OpenCoin

Finovate Alumni News– May 23, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillFloat, BillGuard, Billhighway, Check, Expensify, GoodApril, Lighter Capital, Linkable Networks, OpenCoin, ProfitStars, Taulia, TradeKing, TransferWise, Yodlee

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  • CMS Wire reports: Linkable Networks: Improving the Customer’s Path to Purchase.
  • Lighter Capital appoints Jeff Seely to board of directors.
  • Pymnts.com reports: BillGuard Acts As Antivirus For The Disease Of Fraud.
  • Expensify to begin new pricing structure.
  • Global Finance magazine names Taulia the best worldwide invoice discount management solution.
  • Expensify will soon be made available to over 250,000 Citrix enterprise customers.
  • BillFloat extends SmartPay pilot program with Radio Shack partnership.
  • Newfination interviews Mitch Fox, co-founder of GoodApril.
  • Wired’s Beyond the Beyond column features OpenCoin in a report from the Bitcoin 2013 business convention.
  • ProfitStar’s iPay Solutions named among best places to work in Kentucky.
  • Billhighway adds the Friends of Birmingham Historical Museum & Park as new client.
  • TransferWise wins a spot on Mashable’s list of “20 Hot London Startups You Need to Watch.”
  • Yodlee and Check (formerly Pageonce) are among the companies highlighted in American Banker column on reimagining PFM for mobile.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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OpenCoin Wins Investment from Google Ventures, IDG Capital Partners

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: OpenCoin

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For the second time in as many months, open source payment network innovator, OpenCoin is closing another round of funding. This time the company has earned investment from Google Ventures and China-based IDG Capital Partners.

The total amount of the angel funding round has not been disclosed, though Google Ventures is rumored to have contributed less than $200,000.

The announcement comes one month after the company reported funding from a quintet of investors: Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund. OpenCoin’s technology, Ripple, is a decentralized, virtual currency convertible into dollars, euros, yen, or Bitcoin.
OpenCoin’s CEO is Chris Larsen. The company presented its Ripple technology as part of FinovateSpring this month in San Francisco. Read our live coverage of their demo here.

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Finovate Alumni News– May 16, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Blaze Mobile, FamZoo, LendUp, MoneyDesktop, OpenCoin, PayNearMe, QuantConnect, TipRanks

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  • FamZoo, LendUp, Money Desktop, PayNearMe, and TipRanks win Best of Show honors at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco.
  • Blaze Mobile earns three NFC mobile payment patents.
  • OpenCoin announces completion of an angel funding round from Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners.
  • ForexThink interviews QuantConnect founder and CEO Jared Broad.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Building a Better Bitcoin? OpenCoin Launches Ripple

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2013, OpenCoin

ripplelogo1.jpgThis post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2013.

Finishing up the first session of the day is OpenCoin, developers of the world’s first open source payment network, Ripple.
“At its core, Ripple is a distributed global ledger that creates a distributed open source payment network and the world’s first distributed currency exchange. Ripple solves the double spend problem through a process of consensus rather than Bitcoin’s concept of mining. Ripple furthers the Bitcoin mission with faster transactions (confirming in seconds, not minutes) and a multi-currency design that allows for any currency to be traded within its exchange. In fact, Ripple is so versatile, it’s the best place to hold and use Bitcoins.”
Product Launched: February 2013
HQ Location: San Francisco, CA
Company Founded: September 2012
Website: ripple.com
Twitter: @Ripple
Presenting Chris Larsen (CEO) and Jed McCaleb (CTO)

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Finovate Alumni News– May 8, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: authenticID, BillGuard, Check Point, Currensee, Holvi, Jemstep, MoneyDesktop, OpenCoin, SoMoLend
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgThe Wall Street Journal takes a look at “bitcoin startups” including OpenCoin. Come meet them at FinovateSpring in San Francisco.
  • Currensee announces launch of Trade Leaders managed fund.
  • US Bankcard Services now providing AuthenticID service to its merchants.  See AuthenticID demo at FinovateSpring next week.
  • Check Point introduces 600 Series security appliances for SMBs.
  • Forbes lists SoMoLend as 1 of 10 top crowdfunding sites for fundraising.
  • Investor Junkie reviews Jemstep. Come see what’s new at Jemstep at FinovateSpring next week.
  • MoneyDesktop honored with Bronze award in the Telly Awards, which recognize the finest video, film, & web commercials. See them demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Business Insider names BillGuard as 1 of the 20 hottest startups from Israel.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 12, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BrightScope, Check Point, Dwolla, FutureAdvisor, GoodApril, Kabbage, Lending Club, On Deck Capital, OpenCoin, Pageonce, Palo Alto Software, PayPal, Prosper, Realty Mogul, SeedInvest, Simple

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  • RIA Biz takes a look at BrightScope’s plan to make advisory fees public.
  • DietBet.com crowdfunds more than $300,000 via SeedInvest. Join SeedInvest in San Francisco for FinovateSpring in May.
  • Finovate alumni make a strong showing in GoodApril co-founder’s list of tax preparation innovation. Meet GoodApril at FinovateSpring.
  • VentureBeat features Ripple developer OpenCoin. See OpenCoin in action at FinovateSpring in May.
  • DroidBeans reviews Pageonce for Android.
  • Puget Sound Business Journal highlights the role of Realty Mogul in a local real estate deal. Join Realty Mogul at FinovateSpring.
  • PayPal buys Iron Pearl, a startup that helps companies make their products more attractive to customers.
  • Reuters looks at a case study of how FutureAdvisor is used to save for retirement.
  • PYMNTS looks at Kabbage’s “secret weapon”
  • New York Times Business Day interviews Sabrina Parsons, Palo Alto Software CEO. Come to FinovateSpring to watch it demo LivePlan.
  • Channelnomics reports: Check Point Launch Makes Small Branch Foray.
  • Dwolla takes top honors at Prometheus Awards in Des Moines.
  • Massolution’s Crowdfunding Industry Report places Lending Club and Prosper as leaders in the industry.
  • American Banker considers On Deck Capital’s growth.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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OpenCoin Closes Angel Round – with Bitcoin Backing

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: OpenCoin

ripplelogo1.jpgThe Bitcoin Bandwagon just got bigger. OpenCoin announced they closed an angel funding round from:

  • Andreessen Horowitz
  • FF Angel IV
  • Lightspeed Venture Partners
  • Vast Ventures
  • Bitcoin Opportunity Fund
The amount of the investment was not disclosed. But the funding will be geared toward helping the company expand the OpenCoin’s open source, decentralized payment system and virtual currency, Ripple protocol, currently in beta.
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What is the upside of virtual currencies like Ripple? Easier online and mobile transactions and thwarting the fee-collecting capacity of contemporary payment networks are among the main promises. OpenCoin is led by CEO Chris Larsen, who was co-founder of E-LOAN and Prosper, and CTO Jed McCaleb. McCaleb created the largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, in 2010.
OpenCoin was in the news recently for its acquisition of SimpleHoney. We covered the announcement here.
See OpenCoin demo its Ripple technology at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May. To find out more about the event, visit our information page here.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 11, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Banno, Blippy, Credit Sesame, Currensee, Fiserv, HelloWallet, Leaf, Locaid, Lovemoney.com, Nutmeg, OpenCoin, PayPal, Ping Identity, rplan, TSYS, Yandex

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  • Alliance Data teams up with Locaid to provide opt-in geofence pilot program for branded cards.
  • Currensee announces Trade Leaders Investment Program.
  • Leaf announces Quick Serve POS solution for restaurants. See Leaf in action at FinovateSpring in May.
  • Credit Sesame reports growth figures.
  • Banno creates 15 responsive design websites in Q1 2013.
  • HelloWallet hires 6, bringing total number of employees to 40.
  • LG now offers the convenience of purchasing via PayPal on their 2013 line of Smart TVs.
  • American Banker reports Fiserv updates its Unified Wealth Management platform.
  • Money Marketing features Rplan, Nutmeg, and LoveMoney as startups that appeal to the under-30 crowd.
  • Dropbox offers single sign on through partnership with Ping Identity.
  • CMO.com interviews Yandex CEO Bernard Lukey is the director of sales and business development.
  • GigaOM reports PayPal offers 2 new extensions for Magneto merchants.
  • The Economist takes a look at the bitcoin boom, including alternatives like OpenCoin. See OpenCoin demo Ripple at FinovateSpring in May.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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OpenCoin Acquires SimpleHoney

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: OpenCoin

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Terms have not been disclosed. But the four-person SimpleHoney team will be joining OpenCoin’s 12-person crew in an effort to make OpenCoin’s virtual currency system simpler and more accessible for the average consumer.

OpenCoin is the company behind Ripple, an open source payment system developed by self-described “Bitcoin Enthusiasts”. SimpleHoney was launched in the spring of 2012 as a source for hotel recommendations based on the traveler’s personality and preferences. Since then, SimpleHoney has become better known for its “I Want Wish List” wish list app.

SimpleHoney’s ability to develop user-friendly technologies is one of the reasons for the acquisition, according to SimpleHoney co-founder Joyce Kim. Indeed, the SimpleHoney team will serve as OpenCoin’s “consumer engagement” group, focusing on usability issues.

OpenCoin will be presenting in San Francisco in May as part of FinovateSpring 2013. To learn more about the event, and to find out how to reserve your spot, click here.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 3, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, BBC Easy, Cardlytics, Cartera Commerce, edo Interactive, eWise, Fiserv, Flint Mobile, Holvi, IntelliResponse, Kiboo, Mint.com, Monitise, Moven, Narrative Science, OpenCoin, Pageonce, PayPal, ProfitStars, TSYS
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTech Dirt looks at Narrative Science’s role in algorithmically-generated journalism. Come See Narrative Science at FinovateSpring.
  • Bdaily talks with Monitise EVP, Lisa Stanton, about mobile banking.
  • Numerica Credit Union adopts BBC Easy’s C&I Lending program.
  • CU Times reports Fiserv’s Spot Pay offers CUs a co-branded mobile payment platform and dongle.
  • Forbes looks at the growth of edo, Cardlytics, and Cartera Commerce and how card-linked offers are better than daily deals.
  • TechCruch reports OpenCoin has acquired SimpleHoney. See OpenCoin demo at FinovateSpring in May.
  • ProfitStars launches BillSimple from iPaySolutions.
  • TSYS to present at annual card forum and expo in April.
  • IntelliResponse adds 155th customer, the company’s first credit union.
  • Convenience Store Decisions notes the growing role of mobile payment options such as PayPal and Flint Mobile.
  • FIS, Open Solutions veteran Gary Daniel to join Allied Payment Network. Join them in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.
  • Banking Technology looks at eWise, Pageonce, Mint.com, Kiboo, Holvi, & Moven as PFM resurgence examples.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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