White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #73
Ukraine raises over 54 million from crypto donors
White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter 73
The crypto community displayed an amazing outpouring of support, helping Ukraine raise over 54 million in 8 days from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoin deposits. The Ukrainian government plans to use the funds to purchase critical supplies and gear. The more than 100k contributions from donors highlight the network effect and crowdfunding potential within crypto communities.
Additionally, a group of web3 builders, artists and organizers formed UkraineDAO. The decentralized autonomous organization raised 6.75 million from over 3200 contributors for fractional ownership of a Ukrainian flag NFT. All funds went to benefit the Come Back Alive Foundation.
Also worth noting that major exchanges have witnessed large trading volumes for Bitcoin against the Ukrainan Hryvni and Russian Ruble. As CoinDesk reports, BTC/UAH and BTC/RUB volume spikes are most likely due to regular Ukrainian and Russian people looking to preserve wealth against volatile currency markets.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Atlendis protocol v1 | Whitepaper announcement
Atlendis Labs (previously known as JellyFi) is proud to share the whitepaper of its first iteration with the community, in order to build the future of DeFi lending and develop the most efficient capital management solutions.
Multis participated in the podcast ‘Blockchain Insider’
The discussion was about whether the NYSE would become the marketplace for NFTs.
Exclusible and Amedeo Scognamiglio are proud to present Crypto Cameos
A collection of 1000 luxury NFTs, a random mint, with exclusive utilities, AR Filters and a chance to win physical cameos. Last but not least, a chance to win a personalized in-store experience.
Cometh Mission 2.0 is launched
The entire team is thrilled to embark you on this special journey in the galaxy.
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Healthcare giant CVS files for NFTs and virtual goods trademark
CVS Health has filed a trademark application that mentions NFTs, and health services in virtual and augmented reality, according to a February 28th filing.
Phillip Plein Launches First Metaverse Native Fashion Line
Crypto advocate and global fashion designer, Phillip Plein, has brought a touch of his trademark flair to the metaverse.
UAE DAMAC Properties launches its Metaverse soon - UNLOCK Blockchain
UAE DAMAC Properties, a global developer, will be launching its metaverse project sometime in March 2022.
L’Oréal Enters Metaverse. Buying Virtual Perfumes Is Now Possible
World largest cosmetic company enters metaverse.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
UkraineDAO Raises $7M and Builds Global Network of Supporters
UkraineDAO, a decentralized collective raising funds to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in eastern Europe, has collected more than $7M in five days.
Brazil’s central bank selects nine CBDC projects to move forward in innovation challenge
Brazil’s central bank revealed nine projects that will advance as it develops a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
US Virginia Senate allows state banks to offer crypto custody services
The bill passed Senate with a sweeping 39-0 vote and is waiting to be signed into law by Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin.
FTX crypto exchange announces push into Europe
The company will start offering its products to European clients via a licensed investment firm.
💰 Funding & Exits
Alan Howard leads $7.5 million raise into DeFi trading platform Nested
Swiss DeFi trading platform Nested has raised a $7.5 million Series A round led by hedge fund heavyweight Alan Howard.
DeFi security provider Sherlock aims to raise $100 million in token round
Sherlock is raising $100 million in USDC tokens through a five-day event set to premiere on March 7th at 4 pm UTC.
Lemniscap, Jump Crypto Lead $4M Bet on GameFi Firm metaENGINE
The metaverse publishing platform is looking to attract developers with a slate of Web 3 gaming tools.
a16z has invested $70M in LidoFinance
Lido is an effective, decentralized staking platform. It offers one of the easiest ways to stake ETH and other PoS assets today, while striving for decentralization through the DAO’s governance.
ArDrive Raises $17M to Make Arweave’s Data Storage Blockchain More Usable
The file storage app wants “AR.IO” to host a network of decentralized access points for the Arweave permaweb.
EXCLUSIVE NFT startup Immutable valued at $2.5 billion in Temasek-led financing
Australian NFT startup Immutable has raised fresh funding from investors in a round that values it at $2.5 billion, as it taps a surge in interest in cryptocurrency and NFT ventures.
NFT3 Announces $7.5 Million Funding Round Led By Animoca Brands
NFT3 is building the First Unified Decentralized Identity and Credit Network for Web3, acting as a unified identity across all Web3 application layers and a pathway toward enabling personal monetization in the emerging Metaverse.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Crypto VC Electric Capital raises $1 billion in new funding
Crypto-focused venture capital firm Electric Capital, founded by Avichal Garg, has raised $1 billion in new funding.
The Sandbox Alpha season 2 gets ready for Launch
Bringing with it, a huge range of over 35 unique experiences accessible to anyone with a free The Sandbox account.
DeFi wallet Argent launches layer 2 account with waitlist over 500,000
London-based Argent announced the full launch of its new layer 2 service this morning.
KyberSwap DEX launches on layer-2 network Arbitrum
KyberSwap has launched on the Arbitrum layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, helping users bypass expensive gas fees and network congestion.
Interoperability has a new meaning thanks to this Polkadot-powered startup
ParaState is a DAO building a WebAssembly (WASM)-based virtual machine that’s compatible with Ethereum (eWASM) as well as Polkadot.
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
Ethereum miners generated $1.19 billion in revenues during February
Most of these revenues came from the block subsidy ($1.09 billion) and only a small portion from transaction fees ($109.77 million).