White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #58
The bitcoin futures ETF is finally here ⏰
The bitcoin futures ETF is finally here ⏰
This past week marked a milestone for cryptocurrency as investors started trading the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, exceeding other ETF launches, and another followed last Friday (these funds invest in bitcoin futures contracts, or agreements to buy or sell the asset later for an agreed-upon price, rather than bitcoin directly).
The new products allow trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cryptocurrency exchanges.
While the new offerings fall short of what the industry eventually wants — ETFs investing in the currency itself — it didn’t slow excitement for the first launch. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) saw one of the biggest first days on record for ETFs, raking in $550m from crypto-hungry investors. Overall, more than $1.01bn of shares changed hands.
Top ten ETFs by launch day volume
Companies have been vying to release the first U.S. bitcoin ETF for nearly a decade. But the Securities and Exchange Commission has been slow to embrace the asset, citing concerns about the lack of regulation and the potential for fraud and manipulation in the bitcoin market. Previously, most bitcoin ETF applications have been based on spot markets, or investing in the currency directly. However, there was a shift in August when SEC chairman Gary Gensler signaled the agency may be more open to a futures-backed bitcoin ETF under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which governs mutual funds and may offer “significant investor protection.”
While we are still hoping to see a spot-based bitcoin (and potentially ethereum) ETF before the end of this year, we aren’t holding our breath – the SEC and Gary Gensler seem to sticking to their guns.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Over 1m wallets have traded on Paraswap
Alethea AI x OpenSea sale breaks record for world’s first intelligent collectible sale
The sale of the world’s first Intelligent Collectibles & 10k Personality Pods (AI Souls) for NFTs has brought in almost 4k ETH netting approximately 17m USD in Primary and Secondary Sales to build a community owned Intelligent Metaverse.
Rally commits $12m to third-party developers
The ecosystem is gaining momentum as demand for nonfungible tokens and blockchain-based social communities continue to grow.
Superfluid now has over $100m in TVL
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Nomura looks to offer crypto services to Japanese institutions with new investment
Nomura said it will work closely with the startup to help cater to institutional investors in Japan's digital assets sector.
DCG has purchased $388m of GBTC shares — and is upping its limit
The company has increased its authorization to buy more shares from $750m to $1bn.
Investing giant Pimco is considering trading cryptocurrencies
Pimco, a $2tr investment firm, could potentially begin trading spot cryptocurrencies, the firm's chief investment officer Daniel Ivascyn confirmed to CNBC.
Houston Firefighters Pension Fund makes bitcoin, ether purchase
The fund has invested $25m in crypto in what appears to be a first for a U.S. public pension plan.
BlockFi to launch new product suite with Neuberger Berman
The Neuberger Berman partnership will offer clients asset management of digital assets along with service from investment management experts.
Mastercard and Bakkt roll out crypto tools for partner banks and fintech firms
Card giant Mastercard has announced a new partnership with crypto exchange Bakkt to broaden the cryptocurrency services it offers to partners.
DISH to tap into blockchain-based Helium 5G network
The telecommunications company has back-ordered 3.5m Helium hotspots with plans to onboard DISH customers.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
Coinbase spent nearly $800k on lobbying in 2021's third quarter as part of influence revamp
Coinbase has rebooted its lobbying activities in recent months to become one of the crypto industry’s biggest spenders in Washington.
VanEck looks to be second issuer to list a bitcoin futures-based ETF
The issuer filed a post-effective amendment today proposing to list its Bitcoin Strategy ETF on Cboe BZX Exchange with an effective registration date of October 23.
💰 Funding & Exits
Arkadiko raised $2.5m in strategic round
Investors include SBX Capital, CoinShares, New Form Capital, Novablock and others.
Solana-based play-to-earn NFT game MonkeyBall raises $3m
The round saw participation from several investors, including Jump Capital, CMS Holdings, Solana Capital, 6th Man Ventures, and NFX, among others.
Tokenized cash-flow DeFi project Swivel Finance raises $3.5m
Multicoin Capital again participated and was joined by trading desks GSR Markets, SCC Investments, and CMT Digital.
Solana-based perpetual swaps DEX Drift Protocol raises $3.8m
Multicoin Capital led the decentralized exchange’s funding round with Jump and Alameda also participating.
Solana-based asset management platform Synchrony raises $4.2m
Investors in the rounds included Sanctor Capital, Wintermute Trading, GBV Capital, HashKey, Magnus Capital, 0xVentures, and several others.
Polkadot-based privacy project Manta Network raises $5.5m
The round included participation from more than 30 venture funds, including crypto hedge fund CoinFund and alternative investment firm ParaFi Capital.
DeFi bug bounty platform Immunefi raises $5.5m in seed funding
Electric Capital and Blueprint Forest co-led the round, with Framework Ventures, Bitscale Capital, IDEO Colab, The LAO, BR Capital, and North Island Ventures, also participating.
Play-to-earn game firm Sipher raises $6.8m in seed round
The funding was co-led by Arrington Capital, Hashed and Konvoy Ventures.
A16z leads $7.5m funding round in NFT toy firm OnChain Studios
The company will soon launch Cryptoys, NFT-based interactive digital toys that consumers can buy, play with, collect and sell.
Cross-chain decentralized exchange zkLink raises $8.5m in seed funding
Republic Crypto led the round, with Arrington Capital, DeFi Alliance, Huobi Ventures, Ascensive Assets, Morningstar Ventures, GSR, and Marshland Capital also participating.
Tech platform behind Sotheby’s NFT metaverse raises $20m
After bringing the Sotheby’s Metaverse to life, Serotonin's new tech suite Mojito aims to help other brands make the leap into NFTs.
Valar Ventures leads $27m Series A for XanPool
XanPool describes itself as a payments network, similar to Mastercard or Visa.
Zaki Manian's DeFi project Sommelier raises $23m in Series A funding
The round was led by Polychain Capital, with participation from existing investor Alameda Ventures and new investors Zola Ventures, Byzantine Ventures, Tendermint Ventures, Secure Ventures, D1 Ventures, and Ferngrove Ventures.
DeFi protocol Element Finance raises $32m in Series A round
Polychain Capital led the round, which also included Andreessen Horowitz and other previous investors.
NFT startup Candy Digital raises $100m in Series A round
Insight Partners and Softbank Vision Fund 2 co-led the funding round.
CoinList is now valued at $1.5bn with a fresh $100m in funding
Accomplice VC and Agman Partners co-led the funding round, with Alphemy Capital, Taavet+Sten, Continue Capital, CMT Digital, DFG Capital Management, Fenbushi Capital, GoldenTree Asset Management, and Metaplanet, also participating.
Metaverse backer Animoca Brands raises $65m at $2.2bn valuation
The funding round follows the company’s $138.88m raise announced in July.
FTX raises $420m in a new funding round
FTX's new funding round included participation from 69 investors including Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and "funds and accounts managed by BlackRock." Other participants include Lightspeed Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Sea Capital.
UK crypto firm Copper set to raise up to $500m
The company is expected to announce the fundraise before the end of the year, but the round has not yet closed, nor has a lead investor been earmarked.
Andreessen Horowitz invests in new Meta4 NFT fund
A16z is the lead investor in Meta4′s new fund, which will invest in rare digital art and collectibles such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Crypto VC firm Sino Global Capital launches $200m fund with backing from FTX
The fund will invest across crypto projects, including DeFi and NFT infrastructure.
Multicoin Capital to raise $250m for third crypto-focused venture fund
Austin, Texas-based Multicoin had already raised $100m for a second fund in May, and plans to finish fundraising by the end of 2021.
Cboe set to acquire crypto spot and derivatives exchange ErisX
The news marks the return of Cboe in the crypto space. In December 2017, Cboe was the first U.S. regulated exchange to launch bitcoin futures, but in June 2019, it shut the product down. At the time, Cboe said it was assessing its approach for how it plans to continue the crypto business.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Near Protocol offers $800m in grants in bid for DeFi mindshare
Amid a spree of mammoth layer 1 incentive programs, Near has raised the bar in sheer size.
Reddit seeks 'engineers and leaders' for a possible NFT platform
The social discussion site Reddit is looking to hire people for what could become a new platform for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital goods.
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
Coinbase announces multiyear sponsorship deal with NBA, WNBA
Coinbase's logo and branding will appear during televised games for the aforementioned leagues. It will be the leagues first crypto platform partnership. The exchange will also be a partner of the NBA G League, NBA 2k League, and USA Basketball.
ProShares bitcoin futures ETF sees historic nearly $1bn trading day
ProShares' bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed on the New York Stock Exchange and it was welcomed with explosive interest.