Ledger CEO Says Attack Was An ‘Unfortunate Isolated Incident’

Hi NoRamp Community,

Daily News:

1) Asian Messaging Giant LINE Raises $140M to Expand NFT Venture

2) Taurus Partners With Teylor To Tokenize SME Loans In Germany

3) Ledger CEO Says Attack Was An ‘Unfortunate Isolated Incident’

4) TD Bank and Plaid Partner to Ease Access to Apps

5) Kapital Secures $165M to Provide Financial Visibility to LatAm SMBs

Asian Messaging Giant LINE Raises $140M to Expand NFT Venture:

• LINE NEXT, the NFT division of LINE, a major messaging company based in South Korea, has secured $140 million in funding, marking the largest investment in the Asian blockchain Web3 industry this year. The funding round was led by Crescendo Equity Partners, supported by Peter Thiel.

• The investment will be used to launch LINE NEXT's global NFT platform DOSI in January 2024, integrating with Japan's LINE NFT marketplace and available as a mobile app worldwide. During its beta phase, DOSI has seen significant user activity in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India.

• Alongside the platform launch, LINE NEXT aims to enable brands to offer ownership of digital products for trading and plans to introduce Web3 games featuring its popular BROWN & FRIENDS characters. The initiative is part of LINE's broader strategy to make Web3 applications accessible and integrate blockchain technology into a wide range of Web2 services.

Taurus Partners With Teylor To Tokenize SME Loans In Germany:

• Taurus, a Swiss crypto custody company backed by Deutsche Bank, has partnered with Zurich-based fintech lending platform Teylor, which specializes in the German SME market, to tokenize loans for small and medium businesses in Germany. This move aligns with the growing trend of asset tokenization in the crypto community.

• The collaboration allows Teylor's credit portfolio tokens to be listed for secondary market trading on Taurus’ TDX marketplace, providing liquidity and new investment opportunities. The tokenization is conducted through a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle and complies with Swiss and European regulations.

• Teylor, supported by Barclays and M&G, offers loans ranging from 100,000 to 1.5 million euros to German SMEs. The partnership with Taurus enables smaller investors, who previously couldn't participate in private transactions due to capital limitations, to trade Teylor's security tokens on the TDX platform, thereby democratizing access to SME debt investment.

Ledger CEO Says Attack Was An ‘Unfortunate Isolated Incident’:

• Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier addressed a supply chain attack on Ledger ConnectKit, caused by a phishing attack on a former employee. Despite Ledger's standard multi-party code review and access controls, it remains unclear how the ex-employee retained system access.

• Gauthier recognizes the incident as isolated, stressing ongoing security improvements. Ledger will bolster security, especially in connecting its software supply chain to the NPM distribution channel and enhancing dapp security for browser-based signing.

• The breach was first noted by SushiSwap, leading to temporary web app shutdowns and warnings about suspicious wallet connection prompts. Ledger quickly deployed the authentic ConnectKit and removed the malicious code within 40 minutes. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino froze the attacker's address, and Ledger is working with authorities to recover stolen assets and bring the perpetrator to justice.

TD Bank and Plaid Partner to Ease Access to Apps:

• TD Bank Group and Plaid have established a partnership to enhance the digital banking experience for TD customers in Canada and the U.S., removing the necessity for them to share login credentials with third-party applications.

• The agreement allows TD customers to securely access and share their financial data with over 8,000 apps and services on Plaid's network via APIs, focusing on ease, value, and security in financial data management.

• This collaboration is part of TD's ongoing efforts to develop a secure and transparent digital banking experience. It follows TD's previous initiatives, such as joining the Financial Data Exchange, data-access agreements with Finicity, Akoya, and Envestnet/Yodlee, reflecting a broader trend towards more convenient and innovative financial experiences.

Kapital Secures $165M to Provide Financial Visibility to LatAm SMBs:

1. Kapital, a bank and technology platform based in Mexico City, has secured an additional $40 million in Series B funding and $125 million in debt financing, led by Tribe Capital with participation from Cervin Ventures, Tru Arrow, MS&AD Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.

2. Co-founded in 2020 by Rene Saul and Fernando Sandoval, Kapital aims to provide small businesses with financial visibility using data and AI, similar to large enterprises. This approach allows for real-time management of business operations and cash flow, as well as AI-based underwriting of small business loans.

3. In 2023, Kapital's customer base expanded to 80,000 small businesses across Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, and the company acquired Banco Autofin Mexico S.A., adding 65,000 customers. The new funding will be used for R&D, technology development, enhancing cross-border offerings, and growing the product suite with a focus on predictive analytics technology. Kapital's vision is to build a global bank to connect businesses worldwide.

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