Flexa Returns to Patenting
In May of 2021, digital payments platform Flexa announced that its payments platform could be used to convert between currencies within a single transaction. A customer could make a purchase using a currency of their choice, while a seller…
Can Facebook Find Success with Crypto?
In 2019, Facebook announced Libra, its own cryptocurrency, along with the Libra Association, which boasted many major tech companies, as an overseeing body. Companies such as PayPal, Mastercard, and Stripe backed out of the Association…
tZero Opening to Crypto
Digital securities platform tZero announced in October 2021 that it was opening its accounts to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Users can now transfer cryptocurrency from third-party wallets and/or custodial accounts, which is useful as…
BitGo Gets a Green Light on its First Patent
In September 2021, BitGo received its first patent for generating addresses, e.g., for storing cryptocurrency, using key pairs. The company offers a distributed wallet as well as custodial services for digital assets. The patent was filed…
Standard Chartered Moving into Uncharted Territory
Standard Chartered, a British financial services company, is moving into blockchain technology with two patent applications published in the spring of 2021 for managing digital assets with a custodian. In August 2021, Standard Chartered…
Fox Corp Taps Eluvio for Blockchain Tech — Who Else is in the Running?
Eluvio is a blockchain platform provider specializing in handling digital media, from creation and ownership to distribution. The startup has two issued patents for its decentralized media distribution network, which includes a partitioned…
Can Blockchain Help Save AT&T?
AT&T has not been having a good year. The company is $180B in debt, and acquisitions of DirecTV and WarnerMedia have not brought in the expected amount of profit. AT&T announced in the summer of 2021 that it is divesting its media…
FV Receives Funding, Integrates Patent-Pending Wallet Security
Puerto Rico-based FV Bank is an online-only financial institution that combines traditional banking services with digital asset management. The company, which was founded in 2018, raised $8M in Series A funding in August 2021. That same…
Alibaba Launches NFT Marketplace… What’s Next?
Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce and technology company affiliated with the Ant Group and Alipay, is one of the largest patent holders in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, with over 800 patent assets. In early 2020, the company filed…
Helium Isn’t Full of Hot Air
Internet of Things and blockchain-based network provider Helium has raised $111M in a fundraising token sale, led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). A16z was behind investments for many successful cryptocurrency startups,…
PNC Has No Patents, Finds Someone Who Does
When it comes to banks, Bank of America and Capital One lead in cryptocurrency investment, with 142 patent assets and 62 patent assets, respectively. TD Bank is in third place with 37 assets. One bank that is not present in the patent…
Figure Brings First Patent Application and $3.2B Valuation to Merger
Figure Technologies and Homebridge Financial Services are merging to expand the uses of blockchain in mortgage and lending services. Figure, founded in 2018, is a start-up that has been using blockchain to originate, service and finance…
Is Amazon Really Pursuing Cryptocurrency? Or Is It a Conspiracy Theory?
In July 2021, Amazon posted a job listing for a “digital currency and blockchain product lead,” and Bitcoin and Ether prices both increased by more than 10% a few days later. The jump has been attributed to the tech giant’s potential…
Coinplug Joins Number of Korean Crypto Firms Partnering with Banks. The Difference? Patents
Woori Financial Group, one of the largest banks in South Korea, has partnered with Korean startup Coinplug to establish a digital asset custody service. Korean legislation is strict on cryptocurrency exchanges, requiring that they take…
Gaming Companies Rush to Capitalize on NFTs
In the digital world, e-sports and gaming is fertile ground for NFTs, with opportunities for character skins, designs, and screen captures to be tokenized and transacted on the blockchain. NFTs have brought big investments in 2020, and we…
Visa and Mastercard Go Head to Head with Cryptocurrency Cards — We’re Calling it Early
Visa and Mastercard have both been making strides in cryptocurrency, from patents to partnerships aimed at increasing consumer adoption. Visa had focused on its Fast Track partnership program, which integrates third-party technology from…
Where Will Andreessen Horowitz Invest? Hopefully, A Company With A Large IP Portfolio.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced in June of 2021 that it is allocating $2.2B to its third cryptocurrency fund to be put towards investing in companies as well as pressing for changes to cryptocurrency regulations. A16z has already…
PayPal and Visa Invested in Crypto Patents First. Let’s See What They’re Up to Now.
PayPal and Visa are two financial services companies that have been active in Cryptocurrency patenting since 2012. Their patent activity has preceded business decisions, including Visa’s Fast Track program that supports integrating…
Galaxy Digital Acquires BitGo, First Two Patent Assets, for $1.2B
Galaxy Digital is a cryptocurrency financial services company specializing in investments and the “institutionalization” of blockchain. The company has ventured into offering its own products and platforms, with a securities trading desk…
Gemini is Two-Faced on Patenting
Gemini, the digital assets exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, has acquired Shard X in June 2021. Shard X develops multi-party computation (MPC) cryptography, which is a secure distributed method of computation for mining and…
Lancium and Layer1 Settle — Patents Win, Once Again
In March 2021, Lancium LLC and Layer1 settled litigation for a case wherein Layer1 was accused of infringing Lancium’s patent for power management based on grid status. The patent covers an intelligent system for monitoring cryptocurrency…
Chia Network Plants a Patent Seed. We’re Waiting for Portfolio Growth.
Chia Network has raised $61M in Series D funding and is considering an IPO this year. The cryptocurrency startup, which has its own Chia Coin, claims to be more environmentally friendly than other coins because of its consensus method,…
Ernst & Young Pulls Ahead of the Big Four in Cryptocurrency Investment
In May of 2021, accounting firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) announced that it is investing $100M into decentralized finance (DeFi) and distributed ledger products for enterprise. The firm already offers smart contract protocols and…
Big Time Studios Moves Fast on Patents, Secures $21M in Funding
Big Time Studios was founded in April of 2020 and boasts alumni of Epic Games, Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, and EA. The goal of the company is to boost adoption of cryptocurrency and NFTs in the gaming industry, while also creating…
Nokia Launches Blockchain Product. Market May Be Surprised. Patent Followers Are Not.
Nokia doesn't quite have a reputation for being on the cutting edge of technology. In terms of consumer electronics, it is perhaps best known for its indestructible cell phones from the early 2000s. However, the company is still an…
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