July 07, 2024
Weekly: Latest Updates and Insights
Mt. Gox Begins Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Repayments to Creditors: Mt. Gox has announced the commencement of repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to some creditors as of July 5, 2024, following the rehabilitation plan. Repayments to additional creditors will be expedited once specific conditions are met, including the validation of registered accounts and agreements with designated cryptocurrency exchanges to ensure secure transactions.
U.S. Unemployment Claims Rise for Ninth Consecutive Week, Reaching Highest Levels Since 2021: The United States has reported a rise in continuing unemployment claims, reaching 1.858 million for the week ending June 22, slightly above expectations and the previous figure of 1.839 million. Additionally, initial unemployment claims for the week ending June 29 totaled 238,000, exceeding expectations, marking the ninth consecutive week of increased unemployment claimants, the longest such period since 2018.
Federal Reserve Maintains Cautious Stance on Interest Rates Amid Inflation Concerns: The Federal Reserve’s minutes from the June 12 meeting reveal a consensus among officials to adopt a wait-and-see approach, with many lacking confidence in cutting interest rates despite ongoing high inflation. Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized the need for further progress in addressing inflation and highlighted the delicate balance between managing inflation and protecting the labor market, expressing cautious optimism about recent trends.
Bitwise Files Amended S-1 for Ethereum ETF Ahead of Deadline: James Seyffart reports that Bitwise has submitted another amended S-1 form for its Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) just days before the upcoming July 8 deadline. This filing suggests that more updates from other ETF issuers are expected in the near future as the market anticipates regulatory developments.
German MP Calls for Halt on Government Bitcoin Sales Amid Market Concerns: Bundestag member Joana Cotar has strongly criticized the German government’s decision to sell a significant portion of its Bitcoin holdings, arguing that such actions could negatively impact the cryptocurrency market’s stability. She contrasts this approach with the U.S. discussions on Bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency and invites government officials to reconsider their strategy at an upcoming lecture on “Bitcoin Strategies for Nation States.”
Circle Becomes First Stablecoin Issuer to Obtain MiCA-Compliant EMI License in Europe: Circle has secured the first Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, positioning itself as a leader in the stablecoin market. This license enables Circle to issue euro-denominated EURC and USDC stablecoins within the European Union, enhancing its competitive edge against rivals like Tether.
Grayscale’s June 2024 Market Commentary Highlights Cryptocurrency Trends: Grayscale’s June 2024 market commentary provides insights into the evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies, focusing on regulatory developments and market dynamics that are shaping investor sentiment. The report emphasizes the growing institutional interest in digital assets and the potential for increased adoption as the market matures.
Sony Group Acquires Amber Japan, Expanding into Cryptocurrency Exchange Market: Sony Group has acquired Amber Japan, marking its official entry into the cryptocurrency exchange sector as part of its strategy to diversify its extensive portfolio, which exceeds $100 billion. The acquisition follows Amber Japan’s rebranding from the regulated platform DeCurret and aims to enhance its market presence through collaborations with various Sony businesses, including the management of the WhaleFin trading service.
Improving Ethereum Transaction Confirmation Times Through Epoch and Slot Innovations: Vitalik Buterin discusses potential enhancements to Ethereum’s transaction confirmation times, emphasizing the need for faster user experiences beyond the current 5-20 seconds. He proposes solutions such as single-slot finality and based pre confirmations to streamline the process, ultimately aiming to create a more efficient and user-friendly blockchain environment.
Fundraising
UniSat announced completion of a Pre-Series A round led by Binance in May.: UniSat has successfully completed a Pre-Series A funding round led by Binance in May 2024. This strategic investment aims to enhance UniSat’s technical capabilities and support its growth in the cryptocurrency space.
ZK technology verification company Pi Squared completed a $12.5 million seed round.: Pi Squared has raised $12.5 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from various investors including Samsung Next and angel investors from the Ethereum Foundation. The funding will support the development of its “Universal ZK Circuit” and “Universal Settlement Layer,” aimed at enabling verifiable computing and facilitating blockchain transactions across different programming languages.
Polychain Capital Leads $16 Million Seed Round for Bitcoin Restaking Protocol Lombard: Lombard, a Bitcoin restaking platform, has raised $16 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from several other investors including BabylonChain and Franklin Templeton. The funding will be utilized to expand the Bitcoin restaking ecosystem and integrate its liquid and yield-bearing token, LBTC, across Ethereum DeFi protocols later this year.
RedStone Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding Round Led by Arrington Capital: RedStone, a modular blockchain oracle provider, has successfully raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Arrington Capital, with participation from notable investors including Kraken Ventures and White Star Capital. This funding will support RedStone’s upcoming token launch and enhance its capabilities as it continues to expand its services across over 60 blockchains.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Co-Leads $85 Million Seed Round for Open-Source AI Platform Sentient: Sentient, an open-source AI development platform, has raised $85 million in a seed funding round co-led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Framework Ventures. The funding will support Sentient’s mission to build community-driven AI models and expand its capabilities on the Polygon blockchain.
Dragonfly Capital Leads $15 Million Seed Round for Distributed Cloud Computing Firm Prodia: Prodia, a web3 artificial intelligence company, has raised $15 million in a seed funding round led by Dragonfly Capital, with additional support from various investors including HashKey Capital and OKX Ventures. The funding will be used to enhance Prodia’s distributed GPU network, enabling more efficient cloud computing services and expanding support for generative video and large language models.
DWF Labs Launches $20 Million Fund to Support Web3 Projects in Chinese-Speaking Regions: DWF Labs has unveiled a $20 million Cloudbreak Fund aimed at backing innovative projects in Chinese-speaking areas, focusing on sectors such as GameFi, SocialFi, and layer-1/layer-2 infrastructure. The initiative is designed to provide both financial and strategic resources to foster growth and innovation within the Web3 ecosystem.
AnchorZero Secures $8 Million in Seed Funding for Web3 Tax Solutions: AnchorZero has raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Spark Capital, with additional investments from Robot Ventures and Ethereal Ventures. The funding will be utilized to enhance its Web3 tax planning solutions, making sophisticated tax strategies accessible to a broader audience.
SwordsnDungeons Secures $5 Million in Funding to Enhance Development: SwordsnDungeons has successfully raised $5 million in funding, expressing gratitude to its community and backers for their support throughout nearly three years of development. This financial boost will aid in further enhancing the game’s features and expanding its reach within the gaming community.
Compute Labs Raises $3 Million in Pre-Seed Funding at $30 Million Valuation: Compute Labs, a developer of a Solana-based GPU tokenization protocol, has secured $3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Protocol Labs, bringing its fully diluted token valuation to $30 million. The funding will support the development of its GPU-NFTs (GNFTs), allowing users to invest in high-performance GPUs and making compute resources more accessible to regular investors.
Bitcoin Scaling Protocol QED Raises $6 Million Seed Round at ‘9-Figure’ Valuation: QED, a Bitcoin scaling protocol, has secured $6 million in a seed funding round led by Blockchain Capital, bringing its valuation to at least $100 million. The funding will support the development of QED’s zero-knowledge proof verification technology, aiming to create an ecosystem of “hyper-scalable” web3 applications.
SendBlocks Emerges from Stealth with $8.2 Million Seed Funding for Blockchain Data Management: SendBlocks has officially come out of stealth mode, announcing $8.2 million in seed funding led by Castle Island Ventures to streamline blockchain data management. The platform aims to simplify access to blockchain data for enterprises and developers, reducing the need for extensive data teams while addressing the challenges of flexibility and scalability in high-throughput environments.
OpenLedger Secures $8 Million in Seed Funding Led by Polychain Capital and Borderless Capital: OpenLedger has raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital and Borderless Capital, with participation from several other investors. The funding will be used to expand its team and enhance its data pipeline infrastructure, aimed at supporting artificial intelligence development with a focus on decentralization.
Mamori Raises $5 Million in Seed Funding Led by Blockchain Capital: Blockchain startup Mamori has successfully raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Velocity Capital and Web3.com, among others. The funding will be used to enhance web3 security through the development of a machine learning-enabled algorithm designed to identify potential vulnerabilities in blockchain-based software.