cryptocurrencies

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

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 15, 2022Posted in brian armstrong, coinbase, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments

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.

Last day to save with early-bird passes to TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 7, 2022Posted in blockchain, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, founders, NFTs, Startups, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022, TechCrunch Events 2022, web3No Comments

We’re less than two weeks away from kicking off TC Sessions: Crypto in Magic City on November 17. Yep, that’s Miami’s official nickname. Who knew? But listen up, crypto fans, because the bit of magic we call our early-bird special is about to perform a disappearing act in less than 24 hours – 11:59pm PST on November 7 to be exact. Don’t watch $150 in savings vanish before your eyes. Buy your pass now and avoid the price hike. Then use that extra cash to deck yourself out Miami Vice style — no socks required — and join the blockchain, crypto, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities to conjure up your own brand of magic. Check out the power-packed event agenda. It’s grown to be an impressive day all around — with more than 15 early-stage startups exhibiting on-site, and interviews and panel discussion featuring the sector’s top leaders, creators and investors. Folks like Binance’s Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, FTX Ventures’ Amy Wu, OpenSea’s Devin Finzer, Sequoia Capital’s Michelle Bailhe Fradin, Yuga Labs’ Nicole Muniz and many more. Whether you want to connect and collaborate with founders or investors or hire students determined to build the future generations of the cryptoverse, the networking at this event will be world-class. Expand your network and drive your business forward. Beyond the interviews, panel discussions and exhibition floor, you’ll also find a live podcast recording of Chain Reaction. Join the ZebethMedia crypto team as they dive into lively discussions on the latest blockchain news, drama and trends. And, in true ZebethMedia tradition, we’ll have a pitch-off — crypto style. Don’t miss the industry’s brightest entrepreneurs as they take the stage in front of a live audience and a panel of experts — including Galaxy Ventures’ Will Nuelle, Gradient Ventures’ Wen-Wen Lam, and Lux Capital’s Grace Isford — to pitch their revolutionary technologies. Don’t miss your chance to make magic happen. Buy an early-bird ticket today — while you still can — and crank up the heat with us at TC Sessions: Crypto in Miami on November 17. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Bitwise, Paradigm and Perkins Coie talk regs at TC Sessions: Crypto

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 5, 2022Posted in bitwise investments, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Securities and Exchange Commission, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022, TechCrunch Events 2022, VentureNo Comments

Crypto entities ranging from major exchanges to small projects are on the road to stateside regulation. Whether it comes through the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, many actors in the space are looking for concrete future guidance on how to build compliant businesses in an emerging sector while navigating rules built for traditional finance. And, while crypto founders and investors know regulation is inevitable, they’re also looking to find the sweetest deal possible as they try to influence policymakers. It’s a challenging balance — enough regulation to protect retail investors from a hostile environment but not so much that it stifles the crypto sector’s growth and future innovation in the space. This regulatory tug-of-war is just one reason why we’re thrilled that Katherine Dowling, general counsel and chief compliance officer at Bitwise Asset Management; Sarah Shtylman, partner at Perkins Coie; and Justin Slaughter, policy director at Paradigm, will join us for a session called, “Is Crypto Regulation Ready” at TC Sessions: Crypto in Miami on November 17. We’ll discuss whether or not there’s been an increase in institutional adoption and how the regulatory framework might impact adoption going forward. Given the frustration over the lack of clarity in regulatory guidance, we’ll ask Dowling, Shtylman and Slaughter how legal crypto firms and counsels advise clients to navigate the present landscape while still operating in a compliant way. Dowling brings a unique perspective to the table, having experience working both in private equity firms and as a federal prosecutor in the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Shtylman brings deep knowledge of fintech and blockchain and Slaughter brings legal and advisory experience in both the public and private sectors. We’ll dive into the latest insights on how emerging regulatory frameworks will affect the digital asset industry and get their take on whether we can expect to see clarity on this in the U.S. by the end of the year. Prior to joining Bitwise, Dowling served in general counsel, CCO and COO roles at several financial and private equity firms. She also co-founded Luminate Capital Partners, where she held positions as GP, managing director and COO. A Harvard Law graduate, Dowling spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, most recently in the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where she worked with the FBI, SEC, IRS and other agencies to prosecute insider trading, fraud and money laundering cases, among others. She also serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations. As a partner at Perkins Coie, Sarah Shtylman focuses on the fintech and blockchain industries. The clients she advises range from entrepreneurs and startups to big tech and regulated financial institutions. Shtylman counsels on a variety of regulatory, commercial, compliance and product development projects — including NFTs, regulated digital asset platforms, in-game currencies and payment services integrations. Shtylman has advised clients through the application and compliance processes for state and federal trust charters, money transmission licensing and registration and lending licenses. She has engaged directly with state and federal regulators to discuss the applicability of various financial services regulatory regimes to emerging blockchain technology platforms and protocols that her clients are developing. Prior to Perkins Coie, Shtylman served as in-house regulatory counsel at Coinbase and has experience with cryptocurrency network development and launches, asset-backed digital tokens (including stablecoins), peer-to-peer lending, corporate governance, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration and financial services litigation. Prior to joining Paradigm, Justin Slaughter was director of the office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and senior advisor to Acting Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Allison Herren Lee. He has also served as chief policy advisor and special counsel to former Commissioner Sharon Bowen at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and general counsel to Senator Edward J. Markey. Slaughter has also served as a consultant in private practice focusing on fintech and smaller technology companies, and he began his career as a law clerk to Judge Jerome Farris on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justin has a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Take advantage of our early bird pricing and save $150 on General Admission passes. Buy your pass today, and then join the blockchain, crypto, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17 in Miami. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Bitwise, Paradigm and Perkins Coie talk regs at TC Sessions: Crypto

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 3, 2022Posted in bitwise investments, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Securities and Exchange Commission, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022, TechCrunch Events 2022, VentureNo Comments

Crypto entities ranging from major exchanges to small projects are on the road to stateside regulation. Whether it comes through the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, many actors in the space are looking for concrete future guidance on how to build compliant businesses in an emerging sector while navigating rules built for traditional finance. And, while crypto founders and investors know regulation is inevitable, they’re also looking to find the sweetest deal possible as they try to influence policymakers. It’s a challenging balance — enough regulation to protect retail investors from a hostile environment but not so much that it stifles the crypto sector’s growth and future innovation in the space. This regulatory tug-of-war is just one reason why we’re thrilled that Katherine Dowling, general counsel and chief compliance officer at Bitwise Asset Management; Sarah Shtylman, partner at Perkins Coie; and Justin Slaughter, policy director at Paradigm, will join us for a session called, “Is Crypto Regulation Ready” at TC Sessions: Crypto in Miami on November 17. We’ll discuss whether or not there’s been an increase in institutional adoption and how the regulatory framework might impact adoption going forward. Given the frustration over the lack of clarity in regulatory guidance, we’ll ask Dowling, Shtylman and Slaughter how legal crypto firms and counsels advise clients to navigate the present landscape while still operating in a compliant way. Dowling brings a unique perspective to the table, having experience working both in private equity firms and as a federal prosecutor in the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Shtylman brings deep knowledge of fintech and blockchain and Slaughter brings legal and advisory experience in both the public and private sectors. We’ll dive into the latest insights on how emerging regulatory frameworks will affect the digital asset industry and get their take on whether we can expect to see clarity on this in the U.S. by the end of the year. Prior to joining Bitwise, Dowling served in general counsel, CCO and COO roles at several financial and private equity firms. She also co-founded Luminate Capital Partners, where she held positions as GP, managing director and COO. A Harvard Law graduate, Dowling spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, most recently in the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where she worked with the FBI, SEC, IRS and other agencies to prosecute insider trading, fraud and money laundering cases, among others. She also serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations. As a partner at Perkins Coie, Sarah Shtylman focuses on the fintech and blockchain industries. The clients she advises range from entrepreneurs and startups to big tech and regulated financial institutions. Shtylman counsels on a variety of regulatory, commercial, compliance and product development projects — including NFTs, regulated digital asset platforms, in-game currencies and payment services integrations. Shtylman has advised clients through the application and compliance processes for state and federal trust charters, money transmission licensing and registration and lending licenses. She has engaged directly with state and federal regulators to discuss the applicability of various financial services regulatory regimes to emerging blockchain technology platforms and protocols that her clients are developing. Prior to Perkins Coie, Shtylman served as in-house regulatory counsel at Coinbase and has experience with cryptocurrency network development and launches, asset-backed digital tokens (including stablecoins), peer-to-peer lending, corporate governance, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration and financial services litigation. Prior to joining Paradigm, Justin Slaughter was director of the office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and senior advisor to Acting Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Allison Herren Lee. He has also served as chief policy advisor and special counsel to former Commissioner Sharon Bowen at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and general counsel to Senator Edward J. Markey. Slaughter has also served as a consultant in private practice focusing on fintech and smaller technology companies, and he began his career as a law clerk to Judge Jerome Farris on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justin has a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Take advantage of our early bird pricing and save $150 on General Admission passes. Buy your pass today, and then join the blockchain, crypto, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17 in Miami. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Apple cracks down on NFT functionality, social post boosts with App Store rules • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 25, 2022Posted in app-store, Apple, Apps, cryptocurrencies, NFTsNo Comments

Apple rolled out software updates — iOS 16.1, iPad OS 16.1, and macOS Ventura — to all users on Monday. It also introduced new App Store rules that limit features unlocked through NFTs and mandates apps to use Apple’s payment method to purchase “boosts” for posts on social media. NFTs The company said apps are allowed to list, mint, and transfer, and let users view their own NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). However, the ownership of NFTs shouldn’t unlock any more features within the app. Plus, these apps can let users browse other collections but they shouldn’t show external links, buttons, or call to action to purchase NFTs. Users can only purchase NFTs through Apple’s in-app payment system. The company is also prohibiting apps to use other mechanisms such as QR codes or cryptocurrencies to give special access to users. “Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets, etc,” it said. Folks from the industry pointed out that these changes could have serious implications on the functionality of web3-dependant apps (including games) within the Apple ecosystem. Until now, they might be used NFTs as a way to thwart Apple’s App Store fees and simultaneously as a token or key to unlock features for users — but that won’t be allowed anymore. Notably, Meta has started rolling out features for users to show off their NFTs across both Instagram and Facebook. The company has also expressed a desire to open a marketplace for artists to sell their digital creations. But this step from Apple means it might have to pay App Store fees if the marketplace is made available on iOS. Crypto exchanges The company is also cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges as it now mandates them to have “appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange” in all regions they operate in. So Apple now has the power to remove a crypto exchange from a local App Store if it deems the app to be illegal for that region. Social media boosts With new App Store rules, Apple said that marketers don’t need to use in-app purchases to manage and purchase campaigns across different media types like TV, apps, and outdoors. However, they will have to use Apple’s in-app purchase system to buy boosts for social media posts— this would only apply to apps offering in-app tools for promoting posts. That means Apple will take a cut out of those sales, which might result in platforms hiking boost fees. This could impact companies like Meta, TikTok, and Tinder, which offer in-app boosts. Resellers: Depop, etsy, poshmark (ebay?)Dating apps: hinge, tinder, bumbleInfluencers: Tik Tok, Instagram, tumblr all have very low scale quick ways to boost your posts. Tik Tok screenshot below pic.twitter.com/t0ZX6YflHd — eric xcx (@ericherber) October 24, 2022 Other changes Apple has now included concepts that gain profit from current events such as “violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, and epidemics” under the objectionable content section. Apple is also adding ‘hookup’ apps or apps “that may include pornography or be used to facilitate prostitution or human trafficking and exploitation” in the objectionable content section. The company is prohibiting apps from unauthorized usage of music from iTunes or Apple Music as a soundtrack for a game or as background music to a video or a picture collage. Smart home apps that support the Matter IoT standard must use Apple’s support framework to initiate pings. Developers must provide a full-access to App Store reviewers through an active demo account or demo mode so they can test account-based functionalities. Over the last few years, Apple has had to reduce its App Store fees and allow third-party payment systems for in-app purchases in many regions across the world. With these new rules, the company has added new possible ways to earn money using the App Store. These changes have also brought back concerns regarding Apple’s anti-competitive practices and its tight control over how apps conduct their business on the App store.

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.

Stablecoin demand maintains pace as other cryptocurrencies tumble • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 20, 2022Posted in Crypto, crypto ecosystem, cryptocurrencies, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, stablecoin, stablecoinsNo Comments

More investors are swapping cryptocurrencies for stablecoins, signaling a potential shift toward the less risky asset. Stablecoin dominance is near 16%, about 2.7 percentage points away from an all-time high set in mid-June. (This percentage is determined by how much of the total crypto market capitalization is made up of stablecoins; it is, from one perspective, a bearish indicator the stronger it becomes.) “Stablecoins have been growing independently of market cycles simply because of their ability to improve financial inclusion,” Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of the world’s largest stablecoin by volume, Tether, said to ZebethMedia. “Stablecoins are also created based on market supply and demand, so when some crypto prices fall, traders may see this as a buy opportunity to use stablecoin to move in and out of positions.” The total stablecoin supply peaked in early April around $182.6 billion but has since fallen about 22% to $141.3 billion as of October 18, data from The Block shows. Even with that said, stablecoins have expanded in volume vastly over the years, and will continue to grow as the crypto market develops, Ardoino added. “Stablecoins are able to make the economy much more efficient by bringing digital dollars to the real world, putting U.S. dollars on a blockchain, attracting liquidity to the currency and allowing it to increase its dominance.”

Solana’s web3 phone is an ‘opportunity’ against Google and Apple, co-founder says • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 20, 2022Posted in Crypto, crypto ecosystem, cryptocurrencies, smartphones, SolanaNo Comments

It’s been almost four months since the layer-1 blockchain Solana announced its web3-focused smartphone Saga and as the phone is approaching its official release date, the plan has shifted. “Our goal isn’t to sell 10 million units,” Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, said onstage at Disrupt 2022. “We would be very happy with 25,000 to 50,000 units sold in the next year, that would be awesome.” While it’s not easy to launch a new phone successfully — as we’ve seen with countless other companies’ efforts — Solana is looking to approach the launch differently, Yakovenko hinted. This is a tool to attract developers, Yakovenko added. “This is a developer play.” Prior to launching Solana, Yakovenko spent most of his professional career at Qualcomm and has helped other major tech companies like Facebook and Windows create mobile phones. It’s worth noting a bunch of those failed. But the main difference now is it’s not as capital intensive, Yakovenko said. “This is one of the moon shots,” Yakovenko said. “The reason why we can do this is because it’s cheap enough to try. It’s not going to break the bank or anything like that.” The phone market has matured to a point where teams can build a device quickly with small modifications to an Android so it can enable a web3 experience, Yakovenko noted. “The opportunity exists right now because we don’t need to get $10 million sales off the bat. We can actually target a very small niche audience which is crypto-heavy web3 users.” If there’s a web3 distribution channel for mobile crypto developers, it can open up opportunities for them to build experiences outside of the laptop-centric digital asset ecosystem, Yakovenko said. Users won’t have to sign into four different applications to create a crypto transaction, he joked. “Those are the flywheels we need for the next cycle.” “Imagine you have 50,000 to 100,000 people who trade daily on Magic Eden,” Yakovenko said. “That’s a more lucrative distribution channel for developers than the app stores with hundreds of millions of users. For web3 all the money is in these small niche groups right now.” Separately, the web3-focused phone will allow content creators and platforms to enable digital ownership rights to both organizations and users – opposed to handing over the 30% tax Apple and Google have for in app sales. The idea of true digital ownership means the digital items have to be treated like physical ones, and this isn’t something Apple or Google are built around, Yakovenko said. “They’re built around a rent-seeking model where all the content is owned by the creator and you as a user rent it. When you buy a video from Amazon, you don’t actually own it; everyone realizes that you don’t own it.” So neither Google nor Apple want to really take on web3 because true digital asset ownership disrupts their business models, Yakovenko said. “When you’re the content creator and you have an app on the iOS store, you can take the 30% fee and eat it and give it to Apple. Magic Eden can’t sell a $10,000 NFT for $13,000 on the iOS app, they can’t tack on tax nor can they eat it because that’ll destroy profits.” “The opportunity is here right now,” Yakovenko said. “Both Google and Apple, I don’t know what’s going to have to change internally for them to give up the 30% tax on apps. It’s just too good for them to give it up in the next five years.” So while those two mega companies continue implementing their 30% tax, there’s a “wedge that exists.” Saga plans to implement digital asset products and services, so users can transact with their cryptocurrency through the device, opposed to a laptop browser. In addition to the announcement of Saga, it is also launching Solana Mobile Stack, or SMS, which is a web3 layer for Solana built on the phone. “Let’s say crypto actually grows from 10 million monthly active users to 100 million monthly active users in the next five years I would imagine so does the SMS stack or the phone itself,” Yakovenko said. Then, maybe Google or Apple might change their mind on the tax and would allow for similar web3 experiences that Saga is hoping to have. “That would be a win,” Yakovenko said. “We would have won for everyone in crypto. That would be awesome.”

Crypto VC deployment still slow as investors wait for even lower valuations • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in Crypto, Crypto Economy, cryptocurrencies, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, EC venture capital, Startups, venture capitalNo Comments

Ongoing volatility in the crypto markets is leading to mismatched conversations between venture capitalists and founders — and entrepreneurs aren’t often finding themselves on the winning side. While some crypto-native and general funds are actively deploying capital into the digital asset world, others are taking a slower approach. Over the summer, some market participants anticipated deals would ramp back up in September, but that still seems to be on hold as we move into mid-October and crypto market conditions remain shaky. “A lot of VCs paused deployment over the summer and there’s a record amount of cash right now sitting on the sidelines; that’s not just specific to crypto,” Alex Marinier, founder and general partner of fintech and blockchain-centered firm New Form Capital, said to ZebethMedia. “My sentiment is that the pervasive feeling in crypto right now is fear.” However, Marinier said that the more bearish climate is an attractive time to keep investing, adding that “now is the time to be allocating.” “My sentiment is that the pervasive feeling in crypto right now is fear.” New Form Capital founder Alex Marinier New Form has allocated about 30% of its $75 million Fund 2 to date, Marinier shared. The majority of New Form’s deals for its second fund have been in its target “sweet spot” of crypto startups valued in the range of $15 million to $35 million. But not every fund is going full steam ahead. “Many of us were expecting September to be a gangbuster type of moment where sentiment would be fully back and the events that happened with LUNA, Celsius and BlockFi would have been moved on from,” David Nage, venture capital portfolio manager at the crypto-focused firm Arca, said to ZebethMedia. “But what you’re seeing with these events, while they’re in the past, they still come back to bite us in the proverbial ass.”

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.