Maelstrom, a decentralization-focused venture firm managed by the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, announced in a press release Thursday that Jon Atack (GitHub profile) is the second recipient of its Bitcoin Grant Program, to continue his research and development work. According to a bio, Atack started contributing to Bitcoin Core in 2019 and recently was made a maintainer and editor of the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) repository. “Bitcoin isn’t perfect,” Atack said in the press release. “Among other things, it needs further decentralization, continued vigilance, review, bug-fixing, updates, maintenance and improved robustness, performance, privacy, scaling, documentation and user experience.” Maestrom awarded its first developer grant earlier this month, after unveiling the program in July. The goal is to fund open-source Bitcoin developers, since unlike many newer crypto projects, Bitcoin has no single company or foundation driving the strategy or providing top-down funding.

The World Maritime Day 2024 will take place on September 26, 2024, with the International Maritime Organization World Maritime Day Parallel Event to be held in Spain from October 20-22, 2024. And art shows held in the US as part of Climate Week NYC. This year’s World Maritime Day marks 50 years since adopting the 1974 SOLAS Convention, the key IMO treaty regulating maritime safety, with a theme “Navigating the future: safety first!”

The theme is closely linked to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and several of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7 on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and clean energy research and technology; SDG 8 on promoting sustainable economic growth; SDG 9 on building resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialization that fosters innovation; SDG 13 combating climate change and its impacts; and SDG 14 on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources. As IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim noted:

“This theme would allow us to focus on the full range of safety regulatory implications arising from new and adapted technologies and the introduction of alternative fuels, including measures to reduce GHG emissions from ships as IMO strives to ensure the safety and efficiency of shipping are maintained, and potentially improved so that the flow of seaborne international trade continues to be smooth and efficient.”

Usyncro is a Spanish-headquartered, sustainable online platform that simplifies international trade and transportation documentation by guaranteeing transparency, security, and carbon traceability through blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. The “Digital Logistics Corridor” won the “The Supply Chain Innovation” award from the United Nations Development Program this year. The platform uses AI and blockchain as a service by incorporating advanced functionalities focused on carbon footprint traceability, as detailed in Usyncro Investor Deck.

It cuts down on shipment related cost by bringing efficiency. It guarantees the integrity and traceability of documents, reducing the risks of fraud and errors. Facilitates compliance with international customs and tax regulations, a significant challenge for businesses engaged in global trade by reducing compliance risk of penalties. Therefore, the platform offers a step towards sustainability in global logistics. Cristina Martin, CEO and co-founder of  Usyncro, explained that her platform is “a B2B & B2G multimodal, carbon neutral, interoperable, and dynamic SaaS platform that streamlines global logistics by using artificial intelligence and blockchain as a service. We are currently focused on Europe and Latin America, but we want to expand into the USA.”

Usyncro officially began operating in Latin America after signing an alliance with ALACAT, the Federation of National Associations of 16 countries of Freight Forwarders and International Logistics Operators of Latin America and the Caribbean. This alliance intends to promote digital corridors between Europe and Latin America and was strengthened with the  interoperability agreement between Usyncro and CargoX, two leaders in blockchain-based solutions for the electronic management of commercial documents within the supply chain. As Cristina Martin added:

“We have valued this impact in the volume of documentation generated when shipping goods and for every ten tons of paper we are saving 4,000 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.”

This sustainable partnership between Usyncro and CargoX, leverages blockchain technology for logistics and document management and significantly eases the complexities of international trade. It streamlines processes, reduces barriers to entry into new markets, facilitates regulatory compliance, and enhances global trade management. The collaboration not only represents a step forward in digitalizing international trade but also opens up a wealth of opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs to innovate and grow in the global marketplace. As such, it stands as a beacon for the future of international commerce, where blockchain technology drives efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.

CWNYC World Maritime Day Art Shows

As part of my Climate Week NYC art shows, I prepared two events for World Maritime Day, which are United Nations General Assembly events.

I collaborated with the world’s first Climate Change Museum, CUHK Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change, Climarte, Lord Howe Island Museum, Teiduma, SEACHA, and its partner Thai-based Changing Climate Changing Lives Film Festival to prepare these events that will be held at Putnam History Museum and Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. 

Selva Ozelli’s CWNYC Art Shows

Date: September 26

12-1 PM, PHM, 63 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring, NY

10 AM – 5 PM, HDGMM, 100 Lafayette Street, Havre de Grace, MD

The Open Network and Drift Protocol emerged as the top two firms with the highest funds raised in the last seven days.

Per a report by Galaxy, 2024 has been a good year for the fundraising industry, as there has been a steady uptick in the funds raised. As of July 1, founders are reporting an active fundraising environment.

Even though there was a drop in deal count from 603 in the first quarter to 577 in the second, capital invested paints a different picture with a rise to $3.2 billion in Q2 from Q1’s $2.5 billion.

Data shows a 28% increase in capital invested quarter over quarter. When it comes to geographical location, United States-headquartered companies accounted for more than 40% of all deals in Q2.

The United Kingdom followed suit with 10%, and Singapore enjoyed 8.7% of all deals.

As for the most recent crypto VC funding rounds, crypto.news compiled the latest announcements from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 using data obtained from Crypto Fundraising. Let’s look at the companies that grabbed headlines with million dollar-plus rounds.

The Open Network, $30 million

• TON is a layer-1 blockchain that was originally developed as the Telegram Open Network.
• Now known as The Open Network (TON), it raised $30 million this week and over $54 million since its inception in 2018.
• Bitget and Foresight Ventures contributed to the latest fundraising effort.