Brock Pierce, entrepreneur, crypto venture capitalist and child star, has announced his USA Presidential run on Twitter July 5. His tweet stated that: “I, Brock Pierce, am running for President of the United States of America.” Pierce’s campaign site states that he is a pioneer digital currency and has raised more than $5 billion for the companies he has founded. Pierce is the Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and co-founder of EOS Alliance, Block.one, Blockchain Capital, Tether, and Mastercoin (first ICO). His website, sparse on details, does not say if he is seeking a nomination in a political party or …

Cryptocurrency funds are a new type of investment vehicle that parallels traditional portfolio investments, like hedge funds, but are composed entirely out of digital assets. Because of this, they play by slightly different rules than their legacy counterparts. Knowing how they differ and where to get involved is key for those who want to jump into this intriguing new world, so we’ve outlined the main points in this helpful guide. What are cryptocurrency funds? The term “cryptocurrency fund” refers to a portfolio containing a variety of different digital assets and is usually managed by one or a few individuals. Investors …

The Tezos (XTZ) class-action lawsuit from law firm Block & Leviton will likely conclude in a $25-million settlement on August 27. Tezos, like many initial coin offerings (ICO) from 2017, has come under scrutiny from both investors and regulators alike alleging that its token sale constituted an illegal offering of securities. Indeed, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come down hard on numerous 2017-era ICOs demanding penalties for securities violation. Even distributions to non-U.S. citizens have also come under the SEC’s radar, as was the case with Telegram. The SEC has consistently maintained that most ICOs are indeed …

Aeternity Blockchain co-founder Nikola Stojanow announced a new €100 million ($112.5 million) venture capital fund focused on blockchain development in emerging markets on June 15. Meta Change Capital (MCC) claims it will work with projects across all next generation blockchains, providing funding and support in series A and beyond. It is currently securing investors and will close its first round funding in Q4 2020. Biggest potential for change MCC will support blockchain opportunities in underdeveloped regions of Europe, Asia, MENA and Africa, especially the areas which will benefit most from the capital. Stojanow said, “I see the largest potential and …

Brett Gibson, a partner at Initialized Capital, has revealed the main criteria used by his venture capital firm to invest in early stage startups and shared his views on the most promising products on the market. Initialized Capital invests in early stage companies before they get to product/market fit, which means they still need to develop a product that meets the needs of the market. In that stage, Initialized Capital looks at the startup founders as the main criteria for investing. “Before you actually know what the product is and what market exactly they're going to be serving, the founders …

This week’s headlines from Japan included GMO Coin exchange polling customers on their view of digital assets, Lisk opening a base in Japan, Bitflyer showing 2019 net losses, blockchain startup LayerX securing significant funding, and two entities reported successful collaborative blockchain-based securities experiments. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. GMO Coin users pick Bitcoin over XRP GMO Coin, a crypto exchange under Japanese tech outfit GMO, conducted a poll, asking users which crypto asset they think holds the most promising future. Out of 1,578 polled exchange users, 47% put Bitcoin as …

Shocking as it may sound, the venture capital industry is built on the idea that it doesn’t really matter if most of the companies they fund lose money or go belly-up. Could this be because they often turn hot air into fabulous profits and cash out before the balloon bursts? Even when that is not the intended “play,” venture capitalists typically prioritize growth over business fundamentals or helping the community, despite generating negative externalities not only for other companies but also for the financial markets. At least that’s how it’s been until now. The new tech in town, built on …

Popular stock and cryptocurrency trading app had a lot of problems in March, and is reportedly trying to make up for it with help from a new injection of cash. According to Bloomberg, Robinhood is in the process of raising $250 million at a valuation of about $8 billion. Citing anonymous sources, the report says the new funding round will be driven by Robinhood’s existing investors, like major venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. The word is that there’s still no final deal. Cointelegraph contacted Robinhood for comment and didn’t receive an immediate response. We will update this story if they …

Blockchain investment company Eterna and venture capital fund Borderless Capital have teamed up to launch Eterna Borderless Venture Studio, to support projects on the Algorand platform. The aim is to drive adoption and growth by providing tools and resources to decentralized app — or DApp — developers and entrepreneurs. Startups are eligible to receive funding up to $100,000, with Borderless Capital able to offer a follow-up investment of up to $2 million for companies that emerge as category-leading businesses. The venture studio includes student groups from some of the world’s more prestigious universities — including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College …

Blockchain and cryptocurrency venture capital firm Multicoin Capital has led a $1.5 million seed round for Chinese decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol dForce. Mable Jiang, the principal of crypto venture capital firm Multicoin Capital, told Cointelegraph that dForce’s plan to launch a "super-app"-styled DeFi platform in the Asian market was a major factor in the firm’s decision. An Asian super app like WeChat Jiang emphasized dForce’s presence within the Asian and Chinese markets as a draw, stating, “We always believed that Asia, and more specifically China, will become a pivotal market for the adoption of Open Finance.” She said that dForce's …

Private venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz may have plans for another crypto asset fund. Established by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz over 10 years ago, the firm looks to start its second crypto investment fund, hoping to garner $450 million in capital for the endeavor, Financial Times said in an April 14 article, citing sources familiar with the situation. The firm is known in crypto Also going by the name a16z, Andreessen Horowitz provides tech companies and visionaries with funding. The outfit has three funds used for investment in startups and the like, including the $350M Crypto Fund. Andreessen Horowitz …

The crypto industry continues to mature, even during these bearish times, according to a recent report from PwC. The Big Four accounting firm’s findings showed that although the number of merger and acquisition deals in the crypto space decreased by 40% in 2019, the funds are now going to established companies instead of seed-stage startups. Additionally, crypto-native actors are beginning to take the stage from institutional investors as the market becomes more consolidated and less United States-centric. So, what exactly does it mean for the industry, and will institutional investors’ interest in crypto ever be roused again? Crypto winter’s impact …