jianpu-technology-inc.-reports-second-six-months-and-fiscal-year-2021-unaudited-financial-results

Jianpu Technology Inc. Reports Second Six Months and Fiscal Year 2021 Unaudited Financial Results

 

Jianpu Technology Inc. (“Jianpu,” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JT), a leading independent open platform for discovery and recommendation of financial products in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the six months and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Second six months 2021 Operational and Financial Highlights:

  • The credit card volume and number of domestic loan applications for recommendation services respectively increased by 75.0% to approximately 2.1 million and 118.4% to approximately 8.3 million in the second six months of 2021. As a result, total revenues of recommendation services for the second six months of 2021 resumed growth, increasing by 71.4% to RMB320.3 million (US$50.3 million) from RMB186.9 million in the same period of 2020.
  • Revenues from big data and system-based risk management services decreased by 10.4% to RMB67.3 million (US$10.6 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB75.1 million in the same period of 2020. The number of paying customers decreased by 27.5% in the second six months of 2021, compared with the same period of 2020.
  • Revenues from advertising and marketing services and other services increased by 240.6% to RMB73.9 million (US$11.6 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB21.7 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was mainly attributable to the growth of insurance brokerage services and initiatives of other new businesses.
  • Net loss was RMB108.3 million (US$17.0 million) in the second six months of 2021, compared with RMB186.9 million in the second six months of 2020. Net loss margin was
  • 23.5% in the second six months of 2021, compared with 65.9% in the same period of 2020.
  • Non-GAAP adjusted net loss[1] was RMB96.7 million (US$15.2 million) in the second six months of 2021, compared with Non-GAAP adjusted net loss of RMB215.1 million in the second six months of 2020. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss margin[1] was 21.0 % in the second six months of 2021, compared with 75.8% in the same period of 2020.

Fiscal year 2021 Operational and Financial Highlights:

  • The credit card volume and number of domestic loan applications for recommendation services respectively increased by 32.1% to approximately 3.7 million and 94.3% to approximately 13.6 million in the fiscal year of 2021. As a result, total revenues of recommendation services for the fiscal year of 2021 resumed growth, increasing by 42.2% to RMB575.2 million (US$90.3 million) from RMB404.4 million in the prior year.
  • Revenues from big data and system-based risk management services decreased by 9.6% to RMB130.4 million (US$20.5 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB144.2 million in the prior year. The number of paying customers decreased by 12.2% in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with the prior year.
  • Revenues from advertising and marketing services and other services increased by 167.2% to RMB99.4 million (US$15.6 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB37.2 million in the prior year. The increase was mainly attributable to the growth of insurance brokerage services and initiatives of other new businesses.
  • Net loss was RMB204.1 million (US$32.0 million) in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with RMB312.1 million in the prior year. Net loss margin was 25.4% in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with 53.3% in the prior year.
  • Non-GAAP adjusted net loss[1] was RMB186.7 million (US$29.3 million) in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with Non-GAAP adjusted net loss of RMB333.4 million in the prior year. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss margin[1] was 23.2% in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with 56.9% in the prior year.

Mr. David Ye, Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Jianpu, commented, “We are pleased to announce that we successfully turned our business around in 2021, with total revenue up 37.4% year-on-year. We managed this via a more diversified and balanced revenue structure. By leveraging our integrated marketing capabilities, we have improved our business efficiency, whilst also expanding our business into other Non-financial categories. We continued to expand our efforts in empowering financial institutions’ digital transformation, and now cooperate with 46 banks and have helped the issuance of over 23 million credit cards cumulatively. There were significant client wins for our big data and system-based risk management services, and our cost optimization initiatives drove margin improvements resulting in a narrowing of Non-GAAP adjusted net loss by 44%.

“These results were primarily driven by our experience navigating through turbulence, our readiness to make changes and adapt to a dynamic environment, and the effective execution of strategies and solid technological capabilities. As part of our vision of “Becoming everyone’s financial partner”, we are continuously innovating our technologies and exploring new growth drivers as we push forth our mission of empowering users and enabling the digital transformation of financial service providers to better serve them.”

Mr. Oscar Chen, Chief Financial Officer of Jianpu, said, “Our second-half and full year results reflect our continuous efforts in business development and optimization, as we continue to capitalize on the ongoing digitization of the financial industry. Despite the tightening macro environment and ongoing pandemic, our business made a turnaround with second-half total revenue up 62.7% year-on-year to RMB461.5 million and fiscal year 2021 revenue up 37.4% to RMB805.0 million. As we continue to make solid progress on our business optimization strategy, our Non-GAAP adjusted net loss continued to narrow. We are also pursuing new opportunities to further diversify our business through leveraging our existing foundation and technologies. The application of omnichannel marketing solutions towards other adjacent categories have delivered strong revenue growth. We believe the scalability and resilience of our business model, as well as our team’s capability to navigate through and adapt to the dynamic environment, will ultimately drive long-term value to our shareholders.”

Second six months 2021 Financial Results

Total revenues for the second six months of 2021 increased by 62.7% to RMB461.5 million (US$72.4 million) from RMB283.6 million in the same period of 2020.

Total revenues from recommendation services increased by 71.4% to RMB320.3 million (US$50.3 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB186.9 million in the same period of 2020.

Revenues from recommendation services for credit cards increased by 84.2% to RMB228.0 million (US$35.8 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB123.8 million in the same period of 2020. Credit card volume in the second six months of 2021 and 2020 were approximately 2.1 million and 1.2 million, respectively. The average fee per credit card increased to RMB109.9 (US$17.3) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB106.1 in the same period of 2020.

Revenues from recommendation services for loans increased by 46.4% to RMB92.4 million (US$14.5 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB63.1 million in the same period of 2020, primarily due to the increase in number of loan applications on our platform. The number of domestic loan applications on the Company’s platform was approximately 8.3 million in the second six months of 2021, representing an increase of approximately 118.4% from the same period of 2020. The average fee per domestic loan application decreased to RMB10.5 (US$1.6) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB12.7 in the same period of 2020. The recommendation revenue of loans generated from overseas markets accounted for 5.4% of total loan recommendation revenues in the second six months of 2021, less contribution than the same period of 2020. The global COVID-19 pandemic and the associated inability to travel globally has negatively impacted our overseas business.

Revenues from big data and system-based risk management services decreased by 10.4% to RMB67.3 million (US$10.6 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB75.1 million in the same period of 2020, primarily due to the decrease of the number of paying customers in the second six months of 2021.

Revenues from advertising and marketing services and other services increased by 240.6% to RMB73.9 million (US$11.6 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB21.7 million in the same period of 2020, primarily due to the growth of insurance brokerage services and initiatives of other new businesses.

Cost of promotion and acquisition[3] increased by 72.5% to RMB334.9 million (US$52.5 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB194.2 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was in line with the growth of our revenue from recommendation services, advertising and marketing services and other services.

Cost of operation decreased by 11.4 % to RMB45.1 million (US$7.1 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB50.9 million in the same period of 2020. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in depreciation expenses, payroll costs and bandwidth and server costs, partially offset by the increase in data acquisition costs.

Sales and marketing expenses increased by 9.0% to RMB68.8 million (US$10.8 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB63.1 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was primarily due to the increase in sales and marketing staff for new businesses.

Research and development expenses decreased by 21.2% to RMB62.4 million (US$9.8 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB79.2 million in the same period of 2020, primarily due to the continued cost optimization measures.

General and administrative expenses decreased by 0.4% to RMB72.2 million (US$11.3 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB72.5 million in the same period of 2020, primarily due to the decrease in professional fees and allowance for credit losses, partially offset by the increase in share-based compensation expenses and payroll expenses.

Others, net increased by 137.9% to RMB15.7 million (US$2.5 million) in the second six months of 2021 from RMB6.6 million in the same period of 2020. The increase was primarily from the realized investment gain of RMB11.1 million from the investment in Conflux Global, a decentralized applications blockchain solution provider.

Net loss was RMB108.3 million (US$17.0 million) in the second six months of 2021 compared with RMB186.9 million in the same period of 2020. Net loss margin was 23.5% in the second six months of 2021 compared with 65.9% in the same period of 2020.

Non-GAAP adjusted net loss, which excluded share-based compensation expenses and impairment loss from net loss, was RMB96.7 million (US$15.2 million) in the second six months of 2021, compared with RMB215.1 million in the same period of 2020.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA[2], which excluded share-based compensation expenses, impairment loss, depreciation and amortization, interest income and expenses, and income tax benefits from net loss, for the second six months of 2021 was a loss of RMB94.6 million (US$14.8 million), compared with a loss of RMB207.4 million in the same period of 2020.

Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

Total revenues for the fiscal year of 2021 increased by 37.4% to RMB805.0 million (US$126.3 million) from RMB585.8 million in the prior year.

Total revenues from recommendation services increased by 42.2% to RMB575.2 million (US$90.3 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB404.4 million in the prior year.

Revenues from recommendation services for credit cards increased by 38.4% to RMB407.8 million (US$64.0 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB294.6 million in the prior year. Credit card volume in the fiscal year of 2021 and 2020 were approximately 3.7 million and 2.8 million, respectively. The average fee per credit card increased to RMB109.8 (US$17.2) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB106.8 in the prior year.

Revenues from recommendation services for loans increased by 52.6% to RMB167.5 million (US$26.3 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB109.8 million in the prior year, primarily due to the increase in number of loan applications on our platform. The number of domestic loan applications on the Company’s platform was approximately 13.6 million in the fiscal year of 2021, representing an increase of approximately 94.3% from fiscal year 2020. The average fee per domestic loan application decreased to RMB11.4 (US$1.8) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB13.3 in the prior year. The recommendation revenue of loans generated from overseas markets was 7.6% of total loan recommendation revenues in the fiscal year of 2021, less contribution than prior year. The global COVID-19 pandemic and the associated inability to travel globally has negatively impacted our overseas business.

Revenues from big data and system-based risk management services decreased by 9.6% to RMB130.4 million (US$20.5 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB144.2 million in the prior year, primarily due to the decrease of the number of paying customers in the fiscal year of 2021.

Revenues from advertising and marketing services and other services increased by 167.2% to RMB99.4 million (US$15.6 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB37.2 million in the prior year, primarily due to the growth of insurance brokerage services and initiatives of other new businesses.

Cost of promotion and acquisition[3] increased by 48.2% to RMB562.1 million (US$88.2 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB379.4 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily in line with the growth of our revenue from recommendation services, advertising and marketing services and other services.

Cost of operation decreased by 4.2% to RMB88.0 million (US$13.8 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB91.9 million in the prior year. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in depreciation expenses, and bandwidth and server costs, partially offset by the increase in data acquisition costs.

Sales and marketing expenses increased by 11.6% to RMB143.5 million (US$22.5 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB128.6 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily due to the increase in sales and marketing staff for new businesses.

Research and development expenses decreased by 14.5% to RMB132.4 million (US$20.8 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB154.8 million in the prior year, primarily due to the continued cost optimization measures.

General and administrative expenses increased by 0.7% to RMB137.5 million (US$21.6 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB136.6 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in payroll expenses and share-based compensation expenses, partially offset by the decrease in professional fees and allowance for credit losses.

Others, net increased by 417.9% to RMB58.0 million (US$9.1 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 from RMB11.2 million in the prior year. The increase was primarily from the realized investment gain of RMB51.2 million from the investment in Conflux Global, a decentralized applications blockchain solution provider.

Net loss was RMB204.1 million (US$32.0 million) in the fiscal year of 2021 compared with RMB312.1 million in the prior year. Net loss margin was 25.4% in the fiscal year of 2021 compared with 53.3% in the prior year.

Non-GAAP adjusted net loss, which excluded share-based compensation expenses and impairment loss from net loss, was RMB186.7 million (US$29.3 million) in the fiscal year of 2021, compared with RMB333.4 million in the prior year.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA[2], which excluded share-based compensation expenses, impairment loss, depreciation and amortization, interest income and expenses, and income tax benefits from net loss, for the fiscal year of 2021 was a loss of RMB179.2 million (US$28.1 million), compared with a loss of RMB315.8 million in the prior year.

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, restricted cash and time deposits and short-term investment of RMB762.8 million (US$119.7 million), and working capital of approximately RMB424.9 million (US$66.7 million). Compared to as of December 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, time deposits and investment and short-term investment decreased by RMB233.2 million (US$36.6 million), which was attributable to net cash used in operating activities.

securrency-capital-secures-financial-services-permission-from-abu-dhabi-global-market

Securrency Capital secures Financial Services Permission from Abu Dhabi Global Market

 

Securrency Capital, a broker-dealer based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), today announced that it has secured a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to deal in investments as a matched principal and provide custody for those investments. The license enables Securrency Capital to provide trading of digital assets to a variety of clients, including retail clients.

“We are honored to have been granted an FSP by ADGM as a Category 3A brokerage,” said Amir Tabch, Chairman and CEO of Securrency Capital. “With this license, we will be able to leverage Securrency’s unparalleled proprietary asset tokenization technology, which automates multi-jurisdictional compliance and financial services and enables the movement of regulated value at the speed of tomorrow.”

Securrency Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Securrency, Inc., a US-based global financial markets infrastructure technology company that has developed best-in-class proprietary digital asset technology supporting the issuance, governance, and life cycle management of regulatory-compliant tokens, including clawback of value in the event of theft or fraud. Securrency, Inc. works closely with world-class institutional banking partners and leading asset managers to enable their seamless transition into the digital assets space. Securrency’s deep technology stack, coupled with Securrency Capital’s on-chain identity services, allows for secure, transparent ownership of tokenized assets.

“Being based in the ADGM has allowed us to leverage the wealth of knowledge from the regional firms, as well as the sophistication of our regulator, the FSRA, to deliver a global marketplace and distribution network for finding and trading all types of digital assets,” explained Phil Langton, COO at Securrency Capital. “Securrency Capital is now at the forefront of migrating traditional trading on blockchain networks and opening up new distribution channels to the multichain ecosystem and the metaverse. We are confident that we have built a strong foundation on which to grow and look forward to expanding our global footprint with the implementation of our partnership framework and our technology partnership with Securrency.”

“ADGM is a rapidly growing world-class financial center,” added John Hensel, Chief Operating Officer of Securrency, Inc. “Securrency Capital will be at the center of the dynamic and rapidly-growing digital assets marketplace in ADGM for which retail and institutional clients have been waiting. We are proud of Amir and his team at Securrency Capital and look forward to supporting their rapid growth.”

ADGM has built and aims to maintain an accessible and secure international financial center that nurtures innovation, promotes market transparency and trust, and encourages sustainable growth and stability. The receipt of its FSP from the ADGM’s responsible and pragmatic regulator affirms Securrency Capital’s commitment to be a trusted partner who can provide quality and reliable digital asset services in this ecosystem and globally.

Securrency Capital’s FSP will enable it to achieve its goal of offering a transparent and reliable platform through which global investors can trade digital assets. As a firm founded with an ethos of responsibility and compliance, Securrency Capital consistently interacts with regulatory bodies to firmly establish the level of trust needed to assure those new to the digital financial assets market.

“ADGM’s regulatory approval is a significant milestone for us,” said Praveer Pinto, Compliance Director at Securrency Capital. “We intend to use this as a foundation to further our commitment to achieving compliance with our regulatory requirements and playing our part in maintaining the integrity of the financial services ecosystem for our clients and the community.”

Securrency Capital’s platform is expected to go live soon after securing additional approvals from the FSRA.

reltime-launches-its-revolutionary-blockchain-and-ecosystem-globally

Reltime launches its revolutionary blockchain and ecosystem globally

 

Reltime launched its revolutionary global decentralised financial (DeFi) ecosystem today, with over 10,000 people signing up on www.reltime.com.

To celebrate this milestone, Reltime organised a virtual Global Launch Party on Monday morning in the presence of CEO, founder and inventor Frode van der Laak and many of Reltime’s first movers.

Reltime is the first blockchain company to have created a unique global platform from scratch, including and offering borderless joint accounts to its users world-wide. Reltime has developed a next-generation, hybrid financial technology and DeFi ecosystem on top of its permissioned, PoA (Proof-of-Authority) blockchain.

Reltime’s personal and business users are able to benefit from highly-secure, transparent and fast transaction speeds of 2-3 seconds on average, utilising dApps, smart contracts and other Reltime features such as guaranteed, automatic collateral. Unlike many banking and fintech industry players, the company cuts out the middleman for all its financial services offered on the Reltime platform.

Commenting on the global launch, Frode van der Laak said: “We are excited to have launched our platform today, giving Reltime’s users the opportunity to be totally in charge of their own financial services within our ecosystem. Later this month, Reltime will roll-out its services in over 130 counties. Instead of using SWIFT and traditional lending platforms, Reltime is available 24/7/365, allowing personal and business users to interact and transact without any time constraints, and earn on interest).”

Reltime’s beta app for iOS and Android currently includes:

  • almost gas-free transaction fees;
  • very easy to send and receive funds to users’ phone contacts;
  • settlement time of between 2-3 seconds, on average;
  • Reltime users can offer loans to the Reltime marketplacewith collateral and limited lending risk;
  • peer-to-peer lending and borrowing, whereby users themselves are able to set their own terms, interest rate and collateral (with or without).
  • users having full control over Reltime’s services and with whom they wish to interact and communicate;
  • creating joint accounts between two or more users globally and being able to manage the accessibility of such accounts in relation to withdrawals and deposits;

Reltime has created a digital asset called RTO (Reltime Oxygen), which is a stable coin used within the ecosystem.

The firm has listed the RTC token, which plays an important role in Reltime’s ecosystem operation. Benefits for RTC owners include:

  • by holding the token, owners can benefit from an Interest reduction if they borrow from anyone within the Reltime ecosystem;
  • receiving dividends on ecosystem earnings, such as transaction and gas fees, interest payments, business-to-business and openAPI services as well as other future revenues.

During Reltime’s Global Launch Party, Reltime’s CEO announced two additional RTC listings, on P2PB2B and INDOEX. Reltime has already been listed on BitMart and CoinTiger since November and December 2021, respectively. The company successfully carried out an initial exchange offering (IEO) in October 2021 on BitMart.

Each and every newly-registered Reltime user will receive a welcoming reward of RTC 1,000. In addition, Reltime offers a RTC 500 referral reward to users for signing up their friends and family.

Reltime for developers

Reltime’s OpenAPI can be used by developers to build their own dApps on top of the Reltime blockchain.Additional features and services will be introduced later this year, such as:

  • the Reltime biometric payment card (anticipated in the third quarter 2022);
  • launching digital financial services for several metaverse platforms (anticipated in the fourth quarter 2022);
  • DeFi FX exchange, Reltime’s swap service (a truly cost-reducing micro exchange between different digital assets);
  • a NFT marketplace as well as a number of other dApps on the Reltime blockchain; and
  • Whitelabelling of Reltime’s applications.
travelx-and-air-europa-launch-world’s-first-nft-flight

TRAVELX AND AIR EUROPA LAUNCH WORLD’S FIRST NFT FLIGHT

 

TravelX, the company building the travel industry’s first blockchain-based distribution protocol, today announced that it has joined forces with Air Europa, the third-largest Spanish airline flying to over 60 destinations around the world, to release the world’s first NFT (non-fungible token) flight ticket series, or “NFTickets.”

With purchase, owners will receive access to a special Air Europa flight to Miami Beach this November 29th, 2022, as well as perks and events ahead of the premier art show of the Americas taking place in Miami Beach this December. A series of NFTickets (10) in partnership with acclaimed artists will be released every 14 days via auction platform travelxchange.com/, with the first-ever available during a live auction on April 11 at 4 p.m. EST.

“Innovation is in our DNA, we have been pioneers in applying new technologies within our industry and it can not be different with NFTs, which could be the next step in the travel industry,” said Bernardo Botella, Global Sales Director at Air Europa.  “We are proud to be the first airline to adopt blockchain technology for inventory management and distribution. We’re excited to see where this could take travel as a whole and how it could improve customer experience.”

NFTickets function as traditional NFTs and are individually rare. When traded, transactions are recorded safely and securely on the blockchain. When ready to use, the owner can present the NFT and a matching flight ticket will be issued. The TravelX and Air Europa NFTickets will offer buyers an opportunity to hold a piece of travel industry history and participate in the first-ever blockchain-backed flight.

The NFTicket series titled, “The Art as the Destination,” is being curated by Ximena Caminos, who commissioned acclaimed multi-disciplinary artist Carlos Betancourt for the first piece. His artworks explore issues of memory, and his own experiences, while also dwelling in issues of nature, the environment and matters of beauty, identity and communication. Carlos Betancourt artworks are included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art NY, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery DC, amongst others.

“Artists are intrigued by discovery, exploration,” said Betancourt. ” The same is with technology. With this piece, I’m experimenting with the boundaries of art and technology. The animated artwork is inspired by concepts of space, magical realms and travel experiences, as well as by the memories and feelings these experiences evoke.”

“It’s very exciting to give birth to a new kind of NFT, minted on Algorands carbon-negative blockchain,” said Facundo Diaz, Co-Founder of TravelX. “We will blend the best of the traditional NFT, but add real-world application and experience. This provides a better flight ticket that travelers can easily manage and trade from their blockchain wallet, combined with a new kind of collectible art piece. We believe NFTickets will be the perfect fusion of art, travel, and technology.”

To celebrate, TravelX is hosting an invite-only event at the Eiffel Tower, amid Paris NFT Day (April 12) and Paris Blockchain Week (April 13-14), where the final bid for the first-ever NFTicket will be revealed.

For more information about TravelX, visit https://www.travelx.io. For more information about the Paris, Eiffel Tower event, visit: https://nfticket.travelx.io/

cameroon,-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-republic-of-the-congo-take-major-step-towards-adoption-of-cryptocurrency,-with-ton-leading-pack

Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo take major step towards adoption of cryptocurrency, with TON leading pack

 

Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC) and the Republic of the Congo have today announced their intention to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain based solutions to drive future economic progress. Layer one proof-of-stake blockchain, The Open Network (TON) is the leading contender to become the blockchain to power this. The DRC has also confirmed that it is considering a new national stablecoin, built on the TON blockchain.

TON has been engaging with all three countries independently for some time and has taken the lead to deliver cryptocurrency and blockchain solutions for each nation. These countries will each undertake a phased transition to adopting cryptocurrency as a central pillar of their economic structures.

The future use of cryptocurrency will ensure that both banked and unbanked individuals will be better able to engage in the economy. This in turn will act as a powerful economic stimulus. In the DRC, for instance, as of 2019 12.4 million people had an account with a financial institution, whereas over 40 million have access to mobile phones or other internet enabled devices, demonstrating the significant potential for cryptocurrency.

The TON blockchain was designed to process millions of transactions within seconds. It’s ultra-affordable, user-friendly and fully scalable. With TON being a decentralized platform, it will provide control and certainty for citizens, removing the possibility of interference. In addition, TON anticipates that applications will be uniquely integrated with the Telegram app to provide users with a seamless, accessible experience.

Speaking about the potential partnership, the Congolese Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Léon Juste Ibombo, commented: “The Republic of the Congo has been on this path for a number of years, having encouraged and witnessed the widespread adoption of mobile payments across the country. This is the next step in that journey and we believe that TON is the right partner to facilitate this. This will be an invaluable, practical instrument for the growth and creation of wealth, both for the government and our people alike.”

The Minister for Digital Economy for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Désiré Cashmir Eberande Kolongele, added: We are proud to take this pioneering step, embracing new economic instruments to power our future economy. This marks the beginning of our journey to adopting cryptocurrency as a financial instrument within the DRC, and with the support of TON as a partner we aim to increase our nations exposure to modern financial tools. We are also enthusiastic to commence considering the launch of a national stablecoin on the TON blockchain, democratizing access to our financial system for millions of unbanked and underbanked citizens. The ability to integrate applications with the Telegram platform, and reach mobile users, makes TON the obvious choice as we step boldly into the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain.”

Minette Libom Li Likeng, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications for Cameroon, said: “The partnership with TON can play a fundamental role in the digital ecosystem of Cameroon for boosting the payment solutions and financial inclusion via CAMPOST, the public postal operator.”

Steven Yun, Founding Member of TON Foundation, remarked: “There is an unbounded potential for these three countries to benefit from the adoption of cryptocurrency with our blockchain as the foundation. It’s fantastic that TON’s value is recognized, both in terms of its technology and utility. We’re excited to embark on this journey to building strong and long-lasting partnerships.

This announcement follows the adoption of Bitcoin by El Salvador as legal tender, and it is anticipated that new stablecoins will be developed for Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, in addition to the DRC, to provide confidence and assurance to citizens.

nurturing-the-next-wave-of-metaverse-startups-to-build-on-klaytn

Nurturing the next wave of metaverse startups to build on Klaytn

 

F10 and Klaytn Foundation are pleased to announce the first 5 startups that have been selected from over 100 applications to participate in the inaugural Klaytn Incubation Program powered by F10. These startups will spend the next 12 weeks undergoing a transformative journey, to develop their innovative web3 ideas or MVPs in gaming, social and content, into viable businesses for the metaverse.

The program, which kicked-off on 4 April 2022, draws on the unique strength of F10, a global fintech incubator, and Klaytn, a dominant interoperable blockchain ecosystem in the web3 industry.

These startups will receive extensive mentoring, access to investor network, program perks and co-working space, as well as technical development and marketing support from Klaytn, and access to wide ranging tools, projects and expertise on the Klaytn ecosystem.  In addition, F10 will be providing a total of up to USD 500,000 worth of Klay in grants to the startups of 2022.

Jonas Thürig, Head of F10 Singapore noted that “We were very impressed with the quality of the startup applications and are proud to now announce the 5 selected startups in the areas of metaverse, gaming and the creator economy. We are very excited on what’s installed for them and can’t wait to fuel their acceleration with this program together with the Klaytn team.”

“F10 has designed a fully tailored curriculum that combines traditional startup elements with web3 programs and benefits from Klaytn,” said David Shin, Head of Klaytn Global Adoption. “Through supporting startups to succeed on the Klaytn ecosystem, we hope to create more possibilities and greater synergies, to unlock more use cases for the metaverse. For this incubation program, not only will we be lending our expertise and resources in web3, but we’ll also be bringing in other web3 partners to share their knowledge and experiences,” he added.

The 5 startups in the inaugural batch 1 are the following:

1) LevelHeroes (Zurich) Combines the magic of blockchain and metaverse technologies, it intends to bridge the gap between centralized gaming communities to bring them decentralized assets to raise funding for their digital assets in a fun and meaningful way. Users are able to engage with and support their favorite aspects of the project, which gives developer teams feedback into what their fanbase is really interested in. Get ready, LevelHeroes is rising up to bind the ties between the gaming universe!

2) Kryptonium (Singapore) beoble is a social module built by Kryptonium, with API and SDK for Web 3.0. It is an on-chain communication window and a true user-owned Web 3.0 product. beoble aims to help other Web 3.0 services integrate social functionalities like creating social profile, instant messaging, posting of feeds into their services, all within 5 minutes.

3) JOOS® (Germany) Is a decentralized app for content creators. We give them the tools to break the chains of platform dependency and to have a direct connection to their community without intermediaries. With JOOS, creators can have a stable and independent income through regular payments by their fans and sell shares to investors, who get a part of the creator’s profits in return.

4) Y2123 (Singapore) Is an NFT-based blockchain game where you play as a citizen scientist racing against time to save Earth from climate change. Inspired by Zoo Tycoon and Tamagotchi, you will have to restore your Land NFTs to good health by finding the right ecological balance of flora and fauna NFTs on it. There will be 4 habitats released in phases, consisting of Savannah, Marine, Rainforest and Urban. Y2123 has sold out its genesis collection and is launching its land and 2nd generation NFTs in April 2022. Advised by a Pew Fellows marine biologist, we also have a philanthropic mission to aid the fight against climate change in real life.

Currently on Ethereum, with ambitions to build a multichain ecosystem.

5) Dixel Club (South Korea)– Creates non-programmed and user-generated pixel art NFT collectibles where you earn $DIXEL rewards on your PixelFi activities. Dixel Club has three main features. First, anyone can issue the next edition of Dixel Art by sharing the single 16×16 canvas. Also, the NFT minters can earn $DIXEL rewards when a new Dixel Art is generated. Lastly, they can get the $DIXEL tokens that are used to mint the edition back and get the tips received from people when they burn their NFTs.

voyager-digital-announces-estimated-revenue-of-approximately-usd$100-million-to-$105-million-for-the-quarter-ended-march-31,-2022

VOYAGER DIGITAL ANNOUNCES ESTIMATED REVENUE OF APPROXIMATELY USD$100 MILLION TO $105 MILLION FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2022

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2), one of the fastest-growing, cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced preliminary revenue and user metrics for the fiscal 2022 third quarter ended March 31, 2022 and is pleased to provide commentary on the Company’s calendar 2022 growth plans.

“Voyager continued its account growth in the quarter ended March 31, 2022 by adding 115,000 funded accounts which was slightly over a 10% growth from December 31, 2021 and was accomplished during an extremely challenging quarter based upon spot market volume. In the quarter, Voyager delivered on its goal of expanding our products by delivering the first batch of the Voyager Debit Card and adding the Voyager desktop to a significant beta group.  We remain focused on positioning our platform as one of the leading players in digital assets for consumers and expect continued customer growth in 2022,” said Steve Ehrlich, Voyager’s CEO and Co-founder.  “As discussed at our last earnings call, in 2021 we scaled our technology to accommodate rapid growth as mainstream crypto adoption accelerated and now in 2022 we have begun to deliver on the expansion of our product suite and will continue to roll out new and enhanced products and services as well as geographic expansion.”

The Company is pleased to announce the following Financial and Operational Key Metrics for fiscal 2022 third quarter ended March 31, 2022:

  • Preliminary total revenue for the fiscal 2022 third quarter ended March 31, 2022 is estimated between $100 million to $105 million, compared to $164.8 million for the fiscal 2022 second quarter ended December 31, 2021 and $60.4 million for fiscal 2021 third quarter ended March 31, 2021.
  • Total Verified Users grew to approximately 3.5 million as of March 31, 2022, up from 3.2 million on December 31, 2021 and 1.0 million on March 31, 2021.
  • Total Funded Accounts grew to just under 1.2 million as of March 31, 2022, up from 1.075 million on December 31, 2021 and 274 thousand on March 31, 2021.
  • Net new deposits for the fiscal 2022 third quarter ended March 31, 2022 were approximately $395 million, compared to the $1.04 billion for the fiscal 2022 second quarter ended December 31, 2021.

Mar 31, 2022

Dec 31, 2021

Mar 31, 2021

Revenues (millions) 

$100 – $105(1) 

$164.8(2)

$60.4

Total Funded Accounts(in thousands)

1,190

1,075

274

Total Verified Users (in thousands)

3,486

3,231

1,008

Net New Deposits (millions) 

$395

$1,037

$1,037

  • (1) preliminary, non-reviewed and unaudited and subject to final adjustment
    (2) non-reviewed and unaudited
  • All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Voyager is also proud to announce that its OTCQX Markets listing under the Cusip 92919V405 is now DTCC service eligible.

Voyager will be announcing the results of its fiscal 2022 third quarter ending March 31st on or about May 16th.

For more information about investor events that Voyager will be participating in, please visit www.investvoyager.com/investorrelations/events.

All amounts are in US Dollars unless otherwise indicated.

wider-blockchain-adoption-will-impact-customer-experience

Wider Blockchain Adoption Will Impact Customer Experience

 

ONR, a leader in transforming the customer experience (CX) for Fortune 500 companies today has shared new data highlighting how consumers, as well as businesses,  are utilizing Blockchain post-pandemic to impact overall customer experience.

With NFTs, cryptocurrency, and Blockchain increasingly becoming part of the everyday lives of consumers’  lifestyle and our economy, there is an exciting inflection point today where customer experience (CX) is being driven by blockchain as we move towards a more “digital world.” Businesses and organizations can capitalize on this trend and improve CX/customer relationships by reaching customers WHERE they are  with new, innovative digital assets.

“From a consumer-centric perspective, blockchain technology has the potential to substantially transform consumer relationships by enhancing data and information transparency and improving privacy and security,” comments ONR CEO Jason Ten-Pow.  “This blockchain innovation allows for innovative forms of consumer loyalty programs which have the potential to  create additional value and deeper customer connections.”

Some of the facts that ONR has learned from their consumer research regarding Blockchain adoption will impact CX over the coming year:

Customer perspective:  Simplification of payment and tracking via mobile payments will make it easier for customers to purchase.  Deeper customer relationships because of the increased volume of customer information that can be safely shared across platforms that can be transformed into greater customer knowledge and used to build bespoke customer experiences whether that is in terms of buying, selling or bartering.

  • Mobile payment will be a leader. This is in  contrast to China/Japan/Korea, where  a mobile and digital first architecture is already in place.  For example, in China, the digital Yuan will compete with WePay architecture. In North America, Google Pay/Apple Pay mobile phone payments are becoming more prevalent. How these new technologies are integrated into E-commerce functionality will define the customer experience for payments in the future.
  • It seems that blockchain adoption has highlighted how some customers are looking for new, different offerings.
    • Cryptocurrencies and blockchain adoption have the opportunity to reach out to customers and engage with them in a new way, on new mediums/platforms and offer new types of assets/purchases.
    • People involved in crypto are ready to make ‘different’ transactions online than customers not engaged in Blockchain.
    • The complete lack of physicality likely means that emotion takes an even larger role in decision making.

Organization/Brand:
Improved organizational efficiency from the standpoint of making it easier to transport and integrate data which will simplify adhering to industry regulation and improve supply chain management.

  • Industry Regulation will be innovated through the movement towards putting customer data on a blockchain and will likely start out in highly regulated industries such as Healthcare, where there are strict customer data regulations and a need to share sensitive data.
    • Essentially, consumer data on a blockchain provides full transparency of its use.
    • With data being a primary area of value generation, the consequences of mandates of this manner could be far reaching and really shift the online ecosystem.
  • Data transparency becomes even more important as Blockchain has the potential to create visibility for customers and the use of their own data. Depending on further legislation and regulation, we may potentially see blockchain used to empower the individual to control their data.
    • Product information transparency – more information for the end customer. Potential exists for companies to highlight the true origin or source of materials, which can be used to help customers authenticate their purchase (thinking ESG – sourcing materials sustainably, etc.)
  • Consumer loyalty for consumers juggling an  array of loyalty programs, blockchain could provide instant redemption and exchange for multiple loyalty point currencies on a single platform.
  • General supply chain benefit towards tracking inventory: B2B supplier transactions moving to smart contracts and private blockchains in their supply chain, which provides an entryway / transparency into the rest of the organization.

ONR is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with an office in Denver and teams in New YorkOrlando and Los Angeles serving clients worldwide.

arf-launches-transactional-stablecoin-based-working-capital-credit-line-for-msbs-worldwide

Arf launches transactional stablecoin-based working capital credit line for MSBs worldwide

 

Arf, the first compliant cross-border payment network running on stablecoins, announced the upcoming launch of its innovative product, Arf CreditArf Credit will provide an instant working capital credit line for MSBs worldwide.

Traditionally, when a money service business (MSB) wants to send money from one country to another, it has to prefund the same amount in the receiving country, bringing about tied capital, high opportunity cost, and operational inefficiencies. What’s more, since cross-border transactions are often considered risky, access to credit has always been a major problem for MSBs.

Designed to empower licensed MSBs all over the world, the soon-to-be-launched Arf Credit emerged as an idea when Arf co-founders noticed that most MSBs had issues with high prefunding requirements and limited access to working capital.

Co-Founder Kazım Rıfat Özyılmaz says MSBs have been underserved players of the finance industry, especially in accessing working capital. “Of course, the industry must manage risks—but it also has to find innovative ways to enable the growth of cross-border transactions,” he underlines.

“The real problem with the current cross-border payments industry is that when you’re successful as an MSB, you need more money to run it,” says Co-Founder and CEO Ali Erhat Nalbant. “We developed Arf Credit as an API-based, transactional short-term working capital in USDC so that MSBs can use stablecoins without prefunding.”

Although options existed, most lenders only served customers with long-term credit needs or single payout corridors. Application processes were lengthy, and once the credit was given, it had to be repaid regardless of whether it was used.

Co-Founder Berhan Kongel says that licensed MSBs can instantly get the credit with a 2-7 day repayment period. “Each eligible MSB is assigned a certain amount of credit based on its transactional volumes within the Arf Network. They only pay interest for the credit amount used, and can automate repayments,” he explains.

“We are really excited to be a key player in enabling the cross-border payments industry to compliantly benefit from the blockchain and digital assets,” Ali Erhat Nalbant says. “It was a much needed improvement in global payments.”

pocket-network-continues-to-exceed-web3-industry-demand-with-record-number-of-protocol-relays

Pocket Network Continues to Exceed Web3 Industry Demand with Record Number of Protocol Relays

 

Pocket Network, a relay infrastructure middleware protocol that provides abundant blockchain bandwidth from a globally distributed network of 40k+ full nodes to applications in Web3 across 40+ blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Fuse, Avalanche, and Harmony, today announced its protocol has processed a record number of relays, nearing the benchmark of one billion daily.

Relays have doubled week-over-week and Pocket is nearing one billion daily relays, ten times the 100 million average daily relays Pocket was averaging in November. In just the last week alone, Pocket has had more relays than it did for the whole month of December.

“Robust blockchains require robust decentralized infrastructure, and we’re glad that we’ve been able to serve the demands of growing blockchain ecosystems,” said Michael O’Rourke, CEO and Founder at Pocket Network. “Relays drive the growth of our full node infrastructure, which in turn creates a more resilient and secure network.”

New blockchains and app integrations continue to switch to the decentralized global infrastructure provided by Pocket. Harmony and Polygon alone are driving hundreds of millions of relays across Pocket.

With its sustained growth, Pocket is proving the demand for decentralized web3 infrastructure. This demand is agnostic to market conditions, and will continue to be a mainstay in a bear or bull market. In addition, liquidity channels will open up as its protocol becomes more undeniable in terms of industry utility, where they are replacing middlemen with middleware, and where they continue to eat up the inherent inefficiencies in the current way the crypto industry is supported by cloud computing and hosting providers. Being cheaper, faster, and better has been the winning formula to Pocket’s scale and dominance.