ICO Alert Crypto Minute: March 26, 2018
NEM announces beta launch of Catapult blockchain engine, Sheri Kaiserman leaves Wall Street to start blockchain investment fund, top 5 cryptocurrency price changes, and more!
NEM Foundation Announces Beta Launch of Catapult Engine
In a press release yesterday, the NEM.io Foundation announced the beta launch of Catapult (a.k.a. mijin v.2), “a highly anticipated update to the NEM blockchain run by Tech Bureau.” Catapult is a blockchain engine that offers smart contract plugins for private and public networks. There are three phases to the Catapult beta program: Catapult developer preview and SDK release, evaluation release of Catapult Core Engine, and dual-licensing of Catapult in both open source and commercial licenses.
China Had The Most Blockchain Patent Applications in 2017
As reported by the Financial Times, China had the most blockchain patent applications filed in 2017. Thomson Reuters analyzed data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo) database, which revealed that more than half of the 406 blockchain-related patent applications were from China. Worldwide, patents related to cryptocurrencies increased 16 percent to reach 602 in the same year.
Sheri Kaiserman Leaves Wall Street Firm to Start Blockchain Investment Fund
Sheri Kaiserman, the former head of Wall Street’s Wedbush Securities who approved one of the first Bitcoin valuation analyses in 2013, has left the company to become a co-founder of a blockchain investment fund and advisory business. According to CoinTelegraph, her new Blockchain investment fund, called Maco.la, has already raised USD 6 million out of its USD 40 million goal.
Venezuelans Will Be Able to Buy Homes with Petro Starting April 2018
As of April 20, 2018, Venezuelans will be able to purchase real estate with Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, Petro, in four economic zones. According to Bitcoin.com, the four economic zones are Los Roques, Paraguaná, Ureña, and the Margarita Island. The Venezuelan government will finance the construction of 230,000 new homes using funds from the pre-sale of the Petro.
