Bitcoin Daily: FalconX Notches $17M In Funding; Venezuelans Now Can Use Bitcoin At POS Terminals

Digital currency trading platform FalconX has notched $17 million in an Accel-led funding round, CoinDesk reported.

The funding will reportedly help with a larger trade execution suite and new products in addition to transformations to the trading infrastructure designed to assist the firm in growth. The company claims to have roughly 100 customers, and its team includes former employees from Google, Kraken and Goldman Sachs, among other firms.

A FalconX representative told the outlet that the platform offers a fix for wash trading. The practice, according to a representative, is “a pain-point with our institutional clientele.”

In other news, Venezuelans will soon be able to use bitcoin to pay for items at point-of-sale (POS) terminals nationwide under a new agreement between local payments processor Mega Soft and the crypto exchange Cryptobuyer, according to Bitcoin.com.

Once the purchase is made, merchants will be able to either keep the currency as digital or convert it to traditional currency. In addition to bitcoin, other digital currencies to be accepted include dai, dash, ether, tether and XPT.

Businesses that will accept the crypto payments include the supermarket chain Central Madeirense, EPA Hardware, pharmacies, retail stores and movie theaters for a total of 20,000 establishments nationwide.

Meanwhile, Bakkt is aiming to unleash the value of digital assets as it seeks to make them more mainstream, according to an announcement.

The company said it has brought over 70 companies on board to the Bakkt Warehouse. And it noted that it acquired Bridge2 Solutions earlier in 2020, which it described as “a leader in the loyalty space.” The suite had fueled the redemption of over 1.5 trillion points, per the firm.

Additionally, the firm said it “recently completed a SOC 1 Type I examination by KPMG and a SOC 2 Type II examination of the ICE infrastructure and enterprise-wide functions that the Bakkt Warehouse relies on by PricewaterhouseCoopers.”

And, one of the biggest digital currency derivatives exchanges in the world, BitMEX, is encountering a lawsuit over alleged illicit activities, Cointelegraph reported.

The plaintiff accuses HDR Global Trading, the exchange’s parent company, and the top leaders of the firm of taking part in or abetting crimes.

A representative for HDR Global Trading said to the outlet, in part, “Having reviewed a draft version of their complaint, which is clearly rehashed from information culled from the internet, we confirm we will be defending ourselves vigorously against this spurious claim.”

The allegations were made by BMA LLC in mid-May in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.