Bank of America: Young investors think the greatest growth opportunities lie somewhere in crypto.
Nearly half (47%) have crypto holdings.
Nearly half (47%) have crypto holdings.
Bankofamerica
Bank of America Private Bank Study Finds Younger Investors Turning to Alternatives, Sustainability and Digital Assets to Create…
Bank of America today released the 2022 Bank of America Private Bank Study of Wealthy Americans, which found significant generational differences in approaches to investing, giving and wealth planning.
Web3 Weekly: Big Exchanges Readying Huge War Chests For Crypto Winter
Where some see risk, others see opportunity.
That is certainly true in crypto, as Binance’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in an interview with Bloomberg last week that the digital-asset exchange giant may spend more than $1 billion on acquisitions and investments this year, despite what has been a tumultuous year for crypto.
The report stated Binance has committed $325 million to 67 projects this year, compared to $140 million for 73 projects last year.
Just last month, Binance put in a bid for the assets of distressed lender Voyager Digital, which filed for bankruptcy in July for $1.4 billion.
However, the winning bid went to another large exchange—Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange giant FTX.
In July, FTX provided a $250 million line of credit to lender BlockFi which includes an option to buy. In a recent interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bankman-Fried said the exchange giant has at least $1 billion to use on acquisitions and bailouts.
Another crypto exchange giant, Coinbase, also has made its intentions for dealmaking clear.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call in August, Coinbase’s President and COO Emilie Choi said the company will continue to be active across both ventures and M&A.
Just a few weeks ago we talked about the dearth of M&A dealmaking this year in crypto after what was a fast start. The last couple of quarters have seen big deals fall by the wayside as valuations have declined and the crypto winter has gotten colder.
However, with some of the biggest exchanges building up huge warchests and many valuations of startups falling, Christmas shopping may be coming early for some of these large crypto players.
Where some see risk, others see opportunity.
That is certainly true in crypto, as Binance’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in an interview with Bloomberg last week that the digital-asset exchange giant may spend more than $1 billion on acquisitions and investments this year, despite what has been a tumultuous year for crypto.
The report stated Binance has committed $325 million to 67 projects this year, compared to $140 million for 73 projects last year.
Just last month, Binance put in a bid for the assets of distressed lender Voyager Digital, which filed for bankruptcy in July for $1.4 billion.
However, the winning bid went to another large exchange—Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange giant FTX.
In July, FTX provided a $250 million line of credit to lender BlockFi which includes an option to buy. In a recent interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bankman-Fried said the exchange giant has at least $1 billion to use on acquisitions and bailouts.
Another crypto exchange giant, Coinbase, also has made its intentions for dealmaking clear.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call in August, Coinbase’s President and COO Emilie Choi said the company will continue to be active across both ventures and M&A.
Just a few weeks ago we talked about the dearth of M&A dealmaking this year in crypto after what was a fast start. The last couple of quarters have seen big deals fall by the wayside as valuations have declined and the crypto winter has gotten colder.
However, with some of the biggest exchanges building up huge warchests and many valuations of startups falling, Christmas shopping may be coming early for some of these large crypto players.
Crunchbase News
Web3 Weekly: Big Exchanges Readying Huge War Chests For Crypto Winter
Binance’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in an interview with Bloomberg that the exchange giant may spend more than $1 billion on acquisitions and investments this year.
Offchain Labs has acquired Prysmatic Labs, a core force behind the architecture of the Merge
Offchain Labs — the leading Ethereum consensus client now powering the blockchain’s proof-of-stake validation system — is also behind Arbitrum One, a market-leading layer-2 secure scaling solution for decentralized application development on Ethereum.
The company was co-founded by Princeton professor Ed Felten and Ph.D. students Steven Goldfeder and Harry Kalodner.
Goldfeder told Blockworks acquisition talks began about a year ago but only gathered steam in recent months. The purchase would bring the Offchain Labs team to roughly 60 employees.
Offchain Labs — the leading Ethereum consensus client now powering the blockchain’s proof-of-stake validation system — is also behind Arbitrum One, a market-leading layer-2 secure scaling solution for decentralized application development on Ethereum.
The company was co-founded by Princeton professor Ed Felten and Ph.D. students Steven Goldfeder and Harry Kalodner.
Goldfeder told Blockworks acquisition talks began about a year ago but only gathered steam in recent months. The purchase would bring the Offchain Labs team to roughly 60 employees.
Blockworks
Offchain Labs Acquires Ethereum Consensus Client Prysmatic Labs
Prysmatic Labs, a new acquisition for Offchain Labs, was a core force behind the architecture of the Merge.
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Sushiswap's market share vs. Uniswap hit a record low of just 1% in September.
Let's see how this new Head Chef plays out because there's a lot of work to do.
Let's see how this new Head Chef plays out because there's a lot of work to do.
Bain predicts gaming will grow 50% to $300 billion in 5 years
Bain & Company predicted that the game industry’s global revenue could grow by more than 50% over the next five years to $300 billion.
In a new research report, the global consultancy said the industry growth is accelerating thanks to heavy engagement of younger gamers (ages 13 to 17) who spend about 40% more in video game environments than with any other form of media.
Bain & Company predicted that the game industry’s global revenue could grow by more than 50% over the next five years to $300 billion.
In a new research report, the global consultancy said the industry growth is accelerating thanks to heavy engagement of younger gamers (ages 13 to 17) who spend about 40% more in video game environments than with any other form of media.
Bain & Company
Level Up: The Future of Video Games Is Bright
Success in the rapidly evolving game industry depends on scale, good franchise management, customer experience, and top talent.
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Tether's commercial break
The stablecoin issuer has eliminated riskier commercial paper from its reserves and replaced it with U.S. Treasuries months after TerraUSD’s crash – and the ensuing crypto market turmoil – briefly depegged USDT from the dollar
Tether has said since May's meltdown that it would work improve the quality of its reserves by reducing the amount of commercial paper – which at one point stood at $30 billion – it held.
The company also said that it increased its direct exposure to Treasuries by more than $10 billion in the last quarter.
Earlier this month, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said Treasuries made 58% of the firm's reserves.
The stablecoin issuer has eliminated riskier commercial paper from its reserves and replaced it with U.S. Treasuries months after TerraUSD’s crash – and the ensuing crypto market turmoil – briefly depegged USDT from the dollar
Tether has said since May's meltdown that it would work improve the quality of its reserves by reducing the amount of commercial paper – which at one point stood at $30 billion – it held.
The company also said that it increased its direct exposure to Treasuries by more than $10 billion in the last quarter.
Earlier this month, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said Treasuries made 58% of the firm's reserves.
The Block
Tether eliminates commercial paper from reserves
Stablecoin issuer Tether has said for months it planned to improve the quality of its reserves.
Web3 devs ‘more active than ever’ amid crypto winter: Report
Consecutive all-time-high smart contract deployments and surging usage of Web3 script libraries mean that Web3 devs are still busy working despite the prolonged market downturn.
In a new Q3 2022 report on Oct. 13 by Web3 development platform Alchemy, the company said that 2022 could be the “biggest year yet” for Web3 developers.
Around 36% of all smart contracts ever deployed and verified on the blockchain have been in 2022, a count of nearly 118,000 compared to the over 323,700 ever deployed, according to the report.
This is despite the price of Ether (ETH) falling by nearly 66% since the start of the year and the total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols falling around 70% year-to-date, according to DappRadar.
Nonfungible token (NFT) trading volumes have also taken a beating, decreasing by 98% since late January.
Alchemy states the deployment of smart contracts increased by 40% from the first quarter of the year with consecutive all-time highs hit every month over the third quarter peaking at 17,376 in September alone.
The data also shows smart contract deployments increased by 143% compared to the third quarter of 2021, reaching over 48,500 for the third quarter of 2022.
Alchemy noted that in the two weeks following Ethereum’s Merge — when the blockchain moved from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus — smart contract deployment increased by 14%, suggesting some developers may have been waiting for the event to launch their projects.
The company also analyzed the usage of two Web3 script libraries, Ethers.js and Web3.js, which allow developers to read blockchain data and build Web3 products.
The team found the number of developers installing either library had increased by three times that of Q3 2021 to over 1.5 million downloads on average per week.
The data also shows smart contract deployments increased by 143% compared to the third quarter of 2021, reaching over 48,500 for the third quarter of 2022.
Alchemy noted that in the two weeks following Ethereum’s Merge — when the blockchain moved from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus — smart contract deployment increased by 14%, suggesting some developers may have been waiting for the event to launch their projects.
Consecutive all-time-high smart contract deployments and surging usage of Web3 script libraries mean that Web3 devs are still busy working despite the prolonged market downturn.
In a new Q3 2022 report on Oct. 13 by Web3 development platform Alchemy, the company said that 2022 could be the “biggest year yet” for Web3 developers.
Around 36% of all smart contracts ever deployed and verified on the blockchain have been in 2022, a count of nearly 118,000 compared to the over 323,700 ever deployed, according to the report.
This is despite the price of Ether (ETH) falling by nearly 66% since the start of the year and the total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols falling around 70% year-to-date, according to DappRadar.
Nonfungible token (NFT) trading volumes have also taken a beating, decreasing by 98% since late January.
Alchemy states the deployment of smart contracts increased by 40% from the first quarter of the year with consecutive all-time highs hit every month over the third quarter peaking at 17,376 in September alone.
The data also shows smart contract deployments increased by 143% compared to the third quarter of 2021, reaching over 48,500 for the third quarter of 2022.
Alchemy noted that in the two weeks following Ethereum’s Merge — when the blockchain moved from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus — smart contract deployment increased by 14%, suggesting some developers may have been waiting for the event to launch their projects.
The company also analyzed the usage of two Web3 script libraries, Ethers.js and Web3.js, which allow developers to read blockchain data and build Web3 products.
The team found the number of developers installing either library had increased by three times that of Q3 2021 to over 1.5 million downloads on average per week.
The data also shows smart contract deployments increased by 143% compared to the third quarter of 2021, reaching over 48,500 for the third quarter of 2022.
Alchemy noted that in the two weeks following Ethereum’s Merge — when the blockchain moved from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus — smart contract deployment increased by 14%, suggesting some developers may have been waiting for the event to launch their projects.
Alchemy
Web3 Developer Report (Q3 2022)
Despite the crypto winter, web3 developers are more active than ever including 1.5 million Ethereum SDK downloads per week, a 178% increase since Q3 2021.
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MetaStreet Secures $10M for NFT Loans in the Metaverse
MetaStreet, a metaverse-oriented decentralized interest rate protocol, has raised a fresh round of venture funding as the startup readies its latest product.
The $10 million capital raise — ahead of the launch of what MetaStreet dubs “PowerSweep” — brings the company’s one-year funding haul to $24 million.
The round received participation from existing investors from Dragonfly Capital, Nascent and Ethereal Ventures. New investors include Fintech Collective, DCG, TheLAO, Focus Labs, Mirana Ventures, Metaversal, OpenSea Ventures, Ledgerprime, Meta4 and Flying Falcon.
MetaStreet operates as a capital provider and is the architect behind the infrastructure required to automate the underwriting and execution of fixed-rate, NFT-backed loans.
Its latest product, PowerSweep, is vying to increase the purchasing power of NFT traders by allowing them to buy and sell NFTs on margin via Reservoir, a Web3-native NFT order book protocol.
MetaStreet, a metaverse-oriented decentralized interest rate protocol, has raised a fresh round of venture funding as the startup readies its latest product.
The $10 million capital raise — ahead of the launch of what MetaStreet dubs “PowerSweep” — brings the company’s one-year funding haul to $24 million.
The round received participation from existing investors from Dragonfly Capital, Nascent and Ethereal Ventures. New investors include Fintech Collective, DCG, TheLAO, Focus Labs, Mirana Ventures, Metaversal, OpenSea Ventures, Ledgerprime, Meta4 and Flying Falcon.
MetaStreet operates as a capital provider and is the architect behind the infrastructure required to automate the underwriting and execution of fixed-rate, NFT-backed loans.
Its latest product, PowerSweep, is vying to increase the purchasing power of NFT traders by allowing them to buy and sell NFTs on margin via Reservoir, a Web3-native NFT order book protocol.
Blockworks
MetaStreet Secures $10M for NFT Loans in the Metaverse
MetaStreet, a decentralized interest rate protocol, has raised a fresh round of funding as the startup readies its latest product.
Samsung announced a multi-device protection solution that will use blockchain-inspired tech
Binance launches $500 million fund to provide loans to Bitcoin miners
Binance has launched a $500 million fund to provide loans to Bitcoin miners struggling to cope with difficult crypto-market conditions.
Binance Pool, the company's mining service, will provide loans for both private and publicly-listed Bitcoin miners — who will need to pledge security, in the form of physical or digital assets, to obtain loans with a duration of 18-24 months. Binance will charge interest rates between 5% and 10%.
The initiative comes as Bitcoin miners experienced a tough few months while the price of bitcoin declined. With low bitcoin prices, miners' revenues have declined sharply — with Compute North even filing for bankruptcy.
Binance is not the only firm that is looking to support the crypto-mining industry. Last month, Chinese crypto billionaire Jihan Wu, the founder of Bitmain, set up a $250 million fund to buy distressed assets from Bitcoin miners. Wu’s Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co. plans to invest $50 million of its own money, with Wu then seeking to raise an additional $200 million from external investors.
Also last month, DeFi platform Maple Finance launched a $300 million lending pool for Bitcoin miners. The platform will charge interest rates of around 15%-20%, and provide loans that will have a duration of 12-18 months.
Earlier this month, crypto asset manager Grayscale formed a new entity named Grayscale Digital Infrastructure Opportunities LLC to invest in Bitcoin mining hardware. The entity plans to purchase mining rigs and hopes to profit by selling the bitcoins earned in the process.
Binance has launched a $500 million fund to provide loans to Bitcoin miners struggling to cope with difficult crypto-market conditions.
Binance Pool, the company's mining service, will provide loans for both private and publicly-listed Bitcoin miners — who will need to pledge security, in the form of physical or digital assets, to obtain loans with a duration of 18-24 months. Binance will charge interest rates between 5% and 10%.
The initiative comes as Bitcoin miners experienced a tough few months while the price of bitcoin declined. With low bitcoin prices, miners' revenues have declined sharply — with Compute North even filing for bankruptcy.
Binance is not the only firm that is looking to support the crypto-mining industry. Last month, Chinese crypto billionaire Jihan Wu, the founder of Bitmain, set up a $250 million fund to buy distressed assets from Bitcoin miners. Wu’s Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co. plans to invest $50 million of its own money, with Wu then seeking to raise an additional $200 million from external investors.
Also last month, DeFi platform Maple Finance launched a $300 million lending pool for Bitcoin miners. The platform will charge interest rates of around 15%-20%, and provide loans that will have a duration of 12-18 months.
Earlier this month, crypto asset manager Grayscale formed a new entity named Grayscale Digital Infrastructure Opportunities LLC to invest in Bitcoin mining hardware. The entity plans to purchase mining rigs and hopes to profit by selling the bitcoins earned in the process.
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France approves its third-biggest bank to operate digital asset services
Société Générale, France's third-biggest bank by market cap, quietly obtained regulatory approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in the country last month.
It is France's third-biggest bank and the sixth-largest player in Europe in terms of its balance sheets.
As of last month, through its fully integrated blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale Forge, the banking giant can now custody, sell and trade digital assets. This is thanks to a digital asset service provider (DASP) ruling from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial market regulator.
Currently, in France, many venture capitalists struggle to find regulated custodial solutions for digital assets. This means that French crypto funds such as the €100 million Ledger Cathay Capital fund were set up as unregulated special purpose vehicles.
Société Générale, France's third-biggest bank by market cap, quietly obtained regulatory approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in the country last month.
It is France's third-biggest bank and the sixth-largest player in Europe in terms of its balance sheets.
As of last month, through its fully integrated blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale Forge, the banking giant can now custody, sell and trade digital assets. This is thanks to a digital asset service provider (DASP) ruling from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial market regulator.
Currently, in France, many venture capitalists struggle to find regulated custodial solutions for digital assets. This means that French crypto funds such as the €100 million Ledger Cathay Capital fund were set up as unregulated special purpose vehicles.
The Block
France approves its third-biggest bank to operate digital asset services
French banking giant Société Générale has been approved to operate digital asset services through its subsidiary Forge.
Prediction: As AI changes many professions, the human craft will be become more highly valued. As the cost of essentials go down, we'll pay a premium for the story behind a well-crafted object, the human touch, the love that went into it.
Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading
The payments giant plans to announce a program Monday that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading.
Giant will act as a “bridge” between Paxos, a crypto trading platform already used by pay pal.
Mastercard will handle the regulatory compliance and security — two core reasons banks cite for avoiding the asset class.
Mastercard’s chief digital officer said polling still shows demand for the asset, but roughly 60% of respondents said they would rather test the waters through their existing banks.
The payments giant plans to announce a program Monday that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading.
Giant will act as a “bridge” between Paxos, a crypto trading platform already used by pay pal.
Mastercard will handle the regulatory compliance and security — two core reasons banks cite for avoiding the asset class.
Mastercard’s chief digital officer said polling still shows demand for the asset, but roughly 60% of respondents said they would rather test the waters through their existing banks.
CNBC
Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading
Mastercard is launching a program to let financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading to their clients.
Blockchain games and metaverse projects have raised $7 billion so far in 2022
Despite the harsh market conditions, Web3 games continue to be a driving force for the dapp industry.
In Q3, gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity tracked by DappRadar across 50 networks, with 912,000 daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacting with games’ smart contracts in September.
Alien Worlds and Splinterlands remain the two most played Web3 games, with over 160,000 daily UAW registered in September. Gameta, a gaming platform first deployed on Solana and now running on the BNB Chain, attracted over 1 million daily UAW in September.
Similarly, the Polygon-based Benji Bananas climbed the rankings during the last quarter attracting over 29,000 daily UAW in September.
The impact of blockchain games is also visible in the NFT market, where Gods Unchained cracked the top 5 collections by trading volume in September with over $18 million generated by its game assets.
Despite the harsh market conditions, Web3 games continue to be a driving force for the dapp industry.
In Q3, gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity tracked by DappRadar across 50 networks, with 912,000 daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacting with games’ smart contracts in September.
Alien Worlds and Splinterlands remain the two most played Web3 games, with over 160,000 daily UAW registered in September. Gameta, a gaming platform first deployed on Solana and now running on the BNB Chain, attracted over 1 million daily UAW in September.
Similarly, the Polygon-based Benji Bananas climbed the rankings during the last quarter attracting over 29,000 daily UAW in September.
The impact of blockchain games is also visible in the NFT market, where Gods Unchained cracked the top 5 collections by trading volume in September with over $18 million generated by its game assets.
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Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao have dodged scrutiny by financial regulators in the U.S. and UK.
Now there are signs that the strategy is fraying.
Now there are signs that the strategy is fraying.
Reuters
How Binance CEO and aides plotted to dodge regulators in U.S. and UK
Crypto exchange Binance and its founder have swerved scrutiny by financial regulators, Reuters reporting shows. Now there are signs the strategy is fraying
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DEX volumes have steadily declined throughout 2022 as the bear market has muted most on-chain activity.
However, Uniswap still executes most DEX volume with a 58% volume share.
The protocol's recent expansion onto zkSync positions them for continued dominance.
However, Uniswap still executes most DEX volume with a 58% volume share.
The protocol's recent expansion onto zkSync positions them for continued dominance.
app.uniswap.org
Uniswap Interface
Swap crypto on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Unichain and more. The DeFi platform trusted by millions.
It's official: Meta's $400m Giphy takeover has been unwound by competition regulators in the UK.
Meta has admitted defeat, with a spokesperson for the company telling me the company "accept today’s ruling as the final word on the matter."
Meta has admitted defeat, with a spokesperson for the company telling me the company "accept today’s ruling as the final word on the matter."
CNBC
Facebook parent Meta admits defeat after Giphy deal is blocked by UK regulators
Meta, the owner of Facebook, has been reordered by U.K. competition regulators to sell its animated GIF unit Giphy after losing an appeal.
⚡️Facing Threat From Apple, Google Tries New Hardware Playbook
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software.
At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s search may lose its favored position in the Safari browser on iPhones.
These twin developments, which threaten Google’s mobile ads business, have prompted the tech giant to take a big gamble.
It is doubling down on investment in its own hardware, including its Pixel phones, including by moving product development and software engineering staff working on features for non-Google hardware to work on Google-branded devices, according to an internal document.
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software.
At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s search may lose its favored position in the Safari browser on iPhones.
These twin developments, which threaten Google’s mobile ads business, have prompted the tech giant to take a big gamble.
It is doubling down on investment in its own hardware, including its Pixel phones, including by moving product development and software engineering staff working on features for non-Google hardware to work on Google-branded devices, according to an internal document.
The Information
Facing Threat From Apple, Google Tries New Hardware Playbook
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software. At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s…
A newly developed microelectrode array that uses a special 3D printing technology can prove to be a potential breakthrough for open access brain computer interface technologies.
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