White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #60
Crypto market cap tops $3tr as bitcoin and ether reach record highs
Crypto market cap tops $3tr as bitcoin and ether reach record highs
The market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market crossed the $3 trillion mark on Tuesday for the first time, according to data from CoinGecko.
The milestone comes as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) have surged to record highs. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at around $68k and ETH is changing hands at about $4.8k.
The global crypto market cap has grown dramatically over the last year. In November 2020, the market cap was around $500bn. As crypto continues to gain mainstream attention, its market cap has topped from $1tr in January 2021 to over $2tr in May 2021 to over $3tr currently.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Paraswap is on its way to reaching $4bn of monthly volume in November
The social (token) network: Rally, Friends with Benefits and the future of Branding
Music producers and sports stars are monetizing themselves with social tokens. Brands are next, and marketers should take notice.
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
BlockFi joins the race for a spot bitcoin ETF
BlockFi has filed a proposal for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Discord CEO hints at integrating ethereum via wallets such as MetaMask
If integrated, Discord’s millions of users could send each other crypto.
Circle launches venture capital fund for early-stage blockchain projects
The digital currency firm is expected to go public before the end of the year.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
China’s CBDC has been used for $9.7bn of transactions
Some 140m people have opened wallets for the “eCNY.”
NYC mayor-elect Eric Adams says he will take his first three paychecks in bitcoin
US lawmakers call on SEC chair Gensler to approve a spot bitcoin ETF
U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer and Darren Soto are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission and its chair, Gary Gensler, to approve a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Swiss Central Bank ready to run with wCBDC in January: ‘just takes a policy decision’
SNB has completed testing of a wholesale CBDC with Swiss exchange SDX, and is technically ready to go live, according to governing board member Thomas Moser.
💰 Funding & Exits
WeMeta announces $1.1m funding round to help users buy, sell & build in the Metaverse
Investors include Delphi Digital, DeFi Alliance, Digital Currency Group, Galaxy Interactive, Hashed, SkyVision Capital and Tribe Capital
Meow raises $5m to connect corporate treasurers to crypto markets
The funding comes from Coinbase Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund and Lux Capital, among others.
Crypto compliance startup Notabene raises $10.2m Series A
Chicago-based Jump Capital and Cambridge, Mass.-based F-Prime Capital led the round. Jump’s Peter Johnson will serve on Notabene’s board.
Crypto risk-monitoring firm Solidus Labs raises $15m
The funding was led by Liberty City Ventures with participation from GSR and Exor Seeds.
Crypto exchange Bitmart in talks to raise $20m at $300m valuation
New York-based private equity firm Alexander Capital Ventures is in talks with Bitmart to lead the Series B funding round.
International Cricket NFTs to hit Flow blockchain following $17m seed round
Tiger Global and Dapper Labs are backing Faze Technologies’ bid to “build the metaverse for cricket.”
FTX, Lightspeed lead $21m funding round in gaming studio Faraway
Faraway’s Mini Royale will be the first multiplayer title to integrate Solana-based FTXPay with NFTs and wallets.
DeFi liquidity provider WOO Network raises $30m in Series A round
Three Arrows Capital, PSP, Soteria Ventures, Gate Ventures, QCP Capital, and Crypto.com Capital participated in the round.
Neon Labs, developer of Ethereum virtual machine on Solana, raises $40m
Jump Capital led the round, with Three Arrows Capital, Solana Capital, Rockaway Blockchain Fund, Ethereal Ventures, IDEO CoLab Ventures, and others participating.
Alameda Research, Polychain Capital back 'CeFi DeFi' crypto exchange AscendEx
AscendEX has raised $50m in a Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC and backed by Alameda Research.
Matter Labs scores $50m to bring zero-knowledge rollup scaling to Ethereum
The Series B investment was led by a16z Crypto just months after closing a Series A led by Union Square Ventures.
Gaming startup Mythical Games raises $150m in Series C round led by a16z
The round also saw participation from D1 Capital, RedBird Capital, The Raine Group, Binance, FTX, 32 Equity, the venture arm of the National Football League, The Chainsmokers’ Mantis and others.
Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX launch $100m gaming fund
The funds will be used to invest in gaming studios, technology companies and other projects “at the intersection of blockchain and gaming.”
Enjin floats $100m Efinity Metaverse Fund to boost NFT marketplace
Metaverse fund will go towards early-stage support for Enjin ecosystem partners.
Binance funds $116m initiative to grow French crypto ecosystem
The world’s biggest crypto exchange has teamed with nonprofit French Fintech to build a research hub and accelerator.
Reddit co-founder to invest $100m in social media on Solana
This comes a day after FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said that building social media on the blockchain could be "absolutely huge."
Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX launch $100m gaming fund
The intersection between blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and gaming is creating a new reality for gamers.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Aave v3 has been released!
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
DAO backed by Deadmau5 to launch on multiple platforms
The initiative is aiming to bring NFT governance to the music industry.