Italian luxury car manufacturer Mazzanti Automobili has launched its security token offering on regulated digital marketplace STOKR. As part of the offering, Mazzanti aims to raise 999,999 euros ($1.2 million) on STOKR to develop a special edition of its hypercar model Evantra Millecavalli R. According to a Thursday announcement, Mazzanti’s STO will allow investors to purchase MZZ tokens, priced at 1 euro each. The token is issued by Mazzanti via Blockstream AMP, a platform for the tokenization of securities built on the Liquid sidechain of Bitcoin, which has been directly integrated with STOKR. As part of the STO, MZZ investors …

Italian football giant AC Milan has just launched its own fan token, enabling fans to vote on a club motto for the season. According to a Feb. 11 announcement, the club’s ACM fan token is now live on fan engagement Socios.com, which allows fans to purchase the token which gives access to club polls, VIP rewards, super-fan recognition, games and chat forums. The token debuted trading at $6.68. In partnership with blockchain firm Chiliz, AC Milan is debuting the ACM token with a team motto poll that will see ACM holders create and vote on a motto to inspire players …

SIA, an Italian company specializing in e-payment services, is working on a blockchain-based system to enable secondary credit trading. The upcoming platform will allow banks, funds and financial operators to negotiate secondary credit transactions via blockchain, SIA announced on Tuesday. A spokesperson for SIA told Cointelegraph that the company plans to pilot the platform in the second quarter, while the full-scale launch is expected in the second half of the year. SIA’s new credit trading platform is being developed in collaboration with fintech startup WizKey. The Milan-based firm is building financial solutions with a focus on structured finance products and …

The Italian Banking Association, or ABI, has affirmed its support for the implementation of a sovereign European digital currency by beginning pilot studies on a digital euro project. According to an announcement, the association is working with its research and development arm, ABI Lab, and commercial banks in the country to develop an experimental digital euro. The ABI’s digital euro study will reportedly focus on two major areas — technical feasibility analysis and central bank digital currency programmability to create a distinction from existing electronic payment methods. Italian enterprise network firm SIA will assist the consortium in the technical feasibility …

Italian authorities have found Bitgrail’s founder responsible for fraudulent activity related to the 2018 hack of the platform that resulte in the loss of $150 million. Francesco Firano, the sole director of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Bitgrail, is accused of taking over customer funds prior to reporting the theft of crypto from the exchange. According to a Dec. 21 announcement by the Postal and Communications Police — a cybercrime unit of the State Police of Italy — Firano kept the platform intact for months despite having identified a major security breach involving Nano cryptocurrency: “In keeping the platform open, despite having …

Major Italian private bank, Banca Generali, is planning to introduce cryptocurrency services in 2021. According to a Dec. 15 announcement, Banca Generali has entered a corporate and commercial partnership with Conio — a fintech company providing traditional financial institutions with solutions for managing digital assets including wallets and custody. A spokesperson for Banca Generali told Cointelegraph that the bank does not plan to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the near future, but rather provide “service with Conio as wallet.” Banca Generali will also acquire a stake in Conio to support the company’s growth and the distribution of its products as …

Digital-asset regulation has been a hot topic in 2020 and shows no signs of cooling. A recent G7 meeting concluded that the sector faces an ongoing need for regulation. In addition to talking about COVID-19 and economic issues, the group “also discussed ongoing responses to the evolving landscape of crypto assets and other digital assets and national authorities’ work to prevent their use for malign purposes and illicit activities,” according to a public statement from the United States Department of the Treasury on Monday: “There is strong support across the G7 on the need to regulate digital currencies. Ministers and …

Italy's largest payments firm Nexi has struck a deal with its rival, SIA, to create a digital payments behemoth with a market cap of 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion). It's estimated the new entity will take a domestic market share of 70%. According to a report from Reuters on Oct. 5, the all-share agreement will give Nexi roughly 70% of the newly merged company, with SIA having an equity value of 4.6 billion euros ($5.4 billion). Nexi’s private equity owners Advent, Bain Capital and Clessidra will own 23% of the newly created fintech group. On the eve of the deal's …

Another major soccer club is entering the cryptocurrency industry by tapping a partnership with a cryptocurrency exchange. SS Lazio, an Italian professional sports club, signed a multiyear deal with crypto trading platform StormGain. Announcing the news on Wednesday, StormGain said that it is now the “official crypto trading partner” of SS Lazio. According to the firm, the newly announced deal will enable StormGain and Lazio to boost fan engagement through unique giveaways like exclusive VIP suite hospitality at Lazio home matches. As part of the initiative, StormGain will be providing access to private tours and events at the Stadio Olimpico, …

In a recent panel, as part of a digital Unitize blockchain conference, ABI chief innovation officer Silvia Attanasio explained why the banking entity chose to go the decentralized blockchain route for Spunta — its blockchain solution built on enterprise blockchain platform Corda. If ABI had not gone the decentralized route, the entity would have needed to locate a centralized party to gather and manage a large amount of data on various fronts, Attanasio said on the July 8 panel, noting ABI's rationale behind choosing a decentralized approach. "It wasn't so easy to identify a single actor that could have run …

The Italian Banking Association (ABI) has revealed it would be willing to support the implementation of a digital currency from the European Central Bank. According to a June 18 update on the ABI website, the association had approved guidelines governing its position on digital currency and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The ABI—representing a group of banks in Italy—stated it was ready to “participate in projects and experiments regarding a digital currency from the European Central Bank [...] to speed up the implementation of a European-level initiative.” “Digital money needs to be fully trusted by citizens. To this end, it …

Equigy, a blockchain platform for managing batteries connected to the electric grid, is expanding its operations in the European Union. Ecologic technology news outlet, Green Tech Media, reported on May 29 that three major European Union’s electricity transmission system operators, or TSOs, joined Equigy’s platform. More precisely, TSO with operations in Germany and the Netherlands TenneT, Swiss TSO Swissgrid and Italian TSO Terna all joined the network. According to company data website Owler, TenneT has an estimated annual revenue of $1 billion, while Terna $2.3 billion. Furthermore, Energinet — a Danish TSO with an estimated annual revenue of $8.6 million …