New York-based asset manager Stone Ridge has introduced a new start-up accelerator called In Wolf's Clothing (Wolf). It will be focused on supporting Bitcoin-related applications, according to a Wednesday report published by TechCrunch.
The accelerator will welcome up to 12 teams to New York each year in order to work on apps that utilize the Taro protocol and Bitcoin's Lightning network. Wolf is looking for both early-stage companies and fledgling start-ups.
It will be spearheaded by Kelly Brewster, former chief marketing officer at Stone Ridge subsidiary NYDIG.
Stone Ridge's accelerator will specifically focus on apps that offer tipping and micropayments. These are the two areas that could potentially propel Bitcoin's mainstream adoption.
The teams that take part in the accelerator program have a chance to receive up to $750,000 worth of funding.
Gamza KhanzadaevIt will also be focused on Taro, a new protocol created by Lightning Labs. It leverages Taproot, an upgrade that is meant to make Bitcoin transactions more private and secure, in order to increase the cryptocurrency's scalability. The protocol makes it possible to issue assets and collectibles on top of Bitcoin without leveraging another blockchain or adding extra data on-chain.
The Lightning Network is a widely used scaling solution for Bitcoin that functions as a Layer 2 payment system. It enables users to instantly transfer crypto with very low fees by opening separate payment channels.
Stone Ridge's decision to start a crypto-focused accelerator comes after the asset manager said that it was shutting down its Bitcoin futures fund after it failed to gain significant traction.
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Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov