Crypto Biz: What's up with Jack? Dec. 16-23

Published at: Dec. 23, 2021

When you're no longer at the helm of a publicly-traded company, you have more leeway to express controversial views. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took to social media this week to express his discontent over venture capital's role in Web 3.0. Some of his Twitter followers agreed with his views, others disagreed and some even blocked him entirely. 

Below is the concise version of the latest “Crypto Biz” newsletter, which is sent to your inbox every Thursday. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. 

"You don't own Web 3.0," says Dorsey

Dorsey's gripe with Web 3.0 — a broad term that refers to a more decentralized and interconnected version of the internet — stems from those who control a commanding stake in these emerging protocols. By owning a large stake in Web 3.0 startups, venture capital funds and limited partners can pressure the founders to comply with centralized regulations that go against the ethos of decentralization. Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined Dorsey on Twitter in mocking Web 3.0 projects.

Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 21, 2021

Seven Seven Six and Polygon launch $200M fund

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has deployed vast sums of capital via his Seven Seven Six venture firm to back new Web 3.0 and social projects building on Polygon. The fund, which is valued at a whopping $200 million, will focus specifically on gaming applications and social media platforms. The news came more than a month after Ohanian's VC teamed up with Solana Ventures on a $100 million Web 3.0 growth fund. In other words, 2022 could be the year where "crypto social" takes off. 

SBI Group launches crypto-asset fund in Japan

One of Tokyo's biggest financial services companies is making it easier for Japanese investors to access large-cap cryptocurrencies. Earlier this week, SBI Group unveiled its SBI Alternative Fund, which provides exposure to seven digital assets: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Chainlink (LINK) and Polkadot (DOT). Crypto-curious investors will have until the end of January to file their applications to invest in the fund.

Binance Labs leads $60M funding round for Multichain

Binance's venture capital arm, Binance Labs, was one of several big-name investors to back cross-chain protocol Multichain in a $60 million private seed round. Multichain claims that its protocol connects "more public blockchains and crypto assets than anyone else," which likely explains Binance Labs' strong interest in the project. Investors can expect to hear more about interoperability in 2022 as the crypto economy continues to mature. 

Tags
Business
Funding
Web3
Venture Capital
Jack Dorsey
Related Posts
Binance Labs backs $200M Oasis Ecosystem Fund
Binance Labs, the venture capital (VC) arm of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, announced Tuesday that it will contribute to Oasis Foundation’s $200 million ecosystem development fund, sending a strong signal that major investors were still keen to back emerging projects on alternative blockchain networks. With the investment, Binance Labs joins other prominent VC firms in supporting the Oasis Network, an alternative smart contract platform that intends to compete with Ethereum. As Cointelegraph reported in November, Oasis Foundation initially launched a $160 million development fund to lure promising startups to its blockchain. In addition to Binance Labs, other notable VC firms …
Business / Jan. 11, 2022
$75M Blockchain Founders Fund II backs portfolio of P2E and Web3 projects
Singapore-based Blockchain Founders Fund has launched a new venture capital fund to support emerging projects in the cryptocurrency, metaverse and Web3 sectors, offering further evidence that investors are still keen to back major growth trends in the digital asset market. Blockchain Founders Fund II, also known as BFF II, has raised $75 million from various investors across the blockchain and crypto industry, including NEO Global Capital, Appworks, Baksh Capital, Octava and The Sandbox COO Sebastien Borget. BFF II has already deployed capital across 11 projects, including a layer-two derivatives exchange, several play-to-earn games and a DeFi protocol. BFF II is …
Business / Jan. 24, 2022
Polygon raises $450M in Sequoia-led funding round
Layer-2 scaling solution Polygon has raised $450 million in a funding round that was backed by some of blockchain’s biggest venture funds — offering further evidence that major investors are looking to support the future of Web3 development. The investment round was led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from more than 40 venture capital funds, including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, Tiger Global and Republic Capital. Billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary also participated in the raise. Polygon will use the funding to expand its scaling solutions, which includes Polygon PoS, Polygon Edge and Polygon Avail, and support mainstream adoption …
Business / Feb. 7, 2022
Crypto Biz: Have you considered a career in crypto? March 11-17
Analyzing the labor market is a passion of mine. In my past life, I worked as a labor market analyst for a Canadian think tank specializing in the IT sector. Tech employees always enjoyed higher demand, higher pay and lower jobless rates than workers in the rest of the economy. Although blockchain and crypto were virtually nonexistent during my tenure, these emerging technologies are now leading exponential growth for an industry evolving from Web2 to Web3. This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter highlights the growing demand for crypto professionals in the traditional finance and payment industries. We also survey the latest …
Business / March 17, 2022
Huobi Global launches $1B investment arm focused on DeFi and Web3
Digital asset exchange Huobi Global has spun out a new investment arm focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 projects, further highlighting venture capital interest in the blockchain economy. Dubbed Ivy Blocks, the new investment arm has over $1 billion in crypto assets under management to deploy, a spokesperson for Huobi confirmed. These funds have been earmarked for “identifying and investing in promising blockchain projects,” the company said. In addition to financing, Ivy Blocks will offer various services to selected projects, including an asset management platform, a new blockchain incubator and a dedicated research arm. The firm’s asset management department …
Business / June 10, 2022