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Hello and welcome back to the new and improved TechCrunch Crypto newsletter. This is our fifth edition with, of course, regularly scheduled news, but also some recurring segments and features — so if you like what you see (or don’t like it), let me know at jacquelyn@techcrunch.com.
This week roses were red, violets were blue, the crypto market was green — for all of you. If you follow me on Xyou may have already seen me post thisbut if you don’t, I’m sharing the love here too.
Anyway, let’s get into it. Here’s what you missed this week: Spot bitcoin ETFs in the US turned one-month, Phantom crypto wallet hit new highs for monthly active users last month, and crypto VC exits were soft in Q4 2023. More below .
Scheduling Note: I’ll be OOO next week, so there won’t be a newsletter.
This week on web3
- Crypto exits remain low, but investors remain disengaged
- Solana-Based DeFi Airdrops Push Phantom Crypto Wallet Userbase To New Heights
- This gaming startup is trying to show that “AI + crypto” is not a fad
- As spot bitcoin ETF volumes continue to grow, Bitwise Asset Management predicts a high growth cap
Crisp numbers
This week the cryptocurrency market looked quite bullish as the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether, rose about 16.5% on the week, according to CoinMarketCap data. The total crypto market cap rose 14% over a seven-day period to $1.96 trillion.
Earlier this week, Solana also briefly took over as the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassing the BNB token, which has since regained the position. Solana’s market cap is about $3 billion behind BNB and its price is up nearly 11% weekly.
Our favorite “Crypto Twitter” post.
Calling all developers who didn’t have a date on Valentine’s Day and tweeted about it zero knowledge collections…this it is, unfortunately, for you. For those of you He made you have plans, maybe it’s time to fight back.
Image Credits: X (opens in new window)
The latest pod
Chain Reaction does a monthly series that dives into different topics and issues in crypto. This month we focus on NFTs.
For this week episodeI interviewed Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.
Yat co-founded Animoca in 2014 and has since invested in over 400 web3 projects across a range of sectors including DeFi, education, infrastructure, blockchain gaming and the metaverse.
Animoca also has its own NFT collections, products and blockchain games, such as the Mocaverse web3 NFT community, REVV Racing blockchain game and NFT collection, and The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual world with over 40 million installations for mobile phones. The company has also partnered with other well-known brands and personalities, including Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, The Walking Dead, Formula E and Snoop Dogg.
Yat and I discuss the importance of digital property rights, growing NFT communities, and what makes one project stand out from the rest.
We also dive into:
- Evolution of NFT IP
- Build brand awareness
- Asia embraces web3 and NFT
- The global fight for adoption
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
- Commerce-focused architect raises $12M round led by BlockTower and Tioga Capital
- Fordefi Raises $10M to Launch Wallet-as-a-Service in Round Led by Electric Capital
- Anzen Raises $4M to Provide Access to Returns Backed by Real-World Assets
- Mercure DAO raised $1.5 million for its web3 incubator
- Analog raised $16 million in seed funding to build multi-chain infrastructure
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.
- Users Bluesky and Mastodon have a battle that could shape the next generation of social media
- The Foundry Group is shutting down and will not be raising any more capital
- ChatGPT will now remember — and forget — things you tell it
- Hackers Discover New Stalkerware Victims TheTruthSpy: Has Your Android Device Been Hacked?
- If you're going to market, your GTM transparency needs to be amazing
