The Friday Focus: Issue 20
Welcome to our Friday newsletter. Here you find the most exciting crypto content from the previous week - curated for you by us.
If you haven’t already, hit the button below and subscribe to receive the newsletter every Friday in your inbox.
Weekly happenings
Another busy week in the crypto industry, with one of the biggest news being Twitter joining the $20M funding round for bitcoin payments provider OpenNode, at the same time as Jack Dorsey's Cash App integrates Bitcoin's Lightning Network.
Capital continues pouring into the industry. PE giant KKR is the latest to join NFT focused Animoca Brands' $500M funding round. Web3 builder Alchemy's recent funding round values it at $10B. Ethereum scaling solution Polygon raises $450M, mining data center provider Compute North raises $385M, and Gala Games has decided to plow $5B into NFT expansion efforts.
The SEC again delays its decision on Grayscale's bitcoin ETF, but that doesn't stop other crypto-focused ETPs from launching in the US, Brazil, and Switzerland.
The CFTC is seeking funds so it can properly oversee crypto spot markets, while the US federal government proved their superior seizing abilities by confiscating $3.6B in bitcoin from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
On the US state level, crypto interest is growing fast. Last week we saw a Tennessee lawmaker proposing a bill allowing the state to invest in cryptocurrencies, while Ted Cruz bought the dip.
El Salvador plans to issue their first bitcoin bond next month. Russia is also moving fast to regulate crypto, treating bitcoin as a currency.
Traditional companies continue adopting crypto, with KPMG Canada adding BTC and ETH to its balance sheet, BlackRock planning to offer crypto trading, Binance investing $200M in Forbes, and Manchester United onboarding Tezos as its training kit sponsor.
Weekend reading
Weekend listening
Bitcoin Bottom Line: What is the Future of International Bitcoin Adoption?
Compass Podcast: Renewable Mining in Australia | Daniel Roberts
The What Bitcoin Did Podcast: Orange Pilling the IMF with Jack Mallers
On the Brink with Castle Island: Weekly Roundup 02/11/22 (Bitfinex Hacked Coins Restored, NY FED Attacks Stablecoins, Gofundme Bans Truckers)
On the Brink with Castle Island: Jeremy Welch (Kraken) on Contemporary Proofs of Reserves
Tales from the Crypt: Bitcoin and Energy with Max Gagliardi
The Scoop: Here’s how the Crypto Market Shifted last Year, According to an Exec Trading Billions of Dollars
Arcane’s weekend material
