Techcrunch blog!: Daily Crunch - Ripple raises $200M

Friday, December 20, 2019 • By Anthony Ha

Happy Friday

Cryptocurrency startup Ripple raises new funding, Google buys a game development studio and the U.S. Senate passes a bill designed to crack down on robocolls. Here’s your Daily Crunch for December 20, 2019.

Ripple raises $200 million to improve global payments

Ripple has focused on improving cross-border payments and other money-transmitting activities using XRP, a cryptocurrency that has its own blockchain, the XRP Ledger. The total market capitalization of XRP tokens is currently the third-largest cryptocurrency market capitalization behind bitcoin and Ethereum.

“As others in the blockchain space have slowed their growth or even shut down, we have accelerated our momentum and industry leadership throughout 2019," said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a statement.

Ripple raises $200 million to improve global payments image

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Google buys game developer Typhoon Studios

The young studio hasn't released its first title yet, but "Journey to the Savage Planet" is due for release in late January. The title is being developed for "multiple platforms," so it won’t be morphing into an exclusive for Stadia (Google’s cloud gaming platform) at the last second.

Robocall-crushing TRACED act passes Senate and heads to Oval Office

The TRACED act pushes carriers to kill robocalls before they ring, and gives the FCC some extra juice to pursue the businesses perpetrating them.

Image Credits: Farknot_Architect / Getty Images / Getty Images

Boeing's Starliner crew spacecraft won't dock with Space Station as planned after missing target orbit

Boeing's Starliner CST-100 crew spacecraft got off to a great start on its first-ever launch to the International Space Station this morning — but despite the rocket and launch vehicle performing as expected, the Starliner spacecraft itself hit a bit of a snag when the time came for its own post-launch mission to begin.

St. Louis-based Summersalt raises $17.3M for its direct-to-consumer clothing line

Founded by a former Washington University design professor/swimwear designer, along with a marketing and branding consultant, Summersalt launched in 2017 with a line of direct-to-consumer swimwear. In the past two years, the company has expanded beyond its $95 swimsuits to include cashmere sets, packable jackets and wrinkle-free pants.

Image Credits: Summersalt

Anybody can now make HomeKit accessories

Apple has released an open-source version of the HomeKit Accessory Development Kit. You can now fork it on GitHub and play around with it to integrate smart home devices in the Home app and beyond.

The unbrandening

Planetary Managing Partner Josh Gross sees a surprising movement toward "unbranding" — specifically choosing not to create a strong association between a product and its maker. (Extra Crunch membership required.)