Blockchain software technology firm ConsenSys Inc. has acquired American asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, Inc. through an asset-purchase transaction, according to an announcement published Oct. 31. Founded in 2009 and formerly known as Arkyd Astronautics, Planetary Resources is supposedly engaged in the exploration, extracting and refining of resources from asteroids. The company, which reportedly has over 30 investors and has raised more than $50 million in investments, has sent two satellites into orbit over the last six months. Per the recent announcement, Planetary Resources has been acquired by ConsenSys to bring “deep space capabilities” into the ConsenSys ecosystem. Planetary Resources’ …

Crypto finance company Circle has joined the Global Digital Finance (GDF) industry body as a founding member to develop a global “Code of Conduct” for crypto, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Circle has confirmed participation with the GDF on Twitter, stressing the company’s commitment to developing standards for the industry in order to promote the acceleration and adoption of digital assets. Other industry players in the group purportedly include Coinbase, ConsenSys, DLA Piper, Diginex, and others. Today the GDF released the Code of Conduct and Taxonomy for Cryptographic Assets after approval by the …

A group of major global banks, trading firms, and a leading energy company have launched a joint venture that will oversee a new blockchain-based platform for financing the trading of commodities, Reuters reports September 19. The Swiss-based venture, dubbed komgo SA, has been established by a host of international financing, trading, and production institutions that include ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Agricole Group, Gunvor, ING, Koch Supply & Trading, Macquarie, Mercuria, MUFG Bank, Natixis, Rabobank, Shell, SGS, and Societe Generale. The venture will digitalize trade and commodities finance processes through a blockchain-based open platform, and has been developed in …

Blockchain startup ConsenSys has partnered with online education platform Coursera to offer a blockchain technology course, according to an announcement published September 5. The two companies are launching a course entitled “Blockchain: Foundations And Use Cases.” The course is designed to provide students an introduction to the technology and develop the skills needed to understand how blockchain is changing certain industries, as well as the ways blockchain can solve specific problems. According to Coursera, the course is designed for students of varying skill levels, including individuals who lack a technical education. Earlier today, the Linux Foundation opened enrollment for its …

China’s Ping An Insurance, one of the world's largest insurance company groups, has released a "White Paper on Smart Cities," advocating for blockchain tech, AI, big data, and cloud computing, People’s Daily reports August 22. Ping An Insurance, a Chinese conglomerate with operations in insurance, banking, and financial services, was ranked the third most valuable global financial services company in the world as of May 2018. According to People’s Daily, the company released its “White Paper on Smart Cities" on August 21. The reported goal is to “help the government to create a new model of “city as a service” …

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin referred to Berlin as “the most important city in the blockchain cosmos”, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported July 25. Lubin said that, "Berlin has the infrastructure, Berlin has the talent, the really good programmers are here." Lubin added that, if Berlin wanted to maintain its status as a blockchain hub, "the government needs to set up more programs to promote blockchain." According to Lubin, blockchain is still in its infancy. The Ethereum co-founder, who now is concentrating on app development on the Ethereum blockchain with his company ConsenSys, said: "We've seen a lot of bubbles bursting, and …

This interview has been edited and condensed. Cointelegraph had the opportunity to speak to ConsenSys’ Ajit Tripathi at BlockShow Europe 2018 about his experience leaving Wall Street for the crypto world, what new ConsenSys projects he’s most excited about, and why crypto regulation changes from country to country. Molly Jane: Could you tell us a little bit more about what ConsenSys does and what your role is there? Ajit Tripathi: ConsenSys is a venture production studio based in Brooklyn, and now we have offices in London, in about 30 countries, including London, Paris, South Africa, Australia, and Singapore — we're …

Former Denver Post reporters and editors plan to launch a new local media outlet in partnership with ConsenSys-backed blockchain startup Civil Media Company, The New York Times reports today, June 17. According to the Times, the group left The Denver Post to create a new local state online newspaper, The Colorado Sun, after newsroom layoffs and deteriorating morale following newspaper’s change in ownership. New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital took control of The Denver Post after acquiring its parent company, MediaNews Group, and manages it through a subsidiary, Digital First Media, the Times reports. The Colorado Sun will use …

In 2017, 1,090 decentralized applications (DApps) and more than 700 tokens have been deployed on the Ethereum (ETH) network, Finance Magnates reports May 28. According to Christian Crowley, business analyst of Etherium analytics firm Alethio, an average of around 100,000 new users join Ethereum ecosystem every day. Moreover, Ethereum network processes one million transactions daily, Crowley claimed speaking May 28 at ‘ConsenSys Community Day’ that seeks to promote ETH development in Israel. As per Crowley, there are 29.2 mln unique ETH addresses at the moment. Vanessa Grellet, executive director of ConsenSys, a New York-based Ethereum software company, provided a positive …

The government of Saudi Arabia completed a “blockchain bootcamp” last week, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) announced in a press release April 29. The session was focused on building Ethereum smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). The three-day event, which concluded April 26, was held in conjunction with blockchain software technology company ConsenSys, which is currently involved in multiple projects in the Middle East. According to the press release following the bootcamp, Saudi Arabia’s MCIT described the event as part of its plans to create a “digital environment” as part of its 2020 “action plan and objectives.” …

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the world’s largest open-source Blockchain initiative, has recently added 34 new members expanding to a total of 150 organizations. Mastercard and Cisco Systems The EEA is a non-profit consortium that is focused the developments of Ether or in the broader sense, the whole Ethereum Blockchain. Among their 34 new members are Mastercard and Cisco as well as the Scotiabank and Government of Pradesh. While Cisco is clearly on the list of the new members in the press release, the absence of Mastercard's name has brought confusion to the Ether community in Reddit. But actually, the …