crypto markets

Framework Ventures co-founder says DeFi gives hope following FTX collapse • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 11, 2022Posted in Crypto, crypto markets, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, FTX, investing, VCs, Venture CapitalistsNo Comments

FTX’s downfall will heighten the need for regulation but also pique long-term interest from venture capitalists looking to invest in decentralized finance (DeFi), according to Michael Anderson, co-founder of Framework Ventures. “It just seems obvious that DeFi is the only way that we can continue to do these types of financial services operations in the crypto ecosystem,” Anderson said to ZebethMedia. “It gives us hope and strengthens our resolve that the things we’re pushing for are the right things to be working on.” In April, Framework Ventures launched its third fund at $400 million, with about half of it earmarked for web3 gaming. Anywhere from half to 70% of pitches the firm gets are gaming-related companies, Anderson said. But the recent situation with FTX has the firm “doubling and tripling down on everything we believe in,” which includes DeFi and regulation of centralized finance (CeFi). And while some firms like Multicoin have seemingly lost capital stored on FTX’s crypto exchange, Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, said the firm had no exposure. “Regulation is not something we should be against or preventing,” Anderson said. “Sensible regulation makes sense and now that [former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried] has been removed from the table, we can move forward and get more vocal about centralized finance versus DeFi and the pros and cons of each.”

Here’s the rundown on the Binance and FTX fiasco • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 7, 2022Posted in Binance, Crypto, crypto markets, cryptocurrency, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, FTX, marketsNo Comments

The largest crypto exchange by volume (Binance) and the third largest crypto exchange by volume (FTX) faced off in recent days after Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao tweeted that his exchange would slowly withdraw billions of its holdings in FTX’s native token, FTT, “due to recent revelations that have came to light.” But first, let’s take a few steps back. Concerns surrounding FTX’s liquidity grew following a Thursday report from CoinDesk about the balance sheet of Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm once run by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Alameda holds $14.6 billion in assets with $8 billion in liabilities as of June 30, CoinDesk reported. The report showed Alameda’s largest asset was about $3.66 billion of “unlocked FTT” and $2.16 billion of “FTT collateral.” (FTT is the token behind FTX.) This means the $5.82 billion in total FTT that Alameda owns is equal to 193% of the total known FTT market cap, which is about $3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. Image Credits: CryptoQuant (opens in a new window) “The issue is that Alameda cannot sell even small amounts of their FTT holdings without heavily impacting the price,” Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at the publicly listed digital asset broker GlobalBlock, said in a note. “Data from CryptoQuant […] tells us that there are only around 200-300 active addresses trading the FTT token, which is very small in comparison to many other large caps. Hence, large sell orders would crash the FTT price, due to being illiquid.”

Alchemy, Ava Labs and BlockFi break down funding in a bear market at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 21, 2022Posted in Alchemy, BlockFi, Crypto, crypto markets, cryptocurrencies, Fintech, Flori Marquez, Nikil Viswanathan, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments

Bears hibernate during the coldest months, but there’s nowhere to hide from a bear market during a crypto winter. As the entire sector faces what looks to be a long stretch of uncertainty, young founders must find a way to keep the funds flowing. But how? This timely topic is why we’re thrilled that industry veterans Flori Marquez, founder and COO at BlockFi; Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO at Alchemy; and John Wu, president of Ava Labs, will join us onstage for a panel discussion called “Fundraising in Crypto Winter” at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17 in Miami. If anyone understands the highs, lows and overall volatility of the crypto market, it’s the three people on this panel. Marquez’s BlockFi recently signed a deal giving FTX US the option to buy the crypto lender she founded. Viswanathan’s Alchemy, one of the fastest-growing companies in technology history, raised a $200 million Series C1 last February, giving the web3 developer infrastructure startup a valuation just north of $10 billion. Meanwhile, Wu’s Ava Labs is reportedly raising a $350 million funding round and looking at a potential valuation of slightly more than $5 billion. It’s a wild season for bulls and bears alike. We’re curious to hear the panel’s take on how fundraising, cap tables and valuations have shifted given the market conditions — and whether startups will see recovery within the near term. We’ll also ask these founders what they’re focused on when it comes to investing in crypto startups or projects, and which subsectors have the most opportunity for growth in a bear market. Learning how these three operators built and scaled their own startups through previous turbulent cycles in the crypto markets will be informative. Both Marquez and Wu entered crypto with traditional finance backgrounds while Viswanathan comes from Big Tech. Hearing how fundraising in the crypto space differs from those worlds — and how it has evolved from prior bear markets — will also be a worthwhile perspective. Don’t miss what’s sure to be a fascinating and valuable discussion. Flori Marquez, BlockFi founder and COO, oversees the company’s operations, client service, people, engineering and retail product teams. Since founding the company with Zac Prince in 2017, Marquez has built and managed critical functions, including the trading, risk, compliance and marketing teams. Marquez has spent her career managing alternative lending products. She served as head of portfolio management — and helped build, scale and optimize a $125 million portfolio — at Bond Street (acquired by Goldman Sachs). She managed all operations from point of origination through default and litigation. Prior to Bond Street, Marquez helped develop and maintain institutional partnerships at Oak Hill Advisors, a $30 billion fixed-income asset manager. Nikil Viswanathan is the co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, a leading blockchain developer platform valued at more than $10 billion. The company is backed by top investors, including Coatue, a16z, Lightspeed, Silver Lake, Pantera and many more. Viswanathan received his BS and MS in computer science from Stanford, and formerly worked in product management at Google, Microsoft and Facebook. A serial entrepreneur, Viswanathan co-created the social app Down To Lunch, and he was listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. As president of Ava Labs, John Wu aims to open up financial services and products for everyone. He brings more than 20 years of expertise as a fintech executive and technology investor to creating a blockchain-enabled solution for originating, issuing and trading financial assets. Previously, Wu built and led the digital assets business at SharesPost, where he served as CEO of the Digital Assets Group. Prior to that, he was a technology investor and the founder of Sureview Capital, a global hedge fund backed by the Blackstone Group. Wu began his investment career at Tiger Management before managing a global technology portfolio at Kingdon Capital. He received his MBA from Harvard University and holds a BS in economics from Cornell University. TC Sessions: Crypto takes place on November 17 in Miami. Take advantage of our Early Bird pricing and save $150. Buy your pass today, and then join the leading voices and visionaries in the blockchain, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Crypto VC deals continue drop as activity follows bearish market prices • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 11, 2022Posted in Crypto, Crypto Economy, crypto markets, cryptocurrencies, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, investors, Startups, venture capitalNo Comments

Venture capital deal flow into cryptocurrency startups is going in the same direction as the cryptocurrency market cap: down. The total crypto market cap has fallen almost 59% from about $2.25 trillion at the beginning of the year to $923 billion at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap data. “Deal activity tracks very closely to the crypto market cap,” Robert Le, fintech analyst at PitchBook, said to ZebethMedia. “It’s a little bit of a lag, but if you overlay the crypto market cap to the amount of venture capital going into the space by quarter or month, it tracks closely.” In the past two quarters, global crypto VC deal activity fell from all-time highs of $10.87 billion in the first quarter to $7.63 billion in the second quarter and $4.44 billion in the third quarter, according to PitchBook data as of October 3. The last time the total deal size was this low was in the first quarter of 2021, when the total was $3.46 billion. “The deal count went down a lot,” Le said. “What you’re seeing is that the crypto companies that are getting investments are getting a bigger share compared to last year.” Basically, investors are putting more money into smaller bets and companies or projects they feel “higher conviction” for, Le said.