Edition #7 - 4 MAR 2022
Fuelled by the surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, total crypto market capitalisation returns to $2 trillion from February’s decline.
NFT market volumes cool down from their record-breaking highs in January.
gaming developments
Square Enix enters The Sandbox metaverse with its Dungeon Siege IP;
Thetan Arena introduces Custom Battles, in a bid to transform the project into a crypto eSports leader;
The Sandbox is launching Season 2 of its Alpha programme this week, a month-long event of play-to-earn experiences;
P2E horse racing platform Pegaxy is revamping its idle battle system to include strategic, more hands-on elements and dynamic rewards.
metaverses & vr
South Korean government has announced development plans for a world-first, country-wide metaverse. Currently estimated to cost in excess of $187 million, the project will include sectors such as media and education;
IMA Financial Group, an insurance and wealth management firm, is planning to start selling insurance for metaverse assets in Decentraland;
NFT company OverHyped is purchasing a yacht for its NFT holders’ use, as part of their “experience-based utility”;
Chinese entertainment giant Tencent forays into metaverse concert space, purchases animated concert firm Wave.
zen portfolio highlight
This week we highlight our portfolio company Monstropoly, a P2E eSports fighting arena. Create your unique character and team up with friends, engage in thrilling battles and use the skill-based gameplay to your advantage to earn rewards, freely tradable in and out of the native ecosystem. The team has already completed a fully subscribed private round of over $3 million in funding from top tier VCs and was exclusively selected for the Binance Incubation Program for its development. Keep an eye for Monstropoly’s public listing and NFT sales in March – find out more on Twitter, Discord and Telegram.
defi
Crypto donations to Ukraine surpass $52 million, as Ukrainian government begins accepting Dogecoin;
Following Ruble’s freefall this week, Bitcoin surpasses the troubled Russian currency in total value;
Citadel, the world’s largest retail liquidity provider, is planning to start engaging in crypto market making “over the months to come”;
Women in crypto: A survey by blockchain wealth management firm BlockFi found circa 25% of women currently owning cryptocurrencies, with another 1/3 actively planning to buy into crypto “in the next year or so”;
Solana tops Proof of Stake networks in total value staked, with staked coins valued $38 billion, followed by Tera’s $30 billion, reports Staking Rewards.
funding rounds
Valr, a South African crypto exchange, completed its $50 million Series B this week, led by Pantera Capital. The round valued Valr at $240 million;
Electric Capital raises $1 billion for its crypto venture capital funds;
Thetanuts Finance, a crypto derivatives trading platform, completed an $18 million seed round at undisclosed valuation, led by Three Arrows Capital and Jump Crypto;
Lido Finance, an Ethereum 2.0 staking solution, has accepted a $70 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz.
Following Russia’s removal from the SWIFT network this week, European Union set out in seeking for sanctions against Russian use of crypto currencies
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