Moonstake Partners with Astarter Project, EMURGO’s JV for Accelerated DeFi Development on Cardano

Feb 5, 2022 | Business

Today, Moonstake is thrilled to announce our partnership with Astarter, a DeFi infrastructure hub on Cardano to facilitate the development of decentralized financial (DeFi) services infrastructure on Cardano. Astarter is a joint venture supported by EMURGO, the official commercial arm of the Cardano blockchain protocol, who has recently acquired Infinity Blockchain Group, the group leading Moonstake’s development. Currently, Moonstake and Astarter are working to enable Moonstake users priority access to Astarter’s service via a seamless native connection function once it is launched.
Moonstake launched its staking business in 2020 with the aim to create the largest staking network in Asia. Since then, it has developed the most user-friendly Web Wallet and Mobile Wallet (iOS / Android) with support for over 2,000 cryptocurrencies. Currently, Moonstake supports 14 high-demand staking coins: Cosmos, IRIS, Ontology, Harmony, Tezos, Cardano, Qtum, Polkadot, Quras, Centrality, Orbs, IOST, TRON, and Shiden, as well as ERC-721 and Cardano NFTs. After a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, Moonstake’s total staking assets have grown rapidly to reach $1.8 Billion and by June 2021, Moonstake was the third best staking provider in the world out of 15,000 staking providers worldwide. In March 2021, the company entered DeFi with Muse.Finance, a DeFi platform, and will continue to expand into the DeFi business.

Meanwhile, Astarter is a key DeFi infrastructure hub on Cardano with four core applications: Launchpad, DEX, Money Market & Tech Service Platform. The project is a joint venture supported by EMURGO which combines the Cardano founding entity’s technical expertise and deep understanding of its network with experience of developing DeFi technical infrastructures from its external partner’s experiences. Astarter aims to provide fair, safe, and accessible open finance services on Cardano, developing decentralized finance applications for the Cardano ecosystem. Astarter will start development of an initial decentralized exchange offering (IDO) launchpad to be released by the end of the year, along with a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Cardano to follow. Upon completion, Astarter will also plan to integrate lending & borrowing (decentralized money market) features on Cardano. These services aim to bring more utility to Cardano ADA users and open up financial services to a greater number of people in underserved regions.

Moonstake has been in discussions with Astarter from the beginning for the functional connection, and is working to give Moonstake users priority access to Astarter’s service once it launches. In doing so, we will be developing a web-based connect function as a means of connectivity, which will allow us to provide a seamless connected experience. More features will be added as they become available.

Founder of Moonstake, Mitsuru Tezuka, says: “As a long-time staking provider for ADA and strategic partner of EMURGO since August 2020, Moonstake is thrilled to collaborate with their new Astarter Project. We’re happy to utilize our strong technical expertise in proof-of-stake and cross-blockchain interoperability in collaboration with Astarter to help foster the development of DeFi applications and services on Cardano.”

Moonstake is honored to be a part of this partnership with EMURGO’s backed Astarter Project to help accelerate DeFi apps to further empower the Cardano ecosystem and continue to bring great value to crypto user communities worldwide.

About Moonstake

Moonstake was recently established to develop a staking pool protocol to satisfy increasing demands in regional and global blockchain markets. Moonstake develops a staking pool protocol and provides business services through partners and companies.

Moonstake aims to be the largest staking pool network in Asia by providing an active environment for crypto asset holders. Establishing a clear partnership roadmap with Moonstake represents another significant milestone for continuing to strengthen ties with leading platforms across Asia’s burgeoning Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ecosystem. Partnerships have been announced with Emurgo, Ontology and NEO to boost staking adoption, Binarystar, Japan’s biggest blockchain hub, OIO Holdings Limited (SGX: OIO), a Singapore-listed company. Industry’s reputed advisors, such as Lisk and Lawrence Lim of RAMP DEFI support Moonstake’s innovative journey.

With a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, we expanded our business and as of now, our total staking assets exceeded over USD 1 billion. https://www.moonstake.io/

About Astarter

Astarter is a key DeFi infrastructure hub on Cardano with four core applications: Launchpad, DEX, Money Market & Tech Service Platform. The project was founded by EMURGO and aims to provide fair, safe, and accessible open finance services on Cardano, developing decentralized finance applications for the Cardano ecosystem. https://astarter.io/






Topic: Press release summary

Holly Edgell Will Lead Midwest Newsroom Collaboration as Managing Editor

Jun 18, 2021 | Business

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“We are thrilled to have had such a strong pool of candidates, and delighted that Holly will be joining the Midwest Newsroom as a KCUR employee,” Morris said. “Holly has extensive leadership in working with newsrooms across the Midwest and beyond, and will help to form and create a highly functional and collaborative team for the hub.”

The Midwest Newsroom is the fourth regional news “hub” created by NPR and Member stations, joining counterparts in Texas, California and the Gulf States of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

“We’re excited to see Holly join our team of stellar managing editors leading the hub newsrooms across the country,” NPR Managing Editor for Collaborative Journalism Kenya Young said. “The addition of the Midwest Newsroom to the collective with Holly at the helm ensures our mission to plan shared coverage and create stories that reach local, regional, and national audiences. Holly will be an agent of change in the Midwest region and I look forward to seeing how she shapes collaborative journalism within our network.”

With its focus on in-depth reporting, the new Midwest team will include a three-person investigative unit and two editors. The team will bring public service reporting to a region dominated by rural news deserts as local publications have fewer resources for extensive projects.

To support Edgell, KCUR and its collaboration partners will play a major role in bringing the regional newsroom to life, ensuring the region will be well-served by the investigative reporting produced through this new collaboration.

About NPR

NPR’s rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connect with millions of Americans every day — on the air, online, and in person. NPR strives to create a more informed public — one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. With a nationwide network of award-winning journalists and 17 international bureaus, NPR and its Member Stations are never far from where a story is unfolding. Listeners can find NPR by tuning in to their local Member stations (npr.org/stations), and now it’s easy to listen to our stories on smart speaker devices. Ask your smart speaker to, “Play NPR,” and you’ll be tuned into your local Member station’s live stream. Your speaker can also access NPR podcasts, NPR One, NPR News Now, and the Visual Newscast is available for screened speakers. Get more information at npr.org/about and by following NPR Extra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.