Ripple continues its run of acquisitions, announcing an expansion into Iceland with its acqui-hire of crypto trading firm Algrim in a blog post on Sept. 30. Ripple strengthens European presence The acquisition adds six engineers to Ripple’s ranks. This new team will play an integral role in its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) program. Per the announcement, Iceland will now serve as one of the company’s engineering hubs, joining London as another European base. Amir Sarhangi, Ripple’s vice president of products, said: “This team hits the ground running as opposed to building out a team that has to gain this knowledge.” Algrim …

Finland-based cryptocurrency firm Prasos has secured a payment institution license via the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FFSA). The news comes by way of an official announcement via its crypto exchange website on July 12. According to the announcement, Prasos is now the third crypto firm in Europe to secure a payment institution license. According to its website, Prasos operates a crypto exchange, a crypto investment platform, and Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs. Prasos stated that, thanks to its new license, its crypto investment platform Coinmotion is now capable of supporting a payment service in the European Economic Area, which includes EU member …

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FME), Iceland’s sole financial regulator, has approved the first blockchain-powered e-money firm in the country, as the organization announced on June 14. Reykjavik-based Monerium, backed by blockchain software company ConsenSys, has reportedly been approved by the Icelandic financial watchdog to provide fiat payment services using ethereum (ETH) blockchain, crypto media outlet CoinDesk reported June 14. According to the report, Monerium has become the first company to operate under an electronic money framework, a major European regulatory framework that enabled the firm to offer blockchain-powered e-money services across the European Economic Area (EEA). Monerium co-founder Jón Helgi …

Major United States crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase is launching support for European Union residents to make fiat currency withdrawals to online payment system PayPal. The development was announced in an official blog post published on Feb. 5. As reported, Coinbase had first rolled out PayPal withdrawal support for U.S. users last month. The European extension of the service will reportedly apply to both E.U. residents and those living in European Free Trade Association countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Coinbase had previously integrated support for PayPal back in summer 2016, but terminated the service within several weeks …

Top Stories This Week CBOE Withdraws BTC ETF Rule Exchange Request From SEC Amid Gov’t Shutdown The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) BZX Equity Exchange has withdrawn its request for a rule change from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to list its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). A CBOE spokesperson told Cointelegraph that U.S. government shutdown was the reason for the withdrawal, as the end of the review period is approaching with no government agencies able to operate fully. The CBOE will instead re-submit the filing for an ETF — which was backed by investment …

An Icelandic man has received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for stealing Bitcoin mining equipment, local English-language news outlet Iceland Monitor reported Jan. 17. Sindri Þór Stefánsson, who in April 2018 boarded a flight to Stockholm from Reykjavik reportedly with a stolen passport, was subsequently arrested in Amsterdam and returned home. Stefánsson claimed he legally fled custody to Sweden. In court, Stefánsson, along with six accomplices, received a lengthy jail term. The proceedings relate to thefts of Bitcoin mining equipment reportedly worth $2 million, and two other attempted heists that took place December 2017 and January 2018. The target was Nordic …

Iceland’s blockchain-based identity verification platform Authenteq has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Draper Associates and Capital300, the American tech website VentureBeat reports on Jan. 14. Following the two-week funding round, the company revealed its intention to conduct the second closing of the Series A financing for additional investors in the coming weeks. The latest $5 million closing was held on Jan. 10, while the total amount raised constitutes $7 million over seven rounds since 2015, according to business data provider Crunchbase. Authenteq funding rounds and key investors. Source: Crunchbase Within the latest funding round, Authenteq has …

Ethereum (ETH) blockchain startup and incubator ConsenSys has participated in a $2 million seed funding round for Iceland-based blockchain startup Monerium, according to a press release from the firm, published Jan. 11. The startup counts the former chairman of Iceland’s central bank among its four founders. The funding round was reportedly led by Icelandic venture capital fund Crowberry Capital, and has also seen the participation of Icelandic private investment firm Hof Holdings. Founded in 2016, Monerium is reportedly developing a solution for “bridging fiat money and blockchains,” issuing what it refers to as e-money. Former central bank chairman Jon Helgi …

Iceland’s crypto industry is expected to move away from crypto mining and shift to “pure blockchain businesses.” This is according to forecasts made by a number of local industry insiders who talked to the news site Red Herring September 23. Halldór Jörgensson, chairman of Reykjavik-based Borealis Data Center, told Red Herring that demand from local crypto and blockchain facilities is “shifting more towards the pure blockchain business,” rather than focusing on Bitcoin mining. According to Jörgensson, the frenzy around Bitcoin (BTC) mining has declined to a level that is “not as crazy as it was a year ago,” when the …

Iceland-based hashpower hosting service Genesis Mining is compelling some of its customers to upgrade their Bitcoin (BTC) mining contracts following this year’s significant cryptocurrency price decline, according to an August 17 statement. In 60 days, the company will terminate services for open-ended contracts that mine less than the daily maintenance fee. Genesis claims that the downward trend of BTC around January and heavy decline in crypto mining in April and May resulted in a reduction of mining outputs. If customers wish to continue using Genesis’ services, they have to upgrade their existing BTC mining contracts to premium five-year contracts. Genesis …

The missing machines from an unsolved Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware theft in Iceland earlier this year may be in China, Icelandic media outlet RUV reported May 5. Icelandic police are reported to have now issued an enquiry to Chinese authorities, after news broke in late April that 600 devices used to mine BTC had been seized in the northern city of Tianjin. The number of confiscated machines exactly matches that of the missing hardware that was stolen in three burglaries at data centers in Iceland last December and January. Icelandic police were soon able to identify and arrest two suspects …