ChainCatcher news, the on-chain venture capital platform Fission Labs announced the completion of a $1.6 million Pre-Seed round of financing, led by SALT Fund and Kraynos Capital, with participation from Anthony Scaramucci (Skybridge). The new funds are intended to drive Fission Labs to bring venture capital into on-chain DeFi applications. Its platform has launched a testnet on Ethereum to support both cryptocurrency-native users and traditional financial participants to invest in and trade tokenized private equity.

According to ChainCatcher news, monitored by The Data Nerd, in addition to Wintermute, there are three market makers (MM) and one venture capital firm holding $NEIRO_ETH tokens. The specific holdings are as follows:• GSR holds 15 million $NEIRO_ETH, worth approximately $1.14 million;• Toka Labs holds 51,140 $NEIRO_ETH, worth approximately $384,000;• Auros Global holds 36,000 $NEIRO_ETH, worth approximately $270,000;• Arrington holds 51,070 $NEIRO_ETH, worth approximately $383,000.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Information, asset management company VanEck has launched a $30 million venture capital fund, VanEck Ventures, to support the development of the crypto and AI industries, and will invest in early-stage crypto and AI startups.

ChainCatcher news, Circle has partnered with venture capitalist Mark Carnegie's MHC Digital Group to plan the introduction of its stablecoin USDC in Australia and other regions.

ChainCatcher news, according to PitchBook data, as of August, crypto venture capital firms have raised over $2.2 billion in new capital this year through closed-end funds. In just the past few weeks, at least six venture capital firms have collectively raised over $500 million. This includes ParaFi Capital's $120 million fund, Borderless Capital's $100 million fund, Hack VC's $77 million fund, and Robot Ventures' $75 million fund.Additionally, several funds are actively seeking new capital this year. According to Bloomberg, Dragonfly Capital is looking to raise $500 million for its new fund and has already raised half of that amount.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoinist, Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Cardano and Ethereum, expressed deep concerns about former President Donald Trump's new DeFi platform venture (i.e., World Liberty Financial).In an interview, Hoskinson stated that this investment is likely to become a political hot topic. This could exacerbate the already delicate situation of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.Hoskinson's biggest concern is the political polarization triggered by Trump in the cryptocurrency space. According to him, "Everything Trump does will provoke strong opposition from the left," indicating that Trump's actions may provoke strong backlash from the Democratic Party.This could lead to investigations by regulatory bodies such as the Department of Justice or the Securities and Exchange Commission, potentially stifling innovation and growth in the industry.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, crypto analysts say that if crypto projects want to continue to receive healthy venture capital funding, the altcoin market needs to experience a significant rebound.Will Clemente, co-founder of Reflexivity Research, stated that unless altcoins see a "substantial bull market," fewer crypto projects will receive funding support, and the overall valuation of the altcoin market will decline.He said, "Given the increase in supply in the market, I expect funding to be more dispersed, and I am not confident about the occurrence of this rebound."

ChainCatcher news, Frank Chaparro, the Special Projects Director at The Block, and Laura Vidiella from MNNC Group published a joint opinion article calling on investors to focus on the long-term development of the crypto industry. Despite the poor performance of the crypto market in September 2024 and recent employment reports dampening market sentiment, the industry is still steadily developing from a macro perspective. Laura recently attended Korea Blockchain Week and hosted a panel discussion on the evolution of liquidity funds and venture capital funds.According to statistics, the number of funds focused on crypto investments worldwide has surged from about 50 in 2018 to over 1,150 currently. In comparison, there are about 4,000 registered hedge funds in the United States and approximately 30,000 globally. In terms of financing, the crypto industry raised over $72 billion from 2018 to 2023, while traditional venture capital in the U.S. raised over $600 billion during the same period.Although the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs at the beginning of 2024 brought high expectations, this year is more likely to be a transitional period. The current cycle should not be simply compared to previous cycles, as the industry landscape has changed dramatically. If investors feel frustrated, they can take a break or look at industry development trends from a longer-term perspective, which may provide better insights.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard's son Daniel Howard and partner Bhavin Vaid have announced the establishment of a crypto venture capital fund called Halo Capital. The fund has raised $25 million, aiming to bring a growth investor mindset to early-stage crypto projects.Halo Capital is headquartered in New York and has a broad investment scope, covering various fields from Bitcoin to decentralized artificial intelligence. The fund has invested in projects such as Bima Labs and Andrena, and has brought in about 20 partners to provide expert advice. Both founders come from the cryptocurrency-focused private equity firm 10T Holdings, and they began fundraising in March of this year, officially launching the fund's operations in June.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Robot Ventures has raised $75 million for its early-stage cryptocurrency venture capital fund. Robot Ventures is an early investor in crypto startups such as EigenLayer, Lido Finance, and Flashbots. This is Robot Ventures' fourth fund, with investors including TrueBridge Capital Partners, Haun Ventures, Marc Andreessen, and Chris Dixon.

ChainCatcher message, ChainCatcher, in collaboration with the crypto media Blocktempo, has launched a survey on the research methods of crypto venture capital in the Asia-Pacific region.As the crypto industry enters a new development cycle, understanding the changes in venture capital research methods and standards helps to reduce information gaps, identify quality projects for the next cycle, and promote the effective allocation of market resources.Click the link to participate in this survey. The results will be published on over 10 authoritative media platforms, and completing the questionnaire takes only 10-15 minutes. Participants will have the chance to receive 100 Plus version APIs (3 months of usage) provided by RootData, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, based on the latest 13F form submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Chicago-based high-frequency trading firm DRW Holdings' venture capital arm, DRW Venture Capital, disclosed that it currently holds over $195 million in spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, with more than $150 million invested in Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE).It is reported that DRW's Ethereum ETF holdings are more than three times that of its Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale ETHE is DRW's third-largest holding, following funds tracking the S&P 500 index and gold trust funds.Additionally, the company's investments in Bitcoin ETFs are relatively diversified, holding Bitcoin ETFs issued by Ark, 21Shares, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Proshares. DRW has been involved in the crypto industry since 2018. Its subsidiary, Cumberland, has been selected as a liquidity provider for many Bitcoin ETFs. Cumberland recently also obtained a virtual currency license, BitLicense, granted by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the team behind the TON ecosystem game Hamster Kombat recently revealed that they have received investment intentions from some top cryptocurrency venture capital firms, but "so far have rejected all proposals."The team stated that the decision to refuse venture capital funding was made to protect the player base of Hamster Kombat and to maintain the core focus of the development team, which is to provide players with a skill-based gaming experience that rewards them for actually playing the game.In an announcement on August 10, the team noted that this stands in stark contrast to many crypto games and projects that accept venture capital funding, where these venture capital firms often view the player base as a channel for exit liquidity. The Hamster Kombat team did not disclose which venture capital firms expressed interest in investing. The developers of Hamster Kombat also explained that 60% of the upcoming HMSTR token will be reserved for players, while the remaining portion will be used for liquidity, future partnerships, in-game rewards, and ecosystem development.

ChainCatcher news, according to a new quarterly report from PitchBook, cryptocurrency financing has grown by 2.5%, reaching $2.7 billion. Despite the increase in amount, the number of transactions has decreased by 12.5%.PitchBook senior analyst Robert Le stated, "Investors are concentrating capital on a narrower range of opportunities, marking a leap towards quality. A few years ago, their investments were more diversified across various sectors. Overall financing in 2024 is expected to grow by 20% or more compared to last year, reaching between $12 billion and $14 billion this year, up from about $10 billion last year."

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, the U.S. SEC has sent letters to venture capital firms such as a16z and Union Square Ventures regarding the Uniswap issue.Previously, the U.S. SEC issued a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs in April this year, warning that it may take enforcement action. Subsequently, Uniswap Labs responded to the U.S. SEC's Wells notice, stating that they are ready to fight and will continue to build.

ChainCatcher news, Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran posted on social media that the pace of venture capital investment in cryptocurrency has significantly slowed, with a subtle reason behind it. Most venture capital firms have limited partners (LPs), who are primarily interested in returns that exceed those of index funds. However, in the medium term, simply holding Bitcoin and Ethereum can "easily outperform" index funds in terms of risk-adjusted returns.This allows venture capitalists to take a wait-and-see approach towards Bitcoin and Ethereum, waiting for safer and more profitable opportunities, rather than taking on as much early risk in startups as they would in other industries. This is because there are no assets in other markets that provide holding yields like BTC or ETH.Adam Cochran stated that during the last crypto cycle (2020 to 2024), venture capital firms "seemed very active," hoping to get rich alongside participants by investing in applications that had "already exploded." However, several known narratives (NFTs, AMM forks, DeFi, L2s) have already reached their end, and it is currently unclear what the next steps should be.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News*,* sources familiar with the investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the SEC has issued subpoenas to at least three cryptocurrency venture capital firms this year. DL News reviewed the first page of the subpoena. The page states: "SEC staff is investigating the above matters to determine whether there have been violations of federal securities laws."Insiders indicated that at least two other crypto VC firms received essentially the same document requests. According to the source, the subpoenas sent to these crypto VCs request all contracts related to token transactions.Reportedly, sources familiar with the investigation stated that the SEC is interested in whether these accredited investors are issuing unregistered securities to the broader retail market on behalf of token issuers. The individual added, "This would poison the initial offering," referring to what happens when investors are alleged to sell tokens on the public market.Additionally, a lawyer from a crypto VC firm not affected by the subpoenas stated, "This is an excessive investigation and extremely costly."