Company Name: Alby

Founders: Michael Bumann, Moritz Kaminski and René Aaron

Date Founded: Open-source project founded in December 2020 / Company founded in March 2022

Location of Headquarters: Fully remote

Amount of Bitcoin Held in Treasury: N/A

Number of Employees: 10

Website: https://getalby.com/

Public or Private? Private

Michael Bumann wants to make it simpler for people to send value across the internet.

This is why he created Alby — an open-source initiative-turned-company best known for its browser extension wallet app, which enables users to send and receive sats via the Lightning Network.

Bumann, a soft-spoken and introspective German web developer with decades of experience in his…

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Bitstamp has announced the initiation of a long-awaited restitution process for former Mt. Gox users, marking a significant step in cryptocurrency recovery efforts. Starting July 25, 2024, around 20,000 claimants are set to receive a cumulative $9 billion in bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and Ethereum, previously lost in the 2014 hack of the once-dominant exchange.

This move is expected to solidify trust in digital asset exchanges, illustrating robust recovery mechanisms. Bitstamp confirmed the receipt of the digital currencies from Mt. Gox trustees and plans to give claimants full control of their assets within a week post-security checks.

UK customers will need to wait a bit longer as they are excluded from the initial round of distributions, but Bitstamp assures that these clients will receive their assets in subsequent phases. This strategic distribution underscores the potential for profitability despite previous delays in the restoration of these digital assets.

Fold, Inc., a leading bitcoin financial services provider, and FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, have announced a definitive merger agreement. This landmark deal will see Fold listed on NASDAQ, further solidifying its position as a trailblazer in integrating bitcoin into everyday financial services. Since its inception in 2019, Fold has processed over $2 billion in transactions and awarded $45 million in bitcoin rewards, exemplifying its commitment to making bitcoin accessible to all.

CEO Will Reeves of Fold and Bracebridge Young, Jr., President of FTAC Emerald, are both enthusiastic about the merger’s potential to democratize wealth building. The transaction, which is set to finalize in Q4 2024, values Fold at $365 million pre-money and anticipates over 1,000 BTC on its balance sheet post-transaction. This move is expected to accelerate Fold’s growth, leveraging its innovative bitcoin rewards program and expanding its financial services suite.

Post-merger, Fold aims to enhance its offerings with credit, lending, and insurance solutions, directly aligning with bitcoin’s growth trajectory. The combined company will be steered by Fold’s existing management, ensuring continuity in vision and strategy, as they aim to broaden access to bitcoin-powered financial solutions.

Alby is officially launching the waitlist for their new product, Alby Hub. The Hub is a one-click install Lightning Node application that aims to make self-custodial Lightning use as painless as possible. Users can sign up to join the waitlist here.

Alby Hub integrates a one click Lightning node, a self-custodial Lightning wallet, and an app store that enables easy connection between a user’s Lightning wallet and other applications such as Damus, Stacker News, podcast apps, and external Lightning wallets to control their nodes with.

Easy migration from Alby’s web wallet to Alby Hub is supported.

There will also be an Alby Hub Cloud plan for 21k satoshis a month to easily spin up an…

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Bitcoin is much more than a typical online payment system. After all, we have plenty of those: PayPal, Venmo, and the like. Bitcoin and other privately used cryptocurrencies are cash for the internet.

Paper cash is an almost perfect way to pay someone. You don’t need an account. It doesn’t care who you are or what you’re buying. It’s a bearer instrument. I hand you a dollar. Now you have the dollar and I don’t. It’s instant and no one can interfere with the transaction. There is no trusting someone else to make sure the dollar gets to you. And best of all, it’s private. There is no record of that transaction whatsoever. It’s so private that there is an old joke in the…

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Ferrari announced that it would extend its cryptocurrency payment scheme to its European dealers network by the end of July, following its successful launch in the United States last year. The luxury sports car manufacturer plans to broaden this payment option to other international markets by the end of 2024, in countries where cryptocurrencies are legally accepted.

The decision to adopt cryptocurrency payments in Europe comes after Ferrari introduced the scheme in the U.S. in response to demand from its high-net-worth clients. This initiative aims to help dealers better meet the evolving needs of their customers, according to a company statement.

Although many major companies have avoided accepting cryptocurrencies due to their volatility, Ferrari’s move reflects the increasing interest among its clientele. The company initially partnered with BitPay, a leading cryptocurrency payment processor, to facilitate transactions in Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC) in the U.S.

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