June 16, 2024
Weekly: Latest Updates and Insights
Inflation Cools in May, Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady: The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for May, set to be released on June 12, is anticipated to demonstrate a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.4%, unchanged from April, as lower energy prices and stable food costs are likely to have prevented an acceleration. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to slow to a 3.5% annual pace, the lowest since April 2021, potentially keeping alive hopes for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.
Biden Campaign Explores Accepting Crypto Donations Through Coinbase Commerce: President Joe Biden’s campaign is in discussions to accept cryptocurrency donations via Coinbase Commerce, aiming to engage crypto-focused voters ahead of the upcoming election. This move follows similar efforts by Donald Trump’s campaign, as Biden’s team seeks to bolster support from pro-crypto donors and counter criticism regarding his administration’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation.
Trump Positioned as the Best Choice for Bitcoin Supporters in 2024 Election: In a recent article, Brian Morgenstern argues that President Donald Trump is the best candidate for Bitcoin owners, citing his commitment to protecting self-custody rights and opposing central bank digital currencies. As the Biden administration implements policies perceived as hostile to cryptocurrency, including efforts to regulate Bitcoin mining and promote a CBDC, Trump’s pro-Bitcoin stance resonates with a significant portion of voters concerned about digital asset policies.
Vitalik Buterin Advocates for Broader Cryptocurrency Use Beyond Memecoins: Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined several key directions to enhance the everyday use of cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the importance of zk reputation, identity credentials, and peer-to-peer cross-border payments. He also highlighted the potential of decentralized social networks, usable prediction markets, privacy enhancements, enterprise applications via zk validiums, and zk-based censorship-resistant voting systems to expand the utility and adoption of digital assets.
Binance Surpasses 200 Million Registered Users, Accounts for 36% of Global Crypto Market: Binance has achieved a significant milestone by exceeding 200 million registered users, representing approximately 36% of the global cryptocurrency user base, which is estimated at 562 million. Despite facing legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny, Binance CEO Richard Teng emphasized that this achievement reflects the rapid adoption of cryptocurrency and the company’s commitment to reaching one billion users.
SEC Chair: Approval of Spot ETH ETF S-1 Likely by End of Summer: Eleanor Terrett reported that the SEC is expected to approve several Bitcoin spot ETF applications soon, with sources indicating that a decision could come as early as next week. This news has generated significant anticipation in the cryptocurrency market, as the approval of such ETFs could lead to increased institutional investment in Bitcoin.
Tether Investments Plans to Deploy Over $1 Billion in New Deals Within a Year: Tether Investments, the venture capital arm of Tether Holdings Ltd., intends to allocate more than $1 billion into various deals over the next twelve months, as disclosed by CEO Paolo Ardoino in an exclusive interview. The investment team, currently consisting of fifteen individuals, reviews around hundreds of proposals monthly, with a significant portion coming from startups, and has already committed approximately $2 billion towards alternative financial infrastructure in emerging markets, artificial intelligence, and biotech sectors over the past two years.
MicroStrategy Announces $500 Million Convertible Notes Offering to Acquire More Bitcoin: MicroStrategy, the business intelligence firm led by Michael Saylor, has revealed plans to raise $500 million through a private offering of convertible senior notes due in 2032, with the intention of using the proceeds primarily to purchase additional Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. The notes will be offered to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, and the initial purchasers will have the option to buy an additional $75 million worth of notes within 13 days of issuance.
Paradigm Raises $850 Million for Third Venture Fund Focused on Early-Stage Crypto Projects: Paradigm, a leading crypto-focused venture capital firm, has announced the closing of its third fund with $850 million in committed capital, which will be dedicated to supporting early-stage crypto projects that are shaping the future of the industry. The firm’s belief in the transformative potential of crypto has only grown stronger since its inception in 2018, as evidenced by the significant milestones achieved by the crypto ecosystem, including the $1 trillion market capitalization of Bitcoin, the scaling of Ethereum and other blockchains, and the global adoption of stablecoins.
Fundraising
Symbiotic Completes $5.8 Million Seed Funding Round Led by Paradigm: Symbiotic, a repledge project, has successfully completed a $5.8 million seed funding round, with Paradigm leading the investment. This funding will support the development of innovative solutions aimed at enhancing the cryptocurrency ecosystem and expanding its utility.
Nexus Labs Raises $25 Million in Series A Funding Led by Lightspeed and Pantera: Nexus Labs, a startup building zero-knowledge privacy tools for AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, has secured $25 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Pantera Capital, bringing its total raised to $27.2 million. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, expand its engineering team, and support early-stage users in production deployments as it continues to engage with the scientific community.
Squads Raises $10 Million for Solana-Based Multisig Protocol and Launches Fuse Wallet: Squads Labs has successfully raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Electric Capital, bringing its total funding to $22.5 million, and has launched its retail-focused iOS wallet app called Fuse on public TestFlight. The Squads protocol, designed for managing on-chain assets with multi-signature security, has already secured over $10 billion in assets and aims to enhance its offerings while expanding its team and establishing a permanent headquarters in Dubai.
Layer3 Secures $15 Million Series A Funding Ahead of Token Launch and Airdrop: Layer3, a token distribution protocol, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round co-led by ParaFi and Greenfield Capital, bringing its total funding to $21.2 million. The company is set to launch its native L3 token and conduct an airdrop this summer, distributing 15 million tokens to early adopters and enhancing its platform for optimizing token distribution strategies.
NEAR Foundation Launches Nuffle Labs with $13 Million in Funding: The NEAR Foundation has established Nuffle Labs, a new entity aimed at enhancing decentralized development within the NEAR ecosystem, with $13 million in funding that includes a grant from the Foundation and investments from Electric Capital and others. Nuffle Labs will utilize NEAR’s Data Availability and Fast Finally Layer products to offer rollups, positioning itself strategically between the NEAR, Ethereum, and EigenLayer ecosystems to improve efficiency and resilience.
Telegram-Based Crypto Game Pixelverse Raises $5.5 Million for Growth: Pixelverse, a tap-to-earn video game that allows users to play directly through the Telegram messaging app, has raised $5.5 million from a diverse group of investors, including Delphi Ventures, Merit Circle, and former Nexon CEO Joonmo (James) Kwon, to fund its continued expansion and drive a massive audience into its ecosystem.
Irys Secures $8.9 Million in Funding Led by Lemniscap to Enhance On-Chain Data Services: Irys, formerly known as Bundlr Network, has raised $8.9 million in total funding, including a recent $3.5 million round led by Lemniscap, with participation from various notable investors. The funds will be used to improve data throughput and storage capabilities, as well as to develop infrastructure aimed at combating digital misinformation and expanding the company’s market reach.
Yuliverse Raises $4 Million in Pre-A Funding Round to Advance Metaverse Development: Yuliverse, a metaverse platform, has successfully completed a $4 million Pre-A financing round aimed at enhancing its gaming and social experiences. This funding will support the platform’s growth and development as it seeks to establish a strong presence in the evolving Web3 metaverse landscape.
Ink Finance Completes Over $5 Million in Financing with Participation from GSR: Ink Finance has successfully completed a financing round exceeding $5 million, aimed at enhancing its infrastructure for building financial decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The funding round saw participation from GSR and other notable investors, highlighting the growing interest in the platform’s innovative approach to DeFi governance.
Kima Raises $5 Million in Pre-Seed Funding to Bridge Traditional Finance and DeFi: Kima, a web3 payment startup, has secured $5 million in pre-seed funding led by Blockchange, Mastercard’s R&D accelerator FinSec Innovation Lab, and several angel investors, bringing its total funding to $8 million. The funds will enable Kima to enhance its decentralized settlement protocol, onboard more institutions and platforms, and expand its research and development efforts to achieve true interoperability between traditional finance and decentralized finance.
Halo Secures $3 Million Seed Financing to Enhance Web3 Social Experience: Web3 social application Halo has announced the successful completion of a $3 million seed financing round, with participation from IDG Capital and other investors. The funding will be utilized to further develop its platform, which aims to create a monetization layer within the SocialFi space, allowing users to manage digital assets and earn through social interactions.
Codatta Raises $2.5 Million in Seed Funding Led by OKX Ventures: Codatta, a decentralized data protocol aiming to build foundational data infrastructure for Web3 developers and protocols, has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by OKX Ventures, with participation from several other investors. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of tools for developers, enhance AI capabilities, build decentralized technologies, and improve community engagement as Codatta continues its mission to provide high-quality data for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications in the Web3 space.
Qiro Finance Secures $1.2 Million in Pre-Seed Funding to Address Credit Gaps in Emerging Markets: Qiro Finance has successfully raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding to develop its platform aimed at bridging the credit gap in emerging markets. The funding will support the company’s efforts to provide accessible financial solutions and improve credit availability for underserved populations.