🐆Pantera $1 Billion VC Fund - The WAGMI Journal #65
The money faucet just won't stop.
In today’s issue:
The crypto market is down with the global market cap sitting at ~$1.9 trillion. Fantom ecosystem tokens significantly led the broader crypto market in the past 24h. Crypto assets price action remains weak as global markets are pricing in a 50 BPS hike in March.
In other news, Pantera launches a $1 billion VC fund, EU Markets Regulator calls for a Proof-of-Work ban, and Coinbase partners with Mastercard to lets users buy NFTs.
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
⎆Pantera $1B Venture Fund
Pantera is a household name in the crypto market. The firm has been around for years and has seen multiple market cycles, including the notorious 2018 bear market. In November 2021, it was reported that the firm was planning to raise $600M but a new announcement increased that number to $1B as of Tuesday, January 18, 2022. The new fund will be called Pantera Venture Fund IV and will invest in both equity and tokens.
⎆EU Markets Regulators on Proof-of-Work Ban
Erik Thedéen, the Vice-Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has called for a ban on Proof-of-Work crypto mining in the EU region. In an interview with Financial Times, he mentioned that the energy associated with PoW mining is the primary cause of concern.
⎆Coinbase & Mastercard NFT Partnership
As OpenSea acquired crypto wallet provider Dharma and announced its intention to provide a direct fiat-gateway for users, Coinbase realized that it needs to act quickly if it wants to remain as the number one destination for crypto retails. Prior to even launching Coinbase’s upcoming NFT marketplace, the firm is already partnering with Mastercard to provide end-users direct fiat gateway, easing the flow of capital into Coinbase, especially from mobile users.
👨🏻💻Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
First Deflationary Week for ETH
Copper to Add $OHM as a Trading Pair/Collateral Token
Curve Launches on Optimism
MetaMask Launches MetaMask Flask
Brazilian Asset Manager Hashdex to Launch DeFi ETF
Devi’s Wonderland Is Buying Back TIME
Multichain Says $1.4M in ETH Siphoned From Users
Solana Money Market Solend Offers Developers Incentives
Charm Introduces Alpha Pro
🏛Governance - Active Proposals
Babylon Finance - BIP-9: Development Fund
Ethereum Naming Services - Execute EP5
Gitcoin - DeveloperDAO Partnership
Gitcoin - Public Goods Funding Workstream Budget Q1 2022
Idle - IIP-18: Upgrade Idle Governor Alpha to Compound Governor Bravo
🦮NFT & Metaverse
China Hops Aboard NFT Bandwagon But With No Cryptocurrency Links
Coinbase Partners with Mastercard for NFT Marketplace Purchases
Mercedes Partners with NFT Artists to Celebrate G-Class Series
Dogecoin-Friendly AMC Rewards 580K Shareholders With Free NFTs
Damien Hirst Launches Chainlink Price Index for NFT Project
Parallel Plans to Donate Auction Proceeds to Khan Academy
Top Sales (Last 24-h); Source: https://dappradar.com/nft
It was suspected that these trades were wash trading on the LooksRare marketplace.
📈Deal Flow & Capital Raise
Hubble - $10M Unknown Round
Metaplex - $46M Unknown Round
Eizper Chain - Unknown Amount Seed Round
Fantom Maker - $1.8M Seed Round
Ancient8 - $4M Seed Round
Byte Trading - $7M Seed Round
Coinhouse - $17M Series B
Rain Financial - $110M Series B
Blossom Capital - $432M Early-stage Tech Startups Fund
Polystream - Undisclosed $ Acquisition by Mythical Games
Dharma Labs - Undisclosed $ Acquisition by OpenSea
Bankhaus von der Heydt - Undisclosed $ Acquisition by BMX Operations
Pantera - $1B New Venture Fund Preparation
⚖️Regulatory Update
EU Markets Regulator Calls for Ban on Proof-of-Work Crypto Mining
Bank of America Says UK CBDC Would Be More Than a Digital Form of Cash
BSN’s Red Date Behind Shenzhen-Singapore Trade Blockchain Project
Russian Authorities Say They’ve Dismantled REvil Ransomware Group
SoFi Can Launch Bank Provided It Doesn't Touch Crypto
Congressional Committee Releases Witness List for Crypto Mining Hearing
📚Noteworthy Reads
MakerDAO Growth’s Thread on Basics of StarkNet by StarkWare
Ben Hunt’s Read on Narratives & The Metaverse
0xfbifemboy’s Read on A correct model of Olympus DAO
Feel free to reach out to manoppomarco@gmail.com — feedbacks and constructive criticisms are much appreciated.