White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #75
Yuga Labs Story: From Bored Ape Project to APE Token and (maybe) Play-to-Earn
Yuga Labs Story: From Bored Ape Project to APE Token and (maybe) Play-to-Earn
White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #75
Yuga Labs announced it has closed its funding round, led by a16z crypto, with participation from top tier game studios like Animoca Brands and its subsidiary The Sandbox, strategic partners like LionTree, Sound Ventures, and Thrive Capital, and crypto leaders like FTX and MoonPay.
The company raised $450 million and the round values Yuga Labs at $4 billion, post-money.
The plan is to use the funds to scale its rapidly growing team, attract the best talent across creative, engineering and operations functions, and for joint ventures and partnerships it has planned.
The company has also developed its own token: ApeCoin (APE). The full breakdown of the token allocation of 1 billion APE coins is as follows:
8% will go to the founders of Bored Apes Yacht Club.
16% will go to the Yuga Labs team (a portion of which equal to 1% of the total token supply will be donated to the Jane Goodall Foundation Legacy Foundation).
14% will go to “launch contributors,” which will assumedly be made up of Yuga partners and investors.
15% will go to owners of the Bored Apes and Mutant Apes collections.
47% will be released over time as part of the DAO’s “ecosystem fund.”
It is not a surprise, but the sales volume of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has spiked after the announcement of the new ApeCoin. Sales volume more than doubled from the day before to around $43.5 million for March 17, according to data from Dune by @metaland. The March 16 figure was roughly $15.9 million.
Then, Yuga Labs dropped a teaser trailer for a new project called Otherside. The teaser features examples from NFT collections such as Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks and Meebits -- the latter of which were at the center of an IP acquisition deal between Yuga Labs and Larva Labs, the creator of CryptoPunks and Meebits. As of press time, the teaser has more than 60,000 views.
On March 16, Animoca Brands subsidiary nWay tweeted that it was working on a new "play-to-earn game" in collaboration with BAYC. It's not clear at this time if the teaser is directly related to that specific initiative. Animoca co-founder Yat Siu sits on the board of the decentralized autonomous organization tied to ApeCoin.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Polymesh adoption grows as crypto-custody provider Dfns integrates
Polymesh shares that European crypto-custody solution Dfns is the latest industry player to adopt Polymesh and is now offering custodial support for POLYX.
A new Landing Page to showcase the value proposition of ParaSwap & its high potential
Plus First Rewards Distribution following the last budget vote.
The team of Cometh is growing with a high profile hire : David Dufour joining the company as CMO
Cometh now has 17 people working full time (+8 in two months) and 9 part-time artists.
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Goldman Sachs Conducts First Over-the-Counter Crypto Trade With Galaxy
Michael Novogratz's Galaxy says it's building on the relationship with Goldman as more Wall Street clients seek to push into cryptocurrency trading.
PSG Club Files Trademark Application to Get Into Metaverse and NFTs
The club has filed a series of trademark applications to register its name in order to offer a number of services, including software, memorabilia, and articles linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for authentication purposes.
GameStop to launch NFT platform by end of Q2
The firm included web3 initiatives and its NFT platform in its 10-K disclosure filing as part of "new growth opportunities."
Japanese exchange Coincheck to list on Nasdaq via SPAC listing
Coincheck, a Japanese wallet and crypto exchange, has announced its intention to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange through a SPAC.
Trading giant Jane Street backs NEAR-based lending protocol in new funding round
The firm has made an investment in Bastion, a decentralized lending protocol built on the NEAR blockchain.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
Malaysian Multimedia Ministry calls on government to formalize crypto’s legal status
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Ministry is hoping to see crypto legalized, so it can be used by more young people.
FTX announces Australian expansion as government sets out its crypto stall
The Australian government has made moves to refine its crypto strategy and introduce 'badges of approval' for exchanges.
OECD solicits public comments on draft proposal for crypto tax rules
The OECD is circulating a proposal that will designate standards for the collection and exchange of tax information for crypto transactions.
Florida governor says the state will accept bitcoin for tax payments
During a press conference, DeSantis said he had directed state agencies to ready themselves to accept taxes in crypto.
💰 Funding & Exits
Gaming startup Lava Labs’ valuation tops $100M in Series A raise
A London-based gaming studio that hopes to become the ‘Pixar of web3’ has raised fresh funding at an eye-grabbing valuation.
Mina Ecosystem raises $92M from Three Arrows, FTX and others
The Mina Ecosystem, representing several teams behind the privacy-focused blockchain protocol Mina, has raised $92 million in a token sale.
Trailblazer Games raises $8.2M for Eternal Dragons blockchain game
Trailblazer Games has raised $8.2 million to develop a fantasy blockchain game and universe dubbed Eternal Dragons.
Ethereum Scaling Solution Optimism Pulls $150M in Funding
The funding will be used for adding more talents to the team as Optimism is hiring across various departments.
CoinRoutes Raises $16M Series B
The goal is to bring Market Leading Algorithmic Crypto Trading Platform to Institutional Investors.
Coinbooks has raised $3.2M to build accounting software for DAOs
Founded by 21-year-old founder and CEO Arnav Bathla, the company aims to change the way decentralized autonomous organizations or “DAOs” and crypto companies currently perform accounting.
Crypto data firm The TIE raises $9M in Series A funding round
The TIE, a platform that provides crypto data and news to institutions, has raised $9 million in Series A.
Expenses fintech Jeeves eyes crypto transfers as it raises $180M
Expenses management platform Jeeves has raised $180 million led by Chinese investor Tencent as it looks to implement stablecoin transfers.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Galaxy, Alameda to Invest in Blockchain-Focused Gaming Studios
Galaxy Interactive, Republic Crypto and Alameda Research are launching a consortium that will invest in blockchain-focused gaming studios and developers.
MetaMask Rumored to Launch Token
MetaMask, the oldest and most used ethereum browser wallet, maybe on the verge of launching a token.
Katie Haun raises $1.5B for pair of crypto venture funds
Haun Ventures, led by former federal prosecutor Katie Haun, has raised $1.5 billion for two crypto-focused venture capital funds.
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
Ripple to give out 1 billion XRP in developer grants
Ripple has managed to expand on its cross-border payment technology outside the U.S., especially in the Asia Pacific region.