Plus, Japan’s new bitcoin exchange woes, Google Pay in Singapore, and Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency

Korea’s Skelter Lab raises US$9M – [TechCrunch]

AI startup Skelter Labs has raised KRW 10 billion (US$9.3 million), according to this report by TechCrunch. Internet giant Kakao led the round, with the participation of Stonebridge Ventures and Lotte Homeshopping.

Skelter Labs focusses on AI, collaborating with a range of enterprises in Korea and specialising in conversational AI, deep learning, and context recognition. The startup aims to expand services overseas following this funding.

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange briefly let investors buy for free – [Reuters]

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange couldn’t seem to catch a break as a system glitch allowed investors to purchase bitcoin for free within a 20-minute window. In a report by Reuters, government-registered exchange Zaif said that they voided the trade after discovering the error.

This news comes in the wake of of the Coincheck heist, in which said cryptocurrency exchange lost US$530 million to hackers, and draws into question Japan’s capability of overseeing exchanges.

Google Pay lands in Singapore – [e27]

Google announced today the launch of its cashless payment platform in Singapore. Google Pay aims to make it easier for users to make offline and online purchases from their Google accounts.

Venezuela launches national cryptocurrency – [Coindesk]

Venezuela launched the pre-sale of their oil-backed national cryptocurrency today, according to this article by Coindesk.

Called Petro, the world’s first national cryptocurrency was made available for purchase using fiat currencies and other other top cryptocurrencies, though not Venezuelan Bolivars. The government intends to use the Petro to attract foreign investors in the hopes of resuscitating the country’s collapsing economy. As of February 20, 82.4 million Petro are available for sale.

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Featured image credit: Skelter Labs

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