Coinbase launches Base; EUROC on Coinbase; BlackRock metaverse ETF; DB funds on public blockchain; Immersve & Mastercard; MetaMask & Mercuryo; NBA NFTs = Securities; New funds and $190M in 19 deals.
23 February 2023
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Table of Content
🗞️The 14 news you should be aware of
💸PE/VC funding
⚖️Policies and laws
📚Reports, here is the TLDR
📈Charts of the week
💡Metaverse and NFT news, trends, and insights
🔦Company spotlight
📅Blockchain, Crypto, and Web3 events calendar
👩💻The job fair
📚The term of the week
📎Miscellaneous resources
🗞️ The 14 news you should be aware of
Coinbase has announced the testnet launch of Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network offering a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone, anywhere, to build decentralized apps or “dapps” on-chain.
2. Circle Euro stablecoin finally gets a run on Coinbase
EUROC is a stablecoin issued by Circle pegged one-to-one to the euro through overcollateralized euro-backed reserves. The trading of EUROC on Coinbase started at 9 am PT on Feb. 22.
3. BlackRock launches new metaverse ETF
The iShares Future Metaverse Tech and Communications ETF (NYSEARCA:IVRS) offers the investment community exposure to companies providing both the hardware and software used within the metaverse.
4. Bank of Japan announces pilot phase for Digital Yen
Bank of Japan has confirmed its CBDC research will enter a pilot phase in April, following two years of proofs of concept. The central bank has not yet decided to issue a digital yen. The eventual decision may require a referendum.
5. Google Cloud becomes validator for Tezos blockchain
Google Cloud already runs validator nodes for several blockchains and will now become a corporate baker for the Tezos proof of stake blockchain. The term ‘baker’ is the Tezos equivalent of the operator of a validator node.
6. Arbitrum’s user base is fastest growing among leading blockchains
Transaction growth has been rapid, reaching almost 50% of daily Ethereum transactions in January, Bernstein said. Daily transactions and revenue are four times higher than six months ago.
7. Bosch, Fetch.ai create a foundation for industrial blockchain, web3
Bosch Research and Fetch.ai are setting up the Fetch.ai Foundation to research and commercialize web3 technologies in mobility, industry 4.0, and smart homes. Fetch and Bosch will jointly chair the Foundation with a view to decentralizing it further.
8. Deutsche Bank tests tokenized funds on a public blockchain
Deutsche Bank Singapore released a report of a proof of concept with Memento Blockchain to provide a platform for asset managers. The solution was awarded a grant from the MAS as part of its Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) program.
9. Immersve aims for Mastercard purchases via Ethereum wallets
Web3 startup Immersve is partnering with Mastercard to enable Australian and New Zealand-based customers to make purchases using an Immersve-branded Mastercard linked to their Ethereum crypto wallets.
10. Chainlink, True USD start real-time ‘Mint Lock’ verification of stablecoin reserves
Backers of the stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) have gone live with a new system in conjunction with the data-oracle project Chainlink to assure that reserves are adequate before new units of the dollar-pegged token can be minted.
11. Shanghai upgrade on Sepolia testnet for Feb. 28
The Shanghai-Capella Ethereum upgrade on the Sepolia test network has been officially scheduled. Sepolia will be the second public testnet to have deployed this upgrade. After deploying “Shapella” on the Sepolia testnet, developers will move to the Goerli testnet for the final phase of dress rehearsal ahead of the main net launch.
12. MetaMask integrates with Mercuryo to allow crypto purchases with bank cards
In efforts to streamline the on-ramp process, decentralized wallet provider ConsenSys announced on Feb. 16 that it has integrated with Mercuryo’s infrastructure to allow users to purchase crypto directly within the MetaMask wallet.
13. Unstoppable Domains and crypto browser Opera expand digital identity offerings
Unstoppable, which initially teamed up with Opera in April 2021 to offer support for its .crypto and .zil domains, will now grant users access to Polygon-based domain names such as .nft, .wallet, and .x. In doing so, Unstoppable will expand users’ access to their online digital identities, as well as allow Opera crypto wallet holders to use their domains to transfer cryptocurrencies.
14. YouTube appoints Web3-friendly exec as new CEO
YouTube has appointed Susan Wojcicki, a Web3-friendly executive, as its new CEO. This move suggests that YouTube may be interested in exploring emerging technologies like blockchain and Web3.
💸 PE/VC funding
1. 10T’s Tapiero launching crypto PE firm backed by Alan Howard
Dan Tapiero of 10T Holdings is launching a crypto private equity fund amid deeply discounted valuations, targeting a $1 billion capital raise backed by hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard and a host of other prominent investors.
2. Hub71 in Abu Dhabi launches $2B fund for Web3 start-ups
Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, announced the launch of Hub71+ Digital Assets, a dedicated Web3 specialist ecosystem, “with more than $2 billion of capital committed to funding Web3 startups and blockchain technologies from the UAE’s capital.”
3. BCB Group targets valuation of $200M in a new fundraising effort
Crypto financial services company BCB Group is raising funds via convertible notes that will convert to its future Series B with a pre-money valuation capped at $200 million, sources told The Block. BCB Group founder and CEO Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie said the company is raising over $20 million.
4. Curio raised $2.9M from Bain Capital Crypto to create on-chain diplomats
Curio raised $2.9 million from a plethora of backers to support its development of blockchain gaming based on user-generated content. NFTs are likely to become a building block of its first game, Treaty. The round was led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from TCG Crypto, Formless Capital, Smrti Lab, Robot Ventures, and various angel investors, according to the release.
5. Animoca Brands invests in EthSign to back its new product TokenTable
The investment will help EthSign continue building its token management platform called TokenTable and launch it publicly, EthSign said Monday. Animoca Brands declined to comment on the size of the investment.
6. Cypher Capital seeks $100M+ for crypto vehicle
Cypher Capital, a Dubai-based VC firm with former Binance M&A fund head Bill Qian as chairman, plans to raise more than $100 million for a crypto-focused fund.
7. ConstitutionDAO members raise $2.8M for multi-signature wallet Den
The round, which closed early last year, is led by IDEO CoLab Ventures. Other investors include Gnosis, Lemniscap and Spice Capital, as well as angel investors such as former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan and Not Boring Capital's Packy McCormick
8. Web3 database developer Polybase raises $2M in pre-seed funding
6th Man Ventures led the round, with Filecoin developer Protocol Labs, Orange DAO, Alumni Ventures, NGC Ventures, CMT Digital and others participating, Polybase said Wednesday. The startup aims to build a web3 alternative to legacy platforms such as Google-owned Firebase and open-source databases such as Supabase and Postgres.
9. Blockchain Capital back indexer Superchain's $4M raise
The round, which closed in December, was led by Blockchain Capital. The startup also raised $1.25 million in a pre-seed round in December 2021 — which saw participation from Maven 11, KR1, Tokonomy and Fasanara — said the company in the release.
10. Galaxy Digital, PayPal lead $20M fundraise for Chaos Labs
The funding is intended to help build out and expand the suite of risk and security products for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, according to a press release.
11. Blocto crypto wallet closes Series A round at an $80M valuation
The startup would not disclose the funding amount for this round. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, IPX, and returning investor 500 Global participated in the raise, the company said in a release. Cuban's involvement with the startup was announced late last year.
12. Aptos and Outlier Ventures join forces for an accelerator program
Web3 investor Outlier Ventures is launching an in-person accelerator program sponsored by the Aptos foundation. The 12-week program is based in Palo Alto, California, and will provide startups with $100,000 in funding.
13. Kaito, a crypto search engine, has secured $5.3M in a seed round
The seed round was led by Dragonfly Capital. Participants in the round include Sequoia Capital, Jane Street, Mirana Ventures, Folius Ventures and Alpha Lab Capital, among others
14. Sequoia, Multicoin co-lead $6M funding for crypto payments startup TipLink
Sequoia Capital and Multicoin Capital co-led the round, with Solana Ventures, Circle Ventures, Paxos, and others participating, TipLink said Tuesday. Angel investors, including Vinny Lingham and Sarah Guo, also backed the round.
15. Lightspeed leads $6.4M seed round into web3 observability platform Sentio
The equity deal, which closed in September of last year also saw participation from Hashkey Capital, Canonical Crypto, Essence VC and GSR Ventures. Sentio has built an observability platform geared toward web3 and crypto projects.
16. Crypto hedge fund Galois Capital shuts down after losing $40M to FTX
In November, CoinDesk reported that Galois Capital had $40 million stuck at FTX. At the time, Zhou told his investors that it would take a few years to recover “some percentage” of the funds.
17. Binance Labs and Polychain co-lead ZK startup Polyhedra Network's $10M raise
The strategic round also saw participation from Animoca Brands and Dao5, said the company in the release. Over the past 6 months, infrastructure projects have accounted for roughly 20% of all seed deals, Block Research reported.
18. 3RM raises $3M to streamline customer relationship building in web3
The round was led by Distributed Global and also saw participation from investors including Shima Global, Big Brain Holdings, Metareal and 3SE Holdings, the company said in a release.
19. Unagi raises $5M to expand Ultimate Champions and move beyond sports
Web3 gaming company Unagi has announced a €4.7 million ($5 million) seed round of funding, as the French startup prepares to expand its NFT fantasy sports platform beyond football (“soccer”) and into the basketball realm.
20. Nefta raised a $5M seed round at a $32.5M valuation
Play Ventures led the round by injecting $2.5 million — the single largest investment from its Future Fund — Nefta said Wednesday. Other investors in the round included Polygon Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Sfermion and Picus Capital.
21. Web3 communication app secures $12.5M to go after Twitter
The seed funding featured lead investors like Insignia Venture Partners, MindWorks Capital and Signum Capital, as well as other participants like K3 Ventures and Lingfeng Innovation Fund.
22. ZK dark pool startup Renegade breaks cover with $3.4M from Dragonfly, Naval Ravikant
Renegade, a start-up building a new type of decentralized exchange, emerged from stealth with a $3.4 million seed round, led by Dragonfly Capital and former AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant.
23. Lemniscap backs $4.6M raise for infrastructure provider Gateway.fm
The seed round was led by Lemniscap. CMT Digital, the LAO DAO, Fantom Foundation and Unstoppable Domain Ventures were among the investors who participated in the raise.
24. Yield Guild Games raising $75M venture fund to double down on web3 gaming
The fund's mandate is to invest in early-stage token and equity deals in web3, gaming studios, and the infrastructure that supports the growth of the industry to benefit the Limited Partners of YGG Ventures Fund I.
25. Polychain leads ZK chip startup Cysic's $6M raise
The seed round closed in December 2022, said Leo Fan, co-founder of Cysic, in an interview with The Block. Other investors include Hashkey, SNZ Holding, ABCDE and Web3.com foundation, said the company in a release.
26. Sony eyes investment in web3 projects from around the world
Sony Group's internet services division is launching a Web3 incubation program in partnership with Astar Network and Startale Labs. The three-month program, starting in mid-March, will select 10 to 15 web3 projects globally, with mentoring and communication conducted online and a demo day in person in Tokyo.
27. Alongside has raised an $11M round led by Andreessen Horowitz
Investors in the round include Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton Investments, Village Global, and Not Boring Capital, as well as angel investors. The crypto index-focused platform startup was co-founded by Diamond and Jun Ho Hong, its head of engineering; Gauthier Le Meur, its COO; and Rai Sur, its CTO.
28. Andreessen Horowitz has led a $6M investment into Stelo
The company was co-founded by Ben Scharfstein, CEO, and Aman Dhesi, CTO. Both have backgrounds in product management — Scharfstein worked at Google, and Dhesi held roles at Facebook, DoorDash and Square.
⚖️ Policies and laws
1. Bank of Israel publishes plans for stablecoin regulation, supervision
The Bank of Israel published a consultation paper regarding the regulation of stablecoins in Israel. It suggests that its proposals are enacted in legislation. Three highlights are that algorithmic stablecoins will not be allowed, issuers may be allowed to have some central bank deposits as part of the stablecoin reserves. and Israel plans to largely adopt European regulations for supervision
2. Hong Kong plans to lift ban on retail crypto trading
The regulator is inviting industry experts to weigh in on new provisions for crypto service providers in Hong Kong, relaxing the ban on trading for retail investors. Traders may only be able to trade tokens with the largest market cap, and companies may be forced to close if they don’t meet regulatory requirements.
3. FSB says many stablecoins won’t meet its recommended standards
Today the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said that many existing stablecoins wouldn’t meet its final recommendations for global stablecoin arrangements, which it plans to release this year . The FSB also mentioned plans to publish a joint report with the IMF on supervising and regulating crypto-assets, with the IMF adding a macroeconomic perspective.
4. Canadian Crypto trading platforms face 'enhanced' rules under New Regulations
Exchanges and other platforms would have to abide by "enhanced investor protection commitments. unregistered crypto trading platforms now have 30 days to publish a revised pre-registration undertaking. Companies that cannot or will not comply are "expected" to offload Canadian users and block the jurisdiction.
5. ECB expects bank compliance with crypto Basel rules before legislation
The European Central Bank published a summary of the Basel Committee’s rules for crypto-assets that were released in December 2022. The Basel Committee set a January 2025 deadline for jurisdictions to adopt the crypto-asset rules. It found that less than 20% of banks are using distributed ledger technology solutions.
6. Reserve Bank of India’s global hackathon targets CBDC, blockchain scalability
The event has a four-pronged focus, including use cases for its retail CBDC and blockchain scalability. The NPCI is supporting the hackathon. Registration runs from February 22, with proposals due by March 24. The first prize is Rupees 4 million ($48,000), with winners to be announced mid-August.
📚 Reports, here is the TLDR
This report explains how 2022’s cryptocurrency sanctions designations affected crypto crime and provides insights and analysis on trends, latest tactics, and patterns in cryptocurrency-related crimes, such as:
Ransomware
Money Laundering
Stolen Funds
Oracle Manipulation Attacks
Darknet Markets
Scams
Pump and Dump Tokens
📈 Charts of the week
Datonomy™ — A digital assets classification system.
💡Metaverse and NFT news, trends, and insights
1. Dapper Labs' NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs are securities, federal judge rules
A securities lawsuit against Dapper Labs can move forward after a federal judge said NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs satisfy the legal requirements to be considered securities.
2. Blur pushes second crypto airdrop to keep NFT traders off OpenSea
Blur, an NFT marketplace, plans to airdrop around 300 million BLUR, worth $292.6 million, to its users in what it calls "Season 2". Blur's move is seen as a bid to rival OpenSea by using incentives and low-fee trades. Blur's native token BLUR is up by 25% in the last seven days but still 80% below its all-time high.
3. NFT project 0N1 Force bought out by group including former Binance, YGG execs
The anime NFT collection 0N1 Force was bought out by a consortium of investors, led by blockchain investment firm Old Fashion Research.
4. Ordinals NFTs can make stacks’ STX a multibillion-dollar token
A report by Matrixport suggests that Ordinals, a protocol that stores NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, could drive STX, the native token of the Stacks Network, into a billion-dollar token. The Stacks Network's ability to leverage the Bitcoin blockchain's security positions it well for developing Bitcoin DeFi.
5. eBay-owned NFT platform KnownOrigin automate royalties for artists
KnownOrigin, an NFT platform owned by eBay, has launched a new feature called "Creator Smart Contract" that automates the royalty process for creators. The feature ensures that creators receive a percentage of future sales, even if the NFT is sold on a secondary market, and can help support artists who want to earn a steady income from their work.
🔦Company spotlight
The company: 👉 Orchid 👈 uses Web 3.0 technology to offer users better digital privacy today, so they can realize the promise of Web 1.0 and explore freely again. Orchid is a platform that enables an onion routing network incentivized by OXT and a multi-hop VPN client. The Orchid community believes in Open Source software and that Orchid can enable a brighter, freer, and empowered future.
The story: Orchid was founded in 2017 to help restore the open and accessible Internet for everyone. Since then, we have grown an incredible team based in San Francisco and Berlin and launched the first incentivized, peer-to-peer privacy network in December 2019.
Why should I care: As the Internet grew, exploring freely became harder. Web 2.0 business models incentivized companies to watch and track us and sell our data. And in some places, limits were placed on the information we can see. But that is changing. The decentralized Web 3.0 being built on Ethereum is allowing the Internet to be reclaimed by its users. Orchid’s mission is privacy, and privacy is a human right.
📅 Blockchain, Crypto, and Web3 events calendar
….for the next couple of months
February 2023
Solana Melbourne Hacker House | Feb 20-24, 2023 | Melbourne, Australia
Global Digital Assets Investment Summit | Feb 22-23, 2023 | Hong Kong
DeFi Retreat Europe | Feb 23, 2023 | Lisbon, Portugal.
NFT Paris 2023 | Feb 24-25, 2023 | Paris, France
ETHDenver | Feb 24-Mar 5, 2023 | Denver, CO, USA
Blockchain Economy London Summit 2023 | Feb 27-28, 2023 | London, UK
Interop Summit | Feb 27-28, 2023 | Denver, CO, USA
Blockchain Life | Feb 27-28, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Miami Web3 Week | Feb 27-Mar 5, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
March 2023
Web3 Toronto Summit 2023 | Mar 1-2, 2023 | Toronto, Canada
Supermoon Tower ETH Denver | Mar 1-3, 2023 | Denver, CO, USA
Advancing Bitcoin Conference | Mar 2-3, 2023 | London, UK
Crypto, Blockchain & Metaverse Expo | Mar 3-4, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
🆕 The Blockchain & Youth Summit | Mar 5-6, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Saudi Meta Show | Mar 8, 2023 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Empower: Energizing Bitcoin 2023 | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Houston, TX, USA
Crypto Expo Dubai | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Blockchaincon Latam 2023 | Mar 9-11, 2023 | Lima, Peru
World Digital Assets Investment Summit | Mar 10-11, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Arts DAO Fest | Mar 11, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Women In Blockchain Summit | Mar 13-15, 2023 | Limassol, Cyprus
Blockchain & Fintech Week Tel Aviv | Mar 13-15, 2023 | Tel Aviv, Israel
Sustex - Blockchain for Climate | Mar 15-16, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
ETHDubai | Mar 15-16, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Solana Hacker House | Mar 15-19, 2023 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Virtuality Web3 Summit | Mar 16-17, 2023 | Paris, France
Blockchain Africa Conference | Mar 16-17, 2023 | Johannesburg, South Africa
ETH Porto | Mar 16-18, 2023 | Porto, Portugal
5th Blockchain Int’l Scientific Conference | Mar 18, 2023 | Manchester, UK
Crypto Expo Europe | Mar 19-21, 2023 | Bucharest, Romania
NFT LA | Mar 20-23, 2023 | Los Angeles, USA
FOMO Asia Genesis Conference | Mar 20-23, 2023 | Hong Kong
Paris Blockchain Week 2023 | Mar 20-24, 2023 | Paris, France
DC Blockchain Summit | Mar 21, 2023 | Washington, DC
Art Basel | Mar 23-25, 2023 | Hong Kong
Nigeria Bitcoin Conference | Mar 24-25, 2023 | Lagos, Nigeria
American Metaverse Summit | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
WOW Summit Hong Kong 2023 | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Hong Kong
Crypto Assets Conference 2023 | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Frankfurt, Germany
Miami NFT Week | Mar 30-Apr 2, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
April 2023
Pantera Blockchain Summit | Apr 3-4, 2023 | San Francisco, CA, USA
NFT.NYC 2023 | Apr 12-14, 2023 | New York, USA
DAO Tokyo | Apr 13, 2023 | Tokyo, Japan
ETHGlobal Tokyo | Apr 14-16, 2023 | Tokyo, Japan
EthereumZuri.ch | Apr 14-16, 2023 | Zurich, Switzerland
Bitcoin Alive 2023 | Apr 15, 2023 | Sydney, Australia
🆕 HYFI Conference 2023 | Apr 20, 2023 | Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
🆕 Sol.Ladies Build Hacker House | Apr 20-24, 2023 | Austin, TX, USA
👩💻The job fair
Onyx by J.P. Morgan : Multiple roles, Greece
Consensys : Senior technical Product Manager, Remote/USA
Consensys : Senior Product Manager Commercial Platform, Remote/USA
Aldrin : Devops Engineer, Remote/UK
Nascent : Trader, Liquid Strategies, Remote
📚The term of the week
Block Explorer: short for “Blockchain explorer,” a Block Explorer is a web-based tool that allows an individual to search for information on a Blockchain. Although functionality varies among the different Block Explorers, typically they allow searches relating to the Blocks that exist within a particular Blockchain (e.g., the creation date and size of a Block, or the transactions and corresponding Addresses contained within such Block), as well as specific transaction identification numbers and Addresses.
📎 Miscellaneous Resources
The opinions are our own. The content of this newsletter is not intended to serve as financial advice and is for general informational and educational purposes only. We do not warrant, endorse, or assume responsibility for the accuracy of any information offered by the third-party websites linked above.