Bitcoin Daily: NFT Marketplace NOWwhere Joins Incubator Launchpool Labs; Crypto Lending Platform Celsius Launches Consumer Loans In California

Launchpool Labs, the community-centric blockchain incubator, will be incubating NOWwhere, an intelligent non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, per a Monday (August 16) press release.

NOWwhere is using a “‘Netflix-style’ recommendation engine” that indexes, scores and ranks assets, which the company then uses to connect collectors and creators.

NOWwhere will be the first “incubee” for the Launchpool Labs in the inaugural class, which has five startups to go live. These incubees will work with a three-month program.

Matt Hinkley, the co-founder of NOWwhere, is also the former cryptocurrency lead for PwC Canada and previous CEO of Liquidus, which was a compliant digital identity onboarding company.

“We found in NOWwhere a very enthusiastic team, with a clear vision, tremendous experience, and a unique take on creator NFTs under their ethos: NOW where to go for Art, illustrations, visual content, and more,” said Roxana Nasoi, managing director of Launchpool Labs. “We’re eager to see what we can build together with Matt, Drew, and the NOWwhere team, during these 3 months where there are no limits to creativity. We wish them every success.”

In other news, leading global cryptocurrency earning and borrowing firm Celsius has opened a retail-lending service for customers in California.

The service offers a minimum request amount of $500, and California customers will also have the ability to receive educational materials through the company’s Credit Education Program offering.

Services from Celsius allow users to instantly take out loans, eschewing the need for any kind of proof of income or check, which can add more security for users to have cash in hand while allowing them to not sell their digital assets.

With the announcement, Celsius is trying to reach out more to people who need fair, transparent and accessible low-cost financial services.

“Our California customers have waited for this day, and we are thrilled to now provide them with the best way to borrow against their crypto assets,” said Aliza Landes, Celsius’ vice president of Lending. “This represents a big milestone for Celsius as we continue to secure licenses and registrations in new jurisdictions and allow millions of new people to borrow better.”