A Carbon-neutral Blockchain Future
White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #82
Proof of stake is the right direction
There’s been a lot of attention on Bitcoin’s environmental impact in recent months, and huge efforts are being made to minimize the carbon footprint of the cryptocurrency.
Today, however, cryptocurrencies are inherently more energy-efficient than Bitcoin. Why? Because Bitcoin relies on a ‘Proof of Work’ (PoW) system that involves huge amounts of calculations (and, thus, processing power) to produce a single token. Cryptocurrencies that instead use a ‘Proof of Storage’ or ‘Proof of Stake’ (PoS) system use far less energy, as do currencies using a technology called block lattice, which doesn’t require mining.
It is within the PoS framework that blockchains have been developed to reduce the environmental impact.
Chains in favor of the environment
Algorand: This chain was designed to be energy efficient from the get-go and has committed to offsetting any emission gaps to reduce its environmental impact further. On April 22, 2021, Algorand announced that its blockchain is fully carbon-neutral, thanks in part to its partnership with ClimateTrade. This organization is a leader in carbon emissions transparency and traceability and the partnership with Algorand allows CimateTrade to enhance its sustainability efforts with corporations worldwide.
Near Protocol: This chain is a certified carbon-neutral blockchain that hosts various apps, NFTs, games, and more. It even includes an app that helps facilitate the buying and selling of used cellphones. The Near Protocol development platform uses the NEAR token and is also a foundation and collective that gives out grants to develop the Near ecosystem. Using the network, users are already offsetting CO2, whether they intend to or not. NEAR also plans to release an NFT platform called Mintbase, on which crypto artists will create digital artworks that represent South Pole projects. These NFTs will be auctioned off and a majority of proceeds will go towards CO2 offsetting projects in developing countries that are results-based and verified by a third party.
Other chains with low Carbon emissions: Tezos, Cardano, Stellar, Tron, Flow, Avalanche, GreenTrust.
The goal is also to reduce Carbon emissions in the existing process
The decentralized approach of blockchain provides both breadth and depth. It engages and enables everyone to participate in the calculation. It allows for tracking and reporting of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and consumers.
Innovations in blockchain technologies are powerful enablers for collective action to fight climate change.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Cometh raises $10M led by White Star
Cometh has over 50k+ games in private alpha and will be rolling out its public launch
Superfluid Reactor launches to help developers build on Superfluid
The free program will connect teams to clients, help with marketing, navigate SDKs, and help design the product and value proposition
Superfluid is live on Arbitrum and Optimism
The move will drastically reduce costs with money streaming
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Instagram to support NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, Solana and Flow
Instagram will follow Twitter in supporting and integrating NFTs
Sony partners with Theta to launch 3D NFTs
The NFTs will be displayed on Sony displays that support 3D visuals
Google is building a web3 focused team
Google will focus on Web3 infrastructure, following its partnership with Aptos Labs
Gucci will start accepting Bitcoin in stores
The program will start in US store locations later this month
Jane Street entered DeFi with a $25M USDC loan
Jane Street will use decentralized finance for the loan
Kraken aims to launch NFT marketplace
Kraken will allow users to buy crypto and then NFTs in one transaction
⚖️ Government & Regulation
Argentina's largest private bank adds crypto trading
Banco Galicia will add crypto trading to its investment platform
Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority launches a MetaHQ in Sandbox
Dubai is embracing crypto and attempting to become a virtual asset hub
💰 Funding & Exits
Highlight raises $11M for web3 community platform
Highlight will allow creators to design and mint NFTs
Talos raises $105M at a $1.3B valuation
General Atlantic will lead the round, with BNY Mellon, Citi, Wells Fargo participating
Zora raises $50M at a $600M valuation
Huan Ventures will lead the round for the NFT infrastructure protocol
Decrypt raises $10M at a $50M valuation
Crypto media company spins out from its parent company ConsenSys
LootRush raises $12M to improve user access to blockchain gaming
LootRush will aim to address the high learning curve of blockchain games
Amberdata raises $30M to provide blockchain data and insight
Amberdata will focus on institutional clients for its data analytics platform
Bundlr raises $5.2M to boost decentralized storage
Bundlr aims to scale Arweave
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Flow launches a $750M fund to support its ecosystem
Flow the platform behind NBA top shot, will invest in applications on Flow blockchain
Luna Foundation Guard buys $1.5B in Bitcoin to back UST
LFG bitcoin reserves grow to $3.5B
Former Messari analyst, Ryan Watkins and Daniel Cheung launch $85M fund
Fund will focus on concentrated bets on liquid tokens
Blockchain Coinvestors launches $200M mid-stage growth fund
The fund will aim to back Series B, C, and D rounds and target 20-30 companies
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
Under Armour and Steph Curry partner to release NFTs
This marks another major sports brands entry into NFTs
Starbucks to launch NFTs collection
The NFT will offer unique experiences and benefits