Zebeth Media Solutions

Crypto

FTX exposure hits market makers and funds • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, enigma, FTX, hedge funds, WintermuteNo Comments on FTX exposure hits market makers and funds • ZebethMedia

The collapse of FTX is swiftly draining money from the crypto economy: Information reviewed by ZebethMedia indicates that market makers and funds that lost money on the exchange, until recently one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, are more numerous than previously anticipated — and some might be in conversations with creditors soon. Dozens of market makers and fund managers in an invite-only Telegram chat responded to a poll titled “my/my firms [sic] current exposure to FTX.” ZebethMedia reviewed the results from the 147-member chat, dubbed “FTX creditors private.” Among the 70 respondents, 66% said they lost $25 million or less, 7% indicated that they lost between $25 million and $50 million, 6% lost $50 to $100 million, and 1% reported FTX-related losses of between $100 million and $500 million. The remaining 20% declined to provide a sketch of their potential losses, according to private documents reviewed by ZebethMedia. Who is in the cohort? “Anyone who was a big player was on FTX,” a source close to the matter said. “You couldn’t have a credible market-making business if you weren’t on that platform.” There are a few members of the chat who have spoken publicly, but the majority of the firms in the group have not gone public with their losses, the source said. “There’s a lot of funds out there who haven’t reported what they lost. There’s going to be a lot of contagion.” If the FTX collapse is anything like what happened with crypto exchange Mt. Gox (which was hacked and then filed for bankruptcy), what will result will be a long, drawn-out court case in which depositors try to recoup their losses. But some members of the chat are also exploring opportunities to sell claims of their FTX accounts. Individuals in the chat asked others if they’ve been able to sell their accounts over the counter, according to messages seen by ZebethMedia. Enigma Securities is looking to buy claims of individual or company accounts, according to group members. Enigma is a Financial Conduct Authority-registered crypto asset facilitator for liquidity, banking relations and custody solutions. “Enigma is looking to buy claims >10m via a Dutch auction as soon as this week. I can make an intro if anyone is interested,” one group member wrote on Tuesday.

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More reasons than ever to go to TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments on More reasons than ever to go to TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

We can’t think of a more exciting moment in time to host TC Sessions: Crypto — it opens tomorrow, November 17, in Miami. The past two weeks have been a wild roller-coaster ride — to say the least — and there’s not a better place to unpack everything that’s happened. Be in the room: Buy your pass right now to see and hear the latest developments and analysis live and in person. It’s also the perfect place to recalibrate expectations about what the future of the cryptoverse might hold. You’ll hear directly from leading experts like: Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO, OpenSea Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO, Alchemy Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, founder and CEO, Binance Need more reasons to attend? Listen up. It’s seriously now o’clock for founders and developers to make sure you know how to keep your dream funded, secure your work and ensure that you can continue to grow at scale. Check out just some of the day’s panel discussions, and be sure to check out the full agenda. Keeping the Web3 Dream Funded, with Chris Ahn (Haun Ventures) and Tom Schmidt (Dragonfly) Crypto’s on Fire but Devs Are Still Building, with Nikil Viswanathan Securing Web3, with Pratima Arora (Chainalysis), Kathleen Breitman (Tezos) and Pascal Gauthier (Ledger) But wait, there’s more! You’ll learn plenty from our partners, who offer a range of essential topics: Bringing DeFi to the Masses: How Do We Make DeFi a Seamless, Easy Reality for Millions of Users Who Aren’t Crypto Experts? with Zenobia Godschalk (Swirlds Labs) and Mina Khattak (Worldpay). Sponsored by Hedera. Creating a True, User-Led Metaverse, with Chris Jones (MetaJuice), Natalia Mazzuchelli (ImmutableX) and Alex Mogul (Republic Crypto). Sponsored by MetaJuice. Keeping It Legal, with Wilson Sonsini attorneys Amy Caiazza, Jonathan Chan, Neel Maitra and Scott McKinney. Sponsored by Wilson Sonsini. Robo-taxis in the Metaverse with Siraj Raval (Polygon Technology). Sponsored by Polygon. Someone Stole Your Bitcoin…Now What? with Connor Murray (Bitcoin Association for BSV and True Reviews). Sponsored by Bitcoin Association for BSV. The Future of Finance with Colin Butler (Polygon Technology). Sponsored by Polygon. On top of all that, connecting with great colleagues and developing new business relationships is one of the best ways to weather uncertain times. You’ll have time to meet old friends and make new connections at the expo hall, during breakout sessions, in the networking zone or over drinks at our after party. TC Sessions: Crypto takes place on November 17 in Miami. This is one of the most pivotal points in crypto history: Don’t miss your chance to hear the current analysis and learn what you need to do — now — to keep your crypto dreams on track. Buy your pass today and be in the room tomorrow! Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

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Join Bitcoin Association for BSV and Polygon at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in BSV, Crypto, Polygon, Startups, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments on Join Bitcoin Association for BSV and Polygon at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

It’s time for another shout-out to recognize more of our partner companies that are dedicating their time and resources to make TC Sessions: Crypto — taking place tomorrow on November 17 in Miami — an awesome experience for everyone. The cure for FOMO: Buy your pass right now to keep your fingers on the pulse of the dynamic cryptoverse. ZebethMedia partners do a whole lot more than just cut a check. They show up and deliver relevant content, resources and expertise to help early-stage startup founders build better and stronger companies. You’ll find that holds true at TC Sessions: Crypto, too. Check out our other partners, and be sure to explore the full agenda. Today we’re highlighting breakout sessions from two companies — Bitcoin Association for BSV and Polygon. Let’s take a look at what they’re bringing to the startup table. Someone Stole Your Bitcoin…Now What? As high-profile crypto and NFT thefts continue to haunt wary investors, who are already navigating a harsh crypto winter, robust security developments are growing increasingly more important. Fortunately for investors and business owners alike, there is finally a way to protect digital assets against the worst-case scenario. This session with Connor Murray — content creator for the Blockchain Academy SV and co-founder and CEO of True Reviews — will cover how, for the first time ever, Bitcoin can be frozen and recovered through the Digital Asset Recovery (DAR) Process. The process makes it possible for property rights to be enforced and to recover stolen or lost Bitcoin. Learn how this is the first, crucial step toward safeguarding all digital assets against theft and scams within the rule of law, how investors can use this tool, and how platforms can easily adopt this process to better protect users.Sponsored by Bitcoin Association for BSV. Robotaxis in the Metaverse How does autonomous transportation operate in the metaverse? In this session — led by Siraj Raval, a developer educator at Polygon — we’ll build an autonomous car in a simulated environment using computer vision and path-planning algorithms. Next, we’ll integrate a Polygon wallet with the car so that the car can extend its autonomy to not only drive itself, but to also pay for its own repairs, maintenance and upgrades. Sponsored by Polygon. The Future of Finance In this session, Colin Butler, Polygon Technology’s Global Head of Institutional Capital, will discuss why DeFi remains superior to CeFi, how Polygon is empowering DeFi developers and Polygon’s approach to tackle liquidity and new users via partnerships with Stripe, Robinhood, Nubank and many more. Sponsored by Polygon. TC Sessions: Crypto takes place on November 17 in Miami. Don’t miss your opportunity to connect with our partners and to tap into the tech, trends and controversy spanning the blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi, NFT and web3 cryptoverse. Buy your ticket today! Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.  

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Meet the startups competing at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, Galaxy Ventures, Gradient Ventures, pitch-off, Startups, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments on Meet the startups competing at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

We’re thrilled to announce the three early-stage startups that will take the stage and go head-to-head in the pitch competition at TC Sessions: Crypto — this Thursday, November 17, in Miami. There’s still time to be in the room. Buy your pass right now to watch these founders square off in front of a live audience. They’ll have to work hard to impress our expert VC judges — Wen-Wen Lam, partner, Gradient Ventures and Will Nuelle, general partner, Galaxy Ventures. While all three startups will receive invaluable exposure to investors and media, only one will win the glory and earn an automatic place in the Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2023. ZebethMedia handpicks a cohort of 200 early-stage startups to receive a VIP experience that includes, for starters, exhibiting all three days of the show — for free — plus a shot at winning $100,000. Al right, let’s get to it. Here are the three startup contenders who are prepped and ready to compete in the TC Sessions: Crypto pitch-off. As if a pitch competition isn’t enough of a draw, consider this. At a time when convulsions in the cryptoverse have created serious uncertainty, there’s no better time or place to tap into the latest thinking and analysis from the leaders across blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi, NFT and web3. Just for starters, you’ll hear from: Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO, Coinbase Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO, OpenSea Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, founder and CEO, Binance And you do not want to miss the ZebethMedia Chain Reaction podcast — recorded live onstage. You can bet our hosts will have plenty to say about the fallout of recent events and thoughts on what comes next. TC Sessions: Crypto takes place on November 17 in Miami. Don’t miss your chance to witness a crypto pitch-off, hear the current thinking from the industry’s top leaders, gain analytical insight, and network for opportunities to grow your business.  Buy your pass today, and we’ll see you in Miami. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

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Matter Labs, the company behind zkSync, raises $200 million to scale Ethereum • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, ethereum, L2, matter labs, zkSyncNo Comments on Matter Labs, the company behind zkSync, raises $200 million to scale Ethereum • ZebethMedia

Matter Labs has raised a $200 million Series C funding round co-led by Blockchain Capital and Dragonfly. Matter Labs is better known for its work on zkSync, an Ethereum scaling solution that drastically reduces the cost of Ethereum transactions. LightSpeed Venture Partners, Variant and Andreessen Horowitz are also participating in the Series C round. Overall, Matter Labs has raised $458 million, including a $200 million ecosystem fund to foster zkSync adoption. It’s quite a large sum of money, which means that the company will be able to iterate on zkSync for a while even though we still don’t know the full aftermath of the collapse of FTX. Over the past couple of years, the biggest pain point with Ethereum transactions has been gas fees. In Ethereum lingo, gas fees are transaction fees. Every time you want to send some crypto assets on the Ethereum blockchain, you have to pay some gas fees. And those gas fees aren’t variable. If you try to send $10 worth of Ethereum or $10 billion, you will pay the same amount in gas fees. Those fees vary depending on network demand. But it can be quite discouraging if you’re getting started with cryptos or want to use your cryptocurrencies for small transactions. Many teams have been working on ways to solve this issue. They think that some transactions shouldn’t happen on the main Ethereum blockchain (the Layer 1). That’s what we call Layer 2 solutions. zkSync is one of those L2 solutions that have been gaining traction in the crypto ecosystem. Essentially, transactions are sent to Layer 2 nodes so that they can be processed and batched together. When there are enough transactions, a group of transactions is submitted to the main Ethereum blockchain. Once it’s on the main Ethereum blockchain, these transactions can’t be altered. zkSync is a zero-knowledge rollup implementation, meaning that validity proofs are generated based on hundreds of transactions and then posted to the main Ethereum blockchain. That’s the main security advantage as Layer 2 transactions can’t be altered because they won’t comply with the validity proof. zkSync’s latest release is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This way, decentralized app developers can make their apps compatible with zkSync with minimum work. And Matter Labs plans to open source zkSync 2.0 through an MIT Open Source license at some point in Q4 2022. So far, 150 projects have been using zkSync in one way or another. For instance, Chainlink, SushiSwap, Uniswap, Aave, Argent, 1inch, Gnosis and Curve have been implementing zkSync in their products. Ethereum scaling solutions are going to be incredibly important to make the crypto ecosystem truly decentralized. There are many reasons why centralized exchanges like FTX exist. They let you convert fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies. But many people also use these exchanges for crypto-to-crypto transactions. Projects like zkSync will make crypto transactions easy, secure and affordable even without using a centralized exchange.

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Coinbase CEO dives into market madness at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in brian armstrong, coinbase, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments on Coinbase CEO dives into market madness at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

The past few weeks have been extremely volatile for the crypto market, but that isn’t stopping some of the biggest players from moving forward. Coinbase is the second largest crypto exchange by volume, and FTX, the third largest crypto exchange, was just dethroned. We’ll deep dive into Coinbase CEO and co-founder, Brian Armstrong’s thoughts on the FTX collapse, regulation and stability of the crypto industry, and a whole lot more when he joins us virtually onstage at ZebethMedia Sessions: Crypto on Thursday, November 17. This year, Coinbase also launched initiatives like its NFT marketplace in hopes of attracting new audiences and politician scorecards to educate American customers about members of Congress’ crypto friendliness. In 2021, Coinbase went public on Nasdaq and hit all-time highs around $353 per share, but has since fallen 86% to about $56 per share, according to current price data. Armstrong is a former Airbnb software engineer and co-founded Coinbase 10 years ago in San Francisco with former currency trader Fred Ehrsam, who left the company in 2017. TC Sessions: Crypto takes place on November 17 in Miami. This is one of the most pivotal points in crypto history — don’t miss your chance to hear the current analysis and learn what you need to do to keep your crypto business on track. Buy your pass today to be in the room and in the know. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

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Yakoa raises $4.8M to help detect NFT fraud for platforms and creators • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, crypto ecosystem, funding, NFT, startupNo Comments on Yakoa raises $4.8M to help detect NFT fraud for platforms and creators • ZebethMedia

Yakoa, an NFT fraud detection startup, has raised $4.8 million to build tools to fight intellectual property fraud in web3, the company exclusively told ZebethMedia. One of the most common attacks Yakoa sees is people making copies of NFTs and claiming them as their own work, Andrew Dworschak, co-founder of the startup, said. Yakoa provides tools and an indexer that detects copies or infringement probabilities on original NFTs, ranging from direct forgery to partial or stylistic forgery, which will then notify platforms, brands or creators of these fraudulent activities. The funding round was led by Collab+Currency, Volt Capital, and Brevan Howard Digital with participation from Data Community Fund, Alliance DAO, Uniswap Labs Ventures, Orange DAO, Time Zero Capital, gmjp, Sunset Ventures and FAST by GETTYLAB, as well as angel investors. The capital will be used to grow its machine learning and data engineering teams internally, according to Graham Robinson, co-founder of Yakoa. The platform identifies an NFT’s first existence across a number of blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Polygon and more. “In terms of blockchains, having every blockchain is on our road map,” Dworschak said. “The belief we have is it doesn’t matter where you mint IP or publish an address, what matters is that it’s publicly verifiable.” Anyone can make “a quick buck off of anyone,” Dworschak noted. “It’s really hard to protect against this stuff ’cause there’s so many assets. In some cases [fraudsters are] photoshopping and cropping or changing colors, when they’re really using someone else’s IP.” “When we’re doing an attribution search, we’re trying to figure out where an asset might be derived from and give as much information as we can,” Dworschak said. “Two assets can be similar and not fraudulent and that’s completely appropriate. There’s a lot of edge cases we need to be aware of and other ones that pop up in a similar vein and some use cases we take on as a platform and give people the chance to record their opinion.” “The entire ecosystem is open and we want to continue to make sure it stays that way,” Robinson said. “We’re trying to create the tools for the industry to use and they can use it in their environment.” The name Yakoa came from the saying, “A-OKAY,” but backward, Dworschak said. “When you’re using the blockchain, you want to make sure it’s ‘A-OKAY,’ so that’s why we named it that.” Today, the NFT market has “already demonstrated a lot of potential,” Dworschak said. “It has created types of assets not bound to a specific platform that allows creators to publish their assets and trade them freely across platforms. It’s a brand new method of commerce and it’ll spill over to what’s unimaginable today.” Long-term, fraud protection will be something that can run in the backend for platforms, Robinson said. “There’s a bunch of services that can start from this IP protection.”

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Long live the vibe capitalist! • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Crypto, diversity, EC Cryptocurrency, EC News Analysis, EC venture capital, FTX Bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried, Startups, VentureNo Comments on Long live the vibe capitalist! • ZebethMedia

Last week, many investors were left with egg on their faces after FTX’s valuation went from $32 billion to zero in a New York minute. VCs were left wondering, “What the hell happened?” And they’re still wondering, “Wait — did I do something wrong? Is it me?” Why yes, actually, it is you. People are led to believe that, for the most part, investors are clear-eyed, data-driven people who carefully explore the financial underpinnings of the companies they invest in. There is little room for emotions like jealousy or the fear of missing out (FOMO). Of course not. And these people investing billions of dollars surely have their eye on the ball, right? Well, not exactly. In a surprisingly honest tweet today, former SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure, who stepped down in late January after a reported battle over pay, had this to say about the FTX fiasco: I have been reflecting personally on the whole FTX fiasco and it taught me one more time that we should NEVER invest because of FOMO and we should always 100% understand what we are investing in. I totally failed here on both. — Marcelo Claure (@marceloclaure) November 12, 2022 This is from the same guy whose former firm also invested significant money in WeWork, another spectacular example of poor judgment on the part of investors. Steve Jobs once said, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.” At the time, Jobs was talking about building products, but evidently, this also applies to the people funding the startup ecosystem. While it’s good that Claure was so open, honest and reflective, perhaps we should all remember that investors are not any smarter than anyone else. They’re human after all, and their classic lack of self-awareness combined with venture enthusiasts’ myopia is perhaps the problem. Most investors and the founders in whom they invest are white men, and you get double points if you went to Stanford, Harvard, or MIT. These folks are handed the mantle of genius in all that they do and touch. The next Warren Buffet is rarely if ever, predicted to be a Black man.

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Binance’s CEO isn’t sweating the FTX implosion • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on Posted in Binance, Crypto, EC Cryptocurrency, EC News Analysis, FTX Bankruptcy, ftx binance, StartupsNo Comments on Binance’s CEO isn’t sweating the FTX implosion • ZebethMedia

The crypto market is trying to pick up the pieces after it was thrown into massive disarray last week when the previously third-largest crypto exchange, FTX, imploded and filed for bankruptcy. “It’s obvious that people are jittery, interested and somewhat nervous about what’s happening in the industry,” Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, CEO of the largest crypto exchange Binance, said during a Twitter Space on Monday. “I want to say, short-term it is painful. But, I think this is good for the industry long-term.” Zhao acknowledged that a lot of people lost money recently and many still have money stuck with FTX, so “there will be pain.” But he hinted that market conditions should improve down the line. “The industry is not going away and the other strong industry players are now even stronger,” he said. Last week, a number of crypto exchanges, including Binance, Crypto.com, KuCoin and OKX said they would begin publishing proof-of-reserves in an effort to reassure customers and investors that their funds are safe in the wake of the FTX debacle. Last week, Zhao emphasized the importance of transparency, tweeting, “All crypto exchanges should do merkle-tree proof-of-reserves.” Proof-of-reserves (PoR) are independent audits by third parties that aim to provide transparency and evidence that a custodian holds the assets it claims to own on behalf of its clients. These exchanges join other crypto businesses like Gemini, BitGo, and Paxos, to name a few, which have used PoR for many years to prove billions of dollars in value, Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, told ZebethMedia on Friday. “Now we’re increasing transparency in the industry, we’re increasing security in the industry, and we’re increasing communications with regulators all around the world,” Zhao said today. “I think five years later, when we look back at this, the industry will be stronger.”

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