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Hello. Welcome to the fourth edition of the new and improved TechCrunch Crypto newsletter. You probably already know about this deal, but we've added some regular segments and features alongside some of our regularly scheduled news. If you like what you see (or don't), let us know at jacquelyn@techcrunch.com.
Anyway, let's get into the big headings below.
this week's web3
- Decentralized social network Farcaster aims for mass adoption through Web 2.0 technology
- Perhaps this is why the Bitcoin Spot ETF has not yet sent crypto prices to the moon.
- SEC's Hester Peirce still plans to push forward with token 'safe harbor' plan
- a16z's Chris Dixon believes it's time to focus on blockchain use cases rather than speculation
- Bluesky is now open to everyone
process numbers
The crypto market was relatively up this week, as Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, rose 5.7% and 6%, respectively, during the week, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization increased by 5.5% in seven days to $1.72 trillion.
Among the top 10 tokens by market capitalization, Solana rose the most this week at 7.7% at the time of writing.
Our Favorite “Crypto Twitter” Posts
The awkward moment when a crypto friend and a regular friend recognize “zero knowledge” as two different meanings. However, if you are unsure, please see the definition here.
Image credits: X (Opens in new window)
latest pod
This year, Chain Reaction will be running a monthly series that delves into various topics and themes in cryptocurrencies. To start, this month he will focus on NFTs.
In this week's episode, we interview Devin Finzer, CEO of NFT marketplace OpenSea. This is also our first full video recording and can be found on TechCrunch's YouTube channel. Check here.
He co-founded OpenSea in 2017, which quickly grew into one of the most well-known and well-funded NFT marketplaces. Two years ago, the company raised $300 million in a Series C round at a post-money valuation of $13.3 billion, bringing total capital raised to over $400 million. Investors include companies such as Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm, as well as celebrities such as Kevin Durant and Ashton Kutcher.
Even though NFT market trading volume has declined from all-time highs in late 2021 and early 2022, and other NFT marketplaces have emerged to challenge its dominance, OpenSea remains Still moving forward.
Devin and I discuss the importance of Web3 games integrating NFTs, Web 2.0 companies launching their own digital collections, and the challenges facing the market.
We will also discuss the following in detail:
- Big use cases for NFTs
- Future mission of the company
- Community member retention
- Increasing market share and trading volume
But wait...there's more...
This week we also have a bonus episode with Hester Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
I, along with Eddie Cullen, former 2021 New York City mayoral candidate and co-founder and CEO of Crescite Innovation Corporation, are members of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. He moderated a fireside chat with Secretary Peirce.
We'll keep you updated on the SEC's Spot Bitcoin ETF approval, policy decisions to keep crypto innovation in the U.S., the Commissioner's Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0, whether Peirce is considering a new proposal, and more. We discussed many interesting topics.
apply Chain reaction upon apple podcast, spotify Or catch up on the latest episodes using your favorite pod platform. If you like what you hear, please leave a review.
follow the money
- Superform Labs raises $6.5 million to help other companies distribute, manage and access their revenue
- MediConCen raises $6.85 million to automate insurance claims with AI and blockchain technology
- Immoblocks raises $5.67 million for blockchain-based real estate investment platform
- Filecoin-centric staking protocol GLIF raises $4.5 million in multicoin-led seed round
- Tether leads mobile payments app Oobit’s $25 million Series A round
This list was compiled using information from Messari and TechCrunch's own reporting.
what else are you writing?
Ready to step outside the world of Web3? Here are some TechCrunch articles that caught our attention this week.
- What makes Latin American SaaS startups different from their U.S. peers?
- It's actually a good thing for Spotify that Joe Rogan's podcast is no longer exclusive
- Apple Vision Pro Review: Infinite Desktop
- Adam Neumann aims to buy back WeWork
- Kleiner Perkins' Mamoun Hamid and Ilya Hushman: 'More than 80%' of pitches involve AI