Evening News | Three associations including the China Internet Finance Association issued a statement criticizing the financialization tendency of NFTs; Circle, MoonPay, bloXroute, and others completed significant financing
Forbes released the list of the world's best venture capitalists in 2022, with a16z partner Chris Dixon taking the top spot.Organizer: Zeyi, Chain Catcher
"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours"
1. China Internet Finance Association and two other associations: Firmly curb the financialization and securitization tendencies of NFTs
The China Internet Finance Association, the China Banking Association, and the China Securities Association jointly call on member units to initiate a proposal to standardize the application of blockchain technology and leverage the positive role of NFTs in promoting industrial digitization and digital industrialization. Ensure that the value of NFT products is well-supported, guide consumers to make rational consumption, and prevent prices from deviating from fundamental value laws.
At the same time, firmly curb the financialization and securitization tendencies of NFTs, strictly prevent risks of illegal financial activities, and member units should consciously comply with the following behavioral norms: first, do not include financial assets such as securities, insurance, credit, and precious metals in the underlying goods of NFTs, which would indirectly issue and trade financial products; second, do not weaken the non-fungible characteristics of NFTs through methods such as splitting ownership or bulk creation, which would indirectly conduct token issuance financing (ICO); third, do not provide centralized trading (centralized bidding, electronic matching, anonymous trading, market-making, etc.), continuous listing trading, standardized contract trading, etc., for NFT transactions, which would indirectly establish trading venues in violation of regulations; fourth, do not use virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether as pricing and settlement tools for NFT issuance and trading; fifth, conduct real-name authentication for issuers, sellers, and buyers, properly store customer identity information and issuance transaction records, and actively cooperate with anti-money laundering efforts; sixth, do not directly or indirectly invest in NFTs, nor provide financing support for NFT investments. (Source link)
2. Forbes releases the 2022 list of the world's best venture capitalists, a16z partner Chris Dixon ranks first
Recently, Forbes magazine released the 2022 list of the world's best venture capitalists, with a16z partner Chris Dixon taking the top spot, primarily due to his investment in Coinbase.
Additionally, 12 investors on this list have invested in Coinbase, including Micky Malka from Ribbit Capital and Garry Tan from Initialized Capital, who ranked second and twenty-eighth, respectively, both with Coinbase as their main investment project. (Forbes)
3. USDC issuer Circle announces $400 million financing, with BlackRock and others participating
USDC issuer Circle announced the completion of a new round of financing totaling $400 million, with participation from BlackRock, Fidelity, Marshall Wace, and Fin Capital. It is understood that besides being an important asset manager and strategic investor for USDC cash reserves, BlackRock will also explore the application of USDC in capital markets with Circle. (Source link)
4. Cosmos development company Ignite launches a $150 million Web3 accelerator, with multiple investment partners including Alameda
Cosmos development company Ignite (formerly Tendermint) has launched a $150 million accelerator focused on Web3, called Ignite Accelerator. The program will support up to 20 projects each year.
Investment partners of Ignite Accelerator include Alameda Research, KuCoin Ventures, OKX Blockdream Ventures, Hashkey Capital, Chorus One, Figment, Chainlayer, Strangelove Ventures, Forbole, Everstake, and Galileo.
Last year, Ignite also launched an equity investment incubator, Ignite Ventures (formerly Tendermint Ventures). (Source link)
5. Iran's central bank announces its CBDC regulatory framework, CBDC minted and distributed by the central bank
Iran has announced plans to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) stated that it has issued a report on the regulatory framework for the Iranian central bank digital currency (crypto rial) to domestic banks and credit institutions.
In a recent report, the Central Bank of Iran stated that the crypto rial will be minted by the central bank, which will determine the maximum supply of the currency. The report noted that the country's CBDC project utilizes smart contracts and operates similarly to paper money and coins, with the entire process being fully digital. (Source link)
6. Crypto payment company MoonPay completes $87 million financing, with participation from Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, and others
Crypto payment company MoonPay announced the completion of $87 million in financing, with participation from pop singer Justin Bieber, rapper Snoop Dogg, Hilton hotel heiress Paris Hilton, tennis player Maria Sharapova, and actors Bruce Willis, Matthew McConaughey, Gwyneth Paltrow, among over 60 celebrities. According to MoonPay, this round of financing is part of the company's Series A funding.
According to previous reports, MoonPay completed a $555 million Series A financing at a valuation of $3.4 billion last November, led by Coatue and Tiger Global. It is reported that the funds raised will be used for hiring new employees, expanding business scope, and adding more payment methods. Meanwhile, MoonPay is exploring a way to simplify the checkout process for NFT marketplaces and has already begun testing with partners such as OpenSea, Binance, and Dapper Labs. (Source link)
7. DeFi trading acceleration tool bloXroute completes $70 million Series B financing, led by SoftBank Vision Fund
DeFi trading acceleration tool bloXroute announced the completion of $70 million in Series B financing, led by the SoftBank Vision Fund II, with participation from Blindspot, Dragonfly, Flow Traders, Flybridge, GSR, Jane Street, Lightspeed, ParaFi Capital, and Rockaway Blockchain Fund.
It is understood that bloXroute is a DeFi trading acceleration tool that addresses blockchain scalability issues. Its provided memory pool (mempool) and trading/block infrastructure products enhance trading profitability for decentralized finance (DeFi) traders and help users avoid network congestion and reliably query key data, such as buy and sell transaction orders, trading prices, position sizes, liquidation data, and provide real-time oracle services. (Source link)
"What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours"
1. "Decentralized Social Media: The Next Big Thing in Crypto?"
NFTs and the metaverse are currently the hottest topics in the crypto ecosystem, but the next big thing might just be decentralized social media. Like DeFi (decentralized finance), decentralized social media platforms do not have a centralized governing body, and perhaps one day, they will provide viable alternatives to existing platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. This technology is currently in its nascent stage of development.
2. "Exploring the Logic Behind Popular NFT Avatar Projects from Product and Operations Perspectives"
From the perspective of entrepreneurs, how are some popular NFT projects created? What dimensions need to be considered? Can the path be replicated? Specifically, as a project that requires full-process consideration and design, how should NFT projects consider design, rules, rights, and product creation? How should technology and frontend be planned? What dimensions can the crucial operational part be broken down into? This article provides a good framework and key points for thought.
If we compare the current market conditions with the golden age of crypto mining from 2012 to 2014, we find that capital is flooding into the crypto space. We predict that in the coming years, both the network hash rate and financial failures in Bitcoin mining will significantly increase. Furthermore, we anticipate that those mining companies and products that are more conservative in capital deployment and focus on long cycles may emerge victorious throughout the cycle.
