Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- Invesco and Galaxy Digital have filed a registration statement for a physically-backed bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), while Amplify has filed for a decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto ETF. The Amplify ETF application would allow the fund to invest in bitcoin futures, Canadian bitcoin funds, and companies with more than half of their net assets in bitcoin, ether (ETH), or another “liquid” cryptocurrency.
- Genesis Digital Assets, a BTC mining company, has announced a USD 431 million funding round led by investment firm Paradigm.
The funds will be used to expand their Bitcoin mining operations, with the goal of reaching 1.4 gigatonnes by 2023. - Dapper Labs, the crypto company behind NBA Top Shot and the Flow blockchain, has announced a USD $250 million funding round led by Coatue.
According to the press release, the round brings together existing investors a16z, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Version One Ventures, as well as new investors BOND and GIC. Dapper Labs will use the new funds to continue scaling and supporting major additional brand-driven sports, entertainment, and music-based products that will be launched and developed on the Flow blockchain, they said. - Blockdaemon, a blockchain infrastructure platform, has announced that it has raised USD 155 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, bringing the company’s valuation to USD 1.26 billion.
According to the company, the capital raised will help them expand their team presence in Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany, as well as make strategic acquisitions and build their tech stack. - Osprey Funds, a digital asset management firm, has announced the launch of its fifth investment product of the year, the Osprey Polygon Trust, which invests exclusively in the MATIC coin native to the Polygon network. The Osprey Polygon Trust is currently available for subscription to accredited investors with a minimum investment of USD 10,000. The sponsor intends to pursue OTCQX listing of the fund as soon as possible and has agreed to waive the management fee for all investors until January 2023.
- Orca, a Solana (SOL)-based decentralized crypto exchange (DEX), announced new funding of USD 18 million led by Polychain, Placeholder, and Three Arrows Capital. Jump Capital, Sino Global Capital, Collab & Currency, DeFiance, Zee Prime, Coinbase Ventures, Solana Capital, and a number of angel investors are among the other participants. „These investors will help us get started on our journey to make Orca the go-to swap for the Solana ecosystem,“ they said.
- cheqd, a digital ID startup, has raised USD 2.6 million in a funding round led by Outlier Ventures, Evernym, TitanBlock, and others. The funds raised will be used to help the company launch their product later this year, which will include a digital ID as well as a payment system that will allow them to charge users a fee to cover the costs.
- eToro, a multi-asset investment platform, has announced an increase in its stake in the non-profit organization GoodDollar’s universal basic income (UBI) protocol from USD 58,000 to USD 1 million. The additional capital will be used to fund the protocol’s expansion, which aims to improve financial education and close the global wealth gap by combining smart contract mechanics, DeFi, and their reserve-backed crypto token.
- Kava Labs, an open-source and non-custodial developer of financial products and services for decentralized finance (DeFi), announced the creation of a USD 185 million fund to support projects on the Kava Ecosystem. The platform claims three protocols, USD 2.1 billion in on-chain assets, over 280,000 users, and USD 1.8 billion in cross-chain transactions.
Marketing news
- Crypto.com, a major cryptocurrency platform, announced its first official jersey patch partnership with an NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers. They added that Crypto.com will also appear in-arena on the baseline apron and courtside LED screens, be present within the 76ers Fan Hub, sponsor fan rewards, and present a Crypto.com school to educate fans on cryptocurrency. In addition, the 76ers will launch their first-ever non-fungible token (NFT), which fans will be able to purchase through Crypto.com NFT.
Regulation news
- The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) of the UAE and the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) have agreed to support crypto asset trading and related financial activities within the DWTCA’s free zone. According to the announcement, the SCA will be in charge of the regulatory oversight of the issuance, offering, listing, and trading of crypto assets, as well as the licensing of the associated financial activities that fall under the jurisdiction of the DWTCA.
- BlockFi, a major cryptocurrency company based in the United States, announced that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities has again delayed the effective date of its previous order, which prohibits the creation of all new BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIA), this time to December 1, 2021. According to the company, all existing BIA clients will continue to have access to their accounts.
CBDCs news
- According to CNBC, the Italian payments giant Nexi is collaborating with the European Central Bank on its proposed central bank digital currency.
„We are collaborating with the European Central Bank on the design of the future digital euro because we believe it can be a positive force in the evolution of digital payments,“ Nexi CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo was quoted as saying.
Exchanges news
- Kraken has announced the integration of Apple Pay and Google Pay into their Kraken App, allowing users to pay for cryptocurrency using these payment methods. During a seven-day rolling period, the minimum purchase amount is USD 10 and the maximum purchase limit is USD 7,500.
Legal news
- Riccardo Spagni, the former lead maintainer of the privacy coin Monero (XMR), has announced that he has been released by US authorities after being detained for more than a month. He has also stated that he is collaborating with his attorneys to find a way to return to South Africa as soon as possible to address the allegations leveled against him.
- US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn denied Ripple Labs‘ motion to compel the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to produce records of its employees‘ cryptocurrency transactions. Ripple met with the SEC four times, beginning on July 8, to request records of the agency’s employees‘ crypto transactions „without progress.“
Mining news
- BIT Mining, a cryptocurrency mining company, announced that it has entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with Viking Data Centers to jointly invest in the development of a cryptocurrency mining data center space in Ohio with access to up to 85 megawatts of power capacity.
The new mining site’s development is currently scheduled to be completed in February 2022.
Career news
- According to a press release, cryptocurrency and blockchain investment firm CoinFund has appointed David Pakman as Managing Partner, with a focus on expanding the firm’s growth-stage venture capital initiatives. Pakman worked for Venrock, a major venture firm focused on investing in emerging technologies, for 13 years. He led the Series A and Series B rounds in Dollar Shave Club and sat on the board until it was acquired for USD 1 billion, led the Series A round and sits on the board of crypto company Dapper Labs, and led the Series A round in Rarible, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace.
