Bitcoin’s future may depend on mining over matter • TechCrunch
Image credit: TechCrunch
Welcome back to Chain reaction.
Last week on the podcast we talked about Apple’s App Store tax and how it could hinder NFT adoption. This week we dug up some stories of bankruptcies brewing in the bitcoin mining sector and asked ourselves if this could play out in a similar way to the problems faced by DeFi lenders just a few months ago.
We are incredibly excited to chat with some of the biggest names in web3 at ours first dedicated crypto event in Miami 17 November. We’ll hear from experts like FTX’s Amy Wu, OpenSea’s Devin Finzer and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao on how their companies are shaping the future of the industry. We’d love to have you with us: use promo code REACT for a 15% discount a general admission ticket.
Want Chain Reaction in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters.
this week in web3
Here are some of the biggest crypto stories TechCrunch has covered this week.
Coinbase and Polygon support new crypto advocacy group in India
Top crypto firms including Coinbase and Polygon are among the firms that have formed an industry body in India to promote dialogue between key stakeholders and raise awareness of web3, months after largest local crypto advocacy group disbanded. Members of the new industry body, called the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), include top local crypto exchanges, including CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber and WazirX, TechCrunch’s Manish Singh reports.
Web3 infrastructure startup Tenderly takes on Infura, Alchemy with new node offering
Web3 developer tool startup Tenderly enters the node game with a new product it announced today called Web3 Gateway. The new offering is a sign that competition between web3 infrastructure providers is heating up, as it puts the startup in direct competition with ConsenSys, the company that owns the popular node-as-a-service provider Infura, and Alchemy, another widely used node provider in industry.
What happens to NFT royalties? (TC+)
Creator royalties were originally introduced throughout the NFT community as a way to pay artists for their work in both primary and secondary sales. In recent months, conversations surrounding these royalties have shifted as some platforms, including LooksRare and Magic Eden, abandoned them for other options. Not everyone is happy about it, as the decisions have huge potential implications for creators in the web3 space.
Indonesia weighs blockchain-powered carbon trading scheme
Indonesia wants to direct blockchain mania towards greener uses. The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Metaverse Green Exchange (MVGX), a Singapore startup specializing in digital exchange technology. The intended collaboration centers around IDX’s emissions trading scheme set to launch in 2025, and MVGX’s job is to help IDX build a carbon registry and exchange with blockchain as the infrastructure layer, reports Rita Liao of TechCrunch.
Ex-Bain investor launches $30M web3 consumer VC fund as solo female founder
Mags Kala was able to raise his first fund as a solo GP focusing on early-stage consumer startups in the web3 space in just four months, despite a broader crypto market downturn. Her Miami, Florida-based firm, Double down, blew past its initial fundraising goal of $20 million in one month and closed its first fund with a total of ~$30 million this week, according to Kala. The fund has already made nine investments in web3 consumer startups, including Miami-based OnChain Studios, which makes Cryptoys, and Tally Labs, the company behind the Jenkins the Valet & Azurbala franchises.
Magdalena “Mags” Kala is the solo GP behind consumer crypto VC firm Double Down. Image credit: Courtesy of Magdalena Kala
the last pod
For this week Tuesday episode, where we chat with a web3 expert, we played a recording of our discussion live on stage with a16z GP Chris Dixon that took place recently at TechCrunch Disrupt. We spoke to Dixon about the venture firm’s new creative economy focus program for crypto accelerator, why a16z backed controversial WeWork founder Adam Neumann and where Dixon sees opportunities across the web3 landscape in this bear market.
For spring Thursday episodewhere we discuss the latest in crypto news, we talked about a number of problems that have unfolded for various bitcoin mining companies over the past month, from Argo Blockchain to Core Scientific, and what it will take to unearth (ha ha, get it?) the sector from its woes.
We also discussed:
Chain reaction comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 PT, so remember to subscribe to us at Apple Podcasts, Cloudy and Spotify to keep up with the action.
Chris Dixon speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 18, 2022. Image credit: Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch
follow the money
- South Korean video game developer We made raised $46 million from Microsoft, Shinhan Asset Management and Kiwoom Securities to expand its web3 presence.
- Zebra Labs raised $5 million from Chinese gaming company NetDragon and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo to help Chinese celebrities enter the metaverse.
- Blockchain data terminal Token Flow raised $12 million in a Series A from investors including Electric Capital and Delta Blockchain Fund.
- NiftyApesan NFT lending protocol, received $4.2 million in seed funding from Variant, Polygon, Coinbase Ventures and others.
- Crypto wallet startup Braavos raised $10 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital.
This list was compiled using information from Messari as well as TechCrunch’s own reporting.
