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Report: Postmates founder Bastian Lehmann launches crypto startup

Although details surrounding the venture remain unknown, its website states the firm seeks to provide "consumer finance solutions for an emerging web."

According to local news outlet FinanceFWD, German entrepreneur Bastian Lehmann is making a move into the crypto industry with the creation of a new startup called "TipTop Labs." Although details surrounding the venture remain unknown, its website states the firm seeks to provide "consumer finance solutions for an emerging web." 

On its careers page, it appears that TipTop Labs is hiring a blockchain engineer whose primary responsibilities include "Building protocol components that integrate across different blockchain systems," and "leading the design and architecture of core protocols and tokens." The firm has been registered in the State of Delaware since February. On his Linkedin page, Lehmann states that he is the current founder of a "stealth startup."

Lehmann founded food delivery giant Postmates in 2011. In December 2020, Uber acquired Postmates for $2.65 billion in an all-stock deal. By that time, Postmates had grown to cover 80% of households in the United States, with more than 600,000 restaurants listed on its platform for deliveries and take out.

Cointelegraph previously reported that the Chinese food delivery giant Meituan Dianping is joining the country's central bank digital currency efforts. Across the world, Grubhub is enabling its users to earn rewards in Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its partnership with Lolli. Meanwhile, the city of Liverpool has taken an interest in a blockchain-powered food delivery platform built on the Fuse blockchain.

At this point in time, it is unclear if Lehman's Tiptop Labs venture plans to integrate crypto payments or solutions into the Postmates platform or if it is a separate, stand-alone blockchain related startup. 

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City of Liverpool takes interest in blockchain-powered food delivery platform

Peepl seeks to enhance adoption by rewarding users with new tokens for every food delivery order.

On Monday, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram announced a 700,000 pound ($955,957) investment into blockchain-powered food delivery service Peepl. The software aims to act as a cost-efficient alternative to food delivery giants for local restaurants.

Peepl claims that it can save restaurants up to 50% on the commissions typically charged by food delivery platforms through its technology and partnerships. In addition, the Peepl platform promises to give consumers back 5% to 10% on each order's value in the form of Peepl Tokens (PPL). However, they will be locked within the network for at least four to five years.

According to its website, its developers propose to fix the price of each PPL token until 2025. On top of making transactions, PPL token holders would also be able to participate in the network's governance.

Mayor Rotheram issued the following statement of support for Peepl:

"In the Liverpool City Region, we aren’t the sort to simply follow the crowd. We like to be disrupters; to chart our own course and take great pride in our local businesses and community solidarity. Peepl has the potential to radically disrupt the food delivery market by bringing together all those values and injecting a lot more fairness – for riders and restaurants alike – to an industry not known for its treatment of workers."

Leon Rossiter, CEO and co-founder of Peepl, said the following in regards to the development:

"Advances in blockchain technology, alongside shifting values and laws, mean new business models are possible for the internet, and the local economies we all live in."

US Justice Dept charges Roger Ver with tax fraud