Evening News | StarkWare completes $100 million Series D funding at an $8 billion valuation; former Binance executives and investment team announce the launch of a $100 million venture fund

Organizer: Nianqing, Chain Catcher

"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?"

1. a16z announces the launch of its fourth crypto fund, totaling $4.5 billion

a16z announced the launch of its fourth crypto fund, with a total amount of $4.5 billion, of which approximately $1.5 billion will be used for seed investments and $3 billion for venture capital. This brings a16z's total raised crypto/web3 funds to over $7.6 billion.

a16z will use these funds to invest in promising Web3 startups at every stage, including Web3 gaming, DeFi, decentralized social media, self-sovereign identity, Layer 1 and Layer 2 infrastructure, cross-chain bridges, DAOs and governance, NFT communities, privacy, creator economy, regenerative finance, new applications of ZK proofs, decentralized content and storytelling, and many other areas. (Source link)

2. New Terra Core final version released, new chain to launch on May 27

Terra's official social media announced that the final version of the new Terra Core has been released, with the code passing SCV Security audits, and the new chain will launch on May 27.

The new LUNA will be airdropped to LUNA Classic stakers, LUNA Classic holders, remaining UST holders, and developers of foundational applications on Terra Classic. Exchanges such as Binance and BYBIT will support the new LUNA airdrop. (Source link)

3. StarkWare completes $100 million Series D funding at an $8 billion valuation, led by Greenoaks and Coatue

Ethereum Layer 2 developer StarkWare announced the completion of a $100 million Series D funding round at an $8 billion valuation, led by Greenoaks and Coatue, with participation from Tiger Global. Previously, Chain Catcher reported on March 10 that StarkWare was raising funds at a $6 billion valuation, aiming to raise at least $100 million. (Source link)

4. Former Binance executives and investment team announce the launch of a $100 million venture fund Old Fashion Research

Old Fashion Research (OFR) announced the launch of a $100 million investment fund. OFR is a multi-strategy blockchain investment fund founded by former Binance executives and investment team members in July 2021, with founding partners including former Binance Vice President of Strategic Investments and M&A, Ling Zhang, former Head of Corporate Development Wayne Fu, and former Binance Labs Investment Director and Binance Launchpad Head Xin Jiang.

It is reported that OFR empowers and supports blockchain projects and entrepreneurs worldwide through various strategies such as incubation, investment, and mergers and acquisitions. OFR's investors include the blockchain gaming platform Wemix under the publicly listed Korean gaming company Wemade, former Binance CFO Zhou Wei, Didi angel investor Wang Gang, and other domestic and international traditional investment funds, family offices, and individual angel investors. (Source link)

5. Modular blockchain Celestia officially launches testnet, mainnet expected to go live in early 2023

Layer 1 modular blockchain Celestia has launched its "Mamaki" testnet, supporting user operations of nodes, receiving testnet tokens, validator delegation, and sending transactions between wallets. The project expects its mainnet to go live in early 2023. (Source link)

6. Cross-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero Labs is raising funds at a $3 billion valuation, with FTX Ventures committed to lead

According to The Block, cross-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero Labs is negotiating funding at a $3 billion valuation, with FTX Ventures committed to lead, though it is unclear if other investors have agreed to participate. An FTX spokesperson declined to comment. According to a person close to the negotiations, the latest funding will be priced in equity, LayerZero token warrants, and the native token of the cross-chain bridging protocol Stargate.

Previously, Chain Catcher reported on March 31 that LayerZero Labs announced the completion of a $135 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation, led by FTX Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and a16z. (Source link)

7. Polygon announces the launch of a multimillion-dollar fund to assist projects migrating from Terra to Polygon

Polygon CEO Ryan Wyatt stated that Polygon has launched a relatively uncapped multimillion-dollar fund to help projects on Terra migrate to its blockchain. It is reported that the fund will be financed by the $450 million previously raised by Polygon, its treasury, and a $100 million ecosystem fund. Among them, the Terra-based NFT marketplace OnePlanet will be the first project to receive funding from this fund and will become a dedicated marketplace for any Terra NFT projects migrating to the Polygon ecosystem.

Additionally, Wyatt stated that the company will deploy more funds as needed to assist all developers wishing to come to Polygon. So far, about 50 to 60 Terra projects are reportedly migrating to Polygon. (Source link)

"What are some great articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?"

1. “New York Times Feature | Crypto Tycoon SBF's Wish: No Pants, Write the Rules”

Sam Bankman-Fried is a "disheveled" billionaire who became wealthy by delving into trades too risky for the U.S. market. Now he hopes Washington will follow his lead.

2. “Creator Economy: The Path of Transformation Under the 'Crisis of Legitimacy'”

When historians write about the rise of the "creator economy," two moments (a decade apart) will surely emerge. The first moment was in the spring of 2007 when YouTube began sharing ad revenue with creators—this decision can be said to have laid the foundation for what we now know as the "creator economy." The second moment was in the spring of 2017 when the cracks in this foundation became undeniable, and questions about the "legitimacy" of the platform economy began to arise.

3. “NFT Cycle Rotation: Wild, Bubble, and Value Return”

NFTs have developed over about 10 years, evolving from initial artistic creations and thought experiments to a deep integration with the market over the past two years, gradually revealing the cyclical nature of the NFT market. Like traditional stock markets, the NFT market shows cyclical patterns even as overall market capitalization rises. This is reflected in the "heat cycle" primarily based on trading volume and the "speculation cycle" represented by the price curve of blue-chip projects.