Autor Cointelegraph By Sam Bourgi

Crypto Biz: Ripple takes the high road, Jan. 20–26

Crypto Biz: Ripple takes the high road, Jan. 20–26

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 27, 2022 |

Blockchain payments company Ripple (XRP) made it abundantly clear this week that it’s not letting its feud with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hold back its business plans. On Wednesday, the company announced it had repurchased all Series C shares that it issued to private investors back in December 2019 — even though a court ruling in 2021 said it didn’t have to.This week’s Crypto Biz explores Ripple’s share repurchase and provides an overview of the biggest funding stories of the week. We also weigh a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal by Valkyrie that seeks to provide exposure to the Bitcoin (BTC) mining arena. For a more fulsome discussion of this week’s business news, register for the Crypto Biz newsletter below. Ripple unveils $200M share repurchaseMore than two years after raising $200 million in a Series C funding round, Ripple announced this week that it had repurchased all of the outstanding shares that were issued in the deal. Ripple said the share repurchase reflected the company’s “extremely strong position in the market” and “strong balance sheet.” The buyback also netted the company a whopping $15 billion valuation — all while it continued to fight a $1.38 billion lawsuit filed by the SEC. As Cointelegraph previously reported, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects the lawsuit to be resolved sometime in 2022.RippleNet is much more than cross-border payments – it’s bringing crypto-native services such as liquidity to enterprises. Today, the network has a volume run rate >$10B. Huge props to the team for continuously upping their game & leaning into new capabilities every year. 3/4— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 26, 2022Valkyrie files application for new Bitcoin mining ETFIn the absence of a full-fledged Bitcoin spot ETF, investors may be looking for alternative ways to gain exposure to the flagship digital asset. Crypto asset manager Valkyrie recently filed a Bitcoin Miners ETF with the SEC in a bid to provide diversified exposure to companies involved in Bitcoin mining. Valkyrie’s proposed fund would invest at least 80% of its net assets in companies that generate at least 50% of their revenue or profits from BTC mining. Related: SEC rejects application for Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust spot ETFFTX US valued at $8B following major funding roundIt wouldn’t be a Crypto Biz recap without documenting yet another major funding announcement from the world of blockchain. Crypto exchange operator FTX US announced this week that it had closed a $400 million funding round, bringing its total valuation to $8 billion. The funding round is not unlike the $420 million raised by FTX’s global exchange in October 2021. FTX US clearly has big expansion plans in the United States, a country that dominates Bitcoin trading volumes, according to Arcane Research.FTX US is happy to announce we’ve completed our Series A raise! Thank you to our partners, many of whom have invested in FTX from the start; to @ramnikarora for managing the round; and to @SBF_FTX for being the reason we’re all here. https://t.co/5rza97DVUY— Brett Harrison (@Brett_FTXUS) January 26, 2022

Related: Crypto infrastructure firm Fireblocks valued at $8B following $550M raiseBFF II to invest $75M in P2E and Web3 projectsSpeaking of major funding news, Blockchain Founders Fund has launched a new venture portfolio that seeks to invest in projects at the intersection of crypto, Web3 and the metaverse. The Blockchain Founders Fund II, also known as BFF II, raised $75 million from various investors, including The Sandbox chief operating officer Sebastien Borget. The venture fund has already invested in 11 projects that include a layer-2 derivatives exchange, play-to-earn games and even a DeFi protocol. In other words, smart money is still investing in the major trends you likely first heard about in 2021. 

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Crypto infrastructure firm Fireblocks valued at $8B following $550M raise

Crypto infrastructure firm Fireblocks valued at $8B following $550M raise

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 27, 2022 |

Digital asset custody platform Fireblocks has raised $550 million in Series E funding to become one of the blockchain industry’s most valuable companies, underscoring heightened institutional appetite for cryptocurrency products despite extreme price volatility. The investment round was co-led by venture firms D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital, with participation from Parafi Growth Fund, Canapi Ventures, Altimeter, General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Mammoth, CapitalG and Iconiq Strategic Partners. Since launching in 2019, Fireblocks has raised a cumulative $799 million from some of blockchain’s leading venture firms. As Cointelegraph reported, the company secured $310 million in a Series D funding round that concluded in July 2021. That followed a successful Series C funding round in March of the same year that was valued at $133 million.The successive funding rounds have helped Fireblocks expand its service offerings to over 800 institutional clients, including Bank of New York Mellon, Revolut, Galaxy Digital, Crypto.com, BlockFi, SwissBorg, CoinShares, eToro and Three Arrows Capital. As an infrastructure provider, Fireblocks works with crypto exchanges, lenders and other financial institutions to secure, transfer and issue digital assets. Fireblocks has prioritized the use of multi-party computation, also known as MPC, in providing custody and infrastructure solutions to secure digital assets. When asked about the importance of MPC and why it is utilized so heavily by Fireblocks, CEO Michael Shaulov told Cointelegraph that “MPC removes the single point of compromise without inhibiting the operational arm of the business that is responsible for driving growth.” He further explained:”When it comes to custody, customers want to wake up in the morning knowing their assets are still there. Security in the digital asset space has evolved over the last few years to provide better control and better transparency — that’s why most of us are using multi-party computation today.”Fireblocks’ $550 million raise is one of the largest the crypto industry has ever seen in a single funding round. Venture capital firms have poured billions of dollars into blockchain-focused startups over the past 12 months. Funding is showing no signs of slowing despite multiple steep selloffs in crypto prices, as demonstrated by Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent tumble below $34,000.Related: Crypto exchange FTX US closes $400M funding round to reach $8B valuation[embedded content]Venture capital flows into the crypto sector reflect a growing belief that digital assets will continue to disrupt traditional finance. As a result, dozens of crypto startups have been crowned “unicorns” over the past year — a term that describes early-stage companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more. Shaulov told Cointelegraph that VC investors recognize “we are still early in this transition and transformation.” Despite the speculative nature of some crypto markets, most of the technology-driven investors are supporting “non-speculative developments,” such as cross-border remittances, tokenized securities, GameFi, nonfungible tokens and other emerging crypto verticals. With respect to Fireblocks, DeFi alone currently represents 25% of its business, according to Shaulov. 

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Crypto tax calculator CoinTracker valued at $1.3B following $100M raise

Crypto tax calculator CoinTracker valued at $1.3B following $100M raise

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 27, 2022 |

Cryptocurrency portfolio tracker and tax calculator CoinTracker has attained “unicorn” status after raising $100 million in Series A financing, demonstrating once again that investors are allocating vast sums of capital toward crypto-focused companies. The Series A investment round was led by California-based venture capital firm Accel, with additional participation from General Catalyst, Initialized Capital, Y Combinator Continuity, 776 Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Intuit Ventures and Kraken Ventures. Individual investors who participated in the round included former Stripe COO Hughes Johnson, Coinbase board member Gokul Rajaram and Jeremy Liew, an early investor in Affirm and Snapchat. With the capital raise, CoinTracker’s total valuation grew to $1.3 billion, making it the latest unicorn to be crowned in the crypto industry. In the startup world, unicorns are companies that have attained a valuation of at least $1 billion. CoinTracker said it will use the funds to meet the growing demand for complex tax reporting tools within the crypto industry. It will also expand its human resources and broaden its coverage of exchanges, chains and wallets. The company says it has over 500,000 users and tracks over $20 billion worth of crypto assets across 25 blockchains and over 300 exchanges. Its user count has grown fivefold since April 2020 when it first amassed 100,000 users. The new US infrastructure bill has been signed by President Biden. The bill imposed restrictions on businesses handling cryptocurrencies and mandated digital asset transactions worth more than $10,000 shall be reported to the IRS. https://t.co/gxdeK2LVJa— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) November 16, 2021When asked about the biggest issues crypto holders face with respect to tax compliance, CoinTracker co-founder and CEO Jon Lerner told Cointelegraph that keeping track of transactions across multiple exchanges leads to challenges calculating taxes accurately. “Complexity is exploding,” he said, explaining: “Calculating that capital gain or loss can be difficult, especially considering it could have been acquired from a variety of places and transferred across exchanges and wallets over time. To make matters worse, users are increasingly using cryptocurrency across more exchanges, decentralized tools, and chains, as well as use cases like store of value, DeFi, NFTs, payments, and more. Complexity is exploding.”As Cointelegraph reported, CoinTracker’s platform became available to users of Coinbase, one of the world’s leading digital asset exchanges, in January 2021, which was right around the time that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was calling on the exchange to take a stronger position on tax evasion. CoinTracker’s platform enables users to report the transaction and sale of thousands of cryptocurrencies in a more accessible way. Crypto was once again in the crosshairs of the IRS and federal regulators with the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021. The new law is expected to generate $28 billion in tax revenue from the crypto industry over the next ten years due to changes in how regulators classify brokers, as well as other reporting requirements. Related: Crypto heavyweights back inflation-resistant savings protocolRegarding venture capital’s continued interest in the crypto space amid the recent market downtrend, Lerner said that “most of the top tier technology investors have recognized that the cryptocurrency industry is here to stay, given its enormous potential and upside.” These investors don’t let volatility impact their investment decisions because they focus on companies with strong fundamentals.

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$75M Blockchain Founders Fund II backs portfolio of P2E and Web3 projects

$75M Blockchain Founders Fund II backs portfolio of P2E and Web3 projects

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 24, 2022 |

Singapore-based Blockchain Founders Fund has launched a new venture capital fund to support emerging projects in the cryptocurrency, metaverse and Web3 sectors, offering further evidence that investors are still keen to back major growth trends in the digital asset market. Blockchain Founders Fund II, also known as BFF II, has raised $75 million from various investors across the blockchain and crypto industry, including NEO Global Capital, Appworks, Baksh Capital, Octava and The Sandbox chief operating officer Sebastien Borget. BFF II has already deployed capital across 11 projects, including a layer-two derivatives exchange, several play-to-earn games and a DeFi protocol. BFF II is focused primarily on crypto, blockchain Web3 and metaverse projects. The fund is also prepared to offer an additional $5 million to successful startups that make it to subsequent funding rounds. BFF partner Mansoor Madhavji told Cointelegraph that “operational experience” is an important consideration when selecting which companies to support. All the companies receiving financial backing “have demonstrated strong product market fit [and] are able to set trends in the crypto space,” he said. Related: a16z, Google lead $20M investment in Africa Web3 game publisher Carry1stDespite a steep selloff in the cryptocurrency sector, which culminated on Monday with Bitcoin (BTC) falling below $34,000, smart money investors increasingly view digital assets as a generational opportunity. As such, they are deploying capital in sectors they believe could reshape the digital economy over the next decade. Real Vision founder and macro investor Raoul Pal has also stuck to his conviction that digital assets are revolutionizing the world around us. On Saturday, Pal told his 878,000 Twitter followers that he hasn’t “touched a thing” with respect to his crypto holdings.haha… no, haven’t touched a thing and I set it up that I dont need to.— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) January 22, 2022Venture funds have shown an enduring commitment to the blockchain sector over the past year despite massive fluctuations in digital asset prices. Through the first ten months of 2021, venture capital had deployed over $17 billion into blockchain- and crypto-focused projects, according to PitchDeck.

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Crypto Biz: Microsoft enters the metaverse, Jan. 14-20

Crypto Biz: Microsoft enters the metaverse, Jan. 14-20

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 20, 2022 |

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Microsoft’s Activision purchase, the new partnership between Coinbase and Mastercard and the latest funding news from the world of crypto. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below.Microsoft enters the Metaverse with Activision purchaseIt’s no secret that Microsoft has been eyeing its entry into the Metaverse ever since Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta. The company found its perfect entry this week by acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Satya Nadella, who has served as Microsoft’s CEO since 2014, described video games as playing a “key role in the development of metaverse platforms.” Activision is behind some of the world’s most iconic gaming franchises, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Together with @ATVI_AB, we will usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to all. https://t.co/fF2Ig3gSfx— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) January 18, 2022Coinbase partners with Mastercard around NFT purchasesCrypto is nothing new for Mastercard. As Cointelegraph reported, the credit card giant launched crypto-linked credit cards across the Asia-Pacific region in November 2021. Now, the company is partnering with Coinbase to enable users to purchase nonfungible tokens using their credit cards. The partnership revolves around Coinbase’s forthcoming nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace and enables users to buy digital collectibles without having to set up a crypto wallet or hold Ether (ETH). Strengthening payment onramps to the crypto sector is considered vital for boosting mainstream adoption. Intel to reveal new energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASICSemiconductor giant Intel is planning to unveil a new energy-efficient Bitcoin (BTC) mining ASIC at the forthcoming IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in February. The new ASIC, which is referred to as the Bonanza Mine, is based on a patent submitted by Intel in November 2018. The technology behind the Bonanza Mine could reduce overall power consumption by approximately 15%. For reference: Intel is a Dow 30 company. Its potential foray into the Bitcoin mining industry could become one of the biggest stories of 2022. BREAKING – Intel says #Bitcoin mining market could grow by $2.8 BILLION in just 3 years pic.twitter.com/BaTo0hsRSf— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 20, 2022

Animoca Brands valued at $5B following $358M raiseThe biggest funding news of the week was centered around Animoca Brands, an NFT-focused venture capital and software gaming company that recently raised over $358 million. The funding round, which catapulted Animoca to a valuation of $5 billion, was backed by Liberty City Ventures, 10T Holdings, Gemini Frontier Fund, ParaFi Capital, Provident, Sequoia China and Winklevoss Capital, among others. Animoca said its ultimate vision is to protect users’ digital property rights in the Metaverse using NFTs.Related: Meta reportedly plans to integrate NFTs on Facebook and Instagram profilesCrypto IRA iTrustCapital valued at $1.3BSpeaking of major funding announcements, crypto-focused 401(k) provider iTrustCapital wrapped up a $125 million Series A growth round that was led by Left Lane Capital. The company said it planned to use the cash injection to expand existing product offerings as well as explore strategic acquisitions. The value proposition of iTrustCapital is it provides tax-advantaged exposure to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether through government-approved retirement accounts. That means you can invest in crypto while keeping Uncle Sam happy. There’s a new metaverse player in town. Microsoft, the world’s second-largest company by market capitalization, announced earlier this week that it had acquired Activision Blizzard for $95.00 a share in a deal that’s expected to conclude in fiscal 2023. Microsoft will utilize the gaming giant to pivot to the virtual worlds’ environment of the Metaverse.

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