*By Tanaya Macheel* Blockchain, the London-based crypto wallet and exchange, will distribute $125 million of Stellar tokens to users this week in the company's first major airdrop giveaway. Similar to the concept of airdropping photos or other files, airdrops of crypto assets can place different tokens in the hands of many — Blockchain has nearly 30 million registered wallets, though it's unclear how active its users are — rather than the privileged few, easily, and for little to no fee. In this case, the giveaway of lumens, the native digital currency of Stellar, is free. For the last, year cryptocurrencies have drawn serious interest and money from institutional investors, but Blockchain is also aiming to grow the adoption of crypto among everyday retail investors ー to drive use and functionality of crypto networks. Stellar has that in common with Blockchain. It’s an open financial network focused on both enabling low cost and near-instant cross-border payments and improving financial services for developing countries and unbanked populations. Earlier this year, it partnered with IBM ($IBM) on a Stellar-powered cross-border payments product for IBM’s large corporate partners. Still, it maintains that private-blockchain networks are basically useless if they can’t interact with the rest of the world. "The smaller your group of people is, the more likely you should just use a database," Jed McCaleb, co-founder of the Stellar Development Foundation, told Cheddar in September. "That's what Stellar gives you — a way to have your permissioned group but still interact with everyone else in the world.” But accessing crypto assets hasn’t been seamless for retail investors. Exchanges can be costly; ICOs, or initial coin offerings, can be shady or vulnerable to scams, and both require people to invest their own money in something they may only know little about. In other words, mining crypto is just difficult. The lumen was trading at 26 cents at the time of Blockchain’s announcement.

Share:
More In Business
Al Sharpton to lead pro-DEI march through Wall Street
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
A US tariff exemption for small orders ends Friday. It’s a big deal.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines’ new policy will affect plus-size travelers. Here’s how
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Load More