💲$50 Billion USDC & BlackRock - TWJ #125
The world's largest asset manager is getting more involved with crypto.
In today’s issue:
The crypto market is down with the total market cap sitting at $1.8-1.9 trillion. FRAX is the best performer in the top 100 in the past 24-h. Global markets continue to be on edge as US inflation data returned 8.5%, hitting a four-decade high.
In other news, Circle partners with BlackRock, Pantera sets to close a $1.3 billion fund, and Celsius sets to stop paying yield to non-accredited US-based users.
We’re continually improving our content, please reach out if you have ideas or would like us to recap another segment of the market.
- Curated by Marco Manoppo (@manoppomarco)
📰Market News
⎆Circle Partners With BlackRock
After announcing a $400 million funding round, crypto payment firm Circle has also entered into a partnership with the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock. Circle is the entity behind USDC, the world’s second most popular stablecoin by market capitalization. The new partnership will see BlackRock playing a role as an asset manager of USDC cash reserves.
⎆Pantera Sets to Close a $1.3 Billion Fund
Pantera is set to close a $1.3 billion new blockchain fund with a focus to invest in mature revenue-generating companies.
Pantera also outlined its near-term road map, including plans for a second blockchain fund in 2023. Franklin Bi, director of portfolio development at Pantera, said the follow-up will have essentially the same objectives as the initial fund – new deals in early-stage, private tokens and venture capital.
⎆Celsius to Stop Paying Yield To US Users
Crypto lender Celsius has announced that it will no longer offer crypto interest accounts to US users starting April 15, unless these US-based users are accredited investors (existing deposits will continue to pay normal interests). This move happened as crypto lenders such as BlockFi, Celsius, and Nexo are under a lot of regulatory scrutiny from US agencies.
👨🏻💻Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Elephant Money Exploit
Celsius Update for Users in the United States
Tribe Turbo Launch
Maker Partnerships with Maple
Metis Storage Layer is Live
Cosmos v7 Theta Upgrade is Live
LFG Bought Another $100M BTC
Coin98 Isolated Pool is now Live on Solend
Polygon Commits to Going Carbon Neutral in 2022
Robinhood Adds Shiba Inu, Solana
🏛Governance - Active Proposals
Compound - OpenZeppelin Security Partnership - 2022 Q2 Adjustment V3
🦮NFT & Metaverse
Anata Drop on April 21st
ERC721R Allows Minters to Return the Minted NFT for a Refund
Astronaut Scott Kelly Launches Ethereum NFTs to Benefit Ukraine
STEPN Runners Undeterred by ‘Move-to-Earn’ Game’s Pricey NFT
Top Sales (Last 24-h); Source: https://dappradar.com/nft
📈Deal Flow & Capital Raise
Swoops - $3.5M Unknown Round
Genies - $150M Unknown Round
Circle - $400M Unknown Round
RociFi Labs - $2.7M Seed Round
Socket Supply - $3.5M Seed Round
MoonPay - $87M Series A
BioXroute - $70M Series B
Ignite - $150M Multichain Crypto Teams Fund
Pantera Capital - $1.3B Blockchain Fund
ReKT Global - $470M Acquisition by Infinity Reality
⚖️Regulatory Update
USDC Stablecoin Issuer Centre Hires 2 Executives to Oversee Regulation
Morgan Stanley: US Could Regulate Stablecoin Issuers Like Banks
Coinbase Loses Bid to Force Arbitration in Crypto Theft Lawsuit
Prime Trust Hires Secret Service Veteran to Head Regulatory Affairs
Chinese Banking Associations Target NFTs
📚Noteworthy Reads
Jack Niewold’s Thread on Whale Positioning
Jonah’s Thread on Counterpoints on Latest Arthur Hayes’s Article
Alex Konrad’s Read on Chris Dixon & The Crypto Rabbit Hole
Feel free to reach out to manoppomarco@gmail.com — feedbacks and constructive criticisms are much appreciated.