapMetrics will use peaq IDs, now compatible with Solana, for secure data authentication. They’re also creating a community voting mechanism for users to contribute to the navigation service by marking objects like speed cameras and validating their location with votes. Furthermore, peaq is expanding its Multi-Chain Machine IDs to support Solana, with earlier updates adding support for other major networks like Binance’s BNB Chain, Ethereum Virtual Machine, and Cosmos.
- Bybit Institutional, the institutional arm under the Bybit exchange, announced an enhancement to its Portfolio Margin Mode, now incorporating spot trading capabilities. According to the press release, this latest upgrade empowers traders to integrate spot positions into their hedging strategies, “bolstering their risk management practices amidst the dynamic cryptocurrency landscape.” In the previous Portfolio Margin Mode version, USDC and USDT derivatives of the same currency were grouped into a single risk unit, and stress testing was conducted to determine the worst-case scenario margin requirement. This novel approach limited the potential for margin reductions, the exchange said. Key advantages of spot integration into Portfolio Margin Mode include reduced margin requirements (by offsetting profits and losses between spot and derivatives positions, traders can potentially achieve lower overall margin requirements, enhancing capital efficiency) and seamless integration (spot positions integrate seamlessly into the Portfolio Margin Mode, allowing traders to manage their entire portfolio within a single platform.)
- Bitget launched Arabic lingual support for eleven Middle-Eastern and North African countries accessible on its mobile application and website. Per the announcement, the lingual support for MENA-based users will provide smoother learning processes and communication to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Users can now trade cryptocurrencies in over 12 Middle Eastern currencies and over 590 tokens listed on Bitget. The language support extends to utilizing P2P, Earn, Futures, Copy-trading, and other features on the platform. Additionally, users in the Middle East will benefit from zero fees for buying and selling cryptocurrencies through Bitget P2P. This move aligns with the exchange providing support for fiat gateways in the Middle East region for seven currencies, including Dinars, Riyals, and Ouguiyas, it said.
- Tanzanian fintech company ClickPesa and Pendulum, the technology company that serves as a bridge between the Polkadot and Stellar ecosystems, teamed up in a technology partnership, leveraging the possibilities of decentralized finance (DeFi). Per the press release, by employing DeFi solutions developed on the Pendulum blockchain, the two companies strive to increase financial accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by financing Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and providing them with essential tools and resources to access funding through the ClickPesa Debt Fund. This on-chain initiative offers improved accessibility and interest rates to MFIs in emerging markets, the companies said, adding that it provides tangible yield opportunities for DeFi investors in the Pendulum ecosystem and beyond, fostering positive impact in developing regions and creating a synergy between profit and purpose. “This empowerment enables MFIs with more financial muscle to reach SMEs and women-led enterprises throughout Tanzania,” the announcement said.
- Bitcoin mining company Cathedra Bitcoin Inc. announced a debt settlement and debenture extension. Per the press release, the company expects to settle a portion of the outstanding principal amount of debentures equal to up to C$10,946,706 (the settlement amount) into up to 98,264,870 common shares of the company, which will be issued at a deemed price of C$0.1114 per share. The debt is payable to certain debenture holders in respect of 3.5% senior secured convertible debentures of the company due November 11, 2024 (the maturity date) originally issued to the debenture holders on November 11, 2021. The aggregate principal amount outstanding of the debentures is C$19,810,390. Before settling the settlement amount into shares, Cathedra expects to repay C$2,000,000 to retire C$3,333,333 of the outstanding principal amount of the debentures. It also announced that it intends to amend the maturity date of the outstanding debentures following the completion of the debt settlement to November 11, 2025.
