Apr 24, 2023
Highest NFT Sale of the Week
BAYC #5230
300 ETH ($558 k)
Fundraisings of the Week
Bitcoin Financial Services Firm Unchained Capital Raises $60M
DeFi-Focused Layer 1 Berachain Raises $42M Series A at $420.69M Valuation
Staking infrastructure firm P2P.org raises $23 million shortly after upgrade to Ethereum
CoinFund Leads $8M Round for Decentralized Database Firm Tableland
Natix raises $3.5 million to build Natix Network: a blockchain-based worldwide crowdsourced camera network
Yoz Labs Raises $3.5M to Build Web3 Notification System
DeFi
Weekly TVL
Gross: ⬇️$48.74B
Top 3 Apps: Lido ⬇️($11.55B), MakerDAO ⬇️($7.44B), AAVE ⬇️($5.2B)
Top 3 Chains: ETH ⬇️($28.71B), TRON ⬇️($5.29B), BSC ⬇️($4.66B)
Top 7D Change 📈: A protocol for active liquidity management and market-making strategies. — Gamma (+24.75%, $102.55m)
DeFi News
[ZigZag Live on Arbitrum] Starknet-based DEX ZigZag launches on Arbitrum, enabling Meta Trade that “eliminates the constant need for wallet confirmations while trading” on ZigZag. ZigZag also plans to launch on zkSync Era once Era supports orderbook.
[1inch Live on zkSync] DEX aggregator 1inch launches on zkSync Era, aggregating orders from zkSync-based DEXes such as GemSwap, SpceFi, SyncSwap, etc.
[Li.Fi Bridge Insurance] Li.Fi partners with InsurAce to launch Bridge Insurance. Bridging transactions is now insured on Jumper Exchange, a cross-chain bridge swap built by Li.Fi.
NFT
Top 10 Collections by Weekly Volume
NFT News
Apr. 21, Mythos Studios, a company founded by David Maisel, the founding chairman of Marvel Studios, has launched the Ekos Genesis Art Collection. The NFT collection can be viewed in a virtual gallery at ekos.io, and features artwork known for its depiction across Marvel and DC comics. [Source: CoinDesk]
Apr. 19, Sotheby’s has announced that it will be auctioning off a collection of high-value NFTs previously owned by the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. The multi-part sales series, which is set to begin in May and continue throughout the year, will include blue-chip NFTs. [Source: The Block]
Apr. 18, The former president of the United States announced the launch of his second NFT collection, called the Trump Digital Trading Cards “Series 2”. These tokens will be minted on the Polygon blockchain and priced at $99, the same as the original collection. [Source: CoinDesk]
Apr. 17, Starbucks is set to release its First Store Collection, a set of 5,000 NFT “stamp” collectibles. The NFTs will be minted on the Polygon scaling network of Ethereum and will be priced at $100 each, similar to the previous drop that offered 2,000 NFTs. [Source: Decrypt]
Apr. 17, Nike has announced the release of its first digital creation collection on .Swoosh. The collection will feature virtual shoe boxes, which consumers can purchase for $19.82 each. The boxes will eventually unlock various digital versions of Nike’s “iconic Air Force 1” sneakers, first sold in 1982. [Source: The Block]
Apr. 17, Moonbirds and PROOF unveils the beta release of Talons, a new reward points system intended to replace nesting. Talons will enable users to earn tokens and get exclusive access to the Moonbirds ecosystem, allowing them to purchase virtual birds, digital goods, and participate in community governance. [Source: nft now]
GameFi & Metaverse
[Karate Combat secures $18M for crypto-driven martial arts] Karate Combat has landed an $18 million funding round to realize its vision of tech-enhanced full-contact sports. Launched in 2018, Karate Combat mixes full-contact karate with immersive computer generated environments and extended reality (XR) technology using the Unreal Engine from Epic Games.
[Playbux has closed a $2M seed round led by Binance] Playbux is a metaverse on the BNB chain that integrates shop to earn, virtual communities and blockchain services. Playbux is set to revolutionize digital commerce by integrating blockchain and DeFi platforms into one virtual world for an experience that is more accessible, fun, and attractive to millions of new users.
[MetaGravity raises $9.5M to bring low cost infrastructure to the metaverse] Founded by serial entrepreneur Rashid Mansoor and Tobin Ireland, MetaGravity raised $9.5 million seed funding round to scale its infrastructure layer support for the metaverse. MetaGravity claims it solves the issue of distributed compute infrastructure required to support metaverse-scale gaming. MetaGravity will offer unlimited scale and be capable of supporting more than 1 million+ concurrent users plus associated AI and interactive objects.
[Binance Labs invests in GOMBLE, a South Korean casual game] Binance Labs has committed investment in a seed funding round of GOMBLE, a blockchain-based game developer that is an affiliate of South Korean casual mobile game. GOMBLE aims to enable casual gamers globally to experience blockchain games with sustainable reward mechanisms.
[Axie Infinity Homeland Alpha Season 2 is live] Axie Infinity Season 2 is live and will last 30 days. All building progress from this season will remain until the end of the Alpha. Axie Infinity has added new features including an Axie Management Board and a SmartEquip System. Earn prizes including AXS leaderboard tokens and 5 new seasonal achievement rewards.
[Meta plans to cut 10% of UK workforce in retreat from London] Meta workers are bracing for thousands of additional layoffs as the embattled social media firm continues to cut costs. The company will cull 4,000 jobs immediately as part of a larger plan to cut 10,000 jobs announced earlier this year, focusing largely on technical roles. Meta plans to axe more than 10 percent of its UK workforce and ditch Instagram’s new hub in London.
[Merit Circle launches an Avalanche gaming subnet called ‘Beam’] Merit Circle announced a new development from its decentralized autonomous organization: Beam, a gaming-focused blockchain that aims to become the home for various web3 games. The Beam is a sovereign network powered by Avalanche — a popular layer-one blockchain and Ethereum rival — aimed directly at gamers and game developers.
[KRAFTON and NAVER Z expand metaverse strategy with $36M joint venture] KRAFTON and NAVER Z are forming a joint venture for a new metaverse platform “Migaloo”. The two companies will invest 48 billion Korean won (~$36.4 million) in the new North America-based entity. KRAFTON will own 85% of the venture with NAVER Z owning the remaining 15%.
DAO
[Layer 2-based Defi protocol Phezzan announced a management takeover] The project will be taken over completely by the two founders, who voluntarily exited the project due to personal reasons.
[Ethereum core developers are scheduling for Cancun-Denub] The proto-dank sharding will be expected to include in Cancun-Denub in achieving the ultimate scalability for L2 transactions. The community’s focus will be shifted to this essential EIP 4844, and its devnet 5 will be launched sometime next week.
[LidoDAO passed Treasury Management Principles by authorizing a specialized Committee] A treasury management committee will be formed holding a multi-sig to submit a narrow set of strategies and on-chain actions constrained through on-chain tools.
[The Graph proposed to migrate 100% of index rewards to Arbitrum] The protocol proposed four steps to gradually increase the rewards minted on L2 to 100%; the whole process is estimated to be 4 months to achieve a long-term gas efficiency and high scalability goal.
[Aptos Delegated Staking is here] Aptos announces its user-friendly delegated staking mechanism where user can delegate their token to trusted network validators for extra rewards.
[MakerDAO approved a new RWA vault to the Coinbase USDC institutional rewards program] The debt ceiling is $500M at an APY of 2.6%. MakerDAO will onboard as a Coinbase prime customer through KYC and AML procedures. However, the proposal mentioned a long-term plan of making the transaction more automated and transparent via smart contract.
[Ironfish mainnet launched] Current network hash rate is at 4.58 PH/s, surpassing the ETC network hash rate.
[Apecoin DAO passed a proposal to fund $1M to Ethereum public goods]
Regulation & Adoption
- 17/04/2023: (🇺🇸) SEC files suit against Bittrex.
- 18/04/2023: (🇷🇺) Binance lifts 10,000 EUR limit on Russian accounts.
- 18/04/2023: (🇸🇪) Sweden hikes taxes on crypto mining, increasing to 0.035 USD per KWH starting in July.
- 20/04/2023: (🇪🇺) EU approves framework for crypto regulation, lawmakers voted to pass the Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA).
Macro
- G7 coalition to keep price cap on Russian oil at 60 USD per barrel.
- SP500 has had its best pre-earnings performance since 2009.
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