In this week’s top news in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the second generation of Ethereum will be postponed until at least 2023. South African auction house Strauss & Co. Partners with five domestic wineries to offer the highest bidders non-fungible tokens for fine wines.
In addition, British self-driving company Five AI was acquired by multinational technology company Bosch. Nexo has launched cryptocurrency Mastercard in several European markets. Material Exchange, a Swedish Software-as-a-Service company, has raised € 25 million ($ 27 million) in a Series A funding round.
Ethereum is approaching eco-friendly version 2.0, but next-generation scalability is still lagging behind
The No. 2 blockchain Ethereum has taken a major step towards a more environmentally friendly future this week with the launch of the upcoming “shadow” version of Ethereum 2.0.
But that was alleviated by more delay news that scalability, the most important part of the second generation of smart contract blockchains, will be delayed until at least 2023.
South Africa’s Strauss & Co.Hosts a Fine Wine NFT Auction
Strauss & Co, a South African auction house. Partners with five domestic wineries to offer the highest bidders non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for fine wines.
This sale, which runs from April 18th to 25th, features past, present and future vintages. Each NFT has as many as 50 vintages, including a collection of 66-288 books.
Bosch acquires British self-driving company 5AI
British self-driving company FiveAI has been acquired by multinational technology company Bosch. The company says it chose Five over other takeover bidders because it “shares a common vision of self-driving and safe self-driving systems.”
The deal was signed earlier this month and the two companies agreed not to reveal financial details. However, this transaction still requires approval from antitrust authorities.
DiPocket launch card backed by Nexo, Mastercard and Crypto credit lines
Nexo, a Swiss platform that offers instant cryptocurrency support loans, has launched cryptocurrency Mastercard in some European markets.
Nexo Card has partnered with London-based eWallets Mastercard and DiPocket to provide customers with access to cryptocurrency liquidity on more than 92 million e-commerce sites worldwide. With this card, users can spend their digital assets without selling them.
Sustainability-focused Startup Material Replacement Notch Series A
Material Exchange, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company in Sweden that helps brands like H & M and Ugg procure more sustainable materials, has a Series A funding round of € 25 million. Was procured.
The startup has connected fabric suppliers and buyers and has raised more than $ 35 million since 2017. New funding will help Material Exchange enter new markets and drive the growth of its product suite.
——————————
New PYMNTS data: Future of Accounts Payable Innovation Research – April 2022
about: More than half of SMBs believe that an all-in-one payment platform can save time and improve cash flow visibility, but 56% find it difficult to integrate solutions with existing AP and AR systems. I think there is sex. The Future Of Business Payables Innovation Report, a collaboration between PYMNTS and Plastiq, surveys 500 SMBs with revenues of $ 500,000 to $ 100 million and explores ways for all-in-one solutions to exceed SMB expectations and ensure business potential. rice field.
