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There seems to be interest at every crypto step, as Bitcoin had another strong week, rising more than 15% to around $44,000 over a seven-day period, according to CoinMarketCap data. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, also rose more than 15% during that time frame, to around $2,300.
Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose steadily by 14% from around $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion last week as more capital poured into the crypto market.
As Bitcoin climbs, it rejoins the top 10 club for “top assets by market cap” worldwide. Bitcoin ranked 9th, trailing stocks like Nvidia, Amazon, Google, Saudi Aramco, Microsoft, Apple and precious metals like gold and silver, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.
Bitcoin’s total market cap is currently around $854 billion, which accounts for over half of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization.
What’s happening on web3
- As Bitcoin Reaches $44,000, Why the Wave and What’s Next? (TC+)
- Block launches Bitkey hardware wallet in 95 countries… sort of
- After UK expansion, Robinhood brings crypto trading to the EU
- Sona launches music streaming platform and marketplace to reward fans for buying ‘digital twins’ songs
- The business landscape may be in the ‘bump’ of explosive growth after years of macros (TC+)
The last pod
For this week episode, Jacqueline interviewed David Pakman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at CoinFund.
Prior to CoinFund, David spent 14 years at venture capital firm Venrock. He also led Series A and B rounds in Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion. And in 1991, David co-founded Apple Music when he was part of Apple’s system software product marketing team.
We discussed the state of the crypto VC landscape, the areas it is focusing on for investment, and what it thinks investors are missing.
We also talked about:
- AI compared to crypto.
- The future of NFTs.
- Regulatory impact on investors.
- Outlook 2024.
- Advice for startups.
Sign up to Chain reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to catch up on the latest episodes and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
Follow the money
- Swan Bitcoin has raised $40 million to expand its institutional offerings
- DeFi Performance-Focused Money Market and Curvance Raise $3.6M in Seed Round
- Bitcoin-based project Babylon has raised $18 million to develop its staking protocol
- Ten raised $7.5 million to improve Ethereum cryptography
- Ethereum-focused scaling startup Versatus raises $2.3M at $50M valuation
This list was compiled with information from Messari as well as reports from TechCrunch itself.
What else are we writing?
Want to escape the web3 world? Here are some TechCrunch articles that caught our attention this week.
- Why Congruent turned down over $300M from LPs for its third climate tech fund (TC+)
- First impressions of Google’s Gemini aren’t great
- Your mobile password manager can reveal your credentials
- Why Internal Platforms Can Undermine Your Business Strategy (TC+)
- Summer sub-surge didn’t last, but 2024 should be strong (TC+)
Follow me on twitter @Jacqmelinek for crypto news, memes and more.
