White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #63
โNFTโ named top word of the year by the dictionary publisher Collins ๐
โNFTโ named top word of the year by the dictionary publisher Collins
Collins, a dictionary publisher founded in 1824 recording over 4.5bn words, named โNFT,โ or โnon-fungible token,โ as the top word of the for 2021.ย ย โItโs certainly a buzzword weโve heard over and over again in the past 12 months, in breathless news reports and on social media,โ the publisher wrote in a blog post, describing it as the intersection between internet and money.ย
Interest in NFTs exploded in 2021. NFT transaction volume grew steadily since January and reached a record high of $1.05bn in August of this year.ย
Centuries-old art auction house Sothebyโs auctioned off numerous NFTs this year, even launching its own NFT platform called Sothebyโs Metaverse in October. Celebrities to join the bandwagon include Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Rob Gronkowski and Simone Biles.ย
In addition to โNFT,โ the Collins named โmetaverseโ and โcryptoโ as other top words of the year โ also due to their increased interest within 2021.
๐ฆ White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Big month from ParaSwap!
Join Exclusible this week on Twitter Spaces
Liquality-supported chains โ
๐ฆ Enterprises & Institutions
MicroStrategy buys more bitcoin for over $414m in cash
MicroStrategy now holds a total of 121,044 bitcoins, worth nearly $7bn at current prices.
Galaxy Digital to sell $500m of notes in private placement
The notes, which are exchangeable for shares, will carry an interest rate of 3%.
Kelly ETFs files for ether futures ETF
The Kelly Ethereum Ether Strategy ETF would hold ether futures contracts that trade on federally regulated exchanges. For now, that means only CME ether futures.
Grayscale launches new trust dedicated to Solana
Solana has enjoyed explosive growth in 2021, increasing from around $1.50 at the start of the year to $200+.
โ๏ธ Government & Regulation
Council of the European Union moves forward on two crypto proposals
The proposals aim to create regulatory frameworks for crypto assets focused on consumer protection and mitigating cyber threats.
Tanzania has begun preparations to launch its own central bank digital currency
Governor Florens Luoga reportedly revealed the news at the central bank-organized 20th Conference of Financial Institutions (COFI).
El Salvador buys 100 more bitcoin
El Salvadorโs President Nayib Bukele said in a tweet he bought the coins at โa discount.โ
๐ฐ Funding & Exits
Three Arrows backs money-streaming Mean DAO to boost DeFi payments on Solana
The $3.5m funding round included SoftBank and DeFiance Capital.
Blockade Games raises $5m round at $23m valuation
The round was led by metaverse and NFT stalwart Animoca Brands.
Blockchain gaming guild Avocado raises $18m from Solana Ventures and others
Animoca Brands and QCP Soteria Node (QSN) co-led the round, with Solana Ventures, Three Arrows Capital, Polygon Studios, and others participating.
Solana-based derivatives network Hxro raises $34m in token round
SIG DT Investments, Jump Crypto, and Blockchain Capital co-led the round, with Alameda Research, Chicago Trading Company, Solana Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Commonwealth Asset Management, and others also participating.
SoftBank invests $150m in South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto
The investment is part of a Series B funding round that puts the metaverse platformโs value at north of $1bn.
Celsius Network Series B expands to $750m
The crypto lender said in October that the $400m it raised then would reassure regulators of the credibility of its businesses.
SK Telecom spinoff acquires 35% stake in South Korean crypto exchange giant Korbit
SK Square, a non-telecoms investment subsidiary of South Koreaโs largest wireless carrier Sk Telecom, has invested 90bn won (about $75m) in crypto exchange platform Korbit.
Crypto investment firm Arca launches $30m fund dedicated to NFTs
The fund opened to investors last week and has raised $11.4m so far.
NYDIG raises $50m for seventh digital asset fund
A single investor backed NYDIGโs seventh fund dedicated to cryptocurrency investments.
Play Ventures sets up blockchain gaming fund with $75m committed
Gaming VC firm Play Ventures is venturing into the blockchain gaming world with the launch of a new fund called Play Future Fund.
German VC Greenfield One raises $160m crypto fund with backing from Swisscom, others
The VCโs third fund is its biggest yet, and most likely one of the largest crypto funds in Europe.
Borderless Capital launches $500m Algorand-focused fund
The fund will look to invest in a range of DeFi and NFT projects built on the Algorand blockchain network.
Former Wall Street banker launches $1.5bn crypto venture fund
Former Citigroup executive Matt Zhang has launched a $1.5bn crypto venture fund called Hivemind Capital Partners.
Coinbase to acquire crypto custody technology firm Unbound Security
Unbound Security is a crypto custody infrastructure firm specializing in MPC technology. The acquisition, once completed, will also establish Coinbase's presence in Israel as the company will be setting up a "tech center of excellence" in the country.
Coinbase acquires crypto wallet startup BRD
Unclear at this time is what will become of the startup's utility token, which trades under the $BRD ticker, that is used as part of its customer loyalty program.
๐ Project Launches & Updates
Adidas Originals announces partnership with Coinbase
๐ฅ Other Bits We're Excited About
More than 1m ETH has been burned following EIP-1559
The Ethereum network has now burned over 1m ETH since the London upgrade that ushered in the fee burning mechanism, according to figures from WatchTheBurn โ a website that tracks the transaction fee burning process. At the current price of ether, the total value of the total ETH destroyed so far now stands at over $4.2bn.