Author: marketanalysis

Written By: Ira Rahman| Nov 3, 2021

The Commonwealth Bank has begun allowing its customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its app, which is the first move by an Australian central bank. Australia’s largest bank announced they had partnered with US-based crypto exchange Gemini and blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis in offering the service to its 6.5 million app users. The service will allow customers to o buy up to 10 crypto assets, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The bank is conducting a pilot currently in the next few weeks, which is ahead of wider extended cryptocurrency services launch in 2022. CBA will extend services on the app as time progresses.

Furthermore, through research of their clients, the bank stated that many customers found many had either expressed interest in crypto assets or were already trading crypto through exchanges. According to the Chief Executive of CBA, Matt Comyn states in an interview that, “Customers have expressed concern regarding some of the crypto services in the market today, including the friction of using third party exchanges, the risk of fraud, and the lack of trust in some new providers. Therefore, we see this as an opportunity to bring a trusted and secure experience for our customers.” 

Photo credits: Commonwealth Bank has announced it will introduce cryptocurrency trading on its CommBank app. Photograph: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

What is the impact on Australia?

As the Commonwealth Bank adopts cryptocurrency services for their customers, it is likely to encourage other big banking to follow their paths. Institutions such as CBA will become the first bank in Australia to support crypto, and according to Blockchain Australia, it is “inevitable” that the other “big four” banks, such as National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Westpac, will soon follow suit. Several players in the local crypto space in Australia hoped the validation by CBA would see it taking a more open, considered approach to provide financial services to the sector. A recent Senate committee with the Australian government heard in September that debanking is rife across the industry.

Debanking is where financial institutions refuse to offer services to businesses in Australia.

Tristan Dakin, Australian country manager at Wise, further states, “If CBA is willing to offer unregulated products like crypto within their risk appetite, it raises questions around the debanking and restricting of banking services to regulated financial institutions in Australia, citing little more than ‘risk concerns. Having this coming from a systemic and the biggest bank in Australia, it’s a move that will change a lot,” he said. CBA offering cryptocurrency trading their app will encourage other banks in the area to follow suit and encourage more investors and regulations in the region.

Work Cited: 

Deare, S., & Beers, L. “Commonwealth Bank makes ‘Inevitable’ Move for Customers to use Crypto”. 7NEWS; 7News.com.au, 3 Nov. 2021. https://7news.com.au/business/commbank/commonwealth-bank-to-be-first-australian-bank-to-allow-customers-to-hold-and-use-cryptocurrency-c-4413288

Gkritsi, E. “Commonwealth Bank First in Australia to offer Crypto Services.” CoinDesk; CoinDesk. 3 Nov. 2021. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/03/commonwealth-bank-first-in-australia-to-offer-crypto-services/

Sier, J., & Eyers, J. “CBA Drives Stake in Crypto Ground for Banks.” Australian Financial Review; AFR, 3 Nov. 2021. https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/cba-crypto-move-will-shake-up-the-industry-20211103-p595kg

Taylor, J. “Commonwealth Bank to offer Cryptocurrency Trading in First for Australia’s Big Four.” The Guardian; The Guardian, 3 Nov. 2021. , https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/03/commonwealth-bank-to-offer-cryptocurrency-trading-in-first-for-australias-big-four

Written By: Isha Goel | August 26 2021

As Bitcoin prices remain on the rise toward $50,000, Citigroup is seeing a surge in client demand to invest in cryptocurrency products. While the bank has yet to gain the necessary regulatory approval, it would be joining Goldman Sachs in offering Bitcoin futures trading to its clients. 

Taking a Look at Indicators

Arcane Research conducted an analysis on traders’ fear and optimism and determined the index to be currently sitting in the ‘extreme greed’ territory this week. On the other hand, other indicators suggest a more neutral sentiment like the ‘relatively low funding rates in bitcoin’s futures market [that] indicates less exuberance among investors.’ Even QCP Capital noted that ‘Funding rates and future premiums in both BTC and ETH actually continue to be relatively low and muted,’ which means that ‘most of the rally has been driven by demand in physical spot rather than from leveraged speculators.’ This could possible indicate a local top and may suggest a good time for traders to sell a portion of their holdings. 

Credit for Image: Coindesk

Another indicator to consider is the spent output profit ratio (SOPR), or the price at the time the cryptocurrency was sold divided by the price at the time it was originally bought. After a steep decline since January, we are now seeing it turn positive. This could be a sign that the ‘capitulation period has ended and the market is back on solid ground.’ SOPR is a proxy for realized profit and loss for all coins moved on the blockchain so while investors were selling Bitcoin at a loss for most of June, holders are now sitting on profits relative to their cost basis. 

Credit for Image: Coindesk

What is the Impact?

Investors of course are becoming more interested as a result and this surge in demand is trickling down to megabanks like Citigroup. As the firm awaits approval to trades futures via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), it is actively recruiting people to join a crypto-focused team in London. In an interview, a Citigroup spokesperson revealed that ‘Given the many questions around regulatory frameworks, supervisory expectations, and other factors, we are being very thoughtful about our approach,’ and ‘We are presently considering products such as futures for some of our institutional clients, as these operate under strong regulatory frameworks.’ As the number of big banks venturing into crypto continues to increase, futures and exchange-traded products (ETPs) will likely be the next steps for these firms to allow clients to gain exposure to blockchain projects. 

Work Cited

Allison, Ian, and Tanzeel Akhtar. “Story from Business Citigroup Gearing Up to Trade CME Bitcoin Futures: Sources.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 24 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/citigroup-is-gearing-up-to-trade-cme-bitcoin-futures-sources.

Dantes, Damanick, and Frances Yue. “Market Wrap: ‘Extreme Greed’ for Bitcoin Falters at $50K.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 24 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/market-watch-extreme-greeed-results-in-bitcoin-price-slump.

Podder, Sohini. “Citi Considering Bitcoin Futures Trading for Some Institutional Clients.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 24 Aug. 2021, news.yahoo.com/citi-considering-bitcoin-futures-trading-173134176.html.

Surane, Jennifer. “Citi Weighs Trading Bitcoin Futures as It Awaits Regulators’ Nod.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 24 Aug. 2021, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-24/citi-weighs-trading-bitcoin-futures-as-it-awaits-regulators-ok.

Wu, Ethan. “Citi Will Reportedly Start Trading Bitcoin Futures, Following Goldman Sachs’s Lead as Client Demand for Crypto Spikes.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 24 Aug. 2021, markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/citigroup-bank-crypto-bitcoin-futures-ethereum-goldman-sachs-cme-derivatives-2021-08.   

Written By: Isha Goel | August 19 2021

After nearly six years, the Dogecoin Foundation is coming back to support the Dogecoin (DOGE) ecosystem, and this time, with some high-profile individuals to its board of advisors. The board will include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin as a blockchain & crypto advisor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s legal and financial advisor Jared Birchall to represent Musk’s interests. Also, ‘the Foundation Board consists of core developers Ross Nicoll and Michi Lumin, along with product and community leads Timothy Stebbing, Gary Lachance, and Jens Wiechers.’ They are hoping to secure a three-year budget to fund their full-time staff to continue developing the project.

Improving the Brand Image

With a more structured approach to work on the project, Dogecoin may have a better chance at improving its brand image. Full-time staff would include engineers who would improve both integration and APIs for financial, social, and charitable projects wishing to use Dogecoin. The foundation is finding it more and more important to protect the Dogecoin brand as dog-themed products are being introduced by numerous companies. Axe deodorant launched a limited edition DOGE scent and Kraft Heinz Co auctioned ‘Hot Doge Weiners’ this past year. The project mentioned that ‘In recent times, numerous attempts have been made to co-opt the ‘Dogecoin’ brand in various jurisdictions, in ways that would prevent the community and the project itself from using them.’ Now, they do have exclusive rights to both the Dogecoin mark and logo and intend to maintain them for the community.

It doesn’t hurt that the co-founder of Ethereum wants to be a large part of the effort. After having previously expressed support toward Dogecoin, Buterin went one step further to mention that he believes that Ethereum was also a dog coin in spirit so that ‘If Doge wants to somehow bridge to Ethereum, and then people can trade Doge thousands of times a second inside a loop ring, then that would be amazing.’ 

The Plan to Progress

After being established in 2014, the Dogecoin Foundation now hopes to ‘support the coin’s ecosystem and community, develop a roadmap for the token’s future, and protect the brand against fraud and abuse.’ This could possibly be through a series of technical advancements. A part of this plan includes aiming to establish a budget that is primarily funded through sponsorship and enables community members to work on the coin full time and therefore accelerate its development. A manifesto was also released by the foundation, noting the coin’s core attributes and values: ‘Being useful, we value utility over technical brilliance. Being personable, we value individuals and interactions over profit-driven economics. Being welcoming, we value collaboration and trust over competition and exclusivity. Being reliable, we value working solutions over speed of delivery.’ With the coin ramping up efforts to legitimize itself, it will definitely continue to be a crypto to watch in the coming weeks. 

Work Cited

Foundation, Dogecoin. “Dogecoin Foundation.” Dogecoin Foundation, foundation.dogecoin.com/. 

Kiderlin, Sophie. “Ethereum Co-Creator Vitalik BUTERIN Will Help Shape the Future of DOGECOIN after Joining the Token’s Foundation.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 18 Aug. 2021, markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/vitalik-buterin-dogecoin-foundation-elon-musk-cryptocurrency-crypto-2021-8. 

Ligon, Cheyenne. “Dogecoin Foundation Returns WITH Ethereum’s Buterin as Adviser.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 18 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/dogecoin-foundation-returns-with-ethereums-buterin-as-adviser. 

Sriram, Samyuktha. “Dogecoin Foundation Returns After 6-Year Hiatus; ETHEREUM’S Vitalik BUTERIN, Musk Rep JARED Birchall Join Board.” Benzinga, 18 Aug. 2021, www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/08/22550853/dogecoin-foundation-returns-after-6-year-hiatus-ethereums-vitalik-buterin-musk-rep-jared-b. 

Wright, Turner. “Team Officially Reestablishes Dogecoin Foundation after 6 Years.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 17 Aug. 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/team-officially-re-establishes-dogecoin-foundation-after-6-years.  

Written By: Isha Goel | August 12 2021

The investment firm VanEck filed a second prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 9 for a ‘Bitcoin strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) with exposure to Bitcoin futures and other investment vehicles.’ The firm had unsuccessfully attempted to list a similar fund in 2017 and thus constructed a series of minor amendments that they hoped would pair with the greater maturity of the futures market to result in a more positive outcome this time around. 

Credit for Image: Securities and Exchange Commission

More About the Fund

The ETF has been constructed in a manner to provide exposure to Bitcoin futures and other products that provide exposure to Bitcoin, possibly incusing crypto ETFs listed in other jurisdictions such as Canada. The fund is not meant to invest in Bitcoin or other digital assets directly, rather the investments will be made through a ‘Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of VanEck and managed by Gregory Krenzer.’ Gabor Gurbacs, the firm’s director of digital assets strategy stated that ‘VanEck was first to file for a Bitcoin futures ETF in 2017,’ and is ‘committed to bringing to market a Bitcoin ETF [because] futures markets have matured significantly since 2017.’ Meanwhile, the SEC hasn’t approved even one crypto ETF to date despite having received well over a dozen applications. In a turn of events, Chair Gary Gensler’s recent commentary indicates that futures products may be a consideration in the near future. 

When VanEck initially filed for the Bitcoin Strategy ETF in August 2017, it was meant to be put in place as ‘one of a growing number of efforts to create financial products around the cryptocurrency that offer indirect exposure to investors.’ Unfortunately, they received a letter claiming that the firm’s request wouldn’t even be considered for review as a result of the nascent state of the derivatives market for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The letter explained: 

‘The Trust notes that on a call with the Staff on September 20, 2017, the Staff expressed the view that it is the Commission’s policy to not review a registration statement for a fund where the underlying instruments in which the fund intends to primarily invest are not yet available. The Staff requested that the Trust withdraw the Amendment until such time as the underlying instruments in which the Fund intends to primarily invest (i.e., bitcoin futures contracts) become available for investment.’

The Push For a Crypto ETF

Just last week, Atlanta-based asset manager Invesco submitted a proposal that was billed as providing exposure to Bitcoin through ‘investing in futures and other products such as ETFs listed outside the U.S.’ They continued to emphasize how the fund would not directly invest in Bitcoin and instead in its futures and exchange-traded products (ETPs) but also possibly Bitcoin ETFs listed outside of the United States. Remaining assets from the fund would be invested directly in cash and cash equivalents as a part of collateral investments ‘designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin or otherwise collateralize the subsidiary’s investments in Bitcoin futures.’ With more proposals coming out, there is hope that an ETF will soon be approved to provide a less risky entrance for investors into the world of crypto. 

Work Cited

Combinedbitcoinstrategy, Securities and Exchange Commission, www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1137360/000113736021000495/combinedbitcoinstrategy.htm#ic18b1e5905764aabbf295c6200c766bf_19.

Crawley, Jamie. “Invesco Files WITH SEC for BITCOIN Strategy ETF.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 5 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/invesco-files-with-sec-for-bitcoin-strategy-etf.

Crawley, Jamie. “VanEck Tries Again for BITCOIN Strategy ETF WITH SEC.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 10 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/vaneck-tries-again-for-bitcoin-strategy-etf-with-sec.

DiCamillo, Nate. “Gensler’s Preference for Bitcoin Futures Products Is Likely Bad News for a Spot Bitcoin ETF.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 5 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/genslers-preference-for-bitcoin-futures-products-is-likely-bad-news-for-a-spot-bitcoin-etf.  

Higgins, Stan. “VanEck’s Bitcoin FUTURES ETF Effort Dealt Blow By SEC.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 29 Sept. 2017, www.coindesk.com/vanecks-bitcoin-futures-etf-effort-dealt-blow-sec.

Partz, Helen. “Invesco Files with SEC for Bitcoin ETF without DIRECT BTC Exposure.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 5 Aug. 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/invesco-files-with-sec-for-bitcoin-etf-without-direct-btc-exposure.  

Written By: Isha Goel | August 5 2021

After a promising few days for the crypto market, Bitcoin pulled back once again as regulatory concerns took flight after an announcement claiming that a ‘lot of hype [is] masquerading as reality in the crypto field.’

Why the Bullish Trend?

What Bitcoin experienced last week was a contango: a bullish arbitrage that occurs when the Bitcoin futures price is higher than the spot price. Arcan Research wrote that ‘Last week’s short squeeze led a large contango to open in the futures market, but as bitcoin failed to break out from its range the contango has declined in recent days.’ Bitcoin’s contango had been narrowing since April as the bullish sentiment waned. Initially, ‘The CME contango remains substantially below the unregulated exchanges, suggesting that the institutional investors remain more cautious than the crypto native traders,’ but the growing contango could likely also suggest that these investors may have accumulated many leveraged long positions that could become problematics if Bitcoin fails to find support about $37,000. Nonetheless, this short squeeze resulted in the prices barely breaking the $40,000 resistance before coming back down as a result of the regulatory concerns.

Credit for Image: Coindesk

Governmental Regulation is Forthcoming

At this week’s Aspen Security Forum, Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chairman Gary Gensler addressed his concerns about digital assets and cryptocurrency needing more regulation. While many believe that crypto credit cards could provide an ample solution between crypto and fiat currency, Gensler has been dismissive of this solution because he believes that ‘no single crypto asset, though, broadly fulfills all the functions of money.’ His biggest concern right now is investor protection to avoid more people being harmed in the future. Gensler stated during the forum that ‘Right now, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West. This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications. There’s a great deal of hype and spin about how crypto assets work. In many cases, investors aren’t able to get rigorous, balanced, and complete information.’ 

He even foreshadowed the notion that more enforcement actions may be forthcoming as there is a chance that many tokens are unregistered securities. There are many crypto exchanges that operate beyond the borders of the United States and ‘while many overseas platforms state they don’t allow U.S. investors, there are allegations that some unregulated foreign exchanges facilitate trading by U.S. traders who are using virtual private networks or VPNs.’ Given this situation, these platforms should have to register with the Commission under U.S. law. Stablecoins were another point of concern when Gensler claimed that ‘stablecoins also may be securities and investment companies. To the extent they are, we will apply the full investor protections of the Investment Company Act and the other federal securities laws to these products.’ These stablecoins provide a path for people to avoid tax compliance while flaunting anti-money laundering rules and ultimately sidestep public policy goals. 

Maybe Just Not Yet

Gensler believes that crypto and its exchanges need Congressional attention alongside DeFi platforms. In explaining his action plan, he claimed that ‘if this field is going to continue, or reach any of its potential to be a catalyst for change, we better bring it into public policy frameworks.’ It is clear that Gensler is set on introducing regulatory clarity to the U.S. crypto market but these measures may be on the backburner for a while. In a time with the more pressing ‘environmental, social and corporate governance and meme stocks issues,’ some market commentators say that a Bitcoin ETF in 2021 is unlikely. 

Work Cited

Alois, JD. “New Sheriff in Town: Sec Chair Gensler Warn’s Crypto Industry That More Regulations Are Needed.” Crowdfund Insider, 3 Aug. 2021, www.crowdfundinsider.com/2021/08/178677-new-sheriff-in-town-sec-chair-genslers-warns-crypto-industry-that-more-regulations-are-needed/.

Avan-Nomayo, Osato. “SEC Chair Wants Robust Crypto Regulatory Regime for the US.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 3 Aug. 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/sec-chair-wants-robust-crypto-regulatory-regime-for-the-us. 

Crawley, Jamie. “SEC Boss Gensler EYEING Robust Regulation of Crypto MARKET: REPORT.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 3 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/sec-boss-gensler-eyeing-robust-regulation-of-crypto-market-report.

Dantes, Damanick, and Frances Yue. “Bitcoin in Pullback Mode as Regulatory Concerns Rise.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 3 Aug. 2021, www.coindesk.com/market-wrap-bitcoin-pullback-mode-regulatory-concerns.

Mejdrich, Kellie. “Crypto ‘Wild West’ Requires New LAWS, Sec Chair Says.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 3 Aug. 2021, www.politico.com/news/2021/08/03/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-regulation-sec-502281.   

Written By: Isha Goel | July 29 2021

On July 27, Mastercard announced a new Start Path global startup engagement program with the intent of supporting emerging digital assets, blockchain, and cryptocurrency firms. Seven fintech startups joined to expand and accelerate their product development alongside Mastercard and provide a safer digital asset solution for investors. 

Who is Participating?

These startups have been chosen to participate in the new program to address key areas of concern including: asset tokenization, data accuracy, digital security, and seamless access between the traditional and digital economy. 

• ‘Mintable (Singapore) is a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace where users can create, buy and sell digital and physical assets backed by the blockchain such as digital collectibles, avant-garde artwork, and even music. The Mintable platform is packed with novel features such as gasless minting and credit card purchasing that are designed to empower the everyday person to get involved with NFTs without any prior knowledge in crypto or coding.’
• ‘GK8 (Israel) is a self-managed end-to-end institutional crypto custody platform that offers a true air-gapped cold vault. This means that the platform is capable of creating, signing and sending secure blockchain transactions without receiving input from the internet, eliminating any potential cyberattack vectors.’
• ‘Taurus (Switzerland) delivers enterprise-grade infrastructure to manage any digital asset with one single platform, including crypto assets, digital currencies, and tokenized assets covering issuance, custody, asset servicing, and trading.’
• ‘Domain Money (USA) looks to build a next-generation investment platform, bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional finance for retail investors.’
• ‘SupraOracles (Switzerland) is a powerful blockchain oracle that helps businesses bridge real-world data to both public and private chains, enabling interoperable smart contracts to automate, simplify and secure the future of financial markets.’
• ‘STACS (Singapore) provides a blockchain infrastructure for the financial industry to unlock massive value and enable effective sustainable financing. Its clients and partners include global banks, national stock exchanges, and asset managers.’
• ‘Uphold (USA) is a crypto-native, multi-asset digital money platform offering investment and payment services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Uphold’s unique ‘Anything-to-Anything’ trading experience enables customers to trade directly between asset classes with embedded payments facilitating a future where everyone has access to financial services.’

Mastercard’s Commitment to Crypto

The Mastercard Start Path is a six-month accelerator program that launched in 2014. With the goal of scaling up and commercializing new products and services, the program helped more than 250 startups in achieving these goals. Nonetheless, Mastercard has committed to developing the future of cryptocurrency beyond just this accelerator. The company recently also announced plans to revamp its crypto card program for its users.

In an effort to make it simpler for partners to convert cryptocurrency into traditional fiat currency, an official statement made claims that ‘Mastercard and its partners will test this new capability to enable more banks and crypto companies to offer a card option to people wanting to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.’ The revised changes will also provide more alternatives for users interested in using cryptocurrency as a result of the numerous partnerships. With the inherent volatility of crypto being a concern, Mastercard plans on taking advantage of the partnership with Circle and its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC) for instant conversations while initiating the payment transfers. 

Work Cited

Franjkovic, Teuta. “Mastercard to Launch New Crypto and Blockchain Program.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 27 July 2021, finance.yahoo.com/news/mastercard-launch-crypto-blockchain-program-184827659.html. 

“Mastercard Announced Today a New Start Path Global Startup Engagement Program Dedicated to Supporting Fast-Growing Digital ASSETS, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Companies.” Mastercard USA, 27 July 2021, www.mastercard.com/news/press/2021/july/mastercard-launches-new-start-path-cryptocurrency-and-blockchain-program-for-startups/.  

Partz, Helen. “Mastercard Chooses 7 Crypto Startups for Start Path Accelerator.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 28 July 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/mastercard-chooses-7-crypto-startups-for-start-path-accelerator. 

Sarkar, Arijit. “Mastercard’s Latest Partnership to Help BANKS DISTRIBUTE Crypto Cards.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 20 July 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/mastercard-s-latest-partnership-to-help-banks-distribute-crypto-cards. 

Surane, Jennifer. “Mastercard Works With Startups to Ease Use of Cryptocurrencies.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 27 July 2021, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-27/mastercard-seeks-to-ease-use-of-cryptocurrencies-for-consumers.

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | July 15 2021

According to data from CB Insights, a business trend observation agency, in the second quarter, cryptocurrency companies raised a record US$4 billion in venture capital, of which overall financial technology transactions received US$30.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 29%. The report cited a large number of financing rounds, such as the stablecoin company Circle, which raised a record $440 million in May. (Earlier this week, a cryptocurrency company received its largest new round of financing when the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX announced that it had raised US$900 million.) CB Insights also noted that hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger’s 380 million in June U.S. dollar financing; April raised $300 million for the custody company Paxos (like Circle, it also acts as a stablecoin steward); Block.one’s $300 million financing in May for bullish exchanges; and May from Mexico City Bitso’s $250 million loot. Although the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have stabilized in recent weeks, so far in the third quarter, the size of the cryptocurrency rebound seems to be increasing, with FTX leading the way.

As the name suggests, the venture capital firm Pillar VC is focused on establishing “pillar” companies in Boston and throughout the Northeast. This seed-stage company in Boston completed a financing of US $ 192 million, which was divided into two funds, US $ 169 million for Pillar III and US $ 23 million for Pillar Select. More than 25 investors support the new fund, including the portfolio founders. Jamie Goldstein, Sarah Hodges and Russ Wilcox are Pillar VC’s three partners and are also Pillar’s top three investments. All three have business backgrounds: Goldstein worked at VC for 20 years and co-founded the speech recognition company PureSpeech, which was acquired by Voice Control Systems; Hodges worked at the online learning company Pluralsight; Wilcox was CEO of a paper company electronics company. E Ink, which sold the company in 2009. Pillar typically invests in a number of consumer and startup companies, with the goal of targeting Pillar III at startups that focus on biology, enterprise SaaS, AI / ML, encryption, fintech, hardware, manufacturing, and logistics. The company will make a pre-seed investment of between US $ 50,000 and US $ 500,000 and an initial round investment of US $ 2 million to 6 million. One of the unique characteristics of the company is that it will buy common stock to align with the founder and take the same risks, Goldstein told TechCrunch. The company was founded in 2016 and its first two funds already have 50 portfolio companies: Pillar I has raised $ 57 million and Pillar $ 100 million. These include Circle, the cryptocurrency company that announced the establishment of SPAC earlier this month, Desktop Metal, a 3D printing company that also went public through SPAC last year, and PillPack, which was acquired by Amazon in 2018.

“Pillar is an experiment that answers the question of ‘what happens if a unicorn CEO comes in and helps guide the next generation,” Wilcox said. “The experience is effective. Pillar has done what venture capitalists should do. This is the first idea.” In addition to leading investments, Hodges also leads the company’s portfolio company Pillar VC platform. Many portfolio companies come from universities and need help transforming this technology into a business. Pillar provides guidance on the business side of hiring CEOs or partners, leadership development, recruiting talent, and introducing potential clients. Wilcox said Pillar also intends to invest a third of the new fund in this biological category, with a particular focus on integrating life sciences and technology. In its second fund, the company established Petri, a pre-configured bio-accelerator focused on biotechnology, and recruited computing and engineering to develop agriculture, genetics, cell and gene therapy, medical data, and drugs. Founder of technology in the field of discovery. The third fund will continue to support accelerators through pre-allocation and seed investment. Pillar III investment is being finalized, but Hodges expects to inject capital into another 50 companies. “We are very optimistic about Boston,” he added. “Many companies here are growing into household names, and exciting energy is emerging.”

In a similar sector, Magic is a way to log into the website without relying on passwords or a centralized honeypot that stores a large number of passwords, and has completed a funding of 27 million dollars. The Series A financing announced Thursday was led by Northzone, including Tiger Global, Volt Capital, CoinFund, and Digital Currency Group (also owner of CoinDesk). After an initial round of $ 4 million in May 2020, he brought Magic’s total funding to $ 31 million, including companies like Placeholder, SV Angel, and Naval Ravikant. Password is typically a way for users to prove ownership of the long alphanumeric private key. These secret passwords are trusted by platforms like Equifax, LinkedIn, or Kickstarter. Once an attacker penetrates one of the platforms and accesses the hashed password database, they can attempt to brute-force weaker passwords. These passwords can also be used in other places, such as a user bank account.

All fingers point to VCs with undeniable interests and continuous support for the future of cryptocurrency. This is a giant leap forward in adoption of crypto in the real world, and now it is up to the companies and government to work together and figure out a solution to the coexistence of capitalism and crypto.

Written By: Isha Goel | July 22 2021

The volatility of the crypto market has recently been heavily blamed on the influences of social media, and yet another act by influencers led to an illegal ‘pump and dump’ on a new project. 

The Problematic Hype

A charity cryptocurrency called Save the Kids was launched on June 5th and promoted with ‘a mission to build a better world for kids’ where a portion of the proceeds would go to charity. The popular esports team FaZe Clan members, each of whom had millions of social media followers, promoted this project and influenced many others around them to place investments in the new crypto as well. After rising to nearly $0.50, the coin’s value quickly plummeted to 60% its value throughout June and the four members involved with the project’s promotion were subsequently suspended upon receiving scamming allegations. In a scheme to boost the price of the coin, the pump and dump affected many retail investors that trusted the esports team. While legal actions have been taken, this event brought up a larger problematic dynamic where the younger generation is far more susceptible to the hype brought upon by influencers. 

Credit for Image: Insider

After the crypto market boom in 2020 and early 2021, many new mainstream investors became interested in the more established currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as alternative coins like Dogecoin as they all skyrocketed in value. As a result, many new cryptocurrencies entered the market and influencers became ambassadors to help them gain more traction. In fact, ‘Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and Logan Paul are just a few of the personalities to have promoted altcoins — a catchall term for cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin,’

In the past year alone, the number of cryptocurrencies has doubled to 10,000 but more than $80 million has been lost in crypto-related scams since October 2020 in this booming market. Emma Fletcher, an analyst with the Federal Trade Commission mentioned that ‘with bitcoin’s value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action’ and ‘all of this plays right into the hands of scammers.’

A Popular but Risky Trend 

In the midst of stable coins crashing in the market, altcoins have become a popular trading option after being promoted by influencers. Coins like ‘Dogecoin, Ethereum Max, and SafeMoon, have all grown through popular online followings and the chance of getting rich quickly.’ After a recent shakeout in meme tokens like DOGE, it appears that many investors are exiting their positions and as a result are leaving crypto newcomers more skeptical of their investment decisions. Even so, analysts and traders haven’t been able to agree on whether the retail interest will continue to exist in the less serious part of the market. 

Credit for Image: Coindesk

After the price of DOGE shot up by over 500% earlier this year, numerous meme coins were launched subsequently. Arcane Research analyst Vetle Lunde said that the sudden interest in the meme culture worldwide resulted in ‘the [meme token] market becoming oversaturated with pointless meme coins.’ According to TradingView, DOGE is down by 35.3% in July thus far and likely going to close the month at a loss again. Regardless, it’s important that traders continue to remain vigilant and monitor the market as better influences in their investment decisions. 

Work Cited

Asarch, Steven. “FaZe Clan Members Suspended Following Allegations That Their Save the Kids Cryptocurrency May Have Been a Scam.” Insider, Insider, 2 July 2021, www.insider.com/faze-clan-save-the-kids-cryptocurrency-scam-controversy-2021-7. 

Britton, Bianca. “Inside the ‘Wild West’ of Cryptocurrencies and Social Media Influencers.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 21 July 2021, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/wild-west-cryptocurrencies-social-media-influencers-rcna1469. 

Shen, Muyao. “Meme Tokens Set for Third Straight Monthly Loss as Retail Traders Flee Dogecoin Copycats.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 20 July 2021, www.coindesk.com/meme-tokens-set-for-third-straight-monthly-loss-as-retail-traders-flee-dogecoin-copy-cats.   

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | July 15 2021

Crypto will set a new record for the largest private fundraising event in history. Sorare, a French fantasy football game and non-homogeneous token trading (NFT) platform, has completed a financing of US$532 million, valued at US$3.8 billion. This round will increase the already profitable 2021 for crypto startups. The first 6 rounds of funding this year totaled more than $1.9 billion. The NFT drilling rigs, which set new records in this climate, will also refute claims that vertical industries have lost momentum after the hot winter. 

According to anonymous sources who spoke with Business Insider, reportedly led the round of financing by Japan Telecom SoftBank with participation from London venture capital firm Atomico. European investment firm Eurazeo and venture capital firm Blisce can also participate. As of press time, Sorare did not respond to a request for comment.

The fundraising event came after the US$4.44 million Series A round of financing in February. This round of financing was led by the venture capital firm Benchmark, with the participation of venture capital firm Accel Partners and football legends themselves, including Barcelona striker Antoine Griez Man and Rio Ferdinand, the captain of Manchester United, and the British national team. 

 Sorare is a fantasy football game in which players use digital player cards in the form of NFTs to trade and manage virtual teams. In addition to game apps, digital player cards are officially authorized collections that include superstar football players such as Alfonso Davis or Mark McKenzie. Since its establishment in 2018, Sorare has cooperated with 142 football clubs, including Real Madrid Football Club and Liverpool Football Club. And the Portuguese sports club used to issue new player cards. 

According to data from Nonfungible.com, in the past 30 days alone, Sorare has contributed to 43,933 sales with a total value of more than 9 million U.S. dollars. The highest sales volume in the past 30 days is Antoine Griezmann’s single player card, which means that only one is issued each season, sold at a price of 50.8 ETH, valued at $114,916.