Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- Founder of major hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio, told CNBC that he has “a certain amount of money in bitcoin.” He added that all alternatives to cash and other financial assets should be considered, while “Bitcoin is a possibility.” However, if BTC becomes “really successful,” regulators “will kill it because they have ways of killing it,” he said, reiterating his earlier statements.
- The institutionally focused digital asset data company Amberdata said it has raised USD 15m in a Series A funding round. The round was led by the major investment bank Citi, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Galaxy Digital, Rovida Kruptos Assets, and executives at GoldenTree Asset Management.
- The technology-focused venture capital firm Jump Capital announced that it has closed its latest venture fund for new investments, after securing a capital commitment of USD 350m. While the company’s funds generally have a broad tech industry focus, the latest fund will have an “increased concentration on the evolving crypto ecosystem.”
- TrustToken, the team behind the TrueFi lending protocol and stablecoins including TrueUSD, announced the acquisition of a Web 3.0 development company EthWorks. The acquisition doubles TrustToken’s team size, quadruples the company’s technical talent, and brings in senior technical and design leadership to lead TrustToken’s mission, they said.
- Wealth management platform Abra has raised USD 55m in Series C funding, led by IGNIA and Blockchain Capital with new investors including Kingsway Capital, Tiga Investments and the Stellar Development Foundation. Additional investments from existing investors include Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Amex Ventures, Arbor Ventures, RRE Ventures, CMT Digital Ventures, and Kenetic Advisors. Several Platinum customers also participated, while the round brought Abra’s total funding to over USD 85m.
Regulation news
- Fidelity Investments has reportedly pushed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve its BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) “in a private meeting,” according to Bloomberg. In the meeting, Fidelity laid out arguments for their case, including “increased investor appetite for virtual currencies, the growth of bitcoin holders and the existence of similar funds in other countries.”
- Bitwise Asset Management has teamed up with ETF issuer ETF Series Solutions to file a proposal for a new bitcoin-tracking ETF in the US. According to the filing, the ETF will not invest directly in BTC, but instead hold regulated bitcoin futures and “pooled investment vehicles and Canadian-listed funds.”
- US President Joe Biden has asked the acting chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, to take up the position on a permanent basis, according to a statement from the White House. Behman has been serving as the acting chairperson of the CFTC since the former chair, Heath Tarbert, left in January. Meanwhile, law professor Kristin Johnson and government watchdog Christy Goldsmith Romero have been asked to serve as commissioners at the agency.
- USDT issuer Tether never did nor it now holds any commercial paper or other debt or securities issued by troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande, they said in a statement shared with Cryptonews.com. The vast majority of the commercial paper held by Tether is in A-2 and above rated issuers, they added.
NFTs news
- The international auction house Christie’s has put up for an online auction a collection from the renowned Asian actor and collector Shawn Yue that includes several “exceptionally rare” CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The event marks the first such auction of NFTs by an international auction house in Asia, Christie’s said.
Exchanges news
- Crypto exchange FTX has teamed up with sports and entertainment token issuer Chiliz to list Chiliz Fan Tokens, an announcement said. The first tokens to be listed will be INTER and GAL, which are fan tokens associated with the Italian football club Inter Milan and Turkish club Galatasaray.
CBDCs news
- The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey said it has signed bilateral memorandums of understanding with ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, and TÜBİTAK-BİLGEM, and established the “Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform”. The bank continues to research the potential benefits of introducing a digital Turkish lira to complement the existing payments infrastructure, they added.
Mining news
- Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc., a Bitcoin mining and power generation company, has placed an order for 10,000 S19j Pro bitcoin miners from Bitmain. Greenidge intends to deploy all 10,000 units at its anticipated South Carolina, USA facility, said the press release. The miners are scheduled to be delivered in Q2 and Q3 2022, and are the latest development in the company’s plans to expand its bitcoin mining capacity to 500MW by 2025.
- Chinese Bitcoin miner manufacturer Canaan has reported “record-high results in multiple operating and financial metrics,” its Q2 unaudited financial results said. The company recorded over RMB 1bn (USD 167.5m) in total net revenue for Q2, up 507% from the same period of 2020, and up 167% from the first quarter of 2021. Gross profit was USD 66.2m, up 887% from the same period of 2020, and 120% from Q1 2021. Net income was USD 38m, marking the highest quarterly net profit since the company’s 2019 IPO (initial public offering), compared to a net loss in that period in 2020 and a net income of USD 1.87m in Q1 2021.
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