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Hello. Welcome to the TechCrunch Crypto Newsletter. Last week I was away so there was no newsletter, but I'm back with regularly scheduled news and some fresh regular corners and features. If you like what you see (or don't), let me know at jacquelyn@. techcrunch.com.
Here's this week's biggest news: Bitcoin price soars above $60,000, Coinbase app crashes, Telegram rolls out plan to pay rewards using TON coins on TON blockchain, some Nigerian cryptocurrency users faced difficulties at the exchange. Let's get started.
this week's web3
- Former Meta employee Aptos tests Hong Kong’s crypto demand
- Coinbase crashes as Bitcoin price soars
- Telegram will start advertising revenue sharing using Toncoin next month
- Cryptocurrency users in Nigeria temporarily lose access to Binance, Kraken, Coinbase
- Starbucks Odyssey community leaders believe NFTs are the best way to build brand loyalty
process numbers
The crypto market was very excited this week as Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, rose about 23.6% and 18%, respectively, during the week, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by 19.4% in seven days to $2.34 trillion.
With the recent surge in the price of Bitcoin and the increased demand caused by the Bitcoin halving in early January and the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, many crypto market participants believe that the founder of cryptocurrencies will soon reach an all-time high. I am wondering if it will update its value or if this rally will be short-lived. – lived.
Our Favorite “Crypto Twitter” Posts
ICYMI, last week many crypto people were tweeting about an email from Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi said a lot of interesting things, but this post about his X by Tom Schmidt, a partner at Dragonfly Capital, got a lot of attention and some of his Bitcoiners commemorated it with pineapple and jalapeños. It also caused me to go out and buy some pizza. So the question arises…will you eat it?
Image credits: Tom Schmidt of X(Opens in new window)
latest pod
Chain Reaction runs a monthly series that delves into various topics and themes in cryptocurrencies. This month we will focus on NFTs.
Since we didn't have a newsletter last week, we're featuring last week's episode where we interviewed Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the book "The Everything Token" and co-host of Web3's morning show "Coffee with Captain."
He also co-authored the first Harvard Business Review article on NFTs. Outside of that, he consults with agencies and brands on building his Web3 strategy, including his role at Starbucks. At Starbucks, he serves as a community leader for the NFT-focused loyalty program Starbucks Odyssey.
Before joining the world of Web3, Steve spent over 15 years in communications and marketing roles.
Jacqueline and Steve discussed why he became interested in NFTs, how important it is to build understanding of the sector, and why community is more important than the lowest price.
They also address:
- Future Recruitment to Bored Ape Yacht Club
- Starbucks' NFT-based loyalty program grows
- What agencies and brands need to know about web3
- How to get started in the NFT space
Bonus: In this week's episode, I reshare a conversation I had with Jack Lu, CEO and Co-Founder of Magic Eden, in June 2023.
When we recorded this episode, NFT sales at the beginning of the month were down about $640 million compared to today, when February 2024 NFT sales hit $1 billion for the first time since February 2023. Ta.
Reflecting on this conversation, we thought this episode was a great addition to the NFT series and talked about what a crazy year this year has been, and how much things have changed (and some things will stay the same), especially the people we'll build from now on. We decided that it would add some context to the NFT space.
Magic Eden originally started as a Solana-based NFT trading platform, but has expanded support to other blockchain networks such as Polygon, Ethereum, and Bitcoin. In June 2022, Magic Eden raised his $130 million Series B round, achieving unicorn status.
We discussed why the NFT marketplace has expanded support for other blockchains, support for BRC-20 tokens, and how the company plans to stay competitive in an ever-changing market.
We also discussed:
- NFT market volatility
- royalty fee
- Web3 Game Extension
- Advice to the NFT community
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
- Crypto security startup Silence Laboratories secures $4.1 million in funding
- Initia raises $7.5 million in seed round to simplify blockchain development
- Asymmetric Financial plans to unlock Bitcoin’s multi-trillion dollar potential with dedicated DeFi fund
- Cryptocurrency wallet and exchange Backpack raises $17 million in strategic Series A round
- Ethereum-based Etherfi raises $27 million in round led by Bullish and CoinFund
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.
- Why VCs invest in startups that help other startups shut down
- Don't ignore Asian technology
- Mark Zuckerberg persuades Asian big tech companies to double down on AI chip development
- The Apple Car that never existed: Timeline
- Tim Cook says Apple will 'break new ground' with GenAI this year