Bringing your favorite accompaniment to your weekend tea, we’re back with the latest edition of the Future of Crypto newsletter! Let your mind wander into the immersive universe of the Cryptosphere and join other Crypto Nerds in getting a Weekly Crypto Cuppa delivered right to your mailbox every Friday! ☕️

Edition #22 has got you covered on the week’s hot-off-the-press affairs that will keep you on the edge of your seat through their see-sawing transitions.

Here’s the TL;DR

• If you’re a crypto wallet or an exchange, chances are that this might not be the best time for you. While Meta is finally shutting Novi crypto payments wallet in September, ending the Libra saga, Nexo is planning to acquire crisis-ridden crypto exchange Vauld.

• While BGC gets another badge as it executes a CME crypto option block trade in Asia, Lickd strikes a deal with Vegas City to give music to the metaverse.

• Although the market is at a standstill, it didn’t stop crypto tax startup KoinX from closing a seed round of $1.5M to build a unified crypto tax platform for web 3 transactions.

• The NFT segment too celebrated a series of events, as Coca-Cola launched a pride series NFT collection on Polygon. Wirex and Blink Digital also joined the launch party, with the former releasing a crypto-backed credit and the latter launching a virtual hospital on Decentraland.

• The activities don’t stop there for the NFT segment, as Binance and FC Porto partnered to release a collection of mystery boxes. Meanwhile, UAE teams up with Chainalysis to provide blockchain training to government entities.

For the longer read, let’s get going —

New names have been making a debut in the CBDC segment to understand the economic framework and implications of using it.

In North America, Mexican senator Indira Kempis proposed a bill to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in Mexico and claims the second-largest market that accepts BTC as legal currency. In South America, the Central Bank of Chile announced the opening of an online survey for its planned CBDC project, including the financial sector and academics, specialists in payments and technological services, and the general public. In Europe, The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) revealed its plans for the digital ruble to replace the financial messaging system SWIFT, stating that when the platform is fully ready, Russia will no longer need SWIFT. Denmark’s National Bank also published a report analyzing the popular motivations for a CBDC amongst developed nations. 

In other news, Montran Corporation and eCurrency Mint announced the successful integration of Montran’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) with eCurrency’s CBDC platform, resulting in the CBDC getting seamlessly interfaced with central bank currency management payment operations. The Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) highlighted several aspects of the central bank-issued digital assets. These include the current motivations of central bankers in exploring CBDCs, policy implications of CBDCs, and risks central banks are likely to face.

A flurry of partnerships gave new life to the ailing Crypto-coins segment last week.

Binance announced its partnership with TikTok celebrity Khaby Lame as brand ambassador to debunk the misconceptions about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain industry and increase awareness of web 3. 

• CoinMENA announced its joining of Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program, speeding up the process of integrating with Visa, which will allow CoinMENA to leverage the reach, capabilities, and security of VisaNet and launch a host of Visa-exclusive services, including the CoinMENA VISA Card.

• BGC Partners (HK) Securities LLC arranged an intermediated block trade of CME Group Bitcoin options contracts in Asia between Cumberland and Goldman Sachs.

• Centri Business Consulting, LLC and BitPay also announced a partnership allowing Centri’s clients and vendors to pay invoices with cryptocurrency. This new payment solution will enable Centri to promote crypto acceptance to its customer base, especially those who are crypto natives.

• Cellebrite joined forces with Chainanalysis to launch a partnership that will enable customers to easily identify and assess criminal activity involving cryptocurrency during digital investigations to expedite their resolution.

• Furthermore, Crypto lending firm Nexo grabbed the headlines for its plan to acquire fellow lender and crypto exchange Vauld. The move comes after Vauld halted deposits, withdrawals, and trading on its platforms yesterday, citing financial challenges.

When it comes to the various regulatory operations, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made the news for providing sophisticated tools to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to help it track transactions across Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. Crypto lender Voyager Digital suspended withdrawals, trading, and deposits to its platform days after issuing a default notice to embattled hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), stating that it is exploring strategic alternatives to preserve the value of its platform. Meta (FB) was also in the news for its plans to shut down Novi, its digital wallet payments pilot, ending the libra stablecoin experiment three years after the company unveiled its ambitious but ultimately doomed crypto payments gamble. 

On the other hand, crypto tax startup KoinX announced the closing of its seed round with a $1.5M fundraising to automate taxes of crypto retail investors and scale-up operations across India. 

That’s not all – The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee called for enhanced regulation of the crypto-asset market to mitigate against potential risks. This came after losing $2T of the crypto market cap over months. The European Union (EU) lawmakers passed new legislation for tracing transfers of crypto assets like Bitcoin in the same way as traditional money transfers to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other crimes. 

The competitive Stablecoins market seemed to be regaining its steady momentum the past week. 

Circle's USDC hit the bulletins as it's on track to topple Tether USDT as the top stablecoin in 2022 with an 8.27% growth in market capitalization. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a revised consultation on the capital requirements for crypto asset risk exposure that imposes tests to ensure stablecoins are redeemable and their price doesn’t deviate too much from par. Additionally, there are requirements for managing reserve assets. Tether cut its commercial paper holdings by around 58% as part of an earlier commitment to reduce its exposure to riskier assets. In an interesting turn of events, citizens in Argentina purchased between two and three times as many stablecoins as they do on a typical weekend. The news comes amid an economic crisis in the country.

The NFT segment has been thriving thanks to the recent explosion of novel launches and partnerships.

Facebook revealed the testing of a new NFT collectibles page with a small group of US producers, allowing users to flaunt their NFT collections on their Facebook page as a part of the new feature.

• Shaabiat Al Cartoon, a popular Emirati animated series, launched its cartoon as an NFT collection to educate the public about the emerging digital trends sweeping up the digital industry.

• Beverage giant Coca-Cola launched its NFT collection of ‘Pride Series’ to share the message of love, which will be minted on the Polygon blockchain and feature around 136 NFTs.

• Vincenzo Sospiri Racing, a multi-championship winning GT race team backed by Lamborghini, partnered with Go2NFT to spread its legs into the NFT world, which will be powered by proprietary blockchain technology. 

• BOSAGORA Foundation similarly launched NFTs based on its unique BizNet through crowdfunding platform Crowdy. The NFTs intend to celebrate the success of the fund managed by FMway, a partner of BOSAGORA.

As for the partnerships, IPX, the digital IP platform, announced a partnership with blockchain and NFT company Cripco to produce NFTs for IPX, starting with the iconic character ‘IPs.’ Binance NFT partnered with FC Porto to launch a collection of NFT mystery boxes. The mystery box is placed at the price of 3 Porto coupons, with four different levels of rarity for the customers to explore. Wagmi United partnered with Adidas to launch an NFT collection based on English League One club Crawley Town, where the holders of the NFTs will receive an array of Crawley Town Club perks.

On the funding front, MarketWolf secured $10M in a Series A funding round led by Jungle Ventures and Dream Capital. Serenade, an NFT company, raised $4.2M in a funding round led by celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and some executives of Warner Music Group.

Additionally, Chinese private companies have now implemented an initiative to track NFT trading, transitioning from decentralized to centralized trading. 

Numerous exciting launch-related activities stole the limelight in the DeFi space last week.

Leading payments platform Wirex launched Wirex Credit to offer competitive interest rates and no origination fee for crypto-backed loans, where users can easily borrow up to $100,000 in stablecoins. Voltz launched Lido (stETH) and Rocket (rETH) pools, allowing traders to speculate on the upcoming ETH merge and leveraging trading strategies historically. Bitfinex also announced the launch of Convergence (CONV) on its trading platform with trading pairs US Dollars (USD) and Tether tokens (USDT).

What’s more –

• Multichain Bridge integrated with RSK blockchain to facilitate the transfer of ETH, USDC, BUSD, and other assets between RSK, Ethereum, and BNB Chain.

• Moonstake was in the news for supporting the staking of ORBS token on the Polygon network, enabling users to earn interest and earn multi-chain staking rewards with the best user experience through one single click.

• The UK Government made the bulletin for seeking public input on the taxation of crypto-asset loans and staking in the context of DeFi.

  ---

The common thing between the Multiverse and the Metaverse is that they both can surprise you for good and engage your curiosity for the best, and the week’s news serves as evidence for the same.

Starting with the various funding events,

• Personalized care platform Zyla Health bagged $1M in pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Capital company Seeders.

•  Echo 3D, a cloud-based platform to store and stream 3D, AR, and VR, secured an investment of $5.5M led by Qualcomm Ventures.  

• Mona, a metaverse-based world-building platform, raised an investment of $14.6M in a Series A funding round.

Coming to the launch-related happenings, IT firm Nagarro ventured into the metaverse by acquiring RipeConcepts and thereby benefit from the growing popularity of the metaverse.

Furthermore, Blink Digital collaborated with Yashoda Hospital to introduce a metaverse hospital on Decentraland, enabling its users to interact with the doctors. 

Used car startup CarzSo launched a showroom in the metaverse to enable users to buy pre-owned cars with the help of various tools provided by the company. Infinite Reality launched a global metaverse hub in Luxembourg aiming to deliver a metaverse experience where creators have the ultimate control over their own monetization potential. 

Kuwait-based Islamic bank Warba Bank also made its metaverse debut to bolster its communication and support its younger clients.

Hopping on to the partnership scoop, global identity management and KYS platform EarthID joined the Metaverse Standard Forum (MSF) to leverage and facilitate interoperability and open standards in the metaverse. International Space University partnered with Metavisionaries to bring space science to the metaverse. Lickd also established an exclusive deal with Vegas City, a virtual district within the metaverse-based world Decentraland, to provide commercial music to Vegas City’s partners and ‘tenants,’ who can buy virtual land on the platform through blockchain-based purchases.

The week’s DLT comes with an assorted platter of partnerships, launches, and many news headlines about business expansions.

To begin with:

• TikTok’s former head of gaming, Jason Fung, launched a blockchain infrastructure company called Meta0 that aims to provide integration to different metaverses for game developers.

• Blockchain startup COSMETA’s plans to bring HR-based services to the metaverse also made for a key event in the space.

On the partnerships front, UAE teamed up with Chainalysis to provide blockchain training to government entities, which will help the government’s employees upskill themselves with knowledge about the blockchain. Multichain announced the integration of the Bitcoin-based contract protocol RootStock (RSK). The integration will enable RSK to bring Bitcoin to Multichain's ecosystem while also providing access to new markets and use-cases for its users. Blockchain GameFi Land of Conquest also received an investment from Huobi Ventures, who led the investment round, among other investment firms.

Finally, the Government of Colombia hit the headlines as it is set to utilize the XRPL blockchain for land registry, with Ripple’s partner Peersyst Technology announcing the launch of Colombia’s National Land Registry on top of the XRPL Blockchain.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring Revolut’s Journey In The Search Of A New World Order In Finance and Promoting Reliability In Diverse Ecosystems: Financial Institutions As Allies.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Friday calls for some fun! 

Greetings, fellow crypto geeks. Just in time for the weekend, we've got some bite-sized headlines you can munch on while sipping your favorite brew with the week's Future of Crypto newsletter. New to crypto? Fill your curiosity cup and join other Crypto Nerds in getting a Weekly Crypto Cuppa, delivered right to your mailbox every Friday! ☕️

‘DeFi’ying Democracy: Did you know? A term called ‘51% rule’ in a blockchain attack happens when a malicious user in a network acquires control of a given blockchain's mining capabilities. It implies that the attackers will have more than 50% mining power and can mine faster than everyone else. The attackers can stop the confirmation and order of new transactions. Talk about democracy!

The cryptosphere seemed to be bouncing back as Edition #21 witnessed numerous launches and intriguing partnerships, with the NFT vertical making a clean sweep as the most active segment of the week. 

Here’s the TL;DR:

• The lines between the physical and the virtual continue to blur as industry players bring unique offerings to the metaverse. Siemens’ recent partnership with Nvidia to enable digital twin capabilities for the industrial metaverse is proving that by intersecting the unique combination of the AI realm for real-time.

• China’s Tencent takes this a step further – creating its own metaverse-driven division, planning to produce both hardware and software products for the metaverse. SAP, on the other hand, pitched in with its initiative of accelerating cloud adoption to engage digital-first audiences by leveraging the metaverse. Meta also stands true to its name, having launched Meta Pay metaverse wallet to support value interaction. 

• New opportunities are equally being unlocked for the web 3 – with AdaSwap going live in public testnet, bringing a fresh wave of liquidity to the Cardano DeFi ecosystem. Linera’s $6M seed fund led by a16z to bring web 2 scalability to web 3 makes up for another key event in the space.

• Putting the spotlight on NFTs, eBay filed two trademark applications covering a wide range of products and services relating to NFTs and the metaverse. eBay wasn’t the only one under the regulatory umbrella, as 3AC Crypto Hedge was ordered by a court in the British Virgin Islands to go into liquidation, a move that is expected to cause ripple effects in the industry. The NFT saga also paves its way into the field, with Binance signing a partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo to promote a series of collectibles for sale. 

• Deep-diving into the core structure, Polygon deployed scaling system Avail designed for developers with the ability to update, fork, and change how their blockchains handle execution. A handy tool for DeFi and game developers, this one is. 

For the longer read, let’s get going —

The experimentations around the CBDC segment continue as more countries try to understand the width of its use-cases.

In the Middle East, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran announced its plans to launch a CBDC pilot in September in a single region, with the idea of further expansion. In Asia, Taiwan Central Bank completed the second phase of CBDC testing with plans to collect feedback from the trials, seeking to gain public support for the CBDC, refining its technology, and establishing regulations for the digital currency. In Europe, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) expanded its trials for the digital ruble and is exploring more use cases for the CBDC, including for use in settlement of real estate deals.

In other news, Ripple announced a CBDC Innovate challenge that seeks to inspire programmers to build applications capable of running on the XRP Ledger and supporting retail CBDCs, interoperability, and financial inclusion. The prize pool is $197,000; the last date is expected to be August 25, 2022.

The Crypto-coins segment has all eyes on it after the recent liquidation crisis. 

The European Union (EU) finalized crypto rules that aim to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, among other crimes, by requiring crypto-assets service providers to collect and store information identifying people involved in cryptocurrency transactions and hand the information over to authorities that are conducting investigations. A British court ordered Three Arrows Capital (3AC) to liquidate after facing a financial crunch. India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) also issued guidelines that mandate a deduction of 1% TDS on the transfer of crypto and other virtual digital assets, effective July 1, 2022.

As for the other affairs:

• Layer Three Ventures announced a $30B web 3 crypto fund and accelerator that takes a customized approach to source, support, launch, and fund the next generation of successful web 3 startups.

• The Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021), which is set to take place from 15 October to 19 November 2022, announced CoinEx as its official cryptocurrency trading platform partner.

• Coinbase Global set sail overseas via expansion to fuel growth in new users and revenue, reviving an international push after laying off more than 1,000 of its predominantly US workforce.

• Blockchain network TechPay Coin bagged an award for being the fastest blockchain with 300,000 TPS and 500 Milliseconds transaction Time-to-Finality. They received the award at Crypto Expo Asia 2022, which took place in Singapore.

The Stablecoins segment is still under scrutiny as regulatory bodies are exploring ways to minimize any future potential damage.

The European Union grabbed the headlines for its plans to ban cryptocurrency platforms from charging interest on stablecoin deposits and set high regulatory requirements for issuers of all types of stablecoins, with no exceptions being made for algorithmic ones. The President’s Working Group in the US announced that the government is working on stablecoin legislation with Congress that could become law by the end of 2022. DeFi protocol Flamingo announced that it is absorbing the Lyrebird stablecoin project, and plans to launch a new stablecoin tentatively called FUSD that will be modeled after MakerDAO’s DAI token, which uses over-collateralization of digital assets to ensure its peg is held to the US$1.

The NFT industry has been bustling with activity lately, brewing with a delightful bundle of new launches and partnership announcements for NFT fans to hear about.

British automotive company LotusCars ventured into the NFT landscape to launch its own collection of NFT. It partnered with XRPL, the Ripple Ledger, for technical support and NFT PRO for solutions related to the web 3 services. Following on another interesting news, National Hockey League (NHL) partnered with NFT platform Sweet in a multi-year deal to help the latter launch its own NFT collection that will enable users to buy, sell, acquire, and trade never-before-offered objects from NHL history.

While jumping on to the launches, Meta World Whale launched the NFT museum in Metaverse, which is filled with digital art exhibitions of paintings and allows users to buy digital art by redirecting users to the Opensea marketplace where the user can place bids for the art piece. Accelerate Financial Technology launched an NFT fund that will own a mix of NFT collections, including CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, to capitalize on long-term web 3 trends. 

Gaming and streaming e-sports platform Loco launched its new e-sports gaming platform called Loco Legends, allowing fans to trade e-sports collectibles and NFTs. Cappasity introduced a solution for creating NFT-based loyalty programs that helps provide solutions to turn content into 3D Digitization, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality. Digital asset company Matrixport launched an institutional custody service for NFTs that will facilitate institutions to store and manage their digital collectibles safely while protecting them from hack and phishing attacks. Pixels launched an NFT marketplace that will empower users to buy NFTs and print them as t-shirts, puzzles, and many other merchandise products. Blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto launched an online Software Development Kit (SDK) called ShroomDK, which is based on NFTs and provides an automated means to pull comprehensive blockchain data via software. On the contrary, Axie Infinity game reopened transactions months after a theft of $625 million took place. 

The DeFi segment was in the spotlight for various new launches last week.

• Centrifuge launched a cross-chain solution to integrate the real-world asset (RWA) market with DeFi ecosystem Centrifuge Connectors to enable investors and borrowers to access liquidity from multiple DeFi protocols without the need for intermediary integrations.

• Sea Horse launched a cross-chain NFT & DeFi aggregation platform to realize the general liquidity of NFT and become a global industry leader.

• BEQUANT launched the DeFi platform for institutional clients in collaboration with digital asset custodian and settlement firm Fireblocks enabling clients to cross-margin across decentralized and centralized trading platforms and improve their ability to execute arbitrage opportunities.

• AdaSwap launched its public testnet to unlock new opportunities for web 3 businesses on the largest Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network.

• CoinFlex issued a new token, Recovery Value USD, to raise funds after its withdrawal freeze.

On the funding front, MoHash raised $6M seed funding to bring sustainable, stable yields to DeFi led by Sequoia India, Southeast Asia, and Quona Capital.

In other news, Ledger Live integrated with Alkemi Earn, a lending-borrowing protocol, to allow users securely access Alkemi Earn liquidity pools and lend/borrow ETH, WBTC, or USDC to earn interest without leaving the Ledger Live interface. DeFi protocol SLEEP, a web 3 lifestyle app, was in the news as it rewards users in tokens while learning about health and the importance of quality sleep. Voyager Digital served a notice of default to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for failing to repay a loan worth $650M.

The Metaverse Universe seems to keep expanding, as numerous new launches, funding activities, and intriguing partnerships make the majority of the highlights.

On the funding front, metaverse event company RLTY raised over $4M in funding for metaverse event creation tools, allowing the company to provide services to clients interested in hosting metaverse events. Metaphysiks secured a $2M seed funding to accelerate the transformation and commercialization of its intellectual property into a neuro-haptic skin that allows users to bring their sensations, emotions, and cognition into the metaverse.

Walking over to the launchpad, Meta launched Meta Pay, a metaverse dedicated digital wallet to help in accessibility to digital goods and proof of ownership. Tencent launched an extended reality unit to tackle the metaverse market encompassing all metaverse-driven efforts, including hardware and software developments. Similarly, HTC launched ‘Desire 20 Pro’, a metaverse phone with a cryptocurrency wallet compatible with HTC’s Viverse ecosystem and VR headsets. SAP announced its initiative into the metaverse, designed to engage ‘digital-first audiences’ and help them on their journey into their digital transformation, enabling them to experience the full range of SAP products and offerings.

As for the partnerships, Luna Classic partnered with StarShip, through which LUNC will be implemented into the StarShip ecosystem as one form of payment within StarShip Universe, burning 1.2% of all LUNC received for these payments. Industrial giants Siemens and Nvidia came together to enable digital twins for the industrial metaverse and to enable companies to help their users to create photorealistic virtual simulations. 

In other news, Ocean Outdoor presented a real-world event at DOOH screens in partnership with the creative technology crypto fashion and digital arts studio Immersive KIND and Landsec that highlighted the work of queer artists who are pioneering crypto art in the metaverse and beyond.

The DLT segment was buzzing with abundant headlines on partnerships, funding, and product launches.

Beginning with the product launches, Polygon deployed its custom blockchain scaling system ‘Avail’ on the polygon network, empowering developers to launch their blockchain applications on the main polygon chain and other blockchains. Sologenic Development Foundation announced the launch of Coreum Devnet, Transaction Explorer, Technical Paper, and a $25M grants program for developers to build dApps and expand the ecosystem. Similarly, Chainlink deployed its smart contract products to go live on Fantom mainnet, allowing developers to build more sophisticated decentralized finance applications. Keepers is a decentralized transaction automation service that enables developers to automate any smart contract function using custom triggers. Developers can set predefined conditions that Keepers continuously checks, and when those conditions are met, it will trigger the smart contract’s function. VRF, on the other hand, uses on-chain randomness that can generate fair in-game outcomes in blockchain games or randomly select governance participants for specific tasks.

When it comes to the various partnerships, VeChain Foundation announced a deal with UK inventory monetization FinTech Supply@ME (SYME) to use the VeChainThor public blockchain to tap into a different group of investors, people interested in digital assets and cryptocurrency. In other news, TraceX Technologies partnered with international non-profit TechnoServe to offer end-to-end digital blockchain traceability for coffee produced by about 3,500 farmers, helping the latter provide its partner brands the ability to analyze, track and record the journey of a coffee bean from a plant to the cup. Wire Network also launched its interoperability protocol called Universal Polymorphic Address Protocol (UPAP), which aims to enable users to have a wallet address to send and receive NFTs, perform cryptocurrency swaps, and add liquidity pairs across any blockchain.

As for the funding rounds, blockchain-based analytics company Kaiko raised $53M in a Series B funding round led by Eight Roads, enabling Kaiko to strengthen its institutional data products and infrastructure further. Similarly, layer 1 blockchain project Linera completed a $6M seed funding round led by a16z to hire engineers and team members that will allow them to deliver on their vision of bringing the performance and reliability of web 2 to the world of web 3. 

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring how The Future of Financial Services Will Run on Open Rails and Promoting Reliability In Diverse Ecosystems: Financial Institutions As Allies.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

As we get ready to wind down for another weekend, we ensure to bring you some snackable crypto headlines with your warm cuppa via the latest edition of the Future of Crypto newsletter. If you're new and curious, read on to refill your curious cups and join other crypto nerds in receiving some fresh Weekly Crypto Cuppa, delivered right to your inbox every Friday! ☕️

When it comes to the present situation in the crypto space, we believe this meme sums it up just right. Two sides of the same coin, they say:

Getting back to the usual: 

The weather surrounding the Cryptosphere seems to have gotten more chilly in the 20th Edition of the Future of Crypto newsletter. Despite such odds, the NFT segment swept the board by being the most active segment of the week.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• SEC, State regulators probe crypto lender Celsius over accounts freeze.

• Crypto exchange Kucoin adds fiat trading pairs.

• NFT startup Magic Eden's valuation surges tenfold to $1.6 Billion.

• Tech giants create Metaverse Standards Forum for software and terminology standards. 

• Web 3 payment provider PIP launches no-coding button to simplify blockchain payments.

That’s not all – the week’s Top 10 Crypto News Stories are also here to spice up your crypto cuppa:

For the longer read, let’s get going –

More and more countries have set the ball rolling to get into the CBDC sector, as they see it as an alternative to the much more volatile crypto.

In the Middle East, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) announced that it is in the foundation stage of issuing a CBDC and is working on finding the right technology and platform. Israel accounted for not one but two headlines – the Bank of Israel shared details about its first set of technical trials for a CBDC, one of which used smart contracts, raising the issue of who should be allowed to write smart contracts and how to police them. Similarly, the Bank of Israel hit the headlines for cooperating with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of International Settlements' (BIS) Innovation Lab in a joint venture called Project Sela to experiment with the viability of a two-tiered retail architecture for CBDC. In Asia, Japanese blockchain firm Soramitsu landed feasibility studies for CBDC with both Vietnam and the Philippines. The blockchain firm later confirmed that it would also work with Fiji and the projects are in conjunction with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).

In other news, the Mojaloop Foundation announced the launch of its Mojaloop CBDC Center of Excellence (COE) in Singapore to advance financial inclusion in emerging markets. BIS IH London was also in the news for its project Rosalind, which aims to develop APIs for retail CBDC distribution that best enable a central bank ledger to interact with private sector service providers.

Regulations seem to keep pouring in for the Crypto-coins segment as it faces more scrutiny over its volatility.

• Cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Ltd grabbed the headlines for its plans to explore options, including the sale of assets and a bailout by another firm.

• South Korea put several employees of Terraform Labs on a no-fly list, effectively debarring them from leaving the country after the majestic collapse of the TerraUSD’s Luna token.

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and several state regulators started investigating the decision by crypto lender Celsius Network to freeze withdrawals. 

• Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda entered the Bank of Spain’s registry as a virtual currency exchange and digital asset custody service provider in the country.

What's more — 

• KuCoin launched support for fiat trading pairs, marking a significant step in expanding its fiat-to-crypto trading services, picking the Brazilian Real (BRL) as the first supported fiat currency available on the exchange’s spot market. Similarly, FTX entered an agreement to buy Canadian crypto trading platform Bitvo as a part of its strategy to expand its global footprint. 

• French firm Kaiko, which offers data from over 100 centralized and decentralized exchanges, grabbed the headlines for its plans to provide Deutsche Boerse with crypto market data. Russian crypto mining operator Bitriver also made the bulletin for its plans to use electricity generated from associated gas supplied by Gazprom Neft to mint digital coins. As part of a new agreement, the mining company will, in return, develop the digital infrastructure at the oil producer’s wells in Russia.

• Crypto digital assets platform FalconX raised $150M in a Series D funding round, at a valuation of $8B led by investment firms GIC and B Capital.

Things seemed to start getting a little better for the Stablecoins segment, but clouds of uncertainty still loom.

New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued new “Guidance on the Issuance of US Dollar-Backed Stablecoins,” establishing state standards for USD-backed stablecoins issued by entities subject to regulation by the NYDFS. On a similar note, the Federal Reserve published the latest Monetary Policy report categorizing the stablecoin industry – particularly the algorithmic stablecoins – as a risk of financial instability and also expressed concern regarding the concentration of fiat-backed stablecoins on Tether’s USDT and Binance’s BUSD. 

Additionally, Tether hit the bulletins for its plans to expand its offerings with the introduction of GBPT, a stablecoin pegged to the British pound, which will be launched in July 2022 and will become the company's 5th stablecoin.

The NFT segment was bustling with partnership events and funding rounds last week:

KuCoin’s NFT marketplace, Windvane, made the news for its plans to partner with NFT.NYC to bring global crypto enthusiasts, NFT creators, and artists together to build a better NFT space. Crypto start-up MoonPay partnered with Universal Pictures, Fox Corporation, and Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Records, among other brands, to launch a new NFT platform called HyperMint that enables large brands, agencies, and enterprises to mint hundreds of millions of NFTs a day. Even Animoca Brands KK, UCOLLEX, and MADworld jointly announced the launch of an NFT series dedicated to Japanese Culture, consisting of artists who embody Japanese culture. 

On the funding front, Magic Eden saw its valuation surge after investors plowed a fresh $130M into the startup at a $1.6B valuation despite a slowdown in private investment and a cratering cryptocurrency market. While NFT lending platform and liquidity engine Astaria raised $8M in seed funding to build during the bear to expand its current eight-person team, NFT scaling platform Immutable launched a $500M venture fund focused on web 3 games and NFT projects, with plans to also build on the Immutable X protocol through token grants and investments.

As for the other activities –

• eBay announced its plans to acquire Manchester-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin in an undisclosed deal to expand into the creator economy. Similarly, Uniswap Labs acquired NFT marketplace aggregator Genie in an undisclosed deal to support the trading of NFTs by integrating them into Uniswap products.

• BitGo announced the launch of their NFT hot wallet and custody solution, providing the guardrails for a new class of investors to hold NFTs safely and securely. Elrond-based real-time play-to-earn shooting game Cantina Royale was also in the news for its upcoming Initial DEX Offering (IDO) and NFT drop, unlocking all P2E functionality.

  ---

An assortment of buzz-worthy happening made the scoop for the DeFi space the past week, the majority of which were product launches.

Reflex Finance announced its recent contract updates and upcoming utilities, such as No Sell Swap, which aligns with its goal of helping emerging projects launch successfully into the crypto space, and provide value to already established tokens and Decentralized Finance as a whole. Similarly, DeFi protocol Nova, which is planning a soft launch, pioneered a way to allow cryptocurrency experts to build crypto portfolios for other, less experienced investors to take advantage of by utilizing a unique module called an nAsset. nAssets are modules programmed to execute specific commands or apply specific investing rules to portfolios.

Moreover, DeFi protocol Bancor halted its Impermanent Loss Protection (ILP) function citing hostile market conditions and manipulative behavior as the primary reasons for the sudden halt. Teller Protocol partnered with real estate veteran Tower Fund Capital. The collaboration will allow DeFi liquidity providers to earn interest using USDC stablecoins via Tower Fund Capital. 

Numerous head-turning launches made for most of the news in the metaverse segment last week:

• 3D metaverse gaming portal DigiNation announced the development of a mobile version and to release ecosystem products based on iOS and Android in Q3 as part of its expansion strategy.

• Fender partnered with Meta to launch a virtual musical adventure called Stratoverse for Meta’s Horizon Worlds at Cannes Lions. The same can be accessed through Meta’s Quest 2 headsets in select countries.

• KPMG also stepped into the metaverse by opening its first collaboration hub between its US and Canadian units that will allow the firm’s employees, clients, and communities to connect, engage and explore growth opportunities across industries and sectors.

• Lowe’s expanded into the metaverse by offering customers 500 assets for free to help visualize building projects within its own hub.

• Wunderman Thompson partnered with Odyssey to launch WT Inspiration Beach, an immersive metaverse activation to celebrate the start of advertising’s biggest festival in Cannes that allows people from all over the world to experience the agency’s unique take on creativity, content, and connectivity.

On the other hand, The Sandbox and TIMEPieces announced a new partnership to develop TIME Square destination in the metaverse for convening, art, and commerce, inspired by the visual spirit and energy of the iconic urban locale in New York City. Tech giants such as Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Unity, Sony, and 30 other companies came together to establish the Metaverse Standards Forum with a mission to drive interoperability and cross-compatibility in the space along with standardized terminology. Open-world metaverse platform Bullieverse raised $4M from investors led by web 3 venture funds to help build an arcade of play-to-earn games.

A flurry of product launches paraded within the DLT segment last week.

• Shell, Accenture, and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) joined forces to launch a blockchain-powered digital sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) book-and-claim solution called Avelia for business travel.

• KBC Group launched a token based on a blockchain platform where the customers will be able to acquire the new proprietary coins and use them through their KBC wallet and mobile app.

• Blockchain firm MetaJuice announced its plans to launch an NFT marketplace in the avatar-focused social network IMVU metaverse, having over 1 million daily active users.

• Web 3 payment provider PIP launched ‘The PIP Button,’ enabling users to pay for creative content that they love much faster and making it more affordable by integrating major blockchain systems, aiming to help the blockchain content creators accelerate their small business through a non-invasive payment solution.

• Blockchain research firm Chainalysis launched a new hotline that will support organizations targeted by a crypto-related cyber attack or ransomware demand.

Some other news that made it to the reportage:

Decentralized exchange DYDX hit the news for its plans to develop its own blockchain based on Cosmos, using Tendermint’s proof-of-stake consensus protocol to validate transactions. Ukraine was granted observer status in the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP). Officials in Kyiv hope the move will facilitate the implementation of blockchain technologies by the Ukrainian government and lead to the adoption of more efficient crypto regulations.

Additionally, blockchain startup CredShields raised $500K from BoostVC as part of its 2022 acceleration cohort. With the capital raised, the startup will use it to expand its team and enhance product growth and user acquisition.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring how The Future of Financial Services Will Run on Open Rails and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

We believe there’s no such thing as too much crypto tea, which is why we bring you a new edition of the Future of Crypto Newsletter to sweeten your tastebuds with the latest scoop! If you're new and curious, read on to refill your curious cups and join other crypto nerds in receiving some fresh Weekly Crypto Cuppa, delivered right to your inbox every Saturday! ☕️

Go ‘Hard’ Or Go Home: In 2013, James Howells, who lives in Wales, accidentally threw out a hard drive with 7,500 Bitcoins on it. When he realized how much the value of Bitcoin had shot up in recent years, he went looking for the drive. Now, he’s trying to get his local city council to allow him to excavate the landfill in an attempt to find the drive. Talk about finding the end of a rainbow…

Back to the usual: 

Despite the ongoing winter in the Cryptosphere, various partnerships and launches acted as the light at the end of the tunnel for the 19th Edition of the Future of Crypto newsletter. The avant-garde NFT segment came out as the most dynamic theme of the week.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Mastercard partners with various platforms to allow its cardholders to buy NFTs without purchasing crypto.

• American Express adds the first crypto product with the Abra rewards card.

• Binance partners with Splyt to offer users ride-hailing services on its platform.

• JPMorgan plans to bring trillions of dollars of tokenized assets to DeFi.

• Huobi Global launches a $1B investment arm focused on DeFi and web 3.

Icing On The Cake – the week’s Top 10 Crypto News Stories are also here to pump your crypto cuppa:

For the longer read, let’s get going –

Regulatory bodies worldwide continue to recognize the potential of CBDCs in fostering financial inclusion and boosting economic development, which is why regulation seemed to be on the rise for last week’s affairs in the emerging space.

In Africa, the Nigerian central bank was in the news for its plans to extend its e-Naira CBDC payment service to feature phones to target financial inclusion. The same will be done using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes that operate similarly to SMS. In Asia, the government of Bangladesh plans to conduct a feasibility study to launch the CBDC in the country. In Europe, the Russian lower house of parliament introduced a bill to ban the use of digital assets as a payment method, clarifying that only a Russian ruble is a unit of payment in the country.

In other news, IMF turned its attention to the environmental impact of DLTs, recommending energy-efficient CBDCs that rely on non-PoW networks. The US thinktank Atlantic Council also released a report on cybersecurity issues related to CBDC. The authors provide a generalized discussion of CBDC security, but with a clear focus on the US and matters specific to it.

A diverse range of activities marked most of the happenings in the Crypto-coins landscape last week.

MoneyGram hit the headlines for launching an on- and off-ramp service for digital wallets, making it easy for digital wallet customers to move between fiat to cryptocurrency to fiat again without needing a bank account or credit card. Crypto security firm Forta released its own FORT token, intended to increase the incentives for security researchers to monitor blockchain networks. Similarly, American Express (AXP) confirmed that it would be offering crypto rewards, teaming up with digital-assets services major Abra.

As for the partnerships, Binance was in the news twice – once for choosing crypto payment processor TripleA as its new universal crypto payment gateway for its Binance Pay payment feature on its mobile applications, and the other for partnering with Splyt to offer users ride-hailing services on its platform.

On the various regulations, cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius Network grabbed headlines for its plans to pause withdrawals and transfers between accounts due to extreme market conditions. The government in Vilnius also approved amendments introducing more stringent regulations for the country’s growing crypto space. The legislation aimed at managing risks associated with crypto assets and preventing Russian attempts to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. 

In other news, MicroStrategy (MSTR) sat on an unrealized loss of more than $1B on its Bitcoin holdings as the price of the largest crypto. Crypto payment gateway Nume Crypto raised $2M in its Pre-Seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. 

Turbulent waves persist in the Stablecoins segment as stablecoins continue to tumble one after the other. 

The Tron network’s stablecoin, USDD, lost its peg to the US dollar dipping to a new low of 91 cents. As crypto markets nosedive, investors grow increasingly concerned about persistently high inflation, tightening financial conditions, and a potential recession. TronDAO will deploy $2B to fight against the negative APR. Binance US and its CEO Brian Shroder were named as defendants in a lawsuit claiming that the crypto exchange falsely marketed the safety of stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which collapsed in a spectacular fashion earlier in 2022. 

Last week, the NFT space was vibrant with eventful happenings, witnessing several partnerships and market expansions across different platforms. 

Canon announced that several members of its exclusive Canon Legends program partnered with Immutable Image to create NFTs from a limited collection of their photographs and publish them as a collective. UFC and DraftKings announced plans to launch a new iteration of DraftKings’ “Reignmakers” gamified digital collectibles franchise focused on UFC. Reignmakers UFC will allow fans to build collections of their favorite UFC fighters and utilize them in games to compete for prizes. Similarly, OnChain Studios announced a multi-year global partnership with toy maker Mattel for its Crptoys NFT platform, which will give rise to a new generation of toys that will exist in the blockchain.  

When it comes to the expansions, NFT platform Fractal announced its new feature, ‘Sign In With Fractal,’ which lets users create a crypto wallet in a matter of moments by logging in with a Google account. Bitcoin exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com made the bulletin for giving its users a free NFT domain, a tool that will let them use a simple, human-friendly username in place of the long string of random characters that make up a wallet address. Similarly, Mastercard announced plans to partner with several platforms to allow its 2.9 billion cardholders to buy NFTs without first purchasing cryptocurrencies.

What’s more –

• Ultron Foundation released an innovative digital asset growth instrument called Staking Hub NFT as a new way of financing blockchain development. 

• NFT infrastructure platform NFTPort raised $26M in a Series A funding round co-led by Taavet+Sten, to further develop its infrastructure proposition.

• Yuga Labs announced a major change to the underlying code of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, deleting a segment of the code that enabled the creation of infinite Bored Ape NFTs after continued attacks on its platform. 

  ---

A couple of launches and partnership rounds dominated the DeFi segment this week:

• Digital asset exchange Huobi Global spun out a new $1B investment arm focused on DeFi and web 3 projects, further highlighting venture capital interest in the blockchain economy. A decentralized algorithmic lending protocol Hatom was launched on the Elrond blockchain. Hatom uses an on-chain governance mechanism that enables the protocol’s users to vote for protocol changes directly on the blockchain.

• On the partnerships front, RPC provider and web 3 developer toolset Ankr announced that it would become a remote procedure call provider for Optimism, incentivizing independent Optimism node operators to add their nodes to the load balancer in return for ANKR tokens. Similarly, Banxa announced a partnership with WonderFi to enable the latter’s customers to utilize local payment and banking options with less friction, fewer fees, and better fraud protection. Users can easily and securely convert fiat currency to cryptocurrencies and back again.

In other news, JPMorgan announced its plan to bring trillions of dollars of tokenized assets to DeFi to help DeFi developers leverage the yield-generating potential of non-crypto assets.

The metaverse vertical has witnessed a range of product launches in the past week.

• Yahoo announced its plans to host a series of virtual events and concerts for Hong Kong residents in the Decentraland metaverse and an NFT exhibition called The Abyss of Kwun Tong, which will see local artists virtually recreate the historic neighborhood of Kwun Tong.

• HTC was in the news for its plans to launch a high-end smartphone with metaverse-focused features under its ‘Viverse’ brand in June 2022.

• Similarly, Meta announced it is adding the ability to easily socialize in virtual reality with an update to its Quest 2 headsets in another step toward the metaverse. 

• Bharti Airtel launched Xstream multiplex, a 20-screen platform with access to content portfolios from leading OTT partners available on its Xstream app, which will be accessible on a metaverse platform called Partynite Metaverse. 

That’s not all – Meta was also in the news as it plans to open a ‘metaverse academy' in collaboration with a French digital training firm which will train the first 100 students for free in 2 roles. Adobe announced major updates to Adobe Substance 3D, expanding on the tools’ extensibility and performance, including a 3D Materials SDK for developers, powerful new plugins, and native Apple M-series chips support for Painter, Designer, and Sampler. Additionally, play-and-earn metaverse developer Atmos Labs announced the closing of an $11M seed round for Atmos led by Sfermion to build the foundation of the virtual game world of Atmos, grow its community and expand the Atmos team.

Various market expansions took the spotlight in the DLT segment last week.

• UAVI made the news for its plans to celebrate its one-year anniversary and its cooperation with Real Drone Simulator by organizing a blockchain-based online drone tournament on June 23 in Budapest, where it will also announce the listing of the UAVI token on the Indoex exchange and will introduce the UAVI ecosystem to the wider world.

• Global asset manager AllianceBernstein Holdings (AB) announced it is working with Allfunds Blockchain to adapt its services to the blockchain ecosystem to provide an additional layer of security and efficiency.

• The Nigerian exchange also grabbed attention as it plans to use blockchain for stock settlement by 2023.

Additionally, blockchain gaming platform Wemix announced the launch of a platform-driven, service-oriented ecosystem for blockchain gaming Wemix3.0, which will expand on the platform’s existing play-to-earn features, blockchain infrastructure automation platform. Zeeve also raised $2.65M in a seed round from Leo Capital and Blu Ventures to bolster product development, augment the tech team and enhance the firm's reach among DApp developers and global corporations.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring how The Future of Financial Services Will Run on Open Rails and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

We’re back at it again to make your weekend read a delightful one with a new edition of the Future of Crypto Newsletter! If you're new and intrigued, read on to satisfy your curious taste buds and join other crypto nerds in receiving some fresh Weekly Crypto Cuppa, delivered right to your inbox every Saturday! ☕️

What’s brimming? Ethereum is set to undergo a historic upgrade in the coming days as it completes its first big dress rehearsal for a long-awaited makeover.

Additionally, we bring you the week’s Top 10 Crypto News Stories as an accompaniment to your zesty Crypto cuppa:

Let's get down to business then 😎

A range of intriguing headlines, including product launches, made for quite the stir in Edition #18. The Metaverse segment took the crown as the most dynamic theme of the week.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• PayPal lets users move coins to other wallets and exchanges.

• Solana commits $100M to support South Korean crypto projects.

• Crypto.com's Cronos launches $100M accelerator for DeFi and Web3.

• NFTICALLY launches metaverse for e-commerce that doesn’t need crypto.

• Timberland enters the Metaverse in partnership with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.

For the longer read, let’s get going —

The CBDC segment was bustling with regulatory undertakings from several countries around the globe.

In Asia, China’s Chongqing district launched a digital yuan tax payment pilot that allows taxpayers to make their tax payments in the digital yuan CBDC. Bank of Japan found that some CBDC designs encountered bottlenecks in dealing with high transaction volumes during the test. In discussion with the IMF, the RBI governor reflected an anti-crypto stance as he spoke about India’s potential to disrupt the crypto and blockchain ecosystem, saying CBDCs could kill private cryptocurrencies. In the Caribbean, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) gave the authority to issue In CBDC as legal tender locally with the Senate’s passage of the Bank of Jamaica (Amendment) Act, 2022. In Europe, the Centre for European Reform (CER) asked why central banks are pursuing CBDC stating that the EU should not be distracted by the prospect of a digital euro. 

The Crypto-coins vertical has witnessed several product launches, with companies worldwide embracing various cryptocurrencies within their current portfolios.

CoinSwitch launched the Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8) to measure the performance of the Indian Rupee-based crypto market by tracking the performance of eight crypto assets that represent over 85% of the total market capitalization of cryptos traded in the Indian Rupee. Solana grabbed the headlines after it plans to pump up to $100M into South Korean crypto startups as it looks to penetrate a developer market still reeling from last month’s Terra ecosystem collapse. Solana Ventures and the Solana Foundation will seed invest across all web3 verticals. Crypto.com’s Cronos announced the launch of a $100M accelerator program to fast-track advancements across the DeFi, web3, and metaverse space, among others. 

On the partnerships front, Crypto startup Ledger teamed up with Cathay Innovation to launch $110M sector fund called Ledger Cathay Capital that will invest in seed to series A companies across a broad variety of segments across the crypto landscape, including emerging DeFi, security, and infrastructure. Global brokerage company BGC Partners (BGCP) was also in the news after it plans to build a cryptocurrency exchange and launch it by the end of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023. 

In other news, PayPal finally allowed cryptocurrency holders to transfer their digital assets off its platform to other wallets and exchanges. Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Pintu has raised $113M in a Series B funding round with investments from venture capital firms Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Pantera Capital to build out new features, including additionally supported tokens and blockchains and products. While Binance was in the news as US regulators are investigating whether Binance Holdings Ltd. broke securities rules by selling digital tokens just as the crypto exchange was getting off the ground five years ago, Litecoin was delisted on Bithumb and Upbit, two South Korean Crypto exchanges, over modifications made to the coin that enable greater privacy when conducting transactions.

The Stablecoin segment was a witness to different regulatory activities. 

• USDC stablecoin issuer Circle announced that the project is now supported on the Polygon network. 

• Tron, which debuted the USDD algorithmic stablecoin last month, was in the news as it looks to avoid the trouble its fellow token TerraUSD ran into by boosting transparency and adding collateral.

• Japan approved a bill to recognize and legalize stablecoins, defining them as digital money.

• The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) released first-of-its-kind regulatory guidance for entities issuing US dollar-backed stablecoins.

• Tether announced the launch of USDT on the Tezos blockchain, thus expanding the number of networks supporting the asset to 12.

Several innovative launches surrounding the NFT space created quite the buzz that turned heads last week, with significant players entering the emerging sphere.

• Alibaba Cloud announced the launch of its service that would assist in the rapid and dependable development of NFT marketplaces while avoiding compliance issues.

• SquirrelVerse, announced the launch of a curated NFT commerce platform Metascreen for showcasing unique NFTs as a movie ticket.

• Cardano NFT marketplace EGO.com was in the news as it plans to launch its beta version in June 2022.

• Hong Kong wine importer and distributor Grand Cru Cellar (GCC) announced plans to enter into the Non-fungible token (NFT) space, making it the first wine distributor in Asia to offer a wine NFT. 

• Salesforce unveiled its NFT Cloud to enable brands to mint, manage and sell NFTs via the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform.

On the other hand, the English Premier League (EPL) filed two cryptocurrency and NFT trademarks in the US as it is gearing up to expand its brand into the digital scene. YG Entertainment of KPOP announced a collaboration with an NFT Community of Zombies named Zombies Culture Club (ZCC). While Parcel announced the closing of a $4M seed round led by Framework Ventures to continue developing and expanding Parcel’s product suite, including a comprehensive creative directory known as the Creatorverse, Ethereum-based game Illuvium sold over $72 million worth of NFT digital land plots as NFTs during a sale.

The DeFi segment had an assorted mix of partnerships and regulatory initiatives that made for an eventful scoop.

• While Terra’s DeFi platform Anchor Protocol proposed freezing Anchor Earn and borrowing functions to protect it from attacks, DeFi platform Cake DeFi announced that it had received a cryptocurrency license from the Registrar of Legal Entities of Lithuania. 

• On the partnerships front,  DeFi protocol Masa Finance announced that it is partnering with African financial data company Pngme to drive the adoption of DeFi credit services in the region. Similarly, Encentive integrated its web 3 operating system with Alchemy Pay to enable Encentive module builders and end-users to accept fiat and crypto payments on the Encentive platform.

• Skolem Technologies raised $20M in Series A funding led by Galaxy Digital to build its team, as well as scale the platform’s capabilities to grow the DeFi market.

  ---

Numerous partnership rounds and product launches served to be the key highlights of the expanding metaverse industry.

• Bin Zayed Group entered into a partnership with Caduceus to bring a Twin city experience into the metaverse, which will use VR technology to bring the city of Dubai into people’s homes, offering up all the city’s delights from its renowned shopping malls to its theme parks, and theater shows to the many famous cultural attractions it hosts.

• Klaytn Foundation forged key strategic partnerships and collaborations with Parity Technologies, Adgorithmics, Adgorithmics, Adgorithmics, and Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) for a Metaverse-as-a-Service model, which will allow Web2 companies, game publishers, content creators, and other users to plug-in seamlessly into the metaverse.

• American fashion retailer Forever21 also collaborated with the global toy brand Barbie for a limited edition collection which will be available simultaneously in-store, online, and in metaverse on Forever21 shop city on Roblox.

• Timberland unveiled a one-of-a-kind design innovation experience in partnership with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine that blends the physical and virtual worlds to reimagine product design and engage consumers in the journey.

• Similarly, CarzSo announced plans to build an NFT-based parcel of lands for launching an auto industry-focused metaverse in partnerships with blockchain technologies.

In terms of various product launches:

• Media agency Horizon Media announced the launch of two industry units, Chapter & Verse, dedicated to the metaverse, web3, NFTs, blockchain, cryptocurrency, DAO communities, and all other related facets. 

• MG Motors also jumped on the metaverse bandwagon with a virtual experience platform called MG Verse, where customers will be provided a virtual car buying experience with assistance from a 3D avatar.

• NFT marketplace creator NFTICALLY announced the launch of the world’s first e-commerce metaverse ecosystem Comearth, which will work without crypto. Businesses and individuals planning to open their own stores in the metaverse would be able to use this platform.

• Shiba metaverse also hit the bulletins after its plans to launch a rewards system for the Shib Inu landholders.

What’s more ━ digital solutions provider Kiya.ai announced the launch of Kiyaverse, a banking metaverse platform. that aims to enable customers to use their personalized avatars on digital banking units, mobiles, laptops, VR headsets, and mixed reality environments. VR firm STEPVR released VR Gates to the metaverse called Gates01 in Beijing, which will allow users to enter the virtual world for sports, entertainment, education, and work.

The DLT vertical witnessed an assorted range of activities that made some attention-grabbing headlines last week.

• Vietnam Blockchain Association and Binance officially announced their cooperation on the exchange of research/application of Blockchain Technology and Human Resource Training in Vietnam to promote the development of blockchain technology in Vietnam and build a bridge with other significant technology corporations around the world.

• Blockchain trade finance startup LiquidX announced unspecified strategic funding in which Citi became a new investor. Citi will also LiquidX to help their clients to improve working capital efficiency and provide them with seamless access to a range of other services offered by Citi to institutional clients.

• MonetaGo ditched blockchain for a shift to the cloud after almost a decade of using distributed ledger technology for its trade finance fraud prevention product, citing scalability, adoption, lack of in-house expertise, varying international regulatory comfort levels, and technological maturity issues.

• Gaming studio SuperTeam Games raised $10 million in its first funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners to launch a blockchain-based sports game.

But wait, there’s more ━ wholesale travel company HelloVacay announced a blockchain-based travel reward platform that rewards user engagement with a tokenized platform giving travelers access to private, discounted hotels and resorts. Blockchain-based trade finance platform we.trade was also in the reportage as it is shutting down and is expected to appoint PwC as liquidator.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring how The Future of Financial Services Will Run on Open Rails and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

The crypto industry has witnessed a range of regulations and market expansions in Edition #17, with the DLT, Metaverse, and Crypto segments tied as the most dynamic segments for the opening week of the month.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Facebook parent Meta to use Broadcom chips to build metaverse hardware.

• Tata Elxsi, Lenovo partner to offer XR solutions, metaverse as service.

• JPMorgan uses blockchain for collateral settlement.

• Brazil launches a blockchain network to better trace public expenditures.

• Crypto film ‘The Infinite Machine’ adds metaverse component in pact with Decentraland, Lumiere.

Before taking a sip of this steaming cuppa brimming with the piping hot affairs of the Cryptosphere, here’s a little add-on of the Top 10 Crypto News Stories of the week:

Now, for the longer read, let’s get going —

The CBDC segment has again observed a plethora of regulatory experimentations as more countries join the sector to better understand its dynamics.

In Asia, the Governor of the Bank of Thailand stated that the need for a CBDC is not urgent and that the institution will not hurry to introduce one, claiming that Thailand offers a variety of alternative payment alternatives. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed adopting a ‘graded approach’ for the launch of its CBDC to ensure conformity with the objectives of the monetary policy, financial stability, and efficient operations of currency and payment systems. Bank of Japan released the phase one findings from its CBDC testing. In Africa, the Central Bank of Ghana (BoG) announced it granted Vodafone Cash and CalBank customers the opportunity to test its online version of its digital currency (CBDC), the eCedi.

With a bit of skepticism still hovering over the Crypto-coins landscape, a diverse set of activities made for the buzz around the segment last week.

• Cryptocurrency trading platform KuCoin launched its new decentralized product — KuCoin Wallet, with its website that went live for users to access the service on 1st June. Germany-based crypto wallet and payments platform Zumo launched a B2B ‘Crypto-as-a-Service’ solution that enables companies to offer crypto products and services to their customers.

• On the regulatory front, Russia was in the news as it plans to allow cryptocurrencies to be used as means of international payments to counter Western sanctions. Crypto exchange Binance received regulatory approval from Italy’s financial regulator to operate as a cryptocurrency service provider in the country.

• As for the various expansions, crypto management platform Kassio, which provides crypto investment solutions like earn, borrow, shop, or trade to its users, announced the launch of its operations in India. Similarly, Chinese crypto exchange Huobi announced it had purchased LATAM cryptocurrency exchange Bitex to reach out to LATAM countries like Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

In other news, Goldman Sachs was in talks with FTX over the regulatory and public listings and aims to expand into offering crypto derivatives by leveraging some of its own derivatives tools and services. London-based cryptocurrency payments firm Merge raised a $9.5M seed round led by Octopus Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, and Hashed to ensure that cryptocurrency companies can make payments and work with traditional financial services more efficiently.

The Stablecoins segment is still under scrutiny, and regulations have poured in to limit its expansion.

While the Bank of England grabbed headlines for being given the powers of direction over administrators appointed to deal with collapsed stablecoins, in an amended version of existing rules designed for financial market infrastructures (FMIs), Britain’s finance ministry set out plans for adapting existing rules to deal for any major stablecoin collapses, such as with TerraUSD. 

Moreover, Tether Operations Limited announced the launch of MXNT Tether tokens pegged to the Mexican Peso that will officially be launched on Polygon, Ethereum, and Tron networks.

Several innovative launches surrounding the NFT space turned heads last week, with significant players introducing their own collections and initiatives in the expanding space.

• Integrated web 3 entity Jupiter Meta launched art NFTs on its digital marketplace to inspire people to be catalysts for social change by channeling a percentage of the sales to social upliftment. 

• Crypto exchange Gate.io announced the upcoming listing of Mirror World NFTs on its NFT marketplace, which went live on June 1st, 2022.

• AI/ML NFT platform SwopX launched the first fully integrated multi-chain NFT platform consisting of a marketplace with live analytics for price forecasting, trend insights, authentication, and fraud protection protocols, which also offers an innovative lending platform for collateralized borrowing against NFTs.

• Yokozuna Finance also launched an innovative play-to-earn NFT model called NFT Auction Market, which offers participants the opportunity to use Functional NFTs to monetize their gameplay.

Some other happenings in the NFT domain include-

• On the partnerships front, The OneRare Foodverse joined the IQ protocol to expand its utilities in the NFT market, where the latter’s rental capabilities will be implemented in the metaverse as a safe way for passive income. Even the EuroLeague elite basketball competition announced a new, multi-year partnership with Clancy International to launch interactive video NFT collections.

• As for the expansions, Prada joined the NFT race after plans to launch 100 Ethereum NFTs to go along with its latest Timecapsule apparel release. Similarly, the East Asia Football Federation (EAFF) struck a deal with NuArca Labs, which will become the regional association's official NFT partner focusing on the upcoming 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship.

• Regarding the numerous funding rounds, NFT marketplace Ayoken raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to enable users to grow their revenue streams through digital collectibles. Coins.ph co-founder co-launched NFT rental platform Playedex with $2m in seed funding, allowing players and guilds to rent gaming assets from NFT holders, connecting all stakeholders in the P2E sphere through one streamlined platform.

What’s more – a former OpenSea executive was indicted for fraud and money laundering in a case federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York characterized as insider trading in NFTs.

Last week, ecosystem players from diverse industries and geographies targeted the DeFi sphere to map out its potential.

When it comes to the various launches, Voltz Protocol launched a synthetic, capital-efficient interest rate swap automated market maker (AMM), which will now provide the means for DeFi to compete with the interest rate swap marketplace in TradFi. Similarly, the Berlin-based multi-asset DeFi platform Swarm was in the news for its plans to introduce institutional-grade liquid staking tokens capable of integrating into DeFi AMM pools to generate additional yield in a protected environment.

Furthermore, decentralized credit-based stablecoin protocol Beanstalk announced "The Barn Raise," a fundraiser to restore $77M of liquidity stolen from the protocol during recent governance exploit and further recapitalize pre-exploit participants. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched a digital asset pilot program to examine the potential of asset tokenization and decentralized finance tagged ‘Project Guardian’ in collaboration with institutions such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Marketnode Pte, and DBS Bank Ltd. Dogechain also went live on Polygon Edge, implying that Dogechain would now have the intrinsic ability to deploy dApps, create NFTs or even build blockchain games.

An eventful array of partnerships served to be the key highlights of the expanding metaverse industry.

• Tata Elxsi and Lenovo announced a partnership to develop smart XR solutions for enterprise and engineering applications, aiming to offer end-to-end solutions and services for customers using Lenovo’s smart XR devices in both large and small offices and industrial settings.

• Nyx Professional Makeup was revealed as a collaborator for the People of Crypto Lab’s (POC) metaverse diversity hub set to debut in The Sandbox, where the trio has announced plans to work together on the Valley of Belonging space.

• OKX announced it acquired a substantial land holding in the hyper-realistic metaverse Everdome, where both will work to bring their partners and others into the metaverse to design unique cultural programming and innovative experiences that surprise and delight.

• Similarly, Versus Entertainment brought on board Decentraland and Lumiere to develop metaverse and NFT angles for its ongoing film project “The Infinite Machine.”

On the other hand, Worldline stepped into the world of the metaverse with a new virtual showroom located in the Crypto Valley area of Decentraland, hoping to develop its presence in the domain. While Meta Platforms Inc hit the headlines for its plans of using Broadcom Inc’s custom chips to build its metaverse hardware, becoming the chipmaker’s next ASIC customer, the Government of South Korea announced it would invest in metaverse projects directly to kickstart national jobs and companies in this field. Digital solutions provider Kiya.ai also announced the launch of India’s first-ever Banking Metaverse – Kiyaverse. In the first phase, Kiyaverse will allow banks to extend their own Metaverse for clients, partners, and employees through services that will include Relationship Manager & Peer Avatars and Robo-advisors. 

A plethora of funding rounds made most of the eventful affairs in the DLT segment.

• Blockchain infrastructure provider InfStones raised $66M in a new funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and GGV Capital, which will help InfStones grow its team, build out its blockchain infrastructure solutions, expand into new markets and pursue potential partnerships and acquisitions.

• Blockchain technology builder StarkWare Industries raised $100M in a Series D funding round at an $8B valuation led by Greenoaks Capital and Coatue.

• Blockchain-based enterprise data-sharing platform Vendia secured $30M in a Series B funding led by NewView Capital to scale the platform.

Moreover, JPMorgan Chase developed a collateral management blockchain solution for traditional finance. Last week it executed its first transaction by tokenizing BlackRock money market fund shares and using them as collateral. Brazil’s new government blockchain network went live under the cooperation agreement between the Court of Accounts of Uniam (TCU) and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Crypto exchange Binance also made it to the bulletins after closing a $500M investment fund to boost blockchain, web 3, and value-building technologies.

Additionally, Asia’s flagship blockchain event, Korea Blockchain Week (KBW), appointed blockchain PR and marketing firm MarketAcross as their official global media partner.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include exploring how The Future of Financial Services Will Run on Open Rails and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Before diving into the steaming cuppa brimming with the piping hot affairs of the Cryptosphere, we bring you the Top 10 Crypto news across the six dynamic themes that are coloring the Future of Crypto: 

Let's get down to business then 😎

The crypto industry is recovering, and it’s recovering fast! A range of intriguing headlines, including partnerships and product launches, made for quite the stir in Edition #16. The DLT segment took the crown as the most dynamic theme of the week.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• China trials digital yuan CBDC student card to track purchases.

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust partners with Bitbank to establish a crypto firm targeting institutional clients.

• OpenSea launches NFT marketplace Seaport.

• Visual storytelling platform Disguise launches metaverse solutions division.

• Crypto Valley Venture Capital launches African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund.

For the longer read, let’s get going —

The CBDC segment was bustling with regulatory and developmental undertakings from several countries around the globe.

In China, the latest application of the digital yuan CBDC was rolled out as the digital RMB smart student ID card, a SIM card supporting NFC for payments and identity, and GPS to enable the child’s location. In America, the US Congress introduced 50 digital asset bills and regulations involving crypto taxation, CBDC, crypto clarity on the regulatory treatment of digital assets and digital asset securities, supporting blockchain technology, and more. Multiple banking and finance industry bodies have responded to the US Federal Reserve consultation on a potential CBDC, including the American Bankers Association (ABA), Bank Policy Institute (BPI), and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), none of which were particularly supportive, with the IIF being the least resistant.

In other news, Brazil’s crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin announced its partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) to participate in the development of a CBDC by working on one of the nine projects promoted by Brazil’s LIFT. Mobile wallet SunCash also launched a new face pay feature that will let consumers in the Bahamas authorize in-store payments using the country’s Sand Dollar CBDC.

The Crypto-coins vertical has witnessed several product launches, with companies worldwide embracing various cryptocurrencies within their current portfolios. 

When it comes to the various products, GameStop launched a beta for its very own Ethereum wallet that lets users store, send, and receive both cryptocurrency and NFTs through their web browsers. Andreessen Horowitz announced a new $4.5B fund for backing crypto and blockchain companies, one-third of which will be earmarked for seed deals exclusively. India's crypto marketplace and research portal Coingabbar.com also launched along with the GCI -20 crypto index with detailed information of 13000+ crypto assets on its website. Similarly, CoinDCX launched its crypto yield program ‘Earn’ where customers can earn interest on their crypto assets in 16 cryptocurrencies which will be deployed across multiple yields generating opportunities such as margin trading, lending, and staking to generate returns.

What’s more - 

• Asset manager Sumitomo Mitsui Trust was in the news for its plans to tap Tokyo-based crypto exchange Bitbank to set up a company offering digital asset services to institutional clients from 2022. Similarly, Stripe teamed up with crypto start-up OpenNode to allow its customers to accept Bitcoin payments through a new app, enabling customers to convert incoming payments and any amount of their balance into Bitcoin.

• Coinbase grabbed the headlines after becoming the first crypto company to join the Fortune 500 list.

• Cryptocurrency tax services firm ZenLedger raised $15M in Series B funding led by ParaFi Capital at a $27M valuation to expand its team.

• Crypto exchange Binance made the bulletin for its plans to help Kazakhstan develop digital assets regulation that includes integrating banking infrastructure within the cryptocurrency market and helping with the country's blockchain strategy as the Central Asian nation looks to develop its crypto industry beyond Bitcoin mining.

The Stablecoin segment observed some relief as industries showed signs of hope with their respective moves.

Polygon launched an uncapped multimillion-dollar fund so Terra-built projects can move to its blockchain. Jarvis Network partnered with Techemynt to incentivize liquidity providers contributing to their Curve pools with swap fees and a portion of JRT (Jarvis governance token). FinTech startup Pebble was in the news for offering 5% APY on all cash deposits using non-algorithmic stablecoins.

Several innovative launches surrounding the NFT space created quite the buzz that turned heads last week, with significant players entering the emerging sphere.

• NFT marketplace OpenSea unveiled a new web 3 marketplace protocol– SeaPort–which will allow NFT merchants to make direct trades with digital collectibles buyers, fully governed by smart contracts.

• eBay launched a series of exclusive NFTs, including Genesis, which will feature 3D and animated interpretations of the iconic athletes featured on Sports Illustrated covers over the years through a strategic partnership with OneOf.

• EQONEX Limited announced it had completed its first-ever direct to custody over-the-counter (OTC) NFT trade, a part of the company’s new offering that provides exclusive NFTs through a network of regulated partners and provides storage for the assets within Digivault.

• Cryptocurrency exchange Elite Token announced the unveiling of NFTs based on the beta version of the cross-metaverse p2e gaming platform Runiverse.

• The NFT space seemed Happy as Pharrell Williams launched a new NFT platform called the Gallery of Digital Assets or GODA to give contemporary artists a curated platform to approach the digital world.

As for the funding rounds, the digital art collective UnicornDAO raised $4.5M to empower women and LGBTQ-led NFT initiatives, with members from every corner of the NFT market coming together to participate in the round. Similarly, NFT marketplace FanTiger raised $5.5M in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital to grow its team across product and tech, extend industry partnerships, and onboard well-known and aspiring Indian artists. NFT social marketplace Bubblehouse also raised about $9M in a seed funding round led by Cassius Family to expand its marketplace and portfolio of partners across brands, art, athletics, hospitality, music, fashion, and influencer categories.

Additionally, Rarible Protocol grabbed the headlines after integrating with Immutable X's Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution to enable projects building upon the protocol to instantly trade high-quality gaming NFTs on Ethereum via Immutable X, without any gas fees or negative impact on the environment. 

The DeFi segment had an assorted mix of project launches, funding rounds, and milestones that made for an eventful scoop.

DeFi asset management platform Pepperbird Finance scheduled the launch of its utility token Pepperbird (PBIRD) in May 2022, which has a comprehensive asset management system designed to consolidate the managing and budgeting of one’s finances in both the centralized and decentralized sphere. DeFi Technologies announced its subsidiary Valour received approval to begin trading Valour Enjin (ENJ) EUR and Valour Cosmos (ATOM) EUR on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Similarly, YOP Finance launched a platform that lets users earn passive income on their crypto across top blockchain platforms from a clean, simple, and easy-to-use application.

On the fundings front, Spritz Finance closed a pre-seed round of $2.5M from notable investors, including Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan, and Aaron Harris, which will be used for hiring, expanding the platform’s crypto payments integrations, and making the product compatible across multiple blockchains. Crypto solutions platform Platinx also secured a $5M funding to help bolster their Algo Trading Software.

Moreover, DeFiYield announced the addition of Cardano-based DeFi protocols SundaeSwap and Minswap to its platform, allowing individuals to track DeFi investments on Cardano in addition to the existing chains and protocols already offered on the platform. DeFi trading venue Uniswap announced it had processed $1T in lifetime trading volume, half of which has come in the 4th quarter of 2021.

An eventful array of activities served to be the key highlights of the expanding metaverse industry.

Mobile customer service platform Helpshift launched its first free plan for in-app metaverse customer support with augmented reality experiences. Visual storytelling platform for extended reality (XR) solutions Disguise launched a Metaverse Solutions division for live, virtual production, and audiovisual location-based experiences. Similarly, music metaverse gaming platform Pixelynx unveiled its first mobile game, Elynxir, at Niantic Lightship Summit, which will be available to the public in August 2022.

Some other news that found itself in the reportage:

• Lumos Labs raised $1.1 mn in a seed round led by Delta Blockchain Fund to launch a developer-centric metaverse platform where developers can learn, earn and explore developer-centric opportunities. Similarly, metaverse platform BUD closed $36.8M in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital India to launch web 3 products and NFT projects.

• New Chinese Fund and Enoki Film announced a collaboration with Football Metaverse Pte Ltd to launch a Football Metaverse project to bring about an interactive and immersive Football Metaverse Theme experience to the online football communities. On the same note, color authority company Pantone partnered with Spatial Labs (sLABS) to launch a wearable hardware product that looks to standardize colors in the metaverse.

• Virtual real-estate marketplace Origin Metaverse announced its plans to integrate the AI-powered identity verification and AML screening system, Shufti Pro, into its services to help drive mass adoption of virtual real estate and physical real estate as NFTs securely. Additionally, Zee entertainment expressed its intent to enter the metaverse with NFTs from TV shows, movies, music, and original web series to increase customer retention on its platform.

  ---

The DLT vertical saw a range of product launches that made some attention-grabbing headlines last week.

• DevOps solution JFrog launched open source project Project Pyrsia, which uses a blockchain platform and Sigstore Cosign and Notary V2 cryptographic signature software to secure software packages.

• Blockmate Ventures announced the launch of its blockchain IoT platform Hivello which will be connected to the Helium network, joining which individuals and property owners can earn passive income by hosting a Hivello hotspot at their premise.

• China’s state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) was in the news for planning its first major international expansion with a product called the Spartan Network that will eventually be made up of half a dozen public blockchains that do not operate with cryptocurrencies.

• Crypto Valley Venture Capital launched an Africa-focused fund to support blockchain startups on the continent by investing in 100 startups over the next four years.

• Layer 1 blockchain Celestia launched its “Mamaki” testnet, making it one step closer to becoming the first fully functional modular blockchain that allows users to spin up their own blockchains at scale while maintaining the security standards of rival layer 1s, separating consensus from execution.

On the other hand, blockchain-based carbon-credit platform Flowcarbon announced it raised a total of $70M in venture capital funding led by a16z to tokenize carbon credits and build an on-chain market to drive funding directly to projects that reduce or remove carbon from the atmosphere. MetaKing Studios also secured $15M in seed-stage funding led by Makers Fund and Bitkraft Ventures to make the blockchain-based multiplayer online game Blocklords. While web gaming platform Kongregate teamed up with Immutable X for a $40M fund to give grants to developers who make blockchain games for Kongregate.com, Polygon Networks announced a partnership with Tokenology and MSP Recovery to deliver a new healthcare claims platform that will leverage blockchain technology to solve healthcare’s biggest problems, including fraud, inefficiency in payments, and antiquated processes.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

The More You Know: As of March 2022, more than 9,500 cryptocurrencies exist. How many have you added to your portfolio?

Reality Check: A week after the Terra crisis, dark clouds still hover around the crypto sphere as many players are expanding their capabilities to participate in securing the interest of the investors and safeguarding the space. 

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Binance is in talks for regulatory approval in Germany.

• Fireblocks unveils a web 3 engine to support DeFi and NFT apps.

• Robinhood to let users hold their own crypto and NFTs as it reaches for growth beyond stock trading.

• Crypto giants co-launch Chainabuse platform to water down rising scams.

• Sony to expand entertainment into the metaverse.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

Countries far and wide are gearing up their respective initiatives to float their CBDCs.

In Europe, Norwegian startup Nahmii announced it was selected by Norway’s central bank Norges Bank to build its CBDC sandbox. European Central Bank (ECB) executive Fabio Panetta revealed the ECB has been working on a preparation phase to launch the Digital Euro, which will be completed in late 2023, allowing EU member countries to test the new CBDC for the next 3 years before making it publicly available. In South America, the Central Bank of Chile was in the news for considering the issuance of a CBDC as it feels there is still not enough information to make a final decision. Additionally, the South African Central Bank was in the news for believing that a digital rand in South Africa could cut the high cost of cross-border payments for banks, but its introduction is still a few years away; however, regulation of crypto assets is in the offing and might come into force within nine to 15 months.

On the other hand, cross-border payments system Swift started a new set of CBDC interoperability experiments partnering with Capgemini amidst concerns that without interoperability, individual CBDCs could create new domestic silos, fragmenting the global payment landscape.

In the past week, an array of regulatory measures from players across varied sectors were in the limelight for the Crypto-coins segment. 

• Cryptocurrency exchange Binance grabbed the headlines as it is in talks to gain regulatory approval in Germany and is recruiting compliance personnel for its team.

• The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria published new rules relating to the issuance, exchange, and custody of digital assets in the country, bringing legitimacy to crypto and related businesses and ultimately opening new doors for crypto usage in Nigeria.

• Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, including WazirX, CoinSwitch Kuber, and CoinDCX, delisted the Luna tokens of stablecoin TerraUSD from their platforms after they incurred losses.

• Microsoft issued an alert for ‘cryware’ malware based on observations of researchers from the Microsoft 365 defender research team that affects crypto wallets.

What’s more – Shopify made the bulletin for allowing its merchants to now enable Crypto.com to pay on their online storefronts and give customers more ways to make their purchases with cryptocurrencies. Derivatives specialist StoneX Group carried out its first US dollar-denominated bitcoin swap, joining a growing cadre of legacy financial players making first forays into crypto markets. 

In other news, BitMEX launched a spot trading platform BitMEX Spot Exchange allowing retail and institutional investors to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. An International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) executive discussed the possibility of launching a joint body of global market regulators within 2023 to better coordinate cryptocurrency regulations. Similarly, seven major crypto giants, including Binance, Circle, Solana Foundation, The Aave Companies, Hedera, TRM Labs, and Civic, joined hands to launch a community-driven scam reporting tool called Chainabuse, aiming to enable crypto users to issue warnings and discuss ongoing fraudulent activity such as scams and hacks in real-time. 

As for the funding rounds, Elwood Technologies raised $70M in a Series A funding round co-led by Goldman Sachs (GS) and Dawn Capital. 

The volatility among stablecoins continues as the stability of their price has come into question.

Decentralized DAI stablecoin surged about 40% in value over the past week after the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, making it one of the largest decentralized stablecoins. Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon officially released a governance proposal for community members to vote on his idea to ditch the UST stablecoin and create a new blockchain. The British Treasury Department affirmed its commitment to regulate stablecoins after the collapse of Terrausd (UST) and terra (LUNA), creating conditions for issuers and service providers to operate and grow in the UK while ensuring financial stability and high regulatory standards. Moreover, investors have withdrawn more than $7B from Tether since it briefly dropped from its dollar peg, raising fresh questions about the reserves underpinning the world’s largest stablecoin.

Several ecosystem participants’ collaborative moves made most of the headlines in the NFTs segment last week.

• Kinguin launched its NFT marketplace in partnership with Immutable X, featuring 40+ collections and over 200,000 unique NFTs, giving gaming and esports customers access to a vast array of exclusive NFT offerings.

• OCEEDEE partnered with WazirX NFT marketplace and the CryptoSauga Club to launch footwear NFTs in India.

• German football league Bundesliga signed up OneFootball, Sorare, and Topps as its NFT partners to create and distribute DFL’s digital collectibles.

• Getty Images signed a new multi-year partnership agreement with Candy Digital to develop a diverse portfolio of NFT products and collections derived from Getty Images’ extensive library of more than 465 million images.

• Scienjoy announced a strategic alliance with MetaU to launch a unique NFT exchange platform, through which participants of the Scienjoy NFT Experience X program will list and also sell their nonfungible artworks to collectors using major virtual coins.

On the various launches and expansions,  Robinhood announced it would let users hold custody of their own cryptocurrencies and NFTs in a separate, stand-alone app to push beyond stock trading. While music platform Spotify rolled out a test that will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles, cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks announced the launch of its web 3 engine, a software developer kit that will allow companies to create app infrastructure for NFTs, decentralized gaming, and finance. NFT marketplace Guardian Link also hit the headlines after it announced the launch of a web 3 startup incubator to help web 2 gaming companies transition to the web 3 space.

There’s more! Web 3 media company Tally Labs announced a seed funding round of $12M to expand the intellectual property and commercialization of Jenkins the Valet to a broader spectrum of entertainment mediums and hire for six newly-posted United States/remote job roles. Australian music NFT marketplace Serenade announced a $4.2M investment to help further fund and grow Serenade’s artist and partner roster across the UK, Australia, and the United States.

The DeFi segment was buzzing with news surrounding several innovative launches last week.

AQX crypto exchange announced its beta launch and urged investors to watch for more developments on the project, which guarantees high liquidity and tight spreads for traders, among other features. Solana-based agriculture simulation gaming project DeFi Land launched its first play-to-earn game called CryptoPotato, allowing players to fish, shoot, farm, drive harvesters, carter for pets, and do lots more for earning governance tokens in return. Logarithmic Finance launched a new cryptocurrency called LOG to create the next generation of decentralized financial and trading protocols, enabling seamless connectivity and interaction between early blockchain innovators and investors.

In other news, crypto exchange Coinbase rolled out a new set of features for its exchange, allowing users to access DeFi, dApps, and a self-custodial wallet app from inside the Coinbase app. S&P Global Ratings also grabbed the headlines for announcing the formation of a new DeFi strategy group to advance S&P Global's approach to decentralized markets. Polygon partnered with layer-3 project Orbs to launch a program that supports DeFi builders through the DeFi accelerator platform DeFi.org, providing funding opportunities, mentorship, and market exposure to chosen projects. Moreover, blockchain data analytics platform Nansen acquired DeFi portfolio tracker Ape Board to bolster its web 3 data capabilities which will spur the future launch of features, such as portfolio tracking and web3-native communication. DeFi insurance protocol Amulet made the headlines for successfully raising $6M in its seed funding round led by gumi Cryptos Capital to help adopt a multichain strategy and deploy it to other non-Ethereum Virtual Machine-based ecosystems along the road.

The metaverse vertical continues to expand as it observes an assortment of market expansions.

• Sony was in the news for announcing that it is prepared to take a key role in the immersive virtual world known as the metaverse as it has been adjusting its approach to gaming.

• Fidelity started offering access to the virtual world by launching the metaverse index ETF on the NEO exchange called Fidelity Total Metaverse Index ET.

• Racer Valentino Rossi stepped into the metaverse with the launch of the VR46 brand, aiming to offer innovative content and immersive experiences to motorsports fans worldwide. 

• LaLiga named Korean company TVM as its official metaverse partner, with the two working together to create an official digital environment that will engage fans and integrate the Spanish soccer league’s other partners.

On the partnerships front, celebrity platform HeyHey partnered with Olive group of restaurants to foray into the metaverse, serving as a marketplace for the latter to list its digital assets. Similarly, British footwear company Clarks announced its entry into the metaverse with Cicaverse, an immersive gaming experience developed with online game platform Roblox and metaverse development studio Melon. 

Additionally, Dallas startup STEMuli raised a seed funding of $3.25M, co-led by venture capital firms Slauson & Co and Valor Ventures, to expand its educational metaverse platform in schools nationally. Comic-Con India launched the Ethereum-based Non-Fungible League, with further plans for CCI to launch a series of limited-edition digital collectibles, which will lead CCI to foray into the metaverse.

The DLT segment accounted for a stir of events that made for an eventful scoop for the week.

When it comes to the funding rounds, blockchain investment firm Fortis Digital Ventures grabbed the headlines for its plans to raise $100M for a digital asset fund with an altcoin focus that aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi. The fund requires clients to have at least a $2.5M net worth to invest. Twitch cofounder Kevin Lin’s Metatheory raised $24M, led by a16z, to focus on making high-quality games and virtual worlds that leverage blockchain technologies such as NFTs. Similarly, N3TWORK Studios raised $46M in a Series A funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners to help the studio develop and produce its first two web 3 titles, Legendary: Heroes Unchained and Triumph, both of which will be focused around the use of cryptocurrency and web 3.

Some other news that turned heads with their activities:

• Cryptocurrency Elite Token partnered with mobile virtual network operator Elimobile to launch their telco, using blockchain and tokenization, with standout offers such as an NFT marketplace and the Elisium platform.

• Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos partnered with State Street to integrate State Street's custodial services into the Paxos Settlement Service. Post the same, the latter was able to simulate the settlement and custody of shares on the Paxos platform and asset movements with Credit Suisse more efficiently.

• While cross-chain bridge Wormhole launched support for the Algorand blockchain to capture some of Algorand’s $136M in DeFi TVL, Pocket Network added support for the NEAR network to improve developers' experience allowing them to deploy applications on any and every blockchain network supported by Pocket Network.

• EY announced two extensions to its blockchain offerings. Its EY OpsChain now has an API that enables businesses to perform public blockchain transactions via an API without managing a blockchain node. Secondly, it unveils the OpsChain Supply Chain Manager, a privacy solution for the public blockchains.

• Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs approved the establishment of the Vietnam Blockchain Association which became the first organization with a legal entity that will represent blockchain researchers, business owners, and consultants in the whole country. 

  ---

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Despite the current turbulence that the crypto industry is facing, a range of intriguing headlines, including partnerships and product launches, made for quite the stir in Edition #14 of the Future of Crypto newsletter. The avant-garde Crypto-coins segment came out as the most dynamic theme of the week.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Cryptocurrency TerraUSD falls below its fixed value, triggering a selloff.

• Google Cloud establishes a new team for web 3 infrastructure.

• Instagram to start testing NFT sharing.

• NFT Plazas launches an automated metaverse advertising system.

• Opera crypto browser adds support for Binance blockchain and dApps.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

Governmental bodies worldwide are recognizing the potential of CBDCs in fostering financial inclusion and boosting economic development, which is why regulation seemed to be on the rise for last week’s affairs in the emerging space.

In Africa, the Central Bank of Nigeria became the latest governmental body to allow bill payments using digital currency when it approved the use of the upgraded version of its CBDC, eNaira. Speaking of Nigeria, the government of Tanzia hit the headlines for its plans to roll out a CBDC, where it is looking to learn from other countries with greater expertise in the area, such as Nigeria. China also enabled its citizens to pay their fares in digital yuan on trams and trains in two more cities – Xiamen and Guangzhou. Additionally, the International Monetary Fund turned its attention to the Bahamas’ CBDC, the Sand Dollar, recommending that the country accelerate its education campaigns and continue strengthening internal capacity and oversight. Even the Bank of Israel received feedback for its published paper on the draft model for a potential digital shekel CBDC. Many supported moving forward with research but were keen to use blockchain as a foundation. 

In other news, CBDC infrastructure provider EMTECH joined forces with HaitiPay to demo its first CBDC + Proof of Concept and showcase the impact it can have on the Haitian economy. Jamaica’s Jam-Dex CBDC also made the news as it is set to become publically available, intending to offer a more secure, convenient alternative to cash. 

An array of diverse activities marked most of the happenings in the Crypto-coins landscape last week.

On the funding front, crypto exchange KuCoin raised $150M in pre-Series B funding at a valuation of $10B to expand its product offerings to increase its presence in the web 3 market. Crypto forensics startup Chainalysis secured $170M in a Series F round at an $8.6B valuation led by GIC. South Korea’s Xangle also closed a $17M Series B investment round. African crypto startup Jambo similarly raised $30M with hopes of becoming the super app of Africa. India-based CoinDCX’s launch of its CoinDCX Ventures investment arm to invest in early-stage crypto and blockchain startups globally also made for a key highlight in the crypto-coins segment. 

As for the other activities, Google’s cloud group announced forming a new team specifically for building blockchain infrastructure in a show of strong commitment to stepping into web 3. Luxury fashion house Gucci made the bulletin for its plans to begin a pilot project where it will accept crypto payments at five selected stores across the US in a move that marks the extension of its web 3 and physical communities. SBI Motor Japan also announced that it would accept Bitcoin and Ripple as payments for used cars on its e-commerce website. 

Many players are also driving blockchain innovation through their collaborative efforts. Blockchain Association Singapore and Crypto.com signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance both parties’ work in the NFT ecosystem and foster wider collaboration in the space. Crypto exchange Bibox partnered with Nuvei to streamline user access to over 145 cryptocurrencies. Conversely, Argentina banks called a halt to all crypto operations in a move to prevent money laundering, cyber attacks, and cross-border terrorism. NVIDIA also made the news for being fined $5.5M by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to adequately inform investors about the demand cryptocurrency miners had placed on its graphics cards.

The Stablecoins vertical witnessed quite the rollercoaster of events for the week, with the spotlight being shed on the risk and growth of the expanding industry. In a recent turn of events, cryptocurrency TerraUSD fell below the fixed value, a drop that caused ripples in Ether and Bitcoin. The US Federal Reserve also published its semi-annual Financial Stability Report, citing the run risk of stablecoins and other related risk factors. On the other hand, cryptocurrency exchange Bitso announced its Bitso+ feature that allows clients to gain up to 15% annually on USD stablecoins. 

Last week, the NFT space was vibrant with eventful happenings, witnessing several partnerships across different platforms. 

Manchester City and Puma announced their first collaborative digital art drop, 93:20, created by Musketon. The piece artistically displays a unique clockwork environment with cogs and Manchester City artwork within Sergio Aguero’s goal-scoring PUMA boot. Similarly, Sony Group Corporation partnered with Theta Labs to launch 3D NFT assets that will be crafted for the Sony Spatial Reality Display. Decentralized platform GuardianLink announced the launch of its Chelsea Memorabilia NFTs collection – ranging from collectibles dated back to 1905 when the club was formed to the recent club milestones in the modern era on its web 3 marketplace Jump.trade. Music icon Madonna’s partnership with Beeple to release an exclusive three NFTs collection called Mother of Creation also grabbed attention. 

When it comes to the various products, Opensea announced in a series of blog posts that they are rolling out features to improve authenticity in the digital marketplace, using image recognition tech to scan NFTs on the platform and compare them with authentic collections. Popular art museum The Vatican announced a collaboration with metaverse developer Sensorium Corporation to create an official NFT exhibition that will be available in VR and on desktops. Cloud company Akamai unveiled an NFT artwork dynamically fueled by the internet. The NFT will visually evolve in real-time as internet traffic changes and cyberattacks launch based on data drawn from the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform.

In other news, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the social network is testing NFTs on Instagram, with similar functionality coming soon to Facebook. What’s more – NFT platform Arianee raised a $21M Series A in a round led by Tiger Global, where the structure of the investment was in both equity and $ARIA20 token. NFT platform Freeverse.io raised $10.52M in a Series A funding round co-led by Earlybird and Target Global to continue the development of its product and core technology. 

A range of head-turning partnerships made for an eventful buzz in the DeFi sphere.

Online gaming platform FACEIT announced a multi-million dollar partnership with Cake DeFi to provide the latter with authentic brand exposure to all FACEIT users globally through multifaceted gaming experiences that offer a chance to win crypto. Crypto staking app Giddy partnered with FinTech leader Plaid, making it easier for users to share their financial data securely and seamlessly to move funds in and out of their Giddy account. While Flurry Finance and KyberSwap joined forces to make deposits easier for novice DeFi users eliminating issues like Slippage, gas fees, and complex conversion processes, Friktion Labs partnered with CeFi platform Paradigm to bring institutional liquidity to DeFi options and perpetual markets by unlocking efficient price discovery and execution for Friktion auctions. 

As for the other affairs, the EU’s executive arm revealed it will test an embedded form of DeFi’s supervision, which is now mainly unregulated, through a pilot. Liquidity app Jet Protocol announced the first step in building a truly decentralized and censorship-resistant protocol to provide infrastructure to access on-chain financial debt instruments by leveraging Solana’s speed and low fees. Bancor also announced the launch of its new automated DeFi liquidity solution protocol Bancor 3, which empowers token projects and their holders to drive healthy on-chain liquidity in their native tokens. Moreover, the social trading platform FNDZ was in the news for its plans to release a platform staking feature that will give holders of FNDZ‘s native token, FNDZ, the opportunity to earn a portion of fee-based revenues generated by the copy trading platform. 

With the notion of metaverse fast becoming a favorable concept for the business ecosystem, firms across industries are eager to expand into this sector.

For instance, metaverse yacht company Cyber Yachts was awarded patent-pending status by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as a part of its plans to launch its slate of metaverse and in-real-life (IRL) events. UAE flag carrier Emirates was also in the news for its plans to embrace advanced digital solutions such as blockchain, metaverse, and cryptocurrency to connect with customers faster and more flexibly. Real Madrid partnered with Astosch Technology to build a digital recreation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, offering fans the ability to walk the corridors of the famous arena – including a 3D recreation of the trophy cabinet – and the surrounding area.

As for the various launches, NFT news website NFT Plazas announced the launch of its innovative new booking system, which allows users to upload and pay for customized billboard advertisements in the metaverse using an automated book-and-pay system. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) launched a virtual headquarter called VARA MetaHQ in the Sandbox, enabling the regulator to have first-hand experience of the industry it was set up to regulate. Similarly, digital asset platform Amber Group announced its entry into the metaverse with web 3 enablement platform Openverse, supported by real-time 3D rendering technology to create an experiential digital world for all users.

As for the other news:

• Decentralized mobility marketplace Iomob partnered with sustainability-focused metaverse Next Earth to collaborate on developing a service to plan real-life journeys via the metaverse.

• Through an upskilling program they launched, creative transformation firm WPP partnered with Epic Games to help the former’s client brands build digital experiences for the metaverse. 

• XR Central partnered with Taiwanese PC Giant GIGABYTE and IPL team LSG to create an exclusive digital-access-only fan zone.

• Crypto startup Lighthouse Labs raised $7M in seed funding led by Accel, BlockTower, and Animoca Brands ahead of its metaverse search engine launch in 2022.

• Metaverse co-creation platform StarryNift raised $10M in a pre-series A round led by Susquehanna International Group to power the launch of its metaverse, Starryverse, which has a marketplace, a spaceship expedition game, and other features.

  ---

A range of creative launches across various sectors made most of the headlines for the DLT vertical.

• Blockchain bond platform LedgerEdge, built in collaboration with leading global banks, asset managers, and market makers, went live. 

• NEAR Foundation partnered with the local Kenyan blockchain community, Sankore, to launch a regional hub dedicated to ongoing blockchain innovation, education, and talent development throughout the African continent.

• Elrond Network announced the completion of its integration with blockchain analytics platform AnChain.AI. This will provide applications using Elrond Network blockchain technology with the ability to quickly make sense of large data sets pertaining to on-chain transactions.

• India’s securities regulator, SEBI, announced that the NSDL launched the Security and Covenant Monitoring System, a blockchain system to monitor the health of bond issuances.

• EY organization also announced the production release of the third generation of EY Blockchain Analyzer: Reconciler, which offers various features, including importing enterprise records, reconciling off-chain enterprise records with on-chain transactions, and tracking wallet balances.

What’s more – Opera announced the integration of Binance Blockchain (BNB) in its crypto browser, wherein users will be able to buy BNB crypto token with fiat and send and receive it using the built-in Opera crypto wallet and access dApps. The state of Utah passed a Bill to create a Blockchain and Digital Task Force responsible for regulating blockchain initiatives and formulating policy recommendations on matters related to blockchain technology. While Andreessen Horowitz led a $40M round for Seattle startup Irreverent Labs, which is building a blockchain-based fighting game called MegaFightClub that pits chicken-esque fighters against each other, Brazilian esports organization Vivo Keyd announced a partnership with blockchain company Liqi for a one year deal that will see Liqi collaborate with the organization to launch NFT and Fan Token products. Additionally, NFT blockchain Flow announced the launch of a $725M blockchain ecosystem fund to promote innovation in games, apps, and digital assets in the web 3 sector. The fund can be accessed by developers globally who are into DeFi, blockchain gaming, and digital content.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Edition #13 brings with it the latest happenings surrounding the Cryptosphere to keep your cups of curiosity up-to-date. An array of innovative launches and market expansions remained at the forefront for the week, with the DLT segment winning the day as the most active segment.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Polkadot launches a cross-chain messaging system to solve blockchain’s bridge problem.

• Wikipedia organization decides to stop accepting crypto donations.

• Telegram allows users to send crypto payments to other users.

• Starbucks to sell NFTs that enable exclusive experiences and perks for customers.

• OliveX Fitness Metaverse to let users earn crypto and NFTs while they burn calories.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment was astir with activities as more and more countries buckle down to introduce their respective CBDC initiatives.

In Asia, the Indian government announced its plans to explore several commercial use purposes for its CBDC, which is to be issued by 2023. China made the news as four of its provinces are testing the digital yuan for use in tax payments, stamp duty, and social security premiums. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a discussion paper titled “e-HKD: A policy and design perspective,” which laid out the central banker’s thoughts on retail CBDC, including the potential benefits and challenges, design and legal considerations, and invited public opinion. The Philippines announced its plans to launch its wholesale CBDC pilot project CBDCph in the fourth quarter of 2022, having already signed up several large-scale banks, with plans to look for more. In Oceania, The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published the results of its public consultation on the future of cash and CBDC, finding strong support for cash despite its declining use.

Furthermore, the Argentinian government has taken the first steps to launch its own CBDC with a new decree identifying the number 207/2022. The same will offer new faculties to the Argentinian mint to be involved in the investigation, development, and issuance of digital currencies.

As crypto-coins continue to enter the mainstream, varied players from sectors far and wide are trying to evaluate the integration of these digitized tokens into their existing frameworks.

Several regulatory steps grabbed attention for the week:

• India named the country's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) as the national agency for cyber security, including the crypto business, which will require them to keep KYC information and records of financial transactions for five years. The move clarifies which agency has the authority over suspicious or illicit activities in the sector.

• Similarly, Uzbekistan published a set of regulatory frameworks for the country's crypto industry, allowing residents to buy or sell crypto only on the local exchanges. Crypto businesses must verify the identity of users through a KYC process and store data about all the transactions for five years.

•  Argentina’s Banco Galicia added crypto trading to its investment platform targeting young clients who want streamlined access to crypto via traditional banking avenues.

• Wikipedia decided to stop accepting donations in cryptocurrency form, for reasons ranging from crypto’s environmental impact to reputational damage to the open-source encyclopedia project.

• Authorities in Belgium imposed mandatory registration for crypto exchange providers and custody wallet services, the failure of which invites fines and prohibition of carrying out their respective activities.

• Panama's National Assembly approved a bill to regulate the use and commercialization of crypto-assets enabling Panamanians to use crypto-assets as means of payment for any civil or commercial operation not prohibited by law in the country.

As for the different market expansions, Telegram rolled out numerous new features, one of which allows users to send crypto as payment using the organization’s native TON coin by adding Telegram’s wallet bot to their attachment menu. Additionally, Spanish cryptocurrency exchange Bit2me launched its operations in Brazil by introducing an office in the country that will deal with compliance issues to make the exchange a safe option for Brazilians.

In other news, ahead of the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, crypto exchange OKX partnered with McLaren Racing in a multi-year deal worth hundreds of millions for various branding purposes. On the other hand, crypto platform Fei Protocol launched a $10M bounty to spur hackers to return nearly $80M of digital assets stolen over the weekend.

The stablecoins segment has been witnessing a series of head-turning events.

While Retrograde partnered with FRAX tokens to bring deep liquidity to the Terra blockchain, Cardano's algorithmic stablecoin Djed went live in the public testnet, allowing everyone to understand the dynamics of the protocol without incurring any risks.

A plethora of innovative launches made most of the headlines in the NFTs segment last week.

• Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken’s waitlist went live for its upcoming NFT marketplace, Kraken NFT.

• Crypto-lender Nexo issued 1200 Ether in one of the largest loans backed by NFTs using two rare CryptoPunk Zombies as collateral.

• VanEck announced the launch of its 1000 VanEck community NFTs designed to highlight the real-world utility of NFT projects by granting holders exclusive and early access to events, research, and more.

• Hyundai Motor Company was in the news for its plans to offer its first exclusive metamobility NFT collection, ‘Shooting Star’.

• CryptoSlam announces an all-in Dutch auction NFT marketplace DroppingNow which allows sellers to gain liquidity while earning tokenized rewards for selling their NFTs.

• Singapore-based digital asset entity FiEx announced the launch of India's first NFT marketplace with augmented reality (AR) integration and new-age digital asset exchange that allows users to discover, mint, purchase, showcase their NFTs and also bring them to the real world using AR technology.

• Fine arts online trading platform operator TKAT announced the launch of its own NFTs website Nftoeo.com which allows art collectors and investors to buy, sell and discover exclusive digital art items. 

In other news, Starbucks revealed plans to use blockchain-based technology to create a digital community enabling customers to purchase unique NFTs from Starbucks and use them to get special access to Starbucks-related experiences and perks. Crypto.com hit the headlines for its plans to create a collection of NFTs generated in real-time by the speed, sound, and data of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix. NFT programming layer Revise raised $3.5M in its seed round led by AlphaWave Global and 8i, which will be used for hiring and expansion. What’s more – DeFi company The Commission announced a paid partnership between The Glimpse Group and its wholly-owned subsidiary company QReal for the development of multiple 3D AR-based NFTs for The Commission Token by leveraging QReal’s expertise in AR development and 3D modeling to design over two dozen gilded 3D models to be minted as NFTs.  

Many industry players are recognizing the potential for growth in the DeFi space, and are making the best of the opportunities presented through varied activities.

BillHunters Group was in the news for their plan to launch a new contract trading product where aggressive customers can choose their own high-yielding products and deals by integrating mainstream NFT trading platforms such as MakerDao and Compound. Similarly, digital banking platform Revolut hit the headlines for eyeing expansion into decentralized cryptocurrency wallets. The firm is further looking at the mortgage sector as a part of its plan to become a financial super-app. 

In terms of market expansions, Sienna Network launched its private crypto lending platform SiennaLend where crypto users can use the platform to earn interest on their crypto and borrow crypto from the platform — all privately. The DeFi Kings announced the launch of its new utility-based rewards token, a deviation from the traditional volume-based token rewards, where 13% of each transaction will be rewarded back to holders in their preferred cryptocurrency from a rich list of options that include Ripple (XRP), BUSD, Ethereum (ETH), ADA, and Bitcoin (BTC). 

In other news, Element Finance raised a $32M Series A round at a $320M valuation led by Polychain Capital to hire more people across all areas. Digital asset data provider Amberdata raised $30M in Series B funding led by Knollwood Investment Company to grow Amberdata's engagement with prospective clients across the US and internationally. Additionally, Aeterna announced the launch of its native token, $Aeterna, which will assist the project's progress toward a DeFi automated ecosystem structure. 

The metaverse vertical witnessed an assorted mix of diverse activities as more and more ecosystem participants buckled up to make their debuts.

FLOV Market launched a mixed reality metaverse marketplace wherein the project's first phase will include releasing a collection of one thousand exclusive NFTs, and the second phase will consist of virtual and real-world meets. 

On the partnerships front, Niantic partnered with UK-based digital technology authority Digital Catapult to develop a real-world metaverse that will explore how AR technology can define the real-world metaverse, becoming the next platform for social interactions, and enriching human experiences and bringing people closer together. Similarly, Threedium was in the news for its plans to extend its existing working relationship with RarerThings. The strategic partnership focuses on providing existing Threedium clients with strategic web 3 advice and offering RarerThings clients access to Threedium’s products.

As for the other news, Meta made the bulletin as it is likely to bring four new virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets as part of its Project Cambria that allows users to write and type emails within the VR environment. While OliveX Fitness Metaverse built a Metaverse game called Dustland Runn, which gives crypto and NFT incentives to people using the platform for jogging, running, or sprinting varying distances in the real world, Vision Network was in the news for its plans to be the first metaverse-based blockchain infrastructure provider.

The DLT segment accounted for quite a stir of events that grabbed the headlines for the week.

When it comes to the various launches, blockchain platform Polkadot launched a new cross-chain communications protocol to promote Polkadot’s multichain ecosystem. Illinois-based firm Café Holdings announced the launch of blockchain technology designed specifically for the green coffee industry to bring equality and sustainability to millions of smallholder coffee farmers worldwide while maintaining the highest environmental, social, and governance standards for buyers. Even Creduce announced the launch of the sustainability blockchain token KICHE intending to enable individuals and businesses to adopt a carbon-neutral investment using the KICHEE token smoothly. 

As for the market expansions, Samsung Asset Management was in the news for its plans to list a blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Hong Kong Exchange in the first half of this year, which tracks cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech companies. Similarly, Nukkleus debuted its new website and brand to show Nukkleus’s latest offerings and its ambition to bring together various payment solutions and build on its background in foreign exchange software.

As for the other events that made quite the buzz last week:

• The World Gold Council (WGC) invested in aXedras supply chain, where the WGC CEO will join the board of the Swiss blockchain startup that provides supply solutions for the precious metals sector.

• Argo Blockchain PLC announced that its subsidiary Argo Helios entered into additional loans under Argo's equipment financing agreement with NYDIG ABL LLC, which will loan Argo Helios an aggregate principal amount to recapitalize the purchase of digital asset mining equipment for Helios.

• Stratis entered a long-term partnership with the charitable foundation of King Oyo to fund a new blockchain innovation center designed to build knowledge and blockchain development skills within the kingdom.

• Crypto exchange Binance announced the launch of three key educational initiatives to fast-track educating Indian investors and students about the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem.

• Capital Union Bank partnered with blockchain data platform Chainalysis for their risk management software and expertise to ensure the safe and compliant rollout of cryptocurrency solutions, including trading and custody.

  ---

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

With Edition #12’s eventful stir, a diverse range of innovative product launches and funding rounds disrupted the digital landscape. The expanding DeFi segment came to light as the most active segment for the last week of the month.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Goldman Sachs offers its first bitcoin-backed loan. 

• Standard Chartered Bank joins Metaverse after buying land in The Sandbox.

• Meta to open its first retail store to highlight metaverse-related products.

• Damac Group to invest $100M in Metaverse digital cities.

• Crypto lender Maple Finance expands support to Solana.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment was bustling with regulatory undertakings by several countries around the globe.

In North America, the Governor of the Bank of Mexico confirmed plans to release a retail CBDC to achieve financial inclusion by 2025. In Asia, Bank Indonesia and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) innovation Hub invited developers to participate in a CBDC hackathon where they looked for participants ready to accept technology challenges related to wholesale and retail CBDCs. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was in the news for its plans to launch a wholesale CBDC pilot project, coined CBDCPh, as part of its efforts to promote the stability of the country’s payment system. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also issued a discussion paper inviting views on the critical issues around a retail CBDC. In Europe, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation hit the headlines as it is on the verge of releasing its solution for international settlements, the digital ruble, which will be launched on a pilot basis for making payments to other countries.

The Crypto-coins vertical witnessed several launches and market expansions, with companies worldwide embracing various cryptocurrencies within their current portfolios.

In a first, investment giant Goldman Sachs’ secured lending facility allowed a borrower to use bitcoin (BTC) as collateral for a cash loan. Crypto exchange Kraken received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate a regulated exchange platform in the United Arab Emirates. Similarly, crypto derivative exchange Bitget made its debut in the Indian market by teaming up with renowned free crypto taxation software Koinly.

As for the various launches, Fidelity Investments unveiled a crypto option for 401(k) plans where participants can choose to direct a portion of their savings into bitcoin, capped at 20%. Two former Jefferies Financial Group executives were in the news for their plan to launch a new cryptocurrency exchange named Crossover Markets Group, designed to meet the liquidity needs of institutional investors by late summer of 2022. While crypto exchange Binance teamed with European banking service provider Contis to roll out a crypto card for Ukrainian refugees, allowing them to make crypto payments in the European Economic Area, crypto-focused Dragonfly Capital closed its third venture fund for $650M, with plans to focus its investments across all stages of blockchain and crypto-native companies, protocols and tokens.

In other news, B Capital-backed crypto exchange Zipmex partnered with Australia’s A-League men's soccer league and National Rugby League to strengthen its foothold in the country and host educational workshops at the games to improve crypto literacy regularly. Lithuanian-based verification and fraud prevention company iDenfy joined forces with open-source cryptocurrency exchange platform HollaEx to provide document authentication and biometric verification support that will ensure safety for the latter’s customers. Furthermore, the Brazillian senate passed a bill aiming to create a regulatory framework for the country’s crypto industry.

The Stablecoin segment continues to gain traction as of late.

Stablecoin DeFi platform Blindex was in the news for its plans to introduce two new stablecoins, bGBP and bXAU, pegged to the British pound and the value of 1 oz of gold respectively, to the Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock (RSK) to inch the company closer to its goal of removing the inherent volatility of fiat money. The project incubation arm of Huobi Globa, Huobi Incubator, announced that it would co-host Celo x Huobi in web 3 & sustainability hackathon with mobile-first blockchain Celo to spur stablecoin development in the web 3 field and achieve long-term sustainability. While the UK government planned to extend regulatory authorization, governance, and reporting requirements under existing regulations to include some activities regarding fiat-linked stablecoins, Lyrebird was in the news for launching its algorithmic stablecoin protocol LRB on Neo N3 through Flamingo’s reverse liquidity pools and upcoming airdroplet events. 

A number of funding rounds surrounding the NFT space created quite the buzz that turned heads last week, with significant players making their entrance into the emerging sphere.

Music NFT platform SoundMint raised $1.7M in a seed funding round led by Animoca Brands to build an NFT marketplace that will allow artists to create their own music NFTs, create a dashboard for NFT-holding fans, and release a token, buyback program, and ecosystem fund. NFT minting protocol CXIP Labs raised $6.5M in a seed round led by Courtside Ventures and Wave Financial to launch Holograph, a suite of products targeted at NFT creators and enterprises. Similarly, NFT platform Afterparty closed a $4M funding round as it introduced an NFT ticketing for artists that will cut out the secondary market and ticket scalping.

As for the launches, STXNFT announced its new brand Gamma.io which will provide a platform to serve as the home for collectors, creators, and investors to come together to explore, trade, and showcase extraordinary NFTs through the Bitcoin ecosystem. Furthermore, Hyderabad-based blockchain solutions startup TrayamBhu Tech Solutions (TRST01) announced the launch of carbon offset NFT token Bhu built on the Polygon blockchain, where the company intends to employ blockchain technology to address significant pain issues in the carbon offset industry.

On the other hand, Nike partnered with RTFKT to unveil a pair of digital Nike Dunk sneakers with various skins within their Mnlth collectible series called CryptoKicks. NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the acquisition of NFT aggregator company Gem to better serve its users by integrating the best of features, including one which allows users to buy NFTs across several NFT marketplaces in a single transaction and with any ERC-20 token rather than only Ethereum. Global Titans Fight Series also announced the world’s first-ever NFT sports event, which will provide access to an exclusive pay-per-view live stream – including the night of boxing on the helipad of the iconic Burj Al Arab boasting an explosive line-up featuring star champions Floyd Mayweather, Anderson Silva and many more – for NFT ticket holders. 

The DeFi segment was astir with an assorted mix of project launches and funding rounds.

A group of former Goldman Sachs traders raised $20M in a Series A funding round led by Founders Fund and Pantera Capital to build a decentralized investment bank called Ondo Finance. While London-based Ethereum wallet Argent raised $40M in a Series B round led by Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet to accelerate its mission to build one app for all things DeFi and web 3, Tonic closed a $5M fund led by Electric Capital and Move to expand its team and create an open-source order book DEX on the NEAR Protocol. Decentralized FX trading platform Vertex Protocol also raised $8.5M in a seed funding round led by Alex Pack and Ed Roman and the venture arm of Dexterity Capital ahead of its planned launch in Summer 2022 to help them advise on tokenomics, market structure, and providing high-frequency trading resources.

As for various product launches, DeFi trading platform Hashflow launched a new feature to enable bridgeless cross-chain swaps by using a request-for-quote (RFQ) model where professional market makers set token prices and enable native-to-native swaps. Leading financial conglomerate Metax also announced its plans to enter into the DeFi space with the launch of its upcoming exchange MTX, which utilizes the PAMM documentary trading system at its core and combines it with decentralized technology. Payments-focused blockchain player Fuse also announced that DeFi analytics platform DEXTools extended full support to the Fuse Network blockchain to enhance traders' experience by tracking the major DEXs active on it.

Additionally, Stacks Ventures was in the news for incubating 11 projects designed to expand the use of CityCoins into wireless networking, web 3, gaming, NFTs, DAO, DeFi, and education. Crypto capital markets platform Maple Finance also expanded support to the Solana blockchain and has deployed a $45M fund to spur ecosystem growth in partnership with DeFi lending platform X-Margin, with the capital provided by USDC issuer Circle, digital asset manager CoinShares and several unnamed projects native to Solana.

An eventful array of activities made for the key highlights in the expanding metaverse industry.

Meta created a buzz for its plans to open its first retail store, to display metaverse-related products such as the Quest 2 virtual-reality headset, the Portal video calling gadget, and the Ray-Ban Stories smart eyewear. Standard Chartered Bank also jumped onto the metaverse bandwagon by buying land in The Sandbox metaverse world. Asian billionaire hotel groups hit the headlines after taking their first step into the metaverse by purchasing virtual properties in Decentraland and The Sandbox to launch hotels where visitors will be able to interact with an avatar that guides them through the building, while also having the chance to win real-world hotel surprises.

On various launches, Flipkart launched ‘Flipkart Labs’ to build and create technology-based solutions and test web 3 and metaverse use-cases with real-world applications. Japanese carmakers Nissan and Toyota also decided to venture into the metaverse by launching virtual showrooms to host vehicle launches and virtual workspaces to conduct employee meetings. Similarly, Metaverse company RFOX introduced the RFOX VALT metaverse’s minimum viable product (MVP) for selected participants, which features the open blockchain vision of the company through its support of multiple blockchains with WAX.

Furthermore, P2E blockchain game Fight of the Ages (FOTA), which allows players to join battles, interact with other players, and collaborate across distances, raised $8.3M in its angel fundraising. UAE’s Damac Properties was also in the news after its parent property Damac Group planned to invest $100M to build digital cities where the project will be run under a unit called D-Labs. While ARuVR entered into a strategic commercial partnership with metaverse company Virbela to launch and showcase the new XR Learning Platform alongside Virbela's Metaverse at the Learning Technologies exhibition, Crypto Blockchain Industries (CBI) signed an agreement to acquire a metaverse devoted to music, Xave, after which it will become part of the Alphaverse, interconnecting all experiences around music, enabling all Alphaverse users to enjoy the shows and proposals for creators and artists launched by Xave.

A plethora of launches remained at the forefront for the week in the DLT segment.

• BlackRock launched its new iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (IBLC), allowing investors to gain exposure to the blockchain sector without any direct investments in cryptocurrencies.

• AXIA announced the mainnet launch of the AXIA blockchain that follows a participatory hyper-deflationary model, meaning any and all activity on the AXIA Blockchain and in the ecosystem ensures that AXIA Coin will become more scarce over time, which can benefit users and stakeholders in an ongoing manner.

• Evmos launched its mainnet blockchain on the Cosmos network that allows users to deploy smart contracts and assets from Ethereum and use them in the Cosmos ecosystem. 

• Newrl also launched a tokenized-based equity solution that aims to enable the tokenization of equity to issue ESOPs, raise funds, and improve governance through smart contracts, making startup equity a more liquid asset class. 

As for the other activities, Investment bank BNY Mellon signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) to collaborate on advancing blockchain technology, driving institutional digital assets, and DeFi adoption. Fantom entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain data platform Pocket Network, which will provide network bandwidth to Fantom and enable Fantom blockchain network to perform relays daily. Publicly traded bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain (RIOT) started the development of a large-scale 1 gigawatt (GW) expansion project in Navarro County, Texas, which will be expanded phase-wise and has an estimated cost of $333M.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch with our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Edition #11 brings the intriguing scoop surrounding the Cryptosphere to keep your cups of curiosity recharged. A flurry of innovative launches and funding rounds remained at the forefront for the week, with the NFT segment winning the day as the most active segment of the week. 

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Stripe to let clients make payments in USDC stablecoin via Polygon.

• Opera launches a new web 3 fueled crypto browser for iPhones and iPads.

• Coinbase unveils its NFT marketplace in limited beta.

• Hyundai launches a community-based NFT project.

• CoinDCX hits $2B valuation in new $135M funding round.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment was abuzz with activities as more and more countries rolled up their sleeves to introduce their respective CBDC initiatives.

In South America, the Central Bank of Brazil confirmed that the institution would run a pilot test regarding implementing its proposed CBDC, the digital real. In North America, the Bahamian government was in the news for its plans to enable the payment of taxes using digital assets by working with the country’s central bank and the private sector. In Asia, the Bank of Japan announced plans to explore the digital Yen cautiously, preferring Sweden’s approach over China’s quick expansion of experiments.

In other news, Chinese multinational giant Tencent also hit the headlines for its plans to soon launch China’s CBDC wallet with WeChat integration. 

As crypto-coins continue to enter the mainstream, varied players from sectors far and wide are trying to evaluate the integration of these digitized tokens into their existing frameworks.

Crypto investment startup Flippy raised $1.15M in a seed funding round led by Redstart Labs to scale operations and expand the team. Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX doubled its valuation to $2.15B following a raising of $135M in a Series D funding round co-led by Steadview and Pantera to aggressively expand its product offerings and talent base.

In other news, software platform Vaycaychella announced that the company is hosting a limited event where select investors will have the opportunity to see VAYK’s pilot portfolio of short-term rental vacation properties in Cuba and invest in it through VAYK’s first cryptocurrency offering. In Australia, plans to roll out Bitcoin ETF in the country after regulatory approval of products offering direct exposure to digital assets made for a key attention-grabbing event. Robinhood Markets Incorporation also signed a deal to acquire UK-based electronic money institution and crypto-asset firm Ziglu Limited. Internet browser Opera hit the headlines after it launched a web 3-fueled crypto browser for iOS devices that allow users to use decentralized apps (dApps), games, and metaverse platforms—including an integrated non-custodial crypto wallet. Additionally, Stripe created a buzz after announcing plans to let clients make payments in USDC stablecoin via Polygon. Twitter will be the first company to test this option by paying earnings via crypto to content creators who use its monetization products.

The stablecoins segment has been witnessing a series of head-turning events.

DApp platform NEAR protocol launched its native stablecoin USN on its NEAR public test network. On the other hand, DAO utility provider XDAO and PARQ developers made the bulletin as they are working together to issue a PARQ stablecoin that can be used to pay for the latter’s services, like rent or acquire a stake in PARQ real estate assets. Stablecoin network Arf was also in the news as it plans to bring working capital credit lines to money transfer firms called Arf Credit.

A plethora of innovative launches made most of the headlines in the NFTs segment last week.

• Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase launched its NFT marketplace in a beta version accessible to a small set of beta testers who will be invited based on their position.

• Hyundai Motors was in the news for its plans to collaborate with the ‘Meta Kongz’ NFT brand to release 30 new limited edition ‘Hyundai x Meta Kongz’ NFTs, with further projects planned throughout the year.

• KuCoin Ventures and its NFT marketplace, Windvane, launched a $100M creators fund to support and incubate early-stage non-fungible token (NFT) projects.

• The NBA and NBPA launched a new NFT initiative, The Association NFT, where the collectible’s design will be dynamic and change over time.

• Metaverse gaming platform Manufactory launched NFT-based land drops which form the crux of the gameplay and strategy building and are laced with in-game resources for the players to utilize and experience a digitally enriching experience in the Manufactory metaverse.  

• MetabaseNFT launched its NFT marketplace platform that emphasizes privacy and variety.

• Air Europa partnered with TravelX to launch the world’s first series of NFT flight tickets, ten of which will be sold for a special flight from Madrid to Miami on 29 November 2022.

In other news, the game developing platform Mystic Moose partnered with the nonprofit One Tree Planted to offset the environmental costs of NFTs for its upcoming web 3 game Planet Mojo. NFT-based eSports platform Mokens League closed a $2M seed fund that will be used to finish the development cycle of the game as well as install and maintain game servers worldwide to provide a latency-free gaming experience. Similarly, the world’s first cricket NFT platform Rario raised $120M in a Series A funding round led by Dream Capital and the M&A arm of Dream Sports. It now gets access to Dream Sports’ 140 million users, who will be offered fiat-only products in India, potentially creating the largest cricket NFT platform globally. 

Many industry players are recognizing the potential for growth in the DeFi space, and are making the best of the opportunities presented through varied activities.

Bastion, the lending, borrowing, and exchange protocol built on the Near blockchain, closed a $9M Series A funding round right on heels of its BSTN token launch. Solana DeFi protocol Delta similarly raised $9.1M, which will go for the protocol’s core development and ecosystem expansion.

As for the other activities, DeFi insurance platform Uno Re was in the news for the launch of Cover Portal, which addresses an underemphasized need in the DeFi space: easy access to insurance. On the other hand, Framework Ventures launched a $400M fund after reaching $1.4B in total assets under management that will go toward blockchain gaming investments with web 3 and DeFi as secondary areas of interest. Ethics-focused DeFi platform MRHB DeFi announced its gold sponsorship of Blockchain Life 2022 forum that is set to showcase the world’s first ethical and halal DeFi protocol. Additionally, Ethereum DeFi staple MakerDAO added the StarkNet Bridge as the first step of the four phases required in rebuilding Maker on StarkNet. 

The metaverse vertical witnessed an assorted mix of diverse activities.

When it comes to the partnerships, GamesCoin Group made the headlines for building on Hadean’s pioneering technology to develop the world’s first “Play to Own” metaverse hub for gaming on the blockchain. Klatyn Foundation announced the onboarding of Alameda Research as a strategic partner and investor into the Klatyn blockchain ecosystem. Furthermore, Infosys acquired German-based consulting agency Oddity to boost metaverse and digital experience capabilities and expand the reach of Infosys’ client base in Europe and northeast Asia. 

On the fundings front, Tower 26 Venture Fund raised $50M for VR games alongside the metaverse led by former studio executive Jon Goldman. Estonia-based Cardano metaverse startup Cardalonia raised $420K in a pre-seed round to help the company kick off the project and move more enthusiasts into the metaverse space. What’s more, CGHero, a startup that connects artists with gaming and metaverse jobs, also raised $5.2M in funding, witnessing an explosion in demand due to increased interest in metaverse. 

As for the other affairs, Limitless started a formal business to offer metaverse-as-a-service and launched a $60M venture fund to build the digital globe. MetaVRse, a leading web-based creation platform, also introduced TheMall.io, a photorealistic 3D shopping center offering unprecedented opportunities for brands and retailers to increase customer engagement. 

The DLT segment accounted for quite a stir of events that grabbed the headlines for the week.

Public blockchain Kadena launched a $100M grant program to encourage web 3 development on its platform, potentially opening the door to more use cases for the layer-1 protocol. SourceLess blockchain launched an impenetrable system, which, when installed into a car’s computer, will create a node that works in a way that any security issues will be canceled by running in SourceLess Blockchain and not allowing any virus or malware to execute. Even UK-based cryptocurrency startup Blockchain.com was in the news for reportedly exploring an IPO, which may happen as early as this year. On top of that, Algorand announced its plans to implement the first network self-sustainability smart contract to automate the offsetting of carbon emissions.

In other news, AmerisourceBergen partnered with Chronicled to leverage a new blockchain-powered solution designed to enhance pharmaceutical chargeback accuracy and significantly reduce chargeback rejections. Similarly, Contango Digital joined forces with Nakamoto Games to focus on building out the future of blockchain gaming and virtual metaverses and creating sustainable rewards, multiplayer functionality, unparalleled user experiences, and online security. Binance.US also hit the headlines for withdrawing from the advocacy group Blockchain Association, and instead creating a team to engage with lawmakers on digital asset policy.

As for the funding rounds, Live Bash raised $21M to create an affordable entertainment “ecosystem,” allowing performers to rent one of its physical stages to livestream and mint their performances. Ethereum-focused BlockApps’ $41M raise to continue its expansion into the enterprise blockchain space was another key event from the DLT space. 

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy and Unearthing The Bustle In Green Finance: Earth Day 2022.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Edition #10 brings intriguing headlines from around the Cryptosphere to keep your cup of curiosity filled. A flurry of innovative launches and funding rounds remained at the forefront for the week. The Crypto-coins, NFT, and Metaverse verticals were bustling with activity, noticeably the most active segments of this edition.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Robinhood’s crypto wallet opens up for 2 million waitlisted users.

• Forbes launches Virtual Billionaires NFT collection on FTX.

• Uniswap launches a venture arm to invest in companies across various stages and areas within web 3.

• Epic announces $2B in funding for its metaverse efforts.

• Pantera Capitals raises $1.3B for a blockchain fund.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment was bustling with regulatory undertakings from several countries around the globe.

• In Asia, the Reserve Bank of India is now in a position to launch a pilot test of CBDC in the country. South Korea’s NongHyup Bank started work on a blockchain system to deal with the introduction of a CBDC. Chinese e-pay platform WeChat Pay unveiled a digital yuan interoperability solution that will allow users of the service to make payments in the central bank-issued token. 

• In the Middle East, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) notified domestic banks and credit institutions about a series of regulations related to Iran’s forthcoming CBDC crypto-rial. 

• In North America, the US Securities processor was in the news for building a prototype called Project Lithium that will experiment to measure the potential benefits of a US CBDC and guide the design of future clearing and settlement offerings. 

• In South America, the president of the Central Bank of Brazil confirmed that the country’s sovereign digital currency pilot will go live in 2022. In Africa, South Africa took another step closer to implementing its CBDC as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) concluded a technical proof-of-concept for the project. Similarly, the governor of the Bank of Namibia (BON) announced that they’re planning to launch a CBDC.

In other news, the world’s largest securities settlement organization DTCC announced plans to test a tokenized CBDC prototype for settling stocks using blockchain.

The Crypto-coins vertical has been a witness to several market expansions, with companies worldwide embracing various cryptocurrencies within their current portfolios. 

Future's Finance launched its proprietary crypto wallet, the FuFi Edge, for all Future Fi holders that will enable them to store FuFi coin-built assets in one integrated safe house. Fundraising platform Pledge launched PledgeCrypto allowing nonprofits to accept crypto donations in over 130 cryptocurrencies and instantly convert them to fiat. While Robinhood’s cryptocurrency wallet was in the news for being made available to all eligible customers’ on its waitlist, Fidelity Investments hit the headlines for its plans to launch crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to enable investors to gain exposure to the broader world of digital assets.

On the partnerships front, Strike, a crypto payments firm, announced partnerships with Shopify and Blackhawk to help merchants across America and the world accept Bitcoin payments using the Bitcoin Lightning Network. The partnership with Shopify in particular will provide merchants who opt-in with the ability to receive payments from customers globally via the Bitcoin Lightning Network. As for another notable collaboration, Colombia-based delivery unicorn Rappi partnered with BitPay and Bitso for a crypto payments pilot program to convert crypto into credits for purchases within its platform. Similarly, UFC partnered with Crypto.com to pay fighters crypto bonuses based on fan vote fans will vote.

As for the regulatory picture, world’s largest crypto exchange Binance got in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi Global Market to operate as a broker-dealer in virtual assets. Cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber disabled all modes of payments for purchasing crypto purchases on its platform, including bank transfers. 

Additionally, checkout startup Bolt acquired crypto startup Wyre in a $1.5B deal as it races to push into web3.

The Stablecoin segment continues to gain a lot of traction lately.

The Open Network (TON) partnered with the governments of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) to help launch stablecoins. Institutional investment giants BlackRock and Fidelity led a $400M funding round for USD Coin issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd to promote strategic growth as demand for dollar-pegged digital currencies and related financial services continue to scale globally.

A number of launches surrounding the NFT space created quite the buzz that turned heads last week, with significant players making their entrance into the emerging sphere.

An array of launches made its way this week:

• Forbes launched a preview of its Virtual Billionaires NFT collection that includes a set of fictional investors with an enormous theoretical portfolio and virtual net worth, a first-of-its-kind NFT project for the media industry. 

• Global Gamefi company Digital Entertainment Asset (DEA) launched NFT marketplace PlayMining NFT Premier on the BNB chain.

• Luniverse operator Lambda256 launched Luniverse Multichain NFT Bridge that provides NFT features including the NFT bridge service connecting Luniverse and Ethereum, IPFS, APIs dedicated to NFT, and a carbon-neutral blockchain environment.

• Quik.com launched a marketplace that enables users to purchase and sell blockchain-based domain names, including an advanced search system where users can browse specific listings.

• DAO Maker ventured into the NFTs’ realm via its upcoming debut in April 2022 with a collection of 5,000 images of the late soccer star Diego Maradona.

• KOTKET announced the launch of its first beta version of Move2Earn decentralized NFT gaming platform built on the Ethereum network.

On the funding front, blockchain-based white-label loyalty rewards program GlowLabs raised $4.15M in a seed funding round led by Harlem Capital to help creators and brands reward their most loyal customers. NFT platform Genies also grabbed the headlines after raising $150M at a $1B valuation in a Series C funding round led by private equity firm Silver Lake to further its web 3 ambitions. 

As for the various partnerships, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketer’s Association officially partnered with NFT platforms Rario and BlockTrust to launch digital collectibles. Similarly, the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection was also in the news for its plans with Coinbase to launch a three-part movie series titled The Dengen Trilogy, asking BAYC holders to submit their apes to be the stars of the film.

The DeFi segment was astir with an assorted mix of project launches, funding rounds, and investment fund launches.

On the project launches front, the DeFi world witnessed the launch of auto-staking & auto-compounding protocol by Very Finance. The VIF Auto-Staking Protocol (VAP) is a new financial protocol that makes staking easier, more efficient and awards VERY token holders the highest stable returns in crypto.  LunarCrush launched a DeFi protocol called LunrFi to allow its users to begin staking the native Lunr token for yields of up to 25% monthly. LunrFi will allow users to stake their Lunar for a minimum of one month and a maximum of 12 months, with the earned percentage increasing at a three-month interval. And finally the big one – FIS partnered with Fireblocks to provide enterprise-grade digital asset investing and wallet technology, lending, and decentralized finance (DeFi) to FIS capital market clients. This will allow Capital markets buy-side, sell-side and corporate firms to efficiently gain access to the largest crypto trading venues, liquidity providers, lending desks, and DeFi applications. 

On the fundings front, SoftBank led a $70M equity round for DeFi infrastructure firm bloXroute, with plans to expand its team to 100 people and grow its business. Peer-to-peer lending protocol RociFi Labs completed a $2.7M seed funding round to expand its team and enable on-chain credit scoring for DeFi. Crypto portfolio manager CoinStats also raised $3.2M from leading investors, and the funding will be instrumental in financing the development and promotion of CoinStats’ new features that aim to expand DeFi to millions of users. 

As for the investment fund launches, DeFi giant Uniswap launched the Uniswap Labs Ventures venture capital arm to invest in companies across various stages and areas within web 3. Skynet EGLD Capital, the investment arm of Skynet Trading, was in the news for its plan to commit $40M to back projects in the Elrond ecosystem. Elrond, a layer 1 blockchain-focused on scalability, has moved deeper into the world of DeFi in recent months through strategic acquisitions.

Additionally, DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) announced the imminent launch of its Cats and Watches Society (CAWS) NFT collection, consisting of randomly-generated Cat NFTs from more than 235 different attributes.

An eventful variety of activities were the key highlights of the expanding metaverse industry.

While Epic’s plans to build a metaverse got a huge $2B injection from Sony and KIRKBI, White Star Capital raised a $120M crypto fund, of which it intends to spend somewhere between $1M and $7M in token and equity investments into 20-25 companies. Gaming technology company Improbable also raised $150M to build a metaverse network and ecosystem that lets organizations create their own virtual worlds and web 3 businesses. 

In other news, Meta made the news for its plans to begin testing tools for selling digital assets and experiences within its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds, a key part of its plan for creating a metaverse. Germany’s Adidas Originals introduced its first personality-based AI-generated avatar creation platform in partnership with Ready Player Me, allowing each unique avatar to traverse the metaverse across over 1,500 apps and games freely. Oriental Culture, a leading online service provider of collectibles and artwork, also announced its entry into the metaverse sector. Furthermore, McLaren Automotive selected InfiniteWorld as its first official metaverse partner to offer customers a deeper, more engaging digital experience, including creating and minting original NFTs and digital artwork. Metaverse entertainment and production company Infinite Reality grabbed headlines for reaching an agreement to acquire esports conglomerate ReKTGlobal for $470M. Social metaverse company Flam, too, enabled a walk-in recruitment experience in the metaverse through its One Above platform as part of its growth strategy. 

The DLT vertical witnessed diversified activities that made the headlines for the week.

When it comes to the various funding rounds, blockchain startup Zenith Chain signed an investment funding deal worth $35 million with GEM Digital Limited. Bitcoin miner Applied Blockchain was in the news for preparing for a $60M IPO on the Nasdaq market, with plans to offer 3.2 million shares at an estimated mean price of $18.54. Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm focused on the crypto space, announced that it had raised $1.3B for its Blockchain Fund, which will invest in web 3 startups, early-stage tokens, and digital tokens with established liquidity levels. Blockchain fashion house The Fabricant also raised $14M in Series A funding to cloth metaverse avatars. 

What’s more – Reltime launched its revolutionary blockchain and ecosystem globally, a unique global platform that offers borderless joint accounts to its users worldwide. MYEG’s Zetrix blockchain completed its foundational development for its Layer-1 blockchain functionalities as it sets to launch its mainnet. The upcoming decentralized streaming platform for creators, InstaFanz, also made the news for having its currency, InstaFanz Tokens “IFANZ”, scheduled to fair launch on Pinksale. Additionally, Animoca Brands acquired 100% of Eden Games from Engine Gaming and Media, saying that the latter would now work on new blockchain-based racing games and contribute to Animoca’s existing titles built around its REVV token. At the same time, Equideum Health partnered with Nokia Bell Labs to research cognitive augmentation using blockchain combined with AI and edge devices such as earpieces, smartwatches, and home devices.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include acknowledging the many Female-focused Crypto Initiatives, and Setting The Record Straight on Digital-first Banking Taxonomy.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Subscribe now

Edition #9 brings intriguing headlines from around the Cryptosphere to keep your cup of curiosity filled. A plethora of innovative launches and market expansions remained at the forefront for the week. The NFT and Metaverse verticals were bustling with activity, noticeably the most active segments of this edition.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Goldman Sachs plans to offer crypto investment services to high-net-worth clients.

• HSBC launches a metaverse portfolio for high-net-worth Asian clients.

• Intel launches second-gen Bitcoin mining chips to boost mining efficiency.

• Adidas to create metaverse avatars for fans inspired by a new shoe collection.

• Binance.US raises over $200M in its first seed round at a $4.5B valuation.

The CBDC segment continues to gain momentum as more and more countries around the globe are developing ways to utilize CBDC potentialities.

In Europe, the European Central Bank was in the news as it hints to opt for a centralized solution for its new digital euro, raising questions about state snooping. In North America, the residents of Jamaica can now open a digital wallet that supports the country’s Jam-Dex CBDC as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) prepares to launch the CBDC during the April to June quarter of 2022. In Asia, the People's Bank of China plans to expand its trial for its CBDC to include more cities following good responses during their pilot and the Winter Olympics venues.

In other news, Nationwide Payment Systems (NPS), which works in commerce enablement, has rolled out its global processing platform Worldwide Digital Payments which will power payments for crypto businesses and those working in related sectors. Barclays released a paper setting out a methodology for the mitigation of potential fragmentation risk presented by CBDC, through an architecture that places CBDC and commercial bank money on a similar footing.

Although crypto-coins continue to enter the mainstream with varied players from sectors far and wide trying to support possibilities, the skepticism still remains.

• Singapore has approved a law that will tighten rules for cryptocurrency providers in the city-state who’ll be licensed only if they do business overseas. 

• The UN refugee agency has accepted its first stablecoin crypto donation worth $2.5M from Binance charity towards the organization’s humanitarian support for families forced to flee Ukraine. 

• The National Bank of Georgia has hit the headlines as it plans to regulate the country's crypto market by including rules for registering virtual asset service providers, testing compliance procedures, and halting money laundering.

The crypto segment has also achieved a couple of milestones in the past week. FTX US announced a strategic investment in the fifth-largest US-based stock exchange operator IEX to create a market structure for trading digital asset securities. Australian convenience store On The Run (OTR) was also on the news as it plans to allow clients to pay for products in cryptocurrencies by partnering with the digital asset exchange CryptoCom. Binance.US raised over $200M in its first external funding round, putting its pre-money valuation at $4.5B as it builds out a roadmap for an IPO.

On the other hand, chip giant Intel launched its second-generation Bitcoin mining chip called Intel Blockscale ASIC which will offer miners more efficient mining rigs than most models available in the market. Investment goliath Goldman Sachs announced that they are gearing up to launch crypto investment services for its high-net-worth clients. Kakao's Japanese webtoon subsidiary Kakao Piccoma also made it to the headlines after acquiring Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Sakura Exchange BitCoin in a bid to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency and NFT systems to webtoon services. Coinbase made its much-awaited debut in the Indian markets by adding support for UPI payments.

The stablecoins segment has been quickly gaining traction with a series of head-turning events this past week.

The United Kingdom's government announced that it will soon bring in legislation to embed stablecoins into its payment systems as a part of its plans to become a global crypto hub. Bitcoin (BTC) software firm Lightning Labs has secured a $70M Series B funding round led by Valor Equity Partners to enable and further develop the Lightning Network for faster and cheaper Bitcoin and stablecoin transactions. 

The NFT space was abuzz with eventful happenings, highlighting several product launches, and funding activities.

Ledger unveiled the latest version of its crypto hardware wallet called the Ledger Nano S Plus prioritizes the needs of NFT collectors by offering support for clear signing via the company’s web app to ensure their safety when signing transactions. While global crypto trading platform KuCoin announced the launch of its NFT launch platform KuCoin IGO, real estate media production company HomeJab launched an NFT marketplace called real, specifically for original real estate images. Snoop Dogg also hit the headlines after partnering up with Clay Nation to launch some of his unreleased music and limited edition pitches as NFTs on the Cardano blockchain. Similarly, Mike Tyson launched a Mystery Box NFT collection via the Binance NFT marketplace.

On the fundings front, gaming NFT marketplace Fractal closed a $35M seed financing round led by Paradigm and Multicoin Capital to focus on building an engineering team and making new products for gaming companies. NFT marketplace Hot Drops, which allows mainstream and adult NFTs to safely coexist on the same platform, raised more than $2.4M in seed funding led by Transform Ventures founder Michael Terpin.

In other news, the official Formula 1 NFT and crypto-powered racing game F1 Delta Time which launched back in 2019, shut down after the owners Animoca were unable to renew the F1 license, leaving all tokens worthless. The UK government has announced its plan to mint its NFTs in the summer of 2022 as part of its global crypto plans. While Volkswagen South Africa launched an integrated metaverse campaign to promote the safety and intelligence features of its latest Polo model through an NFT treasure hunt game called Game on, Cardano’s decentralized cross-chain NFT marketplace Da Vinci Locker (DVL) started a private sale that kicked off on 5th April 2022. 

Some funding rounds and head-turning partnerships were the key highlights for the DeFi space during the week.

DeFi hub ApeSwap partnered with Gauntlet Networks, the largest financial modeling platform in DeFi, to better optimize the former’s token emissions, leading to more efficient usage of liquidity and growth for the platform’s daily trading volume. DiversiFi partnered with cross-chain oracle SupraOracles which will allow DiversiFi to develop the premiere rewards token ecosystem on the Binance Chain and beyond. 

On the funding front, DeFi platform Parallel Finance raised $5M at a $500 million valuation in a strategic funding round in a bid to become a one-stop-shop for DeFi systems. Similarly, another DeFi platform AlgoBlocks raised $1.9M in its strategic and private funding to push product development and growth initiatives, such as partnership and technical integration with other protocols.

Additionally, cross-chain DeFi infrastructure officially launched its DeFi services, becoming the first regulated provider allowing users to send, receive, and hold digital finance assets on the blockchain. DeFi Technologies also made it to the news after announcing its wholly-owned subsidiary and digital assets ETP pioneer Valour will begin trading Valour Cardano, Valour Polkadot, and Valour Solana on the Euronext exchange in Paris and Amsterdam.

Many players from different industries and sectors expanding into the metaverse have created quite a stir around the theme.

HSBC Holdings has launched a fund to capture investment opportunities in the metaverse for its high-net-worth clients in Hong Kong and Singapore. While beverage giant Coca-Cola announced that it is launching a gaming-inspired version of its fizzy pop virtually before it rolls out in the real world, Metaverse game ecosystem DeHorizon announced that their first game DeVerse is to launch on Polygon Mainnet which may enable low-cost transactions and friendly interactive experience for DeVerse players.

On the partnerships front, cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider Ledger has partnered with blockchain game The Sandbox to promote crypto education and bring security to its virtual world. English footballer Phil Jones was also on the news for teaming up with Stockholm-based media platform, Antourage, to launch a new metaverse membership project called Red Lion Sports Club.

In other news, cryptocurrency Shiba Inu hit the headlines as it will soon be launching its own metaverse, with 100,595 plots of virtual lands in a phased manner with prices starting at 0.2 ETH each. Lamborghini was also on the news after its last Aventador Coupe was auctioned off at the Sotheby’s with a metaverse skin and a soundtrack composed by Aoki. Similarly, Adidas also made it to the headlines after it plans to launch a platform to create metaverse avatars for fans based on their personalities and preferences for the brand's latest Ozworld shoe. 

A plethora of funding rounds made most of the news in the DLT vertical.

• Ethereum scaler Boba Network raised $45M in Series A funding at a $1.5B valuation in order to bypass the latency and transaction costs of the oversubscribed Ethereum blockchain efficiently. 

• Blockchain startup Kandola secured $450K in a pre-seed round led by AlphaWave Global in a bid to expand the team and develop a wide range of technologies.

• Thailand-based venture capital firm SeaX Ventures secured a $60M fundraiser to accelerate the development of global startups throughout Southeast Asia and invest the proceedings in various sectors, including blockchain and Web3.

• Biconomy introduced a $2M community grants program to support and assist blockchain developers, content creators, and blockchain projects.

• Blockchain soccer game GOALS raised $15M in a funding round led by Northzone, Cherry Ventures, Moonfire Ventures, and Banana Capital to build a play-to-earn NFT-based FIFA game.

In other news, Gamefi.org joined forces with a cybersecurity team from the Icetea Labs ecosystem, Securichain, to level up the security of the products for its users.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include entering the immersive universe of Gamification—Into The Metaverse, and exploring the many Female-focused Crypto Initiatives that are ‘DeFi’ning the way for women in the blockchain world. 

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world. The latest fintersection analyzes Apple's acquisition of Credit Kudos.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

With Edition #8’s eventful stir, a diverse range of innovative product launches disrupted the digital landscape. The expanding Crypto-coins segment came to light as the most active segment of this edition. 

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Crypto exchange BTC Markets partners with Mastercard for payments.

• MetaMask adds Apple Pay integration, increasing options for buying cryptos.

• Coinbase to acquire Brazil's largest crypto exchange MercadoBitcoin.com's parent company, 2TM Group.

• Decentraland to host first book launch in the metaverse.

• Alibaba leads a $60M investment in AR glass maker Nreal.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment was abuzz with activities as many more countries rolled up their sleeves to introduce their respective CBDC initiatives.

In Europe, the Bank of England decided to collaborate with MIT’s Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative in what would be a twelve-month-long research regarding the development of a CBDC. In America, US lawmakers introduced the “E-CASH” Act, a bill directed to the US Treasury Department instead of the Fed for developing a digital version of the USD that replicates physical cash. In Asia, the Bank of Japan grabbed headlines for its plans to prepare "thoroughly" to respond to changing circumstances that could require it to launch the digital yen in the future. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was also in the news for actively scaling up its technical and policy capabilities to support its ability to issue a CBDC for prospective use cases that could offer high-level benefits to the nation. 

According to experts at World Government Summit, the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions were said to be technologically equipped to roll out CBDC, but the policies related to the dollar peg and its impact on the existing banking structure could delay the rollout. Additionally, Chinese financial behemoth UnionPay launched a self-service signup platform for merchants who want to use the digital CNY.

As crypto-coins continue to enter the mainstream, varied players from sectors far and wide are trying to evaluate the integration of these digitized tokens into their existing frameworks.

CrIn Brazil, the administration of Rio De Janeiro announced a move to formally integrate Bitcoin into the payments of taxes. Vietnam made the news for once again spearheading research in hopes of implementing a legal framework for governing digital assets. Furthermore, US President Biden released his 2023 budget proposal, seeking to modernize rules around digital assets estimated to generate an additional $11B in revenues by 2032. 

As for the various market expansions, New York approved Apex Crypto’s application for its virtual currency license, the BitLicense, letting users in New York State trade cryptocurrencies on its platform. MetaMask also added Apple Pay integration, enabling Apple Pay or iPhone users to buy cryptocurrencies with debit or credit cards through the mobile app without transferring cryptocurrencies from cryptocurrency exchanges.

At the same time, investment firm WisdomTree launched another tranche of crypto exchange-traded products (ETP) in the European market, covering Solana's SOL, Cardano's ADA, and Polkadot's DOT listed on the Swiss stock exchange SIX and Börse Xetra. FinTech firm Prime Trust also launched a platform for creating crypto-based individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to expand the API provider’s web 3 footprint, of which sats-stacking Swan Bitcoin became one of the earliest clients. 

What’s more – Lionel Messi signed an agreement worth more than $20M to promote digital fan token company Socios.com. Cryptocurrency exchanges Bybit and Crypto.com announced plans to set up operations in Dubai, as the Emirate steps up efforts to attract companies in the fast-growing industry. Crypto exchange operator Coinbase also made the bulletin for its plans to acquire Brazilian unicorn 2TM Group, the holding company for Latin America’s largest crypto exchange, MercadoBitcoin.com. Similarly, crypto exchange BTC Markets partnered with Mastercard to support crypto card payments.

The stablecoins segment has been witnessing a series of head-turning events. While Terra stole headlines for its plans to buy a whopping $10B worth of Bitcoin to back UST stablecoin reserves, the UK’s Finance Ministry had been in talks with crypto firms on stablecoins ahead of releasing new regulatory frameworks concerning cryptocurrencies and the use of blockchain technologies across its jurisdiction.

On the other hand, cryptocurrencies traded in the red early on April 1. The global crypto market cap is $2.05T, a 4.88% decrease over the last day. Bitcoin's price is currently trading at $44,881.50, a 1.42% decrease after the 10% weekly surge. Except for stablecoin Tether (up 1.7 %), all major cryptos – including Polkadot (-6.06%), Dogecoin (-5.89), Cardano (-5.16%), Binance (-4.89%), XRP (-4.37%) and Ethereum (-3.84%) – have slumped.

The NFT space was vibrant with eventful happenings last week, witnessing several launches across different platforms.

ypto gifting platform CryotoBuxx launched CryptoBuxx NFTs, a collection of asset-backed NFTs backed by specific amounts of cryptocurrency in downloadable digital gift certificates. While digital asset investment firms CrossTower launched a global NFT marketplace that allows creators and collectors to reach a wider audience, Ukraine launched a ‘museum of war’ NFT collection, with 54 collectibles and cash to help fund the fight against Russia. Indian automotive OEM Mahindra also hit the headlines as it forayed into the NFT space via Thar SUV-based NFT collectibles.

In other news, American luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. announced its foray into the NFT space as it acquired Okapi NFT from NFT series Rocket Factory. Similarly, Mouawad partnered with Icecap for investment-grade diamonds to offer fractionalized ownership of the Miss Universe crown via NFTs. South Africa’s national heritage site Liliesleaf Farm and Museum auctioned an NFT of Nelson Mandela’s arrest warrant for $139K. 

An assorted mix of launches and market expansions was the key highlight for the DeFi sphere.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance rolled out Binance Bridge 2.0, enabling users to bridge assets from any blockchain, including tokens not listed on the Binance app, to the BNB Chain. Hedera DLT developers HBAR Foundation launched a $155M “Crypto Economy Fund” to attract DeFi projects in a shift toward retail traders. Reltime made the news for creating a unique Peer-to-Peer (P2P), DeFi ecosystem, where it will introduce the Reltime Oxygen (RTO) stable coin for all users as an internal transaction ecosystem currency, backed by deposits in euro. DEX platform FlatQube also made the list for launching the QUBE utility token, as Everscale scaled up DeFi offerings.

On the market expansions front, EBC Financial Group’s all-in-one DeFi-banking platform EBankc was in the news for hosting a token presale. Similarly, the first Avalanche Summit for developers, researchers, and makers built a DeFi kingdom among Barcelona’s architectural oddities.

In other news, global collaborative wealth creation platform UniFarm, with native token $UFARM, hit the headlines after announcing its plans to merge with NFT platform ‘OpenDeFi,’ with native token $ORO, to access a wider audience catering to both the NFT and crypto ecosystem.

With the notion of metaverse fast becoming a favorable concept for the business ecosystem, firms across industries are eager to debut in this emerging segment.

Bengaluru-based Signzy Technologies received a US patent that will enable it to provide seamless banking and financial services in the metaverse. While the first health and fitness metaverse FitnessVR, powered by Scorpio Metaverse Engine, successfully opened in Dubai, Decentraland was in the news for hosting the first book launch event inside the metaverse that will be held with the official launch of Nina Xiang's new book Parallel Metaverses. Additionally, Burger joint Pickl became the first UAE restaurant to enter the metaverse, paving the way for the local F&B industry.

On the funding front, Caduceus Foundation raised $4M in a Series A round to accelerate the development of a suite of developer toolkits and hardware solutions that create a rich environment for metaverse development. In an extended C round, health tech firm GOQii raised $10M from Animoca Brands to develop offerings that leverage blockchain tokens and gamification in preventive healthcare. Similarly, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. led a $60M investment in Chinese augmented reality glasses maker Nreal, joining rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. to stake a claim in the future of the metaverse.

In other news, L&T Technology Services (LTTS) grabbed headlines after announcing that they’re setting up a Centre of Excellence for Metaverse and creating a business unit for Meta that will be launched by July-August 2022. Furthermore, portfolio management company Garanti BBVA Asset Management recently created the Metaverse and New Technologies Variable Fund (MET), the first fund in Turkey to focus on metaverse.

A plethora of partnerships across various sectors made most of the headlines for the DLT vertical.

RiskStream Collaborative partnered with blockchain insurance consortium B3i Services to jointly run labs to explore the potential for homeowner parametric insurance and reinsurance. While KRAFTON’s subsidiary RisingWings partnered with blockchain-based esports service COMPETZ to enter the global blockchain game market and develop several new games for the service released within 2022, LTO Network became the world's premier blockchain network for eClinical applications through partnership with Triall and identity specialist Sphereon. Similarly, House of Gaming partnered with blockchain giant Polygon through Hefty Games, who’ll kickstart and fuel the Gaming & NFT ecosystem and blockchain gaming in India with exclusive P2E (Play to Earn) games and a plethora of unique utilities.

On the other hand, SK Square, the investment arm of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, was in the news for its plans to spend $1.6B in the next three years on semiconductors and blockchain. TechPay also made it to the headlines for offering the world’s first blockchain with real-time transactions in the NFT world, with its coin’s blockchain features 300,000 TPS (transactions per second) and a mere 15-second transaction finality.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include entering the immersive universe of Gamification—Into The Metaverse, and exploring the many Female-focused Crypto Initiatives that are ‘DeFi’ning the way for women in the blockchain world. 

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Edition #7 brings intriguing headlines from around the Cryptosphere to keep your cup of curiosity filled. A plethora of innovative launches and funding rounds remained at the forefront for the week. The NFT and Metaverse verticals were bustling with activities, noticeably the most active segments of this edition.

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Qualcomm launched a $100M Metaverse fund to back XR, AI, and AR tech companies.

• Crypto.com unveiled as FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 official sponsor.

• FTX Ventures invested $100M in banking app Dave; formed partnership for crypto payments in the platform.

• Decentraland launched metaverse fashion week for brands, including The Fabricant, to showcase new clothing collections.

• a16z alum Katie Haun’s firm Haun Ventures raised $1.5B for two new crypto-focused funds.

For the longer read, let’s get going –

The CBDC segment has been gaining momentum lately as many countries around the globe are joining the CBDC race.

In the Arab Peninsula, Qatar’s central bank was in the news for its plans to digitalize most of its products, including studying and potentially developing and launching a CBDC and issuing digital bank licenses. In its recent publication, the Arab Regional Fintech Working Group, an advisory panel from the Arab Monetary Fund, designated RippleNet as a natural alternative to SWIFT.

In other news, The Bank for International Settlements and the central banks of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa developed two prototypes for a shared platform that could enable international settlements using digital currencies issued by multiple central banks. Bank of England also made it to the headlines for revealing that it won’t be rolling out UK’s CBDC Britcoin until 2025 at the earliest.

As crypto-coins continue to enter the mainstream, varied players from sectors far and wide are trying to support and embrace their potential.

• Banking app Dave raised $100M investment from FTX Ventures and partnered with FTX US to explore ways to introduce digital asset payments onto Dave’s platform.

• Crypto exchange BitsXT became the second project from the Bitgert Startup Studio to get its presale on the Brise chain, raising over $200K.

• a16z alum Katie Haun raised $1.5B for two new crypto-focused funds for her new firm, Haun Ventures.

• Crypto exchange Coincheck also grabbed headlines for agreeing to be listed on Nasdaq by merging with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV in a $1.25B deal. 

• Crypto exchange Blockchain.com acquired Altonomy’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk in an undisclosed deal, expanding Blockchain.com’s presence in crypto OTC trading.

Regarding various market growth and expansions, FIFA announced cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com to be the Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs completed the first-ever over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency-related trade with the digital-asset financial company Galaxy Digital. Transak, a single integration for applications to accept fiat-to-Crypto payments, also made the news for featuring Apple Pay as a recognized payment option within the company’s fiat onramp.

Additionally, cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global launched a $150M development fund for Fetch.ai, a blockchain-based machine-learning platform, with Bybit to encourage more developers and projects to work on the Fetch.ai ecosystem. In Malaysia, the Deputy Minister of Communications put forth a proposal recognizing Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country.

An assorted mix of events made up for most of the headlines in the stablecoin segment.

• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group carried out an Australian dollar stablecoin payment in a landmark transaction to become the first Australian lender to mint a digital asset linked to the country's currency.

• Cardano stablecoin issuer COTI hit the headlines for its plans to launch a $10M fund to expand the COTI ecosystem by onboarding developers.

• Video game development company Wemade was also in the news for announcing a strategic investment in the Klaytn-based stablecoin project, KROME.

• CoinShares partnered with FTX to launch the world’s first physically-backed Solana exchange-traded product (ETP), designed to transparently share the rewards of staking with investors. 

The NFT space was abuzz with eventful happenings, highlighting several product launches, partnerships, and expansion activities.

Benzinga launched an NFT Madness 2022 Tournament with 64 NFT collections competing for the crown of Benzinga’s fan-voted Best NFT Collection. Metatron launched NFTMinthouse.com, an NFT full-service provider and pre-mint marketplace that allows anyone to monetize digital art and create NFTs. 

On the partnerships front, AE Studio partnered with South China Morning Post to launch the first-of-its-kind NFT collection called 'ARTIFACTs by SCMP.' A local Vancouver-based couple’s NFT collection to become the first Canadian collection featured in an original children’s series as part of a partnership with TIME Studios. Huobi Global's NFT marketplace Huobi NFT partnered with NEXTYPE to launch a global-exclusive Hanazawa Kana NFT series.

On the fundings front, Yuga Labs raised $450M in funding at a $4B valuation to build a media empire around NFTs, starting with games and its metaverse project. NFT appraisal protocol Upshot raised $22M in a Series A2 funding round led by Polychain Capital to hire more staff and finance new DeFi algorithms and related developer tools. 

Additionally, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s free zone, published a consultation paper with draft guidelines covering NFT trading, among other asset classes. The world’s first NFT superyacht sold for $12M on the Ethereum blockchain, with the yacht also being provided to the NFT owner in the physical form. While NFT marketplace Rarible grabbed headlines for its plans to add support for the Solana network, global esports entertainment company Allied Esports was also in the news for planning to join the burgeoning NFT market with the sale of its first collection, EPICBEAST.

Several product launches and expansions were the key highlights for the DeFi space for the week.

• Parallel Finance launched DeFi ‘super app’ for the Polkadot crypto ecosystem to become a one-stop shop for all corners of DeFi.

• Crypto startup LOFI-DEFI launched an NFT-based social media platform for creators and investors to earn passive income with the LOFI token.

• DeFi protocol Integral announced the launch of Integral SIZE, a DEX that can seamlessly deliver large order volume to DeFi, eliminating drawbacks like price impact and impermanent loss. 

• Izumi Finance, a protocol providing liquidity as a service on Uniswap V3, joined forces with the HOURAI project to support the upcoming launch of its NFTs through Izumi’s DeFi derivatives.

On the fundings front, DeFi protocol Struct Finance secured a $3.9M seed round to develop the tools that will allow the ecosystem to customize, compose, and invest in decentralized structured products. Crypto structured protocol Ribbon Finance raised $8.8M under a new partnership with venture capital firm Paradigm to build new risk products native to DeFi and continue scaling the protocol.

In other news, DeFi Technologies announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Valour, created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to support the distribution of a digital asset-backed product program. Community protocol TraDAO became the first DeFi project to pave the way for an installment strategy in bond sales, allowing users to utilize tiny amounts of cash to purchase more bonds and then profit from auto-compounding staking.

Many players from different industries and sectors expanding into the metaverse have created quite a stir around the sphere.

Metaverse company Nextech AR teamed up with MIT to hack the metaverse using ARitize Maps at the ‘Reality Hack’ XR Hackathon. Hanai World partnered with Web3 company Vatom to build physical and digital metaverse crossover experiences. Klatyn blockchain also hit the headlines for its partnership with gaming titans such as Wemade, Netmarble, Neowiz, etc., to drive the creation of an exciting metaverse on the Klaytn blockchain.

On the fundings front, chip giant Qualcomm launched a $100M metaverse fund that will go towards a grant program for developers building extended reality-focused gaming, health, wellness, media, and entertainment experiences. Metaverse project Ultiverse also raised $4.5M at a $50M valuation in a seed round co-led by Binance Labs and Singapore’s DeFiance Capital to develop products, attract top talent and further increase the community's growth.

Furthermore, Decentraland launched Metaverse Fashion Week, a digital fashion week, where brands including The Fabricant will showcase new clothing collections in the metaverse. Nvidia debuted its new H100 AI processor chip that powers AI, autonomous vehicles, and metaverse tools. Chinese firm JX Luxventure also made the bulletin for its plans to enter the metaverse by offering NFT based projects.

An assorted mix of launches and market expansions made most of the news in the DLT vertical.

While MetaBlaze became the first Blockchain-gaming metaverse generating lifetime passive yields, Coinbase Wallet extended support to Solana blockchain by providing an added layer of security. 

On the various launches, Volvo owner Geely launched a blockchain joint venture with Concordium in a bid for the latter to become a primary blockchain technology service provider in China. Web 3 infrastructure company Mysten Labs launched the Layer-1 blockchain platform Sui to facilitate instant settlement and deliver high throughput, low latency, and low cost needed to power applications for billions of users. 

In other news, insurance company Lemonade partnered with prominent blockchain companies to form the Lemonade Crypto Climate Coalition DAO to protect farmers from climate change by offering blockchain-based insurance. While FanCraze made the list for raising about $100M in a Series A round led by venture capital firms B Capital Group and Insight Partners, the NFL granted teams limited permission to seek blockchain sponsorships while still banning cryptocurrency promotions and fan tokens.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly FinTech Brew, and we'll be back with more next week! 

If you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. 

Our latest publications include taking a closer look at Open Banking Innovation in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Mod5r and entering the immersive universe of Gamification—Into The Metaverse. 

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections, where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net.

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and don't be shy to show some ❤️

With Edition #6’s eventful stir, a diverse range of trailblazing product launches and market expansions were observed to be disrupting the digital landscape. The avant-garde NFT segment came out on top as the most active segment yet again. 

Here’s the TL;DR:

• Amazon launches metaverse-like game to train people how to use AWS

• HSBC becomes the first global financial services provider to enter The Sandbox.

• Meta to add NFTs to Instagram soon.

• McLaren partners with InfiniteWorld to mint NFTs of luxury supercars.

• Pixar launched the NFT series ‘Pixar Pals’ featuring characters from its movies.

For the longer read, let's get going – 

Countries around the globe are experimenting on their respective CBDC prospects.

While Bank of Ghana was in the news for its plans to make eCedi, its digital currency, available on popular payment platforms operated by mobile-phone service providers to make its use more intuitive and improve financial inclusion, Bank of Jamaica hit the headlines for its plans to deposit $16 to the first 100,000 Jamaican citizens to use the country’s new CBDC, Jam-Dex, hoping to promote widespread adoption. The Bank of Uganda (BOU) commenced a study that explores the feasibility of issuing a digital currency, and plans to revise the country’s financial laws, enabling the BOU to formally adopt the CBDC. The Bank of Canada collaborated with MIT media lab’s Digital Currency Initiative on a twelve-month research project on CBDC. 

In Asia, China’s digital yuan app got updated as police deal with citizens trying to commit crimes using the new token, and have attempted to use it to launder money. In other news, a new report by Deloitte stated that Bitcoin has the potential for becoming the backbone for CBDC by helping it in five key areas — speed, security, efficiency, cross-border payments, and collaboration with other participants.

The Crypto-coins vertical has been a witness to several market expansions, with companies worldwide embracing various cryptocurrencies within their current portfolios.

While FTX Europe became the first firm to receive a license to operate a crypto exchange and trading house in Dubai, Canada’s internet service provider (ISP) Oxio started accepting payments in crypto through Coinbase Commerce platform. Multi-asset trading platform 24 Exchange also made it to the headlines after completing its first cryptocurrency NDF (non-deliverable forward) trades on its platform involving ED&F Man Capital Markets, XBTO and QCP in February.

On the regulatory front, Binance blockchain was granted a crypto-asset service license by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). In Japan, the authorities have asked cryptocurrency exchanges not to conduct crypto assets transactions that are subject to asset-freeze penalties imposed on Russia and Belarus as a result of the Ukraine conflict. Additionally, the European Union rejected a proposed rule that could have banned Bitcoin across the bloc, and instead set new draft rules to protect consumers and make mining more sustainable. 

Furthermore, the Ukrainian government launched a website in partnership with crypto-firms FTX and Everstake that will funnel donations to Ukraine's central bank amidst war. Digital currency exchange Crypto.com was also in the news for launching a crypto exchange for the US — where institutional investors were granted access first.

As for the crypto market, Bitcoin was trading 0.69 per cent higher at $41,124.58, taking its seven-day gains to 0.8 per cent. Ethereum surged 2.9 per cent in the last 24 hours to $2,769. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market value rose to 3.9 per cent in the last one week. Tether, the third-largest, was almost flat at $1 and so was USD Coin, which was flat at $0.99. BNB added 1.19 per cent, XRP gained 2.01 per cent, but Terra fell 2.12 per cent.

The stablecoins segment has been witnessing a series of roller-coaster events as of late. Hedge fund Fir Tree Capital Management grabbed headlines as it made a short wager against stablecoin Tether so as to minimize downside risk and maintain a high payoff potential.

A number of launches surrounding the NFT space created quite the buzz that turned our heads last week, with significant players making their entrance into the emerging sphere.

Pixar Animation Studios released Pixar Pals NFT collection, featuring characters from movies like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc, Cars, Coco, Ratatouille, and many more. Popular NFT ecosystem Enjin launched the first NFT parachain on Polkadot – Effinity – in a bid to support CryptoBlades and its users. Similarly, Ukraine made the list for its plans to launch an NFT museum that would depict events from war with Russia. 

On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would add NFTs to Instagram within the next few months. While McLaren Automotive was in the news for its plans to create and mint NFTs of its luxury supercars in partnership with metaverse infrastructure platform InfiniteWorld, popular polygon-based NFT collection Crypto Unicorns closed a $26M token sale ahead of its play-to-earn NFT game launch.

In other news, BAYC backer Yuga Labs acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits NFT collections, with plans to grant the commercial rights to all CryptoPunk and Meebit images to their respective owners. Additionally, Solana-Based NFT Marketplace Magic Eden raised $27M Series A led by Paradigm, which also included contributions from Sequoia and Solana Ventures. Integrated gaming company Enthusiast Gaming joined forces with NFT marketplace Fractal to integrate NFTs into one of the company’s HTML5-based games for the first time.

A plethora of funding rounds and launches were the key highlights for the DeFi space.

Ethereum application and infrastructure builder ConsenSys closed a $450M in Series D funding round led by ParaFi Capital at a $7B valuation. Similarly, Singapore-based web 3 DeFi startup Treehouse raised $18M in a seed funding round led by an undisclosed large FinTech investor. Corl Financial Investments Inc. also hit the headlines for securing $20M in USD stablecoin from a DeFi cryptocurrency investment company, Naos Finance.

When it comes to the various launches, DeFi infra project xToken launched a capital markets platform – xToken Terminal for web 3 – that will offer DeFi and NFT projects seamless access to financial primitives like liquidity mining, token offerings and collateralized lending. DeFi protocol Paribus launched a DeFi-based borrowing platform, allowing users to borrow against previously stagnant assets like NFTs to be used as collateral for loans. Blockchain-based DeFi project lala Finance also officially launched its DeFi staking protocol – adding farming, staking, and liquidity providing functions in the near future for users; thus allowing them to earn lucrative APY against their holdings.

Furthermore, cross-chain transaction platform iSwap launched iSwap V6, its latest version, with upgrades adding support for the Solana blockchain platform and stablecoin DAI. Similarly, Avalanche blockchain’s compounding protocol Louverture launched a major update to its DeFi protocol titled Rise, introducing multi-tiered proprietary gamification of ERC-721 standard NFTs.

The world of metaverse has been gaining traction from a diverse range of industries.  A variety of market expansions played their part in furthering the trending metaverse realm:

• Amazon launched "AWS Cloud Quest," an online role-playing game that aims to help people build cloud-computing skills.

• American Express hinted at a metaverse entry through multiple trademark filing for its logos and items including the Centurion black card and “Shop Small” program.

• HSBC became the first global financial services provider to enter The Sandbox by acquiring a plot of LAND and developing it to engage and connect with sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts.

• Luxury reseller Privé Porter announced its plans to enter metaverse, having filed trademarks.

• Zaha Hadid Architects made the bulletin for designing a "cyber-urban" metaverse city titled The Liberland Metaverse, where residents can buy vacant plots centered around a curated urban core, and access them as avatars.

• Yuga Labs was also in the news for its plans for virtual land sales and APECoin token in order to kickstart a metaverse gaming project.

• Additionally, Adobe announced new innovations to power the metaverse for millions of users.

• What’s more – travel deals platform TravelZoo created a metaverse division that will provide members with exclusive access to the latest and best Metaverse travel experiences.

On the fundings front, Blockchain game development studio Metaverse Game Studios raised $10M in a funding round co-led by Pantera Capital, Animoca Brands, Solana Ventures and Everyrealm.

An assorted mix of fundings and partnerships made up for most of the brew in the DLT vertical.

Aptos, a team helmed by former Facebook coders bringing Diem blockchain to life, confirmed a $200M raise in a funding round led by a16z. While the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) established a new $30M matching fund to provide more early-stage blockchain projects access to funding, blockchain-based distribution protocol TravelX raised $10M in seed funding that was led by Borderless Capital. UK-based international payments and peer-to-peer foreign exchange service company Midpoint Holdings Ltd also grabbed the headlines after completing the acquisition of B2C blockchain company, Blockchain World Limited, with the latter's founder Domenic Carosa joining as non-executive director of Midpoint’s board.

As for the partnerships, software company LimeWire selected the Algorand blockchain to power energy-efficient NFTs on the platform, along with a token launch later in 2022. Iot specialist Kerlink partnered with smart urban and industrial park developer VIoT Group to deploy LoRaWan IoT and Helium blockchain network in Vietnam by the end of May, 2022.

In other news, carbon offset marketplaces JustCarbon and Likvidi announced the start of trading platforms for tokenized carbon credits, giving participants the ability to trade greenhouse-gas emissions and lower their carbon footprints.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

Till then, if you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. Our latest publication takes a closer look at Open Banking and Emerging Opportunities in MENA in partnership with Mod5r. 

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Edition #5 comes with a lot of head-turning launches and partnerships that remained at the forefront, with NFT once again taking the crown as the most active segment of the week. 

Here's the TL;DR

• Payment giant Stripe launches a suite of products to support crypto payments on its platform.

• Bain Capital Ventures is launching a $560M fund focused exclusively on crypto-related efforts.

• Ledger announces limited edition NFT-focused hardware wallet; partnership with POAP.

• Wirex partners with DEX aggregator Paraswap to make DeFi more accessible than ever before.

• Bandai Namco to spend $130M creating Gundam ‘metaverse’ – featuring games, videos and shopping.

For the longer read, let's get going – 

The CBDC segment continued to bustle with activities in the second week of the month, with many more countries trying to hop onto the digital currency bandwagon and ride the modernization train.

In America, President Joe Biden geared up to sign a much-anticipated executive order on cryptocurrencies, paving way for detailed studies on the viability and risks of a US CBDC. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced that the country’s minimum wage would now be pegged to the value of half a Petro (PTR), the country’s national cryptocurrency. The Central Bank of Brazil has also chosen nine partners – that include crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin, Santander Brasil, Itaú Unibanco and DeFi platform Aave, amongst others – to help develop Brazil's CBDC. Furthermore, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s DCash digital currency pilot project, which was unavailable since January 2022, resumed trading.

In Asia, the Philippines central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion organized a joint event where BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno announced the rollout of Project CBDCPh, a pilot implementation of a CBDC aiming to improve the payment system’s safety, resiliency, and efficiency of the country.

In other news, enterprise blockchain supplier Ripple joined the Digital Pound Basis discussion board to help with the design and implementation of a digital Pound.

The Crypto-coins segment has been in the limelight as of late – driven by a plethora of market expansions and launches.

London-based crypto exchange Bitstamp made the news for announcing the listing of the Avalanche (AVAX) cryptocurrency and Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on its platform, which can be traded in exchange for the Euro and the Dollar. Crypto exchange FTX set up a new division in Switzerland, with an additional base in Cyprus, after winning an approval from the Cyprus financial market regulator. While Quidax became the first fully African-owned crypto exchange to be listed on leading crypto price-tracking website CoinMarketCap, banks in Virginia hit the headlines as they will soon have the option to provide cryptocurrency custody services – after the state's Senate unanimously voted to approve a bill amendment focused on the custody of digital assets.

As for the various launches, investment goliath Bain Capital Ventures launched a $560M fund focused exclusively on crypto-related efforts, out of which the firm invested around $100M into a dozen undisclosed efforts. Leading crypto exchange platform Binance was also in the news for releasing a new payments technology company called Bifinity, which will also serve as Binance’s official fiat-to-crypto payments provider. Similarly, Bitmarkets.com launched its cryptocurrency exchange in a bid to provide their clients with a simple and secure environment for trading cryptocurrencies. Making a comeback to the crypto business, payment giant Stripe launched a suite of products – including exchanges, on-ramps, wallets, and NFT marketplaces – to support crypto payments on its platform.

Additionally, Premier League soccer club Manchester City announced cryptocurrency exchange OKX as a new sponsor, becoming the exchange’s first partner in the sports industry. Dogecoin grabbed the headlines with Ukraine adding it to its list of approved cryptocurrencies amidst war against Russia in order to generate funds. Leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase also blocked over 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals or entities engaged in illicit activity.

After a prolonged sell-off, crypto prices were trading higher on the back of multiple positive news – including resumed talks between Russia and Ukraine. The global cryptocurrency market cap in one day jumped to the $1.80T mark, adding almost 2 per cent in 24 hours. Total cryptocurrency trading volume zoomed more than 23 per cent to $97.07B. Barring the dollar-pegged stablecoins, all of the top digital tokens were trading higher as Terra zoomed 6 per cent to $104, followed by a 4 per cent rise in Bitcoin to $40,000 and XRP each. Solana, Ethereum, Cardano added 2 per cent each.

The stablecoins segment is quickly gaining traction as places far and wide are exploring the possibilities of changing the way payments work. The Swiss city of Lugano made USDT Tether, Bitcoin and LVGA token legal tender to be used along with the Swiss Franc to pay taxes, municipal bills, and transact every day. Kado – a stablecoin payment infrastructure provider – also closed a $5.4M fundraise with the aim to onboard new users to Terra’s UST stablecoin and expanding cross-chain.

The NFT space was abuzz with its own set of eventful activities across diverse partnerships and launches that took place last week.

While The Sandbox joined forces with NFT profile picture project World of Women to provide $25M in grant funds to found the WoW Foundation, Solana NFT marketplace Magic Eden partnered with popular sporting entertainment platform Overtime to launch an NFT collection proposing to enhance fan engagement and exclusive experiences. Similarly, sports betting powerhouse DraftKings (DKNG) teamed up with digital asset startup Zero Hash to become one of the largest Polygon validators. Swappables partnered with digital fashion brand Another-1 (AN1) to launch the NTR1-Meta NFT sneaker collection, allowing holders to wear digital sneakers in Decentraland, trade them on Swappable, or redeem them for the real-life physical pairs.

Additionally, hardware wallet company Ledger announced the release of a limited edition hardware wallet, the Ledger Nano S Plus, as well as a global partnership with Ethereum-based Proof of Attendance Protocol, or POAP. Motherboard manufacturer ASRock made the bulletin for working on an NFT motherboard, labeled the ‘Z690 PG Riptide NFT Edition’. Zurich-based technology and go-to market advisory firm ANCORE Strategy and MBC GROUP recently launched The Fananees Genesis Collectibles – thus offering its most popular characters in digital Intellectual Property (IP) to the wide community of NFT enthusiasts, experts and collectors across the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Nemus also launched a collectible NFT experience to conserve and protect the Amazon rainforest by letting anyone who owns the NFT to become a Guardian.

In other news, Animoca-backed Australian NFT startup Immutable raised $200M in Series C funding at a $2.5B valuation led by Temasek. While Avalanche pledged $290M in AVAX tokens to attract gaming, DeFi and NFT ‘Subnets’, Vera became the leading multichain project that allows anyone to rent or mortgage NFTs with or without collateral, surpassing $2M NFT rentals.

An assorted mix of partnerships and funding rounds were the key highlights for the DeFi sphere.

Germany-based security provider Solidproof collaborated with FOMODEX, a free-to-use DEX tracking platform, with the aim to create posts that will not only inform the crypto community on ways to maintain anonymity while dealing with digital assets, but also educate them about vetting pre-sales to ensure that they don't become the victim of various crypto scams. DODO, a decentralized trading protocol for Web3, has announced its partnership with India-based cryptocurrency exchange WazirX in a bid to bring highly accessible liquidity to DeFi. Additionally, leading crypto platform Wirex collaborated with DEX aggregator Paraswap to enable Wirex Wallet users to seamlessly exchange multiple tokens using Paraswap's market-leading price algorithm. A few firms that grabbed headlines with their market expansion activities include Singapore’s Cake DeFi for announcing the creation of its venture-capital arm with an aim to invest $100 million in the tech ecosystem; and Centric for the launch of its Centric Rise (CNR) tokens on DeFi staking application Green House Staking. 

On the fundings front, Deliq Finance, an Avalanche-based decentralized, transparent liquidity provisioning protocol powered by blockchain technology, raised $2.1M in funding via a private round. Cega Finance, the first DeFi exotic structured products protocol, raised a $4.3M seed round led by Dragonfly Capital Partners with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Solana Ventures, among others.

With the notion of metaverse fast-becoming a favorable concept for the business ecosystem, firms across industries are eager to make their debut into this emerging segment. 

The funding space was buzzing with activities as 

• Indian metaverse firm Ikonz raised a seed round of funding from early-stage venture capital firm Village Global and technology investment firm Woodstock;

• Metaverse fashion company UNXD completed a $4M funding round led by Animoca Brands, Polygon Studios and Red DAO; and

• Virtual being platform Inworld AI raised $10M in strategic funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures and joined by the Venture Reality Fund, Kleiner Perkins, and CRV. 

Leading global derivatives exchange Bitget announced the listing of Karmaverse, a GameFi and SocialFi metaverse on its launchpad with the partnership aiming to raise $100,000 in KNOT, the native token of the blockchain ecosystem. 

Market expansion activities garnered attention as well, with Japanese video game and toy company Bandai Namco announcing a $130M investment to develop a metaverse featuring battle robots and other characters from its flagship Gundam franchise. The South China Morning Post announced its offering of a metaverse experience of Hong Kong’s star Ferry Pier on blockchain gaming platform The Sandbox. Decentralized virtual reality metaverse Saiba City was also in the news for nearing the launch of Saibu Inu token, a combination of Shiba Inu and Saitama.

A plethora of activities across various sectors made for majority of the headlines for the DLT vertical.

On International Women's Day, Tezos India launched a month-long ‘SheCrypt - Women in Crypto & Blockchain' campaign in order to encourage increased and active participation of women in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. ICEF, a vetting body for student recruitment agencies, announced its investment in blockchain technology in a bid to provide agency credentials. Modular Asset Management hired Daniel Liebau as chief investment officer to work on a strategy that will focus on sustainable blockchain technologies. Meanwhile, Wikisoft Corp acquired 51 per cent of Etheralabs LLC, a New York City based venture lab and ecosystem that invests in, builds, and deploys disruptive technologies across the Blockchain space. 

The segment also witnessed a number of collaborations, as Aleo teamed up with Forte to implement zero-knowledge proof solutions in an attempt to fuel low-energy transactions in blockchain games. Namibia announced a partnership with decentralized climate data provider dClimate, wherein it will establish a blockchain-native registry and verification system for quantifying the country’s carbon sequestration, carbon emissions and carbon credits from green hydrogen projects. Defy Trends and NEAR similarly announced a strategic collaboration in a bid to bring updated and accurate data analytics to the NEAR blockchain platform and its users, empowering data-backed investing and encouraging environmentally friendly crypto practices. 

Stanford University’s innovative idea of building a new layer-one blockchain called Espresso, that will allow for higher throughput and lower gas fees while prioritizing user privacy and decentralization, garnered attention as well.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

Till then, if you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. Our latest publication in honor of women's history month explores the many FinTechs Championing Financial Services for Women.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and don't be shy to show some ❤️

With Edition #4’s eventful stir, a diverse range of trailblazing product launches were observed to be disrupting the digital landscape. The avant-garde NFT segment came to light as the most active segment of this edition. 

Here's the TL;DR

• FC Barcelona announced plans to develop its first NFT and cryptocurrency.

• Hike launched Rush Avatar NFTs for its play-to-earn gaming platform Rush Gaming Universe.

• Gucci partnered with The Sandbox to purchase an undisclosed amount of virtual land.

• JPMorgan made a strategic investment in Blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs.

• Paypal’s updated policy to no longer provides seller protection on NFT sales above $10K.

For the longer read, let's get going – 

The CBDC segment has been in the limelight for quite some time now, pertaining to more and more countries entering the world of modernization with their respective CBDC rollouts.

In Africa, the Bank of Uganda made the news bulletin for drawing lessons from case studies developed by peer central banks in Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, amongst others, on the implementation of CBDC. The National Bank of Rwanda announced that the research pertaining to economic, financial, and technological aspects related to CBDC will be concluded by the end of December, and the country will have a clear policy on whether it will issue the digital currency or not. 

In North America, members of the Mexican Bank Association (ABM) have stated their intention of helping the central bank of the country in the design and issuance of a potential CBDC. Charting the coastal waves in Oceania, New Zealand has started working on a proof-of-concept design work for a CBDC in a bid to modernize the central bank money, taking into account the public’s feedback received during a recent consultation. 

On the partnerships front, Blockchain company R3 joined forces with Hong Kong’s tech hub, Cyberport, enabling R3 to offer Corda – its distributed ledger platform – and Conclave – its confidential computing platforms – to Hong Kong’s fintech startups, and help them develop technologies related to CBDCs. Similarly, credit union service organization Bonifii (formerly CULedger) joined R3 Sandbox for Digital Currencies to evaluate and develop CBDC use cases for its members through Bonifii’s digital network and peer connections.

As cryptocoins continue to enter the mainstream, varied players from sectors far and wide are trying to evaluate the integration of these digitized tokens into their existing frameworks.

Popular e-commerce platform eBay is one such company that announced the possibility of adding cryptocurrencies as a possible means of payments, in a bid to attract the generation of consumers of today and tomorrow. Similarly, Facepay added cryptocurrency payment processing to its subscription platform through the release of Facepay Crypto – an addition that will free business owners from credit card transaction fees and help them leverage the security of blockchain technologies. Prominent soccer club FC Barcelona also made the news for its plans to create its own cryptocurrency as well as its own metaverse. Even Colorado became the first state in the US to accept cryptocurrencies for state tax and fee payments. 

On the other hand, Alternet Systems (ALYI), together with Revolt Token Corporation (RVLT), announced that it will accept RVLT in exchange for the purchase of ALYI electric motorcycle taxis in a managed commercial purchase program. US-based AMC Theaters was also among those who announced that they will start accepting payments in the form of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu cryptocurrencies using BitPay. While integrated payment and technology solutions provider Shift4 grabbed the headlines for its plans to acquire cross-border e-commerce payments provider Finaro to deliver unified commerce experiences across the world, super app CryptWire entered into an agreement with Bitbns exchange for trading India’s first global cryptocurrency index, IC15. Additionally, crypto investment platform Zignaly secured up to $50M in financing deal to propel significant new product development and global adoption of the platform. 

In light of the recent events in Ukraine, many platforms took to showing their support and assisting those affected by the aftermath through crypto donations. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance was in the spotlight for its $10M donation to Ukrainians impacted by the invasion. Ukraine is also set to conduct an airdrop for donations after having received $33M in crypto donations. 

However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict last week served to bring even more volatility to the crypto market. After a 25% rally for the week, Bitcoin found itself trading at US$42,200, down 4% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum was found to be down by 3.03% at US$2,911.02. After global sanctions hit Russia and the local currency tumbled, there had been a sudden spike in stablecoin transactions resulting in a 0.02% increase in Tether, and a 70% rally by Terra in the past 7 days to US$92.

The stablecoin ecosystem is witnessing the introduction of several emerging protocols that are revolutionizing the way payments are viewed. One such initiative is Blindex, the world’s first multi-currency fractional-algorithmic stablecoin protocol, which has recently launched on the RSK Infrastructure Network, advancing its aim to stabilize the world’s fiat currencies. Another protocol that has been garnering attention as of late is Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which hit $50B in total circulation, moving closer to frontrunner Tether.

Many brands are exploiting present-day technologies to further their growth and take advantage of opportunities that will drive their sustainability. Social media company Hike launched Rush Avatars, which will be non-fungible tokens (NFTs) built on Polygon blockchain that will be used as a digital identity by users on Hike’s web3 play-to-earn (P2E) gaming platform. Leading IoT company WISeKey’s WISe.ART NFT marketplace also added a new collection of NFTs of artworks by Spanish artist Pedro Sandoval. Even Nelson Mandela’s My Robben Island paintings of life in prison are set to be sold as NFTs. FC Barcelona was once again hitting the headlines for its plans to generate interesting emotional experiences through the launch of its first NFT soon; supplemental to the creation of its own cryptocurrency and metaverse. Furthermore, Authentic Brands (AUTH) was in the news for its plans to expand its clothing offerings and add NFT and cryptocurrency payments in an effort to bolster sneaker company Reebok following its $2.5B purchase last year.

In other news, PayPal’s updated policy states that it won’t protect NFT sales of more than $10K starting March 21. Conversely, Saudi Arabia’s first Digital Art Forum – hosted by Sotheby’s and the Kingdom’s Visual Arts Commission – featured 10 NFTs, including the highly popular Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Hong Kong-based crypto billionaire and NFT artist Allan Banford joined forces with Hong Kong’s leading magazine #legend to launch six unique cover arts as NFTs on the OpenSea NFT platform. What’s more – Learfield dived into NFTs by teaming up with NFT developer Recur so as to create a marketplace for college-licensed digital collectibles; and indie feature film ‘Calladita’ seized the opportunity to break into the film industry using cryptocurrency and NFTs to fund the project. 

An assorted mix of funding rounds and game-changing launches were the key highlight for the DeFi sphere.

Crypto derivatives platform Thetanuts Finance, in hopes to redefine the crypto options market by offering users the ability to earn a high base yield on their digital assets, closed an $18M seed round led by Three Arrows Capital. Correspondingly, both AdaSwap and Nested made the news for their respective funding rounds of $2.6M and $7.5M to further their ambitions of ramping up blockchain-based projects.

As for the diverse launches introduced to the space last week, Pandora Digital made headlines for the launch of its DeFi platform with a unique, all-encompassing incentive structure that will overcome the limitations of conventional DEXs. DeFi Technologies, a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, began the trading of the Valour Terra (LUNA) SEK and Valour Avalanche (AVAX) SEK on the Nordic Growth Market. Moreover, DeFi platform Altrucoin created a DeFi service platform to provide custom staking, presales, token referral, and governance systems for other tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Not only that, but Cardano’s first ZK rollup layer 2 solution to support DeFi innovation; and Oceidon expanding NFT utility into DeFi through the integration of the OBLOX utility token with its Gen 1 Oceidon Blox Meta NFT collection, also made for the notable activities for the DeFi sector for the week.

With the notion of metaverse is fast-becoming a favorable concept for the business ecosystem, numerous names from industries and sectors all over the map are developing their own projects to make their mark into this emerging segment.

While Tech Mahindra launched the TechMVerse to allow customers to build immersive experiences and transact in the metaverse, HTC is set to integrate certain metaverse functions in their new high-end smartphone. UAE property developer DAMAC is also foraying into the immersive universe by planning to launch a project in the metaverse soon, one that will integrate the real estate developer’s different platforms which range from real estate to fashion and jewelry. Additionally, vEmpire DDAO launched a blockchain-based play-to-earn trading card game ‘The Beginning’ to enable vEmpire investors to earn even more lucrative returns from the DDAO. We’re already familiar with China betting big on the metaverse, but now South Korea has also joined in this hype with its own plans to spend $187M in order to become the fifth-largest metaverse market in the world by 2026. The government also wants the metaverse platform to focus on industrial convergence and lifestyle, using it for growing Korea’s education industry, media, and its cities. 

Several industry players made it to the list for their market expansions and growth of existing products and services. Infosys launched its metaverse foundry to give clients the on-demand ability to securely and efficiently explore the metaverse and its functionalities. The Sandbox and Square Enix collaborated to bring the Dungeon Siege gaming franchise on the mobile metaverse to allow players to take part in interactive RPG experiences. Danish architecture studio BIG’s recently opened Viceverse metaverse office on Decentraland; and OVRLands’ milestone of minting over 778K NFTs on Polygon were also key highlights for the segment.

As for partnerships, Ferrari’s signed a deal with tech firm Velas to create digital content for its fans; OverActive Media’s multi-year partnership with Zilliqa to enter the metaverse; and luxury fashion house Gucci’s teaming up with The Sandbox to purchase an undisclosed amount of virtual land remained at the forefront of the metaverse world last week.

A plethora of activities across various sectors made for the majority of the headlines for the DLT vertical.

When it comes to innovative launches, Vodafone was in the news for the launch of its new Digital Asset Broker blockchain-backed platform that authorizes connected devices to perform secure automated transactions on a customer’s behalf. Blockchain application services provider Digital Asset also announced the general availability of Daml 2.0, the newest version of the company’s privacy-focused DLT platform to help financial institutions and businesses adopt blockchain technology. At the same time, blockchain technology-focused company BTCS added decentralized solution Polkadot (DOT) to its blockchain infrastructure operations.

On the fundings front, while Subspace Labs raised $32.9M to develop an entirely new blockchain that aims to balance scalability, security, and sustainability, blockchain infra startup Tenderly raised $40M in a Series B round to continue building out its product offerings. Seattle startup Nori also raised a $7M Series A investment to help the platform expand the sources of carbon capture within its marketplace as well as move its operation from Ethereum to the Polygon sidechain to reduce the company’s indirect environmental impact. Furthermore, decentralized ARPG game Mecha Morphing completed its private round of financing to continue bringing players a visual feast. Even JPMorgan stole headlines for making a strategic investment in blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs; and on a similar note, Airtel acquired a strategic stake in blockchain technology startup Aqiliz. 

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

Till then, if you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. Our latest publication explores the downfall of the longtime practice of overdraft through The Rise and Fall of Overdraft. 

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and don't be shy to show some ❤️

Welcome back to another edition of the Future of Crypto Newsletter! If you're new and curious, read on to find out what happened in the crypto space across six dynamic themes, and join other crypto nerds in receiving some fresh Weekly Crypto Cuppa delivered right to your inbox every Saturday!☕️

Edition #3 brings intriguing headlines from around the Cryptosphere that will keep your cup of curiosity filled; with innovative launches and product expansions remaining at the forefront for the week. The NFT, DeFi and Metaverse verticals were bustling with activities, noticeably being the most active segments of this edition.

Here's the TL;DR:

• Coinbase partnered with Ledger to provide additional security layer for the digital assets of it's users.

• FTX made the headlines with the launch of its gaming unit "FTX gaming" to further its aim to become a "crypto as a service" platform for game publishers.

• Opera integrated DiversiFi into its browser to offer faster transactions via Ethereum layer 2.

• Manchester United partnered with Sony to build a virtual replica of Etihad stadium in the metaverse. 

• 5ire partnered with Nebraska to develop a smart policing system for the city.

For the longer read, let's get going – 

With countries across the globe eager to hop onto the CBDC bandwagon, the segment continued to bustle with activities last week.

The US CBDC project made significant progress with its pilot testing, where one of the two recently conducted pilot tests accounted for the digital dollar achieving a record speed of 1.7M transactions per second, surpassing the throughput of some of the best cryptocurrency networks. In Europe, Sweden’s Riksbank concluded Phase 2 of its CBDC technical trials, with the stage focused on examining issues such as offline function and performance and integration of external participants in the e-krona network. The Swedish bank also extended its partnership with Accenture as a supplier for its CBDC experimental project for another year. Bank of Jamaica christened its CBDC Jamaica Digital Exchange or Jam-Dex, with the tagline “no cash, no problem”. In Asia, Taiwan’s central bank unveiled its plans to complete the second phase of trials for its prototype retail CBDC by September 2022. The Central Bank of Thailand announced their intentions to trial a CBDC in the second quarter of 2022 and Thailand Stock Exchange revealed its ambition to support the trading of Bitcoin and other digital assets. 

Additionally, China’s CBDC project seems to be hitting an all-time positive note at the moment, with the head of China’s central bank disclosing that over $315,000 worth of digital yuan is being spent each day as payments.

The Crypto-coins segment has actively been in the spotlight as of late – driven by a plethora of product and market expansions, with companies equally embracing its potential.

South Korean financial goliath Kookmin Bank formed a Digital Asset Management Committee with the aim to launch a crypto exchange traded fund and announced its plans to roll out crypto investment products targeted at retail investors. Cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced the launch of a new gaming unit, dedicated towards driving cryptocurrency and NFT adoption in the gaming world, with the initial offering reportedly being a ‘crypto as a service’ platform facilitating game publishers to launch tokens and support in-game NFTs. Furthermore, Gunnercooke reportedly became the first major law firm in the UK to offer its clients the option to pay with cryptoassests for its service. 

In other news, Brazil took its first step to regulate day-to-day usage of Bitcoin in financial transactions with the senate’s Economic Affairs Committee, approving a bill to acknowledge and regulate Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets in the country. Forbes’ “most iconic business series of recent times”– Unicorn Hunters – launched Unicoin, a next-generation cryptocurrency that pays dividends in bid to address the issue of extreme volatility of traditional tokens. Crypto-friendly neobank Cashaa rolled out its ‘personal accounts’ feature, providing users with an interest of upto 24% on crypto assets. Creator economy platform Koji also made the news for announcing the launch of its integrated crypto wallet that brings extension-free Web3 and crypto to Koji users inside social media platforms. Popular American streaming television service Sling TV partnered with Bitpay to allow its customers to pay with cryptocurrency for monthly subscriptions. 

After initially witnessing a major debacle owing to an escalation of political unrest in Europe, the global crypto market bounced back with Bitcoin surging over 11% to $38,816.10 and Ethereum by over 9% to $2,623.83. Except for USD-pegged Tether and Dogecoin, most of the other notable digital tokens were in green, including Terra that zoomed 17% to $67.30 on Friday. 

Stablecoins are another aspect that are currently under active exploration by firms and authorities far and wide. Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had announced the suspension of its three-year-old blockchain-based project, the Global Open Network Japan aimed at high scalability and multi-connectivity data processing, in a bid to accelerate its Progmat Coin project that is focused on providing a platform for the issuance and management of stablecoins. On the funding front, Singapore-based nonprofit organization Luna Foundation has raised $1B through the sale of LUNA, the native token of the Terra blockchain, with the funding aimed towards building a Bitcoin-denominated foreign-exchange reserve for UST (an algorithmic-based stablecoin in the Terra ecosystem).

The NFT space was buzzing with eventful happenings this week with a number of product launches, partnerships and expansion activities.

Cryptocurrency project ZINU announced the launch of Zombie Mob Secret Society (ZMSS), the first fully animated 3D NFT collection, with every ZMSS holder being granted a royalty-free license to their specific Zinu, to facilitate holders and creators to use and commercialize their respective NFTs within their industries. NFT marketplace Neon opened a vending machine at 29 John Street in New York City, which dispenses Solana NFTs in exchange for fiat currency from credit cards and mobile payment apps. India’s first fully curated NFT marketplace, backed by Rubix blockchain technology of level-1 with zero gas fees, was launched by Jupiter Meta, which will focus on verticals like music, film and gaming. Tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Anirudh Suri’s ‘The Great Tech Game’ made the headlines for reportedly becoming the first book with limited edition NFT cards. In a bid to create an amazing experience for the different stakeholders in the virtual space, NFT creator Apotheosis NFT announced the launch of Requiem Notes, a single audio NFT in the OpenSea platform. 

On the other hand, Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden airdropped around 4000 NFTs to active wallets, and also revealed its intentions to form a decentralized autonomous organization. Russia’s leading social media platform Vkontakte announced plans to introduce support for blockchain and NFTs, with the cryptocurrency technologies incorporated into the platform’s scheme for monetization of user content and copyright protection. Sotheby’s first dedicated event for auction of NFTs, ‘Punk It’, witnessed 104 Cryptopunks going under the hammer that have been acquired simultaneously in a singular blockchain transaction by an anonymous collector, ‘0x650d’. In addition to this, New York-based sports company Trophecase announced a limited time opportunity where users will be able to mint NFTs for free. 

The play-to-earn notion has been gaining quite the popularity recently, with blockchain game Axie Infinity hitting a new milestone the past week, as it surpassed $4B in all-time NFT sales. Denim brand Wrangler, in a partnership with NFT marketplace LTD.INC and Grammy award winner Leon Bridges, is planning to launch 75 NFTs crafted around a rare denim suit made exclusively for the singer-songwriter. 

Last week was also witness to a major security breach – as the world’s largest NFT marketplace OpenSea confirmed that 32 users have lost NFTs worth $1.7M in a major phishing attack.

The DeFi vertical was abuzz with a diversified range of activities that drew our attention – 

• web3 browser Opera integrated with DeFi platform DeversiFi to help traders avoid the high gas fees on the Ethereum network by enabling layer 2 trading; 

• crypto index provider Compass announced the launch of the Compass Crypto Basket Fundamental DeFi Index (CCBFDEFI) to allow institutions to track a robust DeFi index to provide a smart exposure to the sector through its fundamental weighting model; and 

• Acardex set out to become the most unique DeFi on the Cardano network that utilizes the automated market maker protocol. 

Brazilian asset manager Hashdex also made it to the bulletin for launching a DeFi exchange-traded fund on Brazilian stock exchange B3 under the ticker DEFI11, which only drew 2,200 investors compared to the expected raise of $96M. Additionally, DeFi lending platform Bonded hit the headlines for rebranding itself as Fringe Finance so as to better capture the Fringe’s 2022 roadmap project’s value and improve its brand. MRHB DeFi—the world’s first ethics-based decentralized finance platform—announced the launch of Sahal Wallet, a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet that functions as a gateway to the entire MRHB ecosystem of ethical DeFi products. 

On the funding front, Australian DeFi startup Tiiik raised $5.2M in seed round to build scalable architecture and expand the product offering for retail and accredited investors. Alternatively, Solana-based protocol Marginfi lured two major crypto investment firms, Multicoin Capital and Pantera Capital, in a $3M seed funding round based on a vision of simplifying margin trading in DeFi. DeFi protocol Teller also raised $6.8M to expand its integrations with third parties to launch loan marketplaces. 

Furthermore, web3 RPC protocol Pocket Network announced its extended partnership with blockchain infrastructure Fuse to accelerate its aim to support 100 blockchains by the end of the year. Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda also turned heads for its first-ever acquisition of digital asset custodian Trustology to make DeFi more accessible to institutional investors, service providers as well as token issuers.

The world of Metaverse has been gaining traction from a diverse range of industries. Many different players are introducing their offerings in this exciting hybrid-type ecosystem.

While digital maturity consultancy Digitopia announced the launch of the Metaverse Readiness Index (MRI) that serves as a guide to enterprises entering the metaverse, Asgard launched DAO metaverse solution that provides all functionalities of metaverse, DeFi and NFT under one roof. WPP’s Hogarth also joined the hype with the launch of The Metaverse Foundry, a global team of over 700 creatives, producers, visual artists, developers and technologists who will deliver – from design to execution – brand experiences for clients in the metaverse. Popular apparel brand United Colors of Benetton made its metaverse debut with the launch of its first store in the immersive universe. 

What’s more – CSOP Asset Management became the latest fund house to launch Hong Kong’s first metaverse-focused ETF product, the CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF, targeting the metaverse investment theme. Luxury sports brand TWINZZ was also amongst the many who entered the space, by buying virtual land in The Sandbox, with further plans to begin building a world on the metaverse platform. 

With an emphasis on building more gamer-friendly platforms, open-world metaverse platform Bullieverse raised $4M from investors to help build an arcade for play-to-earn games. Virtual being developer Neosapience was also in the news for raising $21.5 million in a Series B funding, alongside the debut of a new tool for its Typecast platform to produce better virtual actors and AI-powered characters capable of singing and rapping. On top of that, Tokens.com announced the signing of a letter of intent to buy 20% ownership in Metaverse Architects by its subsidiary Metaverse Group. The partnership will allow Metaverse Group to provide a host of services to the clients – including events, NFT design and drops, and architecture design and services. Similarly, Foxconn teamed up with XR developer XRSPACE to boost Taiwan’s global position as a metaverse leader. Football club Manchester City is also set to enter the metaverse, having partnered with Sony to build a virtual replica of its home stadium, Etihad.  

An assorted mix of product launches and partnerships made up for most of the brew in the DLT vertical.

Where on one hand Coldplay and Ed Sheeran’s label Splinterlands teamed up with Warner Music Group to develop play-to-earn games, on the other hand D.C. United scored blockchain company XDC for a three-year deal as its new jersey sponsor. Coinbase added an additional layer of security for Ledger hardware wallets as the crypto token utility expands into the world of web3 with NFTs, DeFi and DAO. 5ire, the 5th generation blockchain network stole the headlines for signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Alliance, Nebraska, to help develop Smart and Robust Policing for the city. Furthermore, Aloha NFT officially partnered with Polygon blockchain to launch their “Alohachella” project that features NFT artwork and physical collector cards of 22 Hawai’i artists. ACCIONA is also set to sell carbon credits on the ClimateTrade blockchain as part of its agreement with the startup. Carbon credit markets enable organizations, companies, and individuals to sell or purchase rights to emit greenhouse gases. 

In other news, the crypto community welcomed ZkSync’s newly deployed Rollup protocol on the Ethereum testnet, which is seen to be a positive development for its removal of need for human operators to validate transactions. JPMorgan Chase, Toshiba and Ciena’s joint venture to build the first Quantum Key Distribution network for metropolitan areas that instantly detects and defends against eavesdroppers was also a significant highlight in the DLT space. Crypto payments company Wirex added Polygon blockchain to their recently launched non-custodial wallet and the Wirex app so as to diversify the blockchains available on the app and allow more assets to be supported.

And that's a wrap 👋

We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly Crypto Cuppa, and we'll be back with more next week! 

Till then, if you're hungry for more FinTech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight. Our latest publications include an overview on Honoring the Black Voices the FinTech way and Facing the Reality of Facebook's Meta Move.

If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog Fintersections where our team members analyze the convergence of FinTech with the world.

FinTech research is in the WhiteSight DNA, so if you'd like to get in touch for our strategic intelligence and research content services, reach out to us at hello@whitesight.net

And lastly, to stay updated on everything FinTech, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter and don't be shy to show some ❤️