Avichal Garg, the CEO and co-founder of Electric Capital, defines himself as “an NFT maximalist” – who believes that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will play an essential role in bringing crypto to the masses. Unlike other crypto niches, NFTs are relatable to aspects of everyday life such as art, music and games. “I could imagine that NFTs are actually many billions of people because it's ultimately culture. And that's something that everybody can participate in and everybody can understand,” said Garg in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. In particular, Garg is bullish about NFTs being used in the gaming industry, which …

The shedding of Ethereum’s energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) system is expected to see Ether (ETH) “flow into the institutional world,” according to a number of fund managers and co-founders. On Sept. 15, Ethereum officially transitioned to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which is expected to cut energy consumption used by the network by 99.95%, according to the Ethereum Foundation. The upgrade effectively ended the need for the Ethereum network to rely on miners and energy-guzzling mining hardware to validate transactions and build new blocks, as these functions are now replaced by validators who “stake” their ETH. "The merge will reduce worldwide …

Cryptocurrency startup Portofino Technologies has officially launched its high-frequency trading platform for digital assets, securing major funding from venture capital firms in the process. In launching its platform, Portofino disclosed that it had raised $50 million in equity funding from Valar Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Coatue. Although Portofino didn’t disclose how the funding will be used, the company has been active on the hiring front, having recruited over 35 employees across five global locations. Portofino was founded in 2021 by former Citadel Securities employees Alex Casimo and Leonard Lancia. The company is building crypto-focused high-frequency trading technology, which is …

Animoca Brands, a major player in the metaverse and blockchain gaming, has officially disclosed details of a funding round led by Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek. Animoca announced on Thursday that it closed a strategic funding round of $110 million from the issuance of convertible notes to a small number of institutional investors. Completed at a conversion price of 4.5 Australian dollars, or about $3, the new round values Animoca similarly to its previous funding round, the firm said. The notes round included new investors like Temasek, the private equity firm Boyu Capital and the global venture capital firm GGV Capital. …

Venture capital firms poured $14.2 billion into crypto across 725 deals in the first half of 2022, but big four accounting firm KPMG predicts investments will likely slow for the remainder of the year. According to a newly released KPMG report on Sept. 6, the largest investments in H1 2022 came from German-based crypto trading platform Trade Republic ($1.1 billion), digital asset custody platform Fireblocks ($550 million), crypto exchange FTX ($500 million), and Ethereum software company ConsenSys ($450 million). Authors of the report, including KPMG's Global Leader of Fintech, Anton Ruddenklau, noted the investment figures for the first half of …

Blockchain-focused incubator and adviser PANONY has closed a Series A funding round backed by NGC Ventures, one of Asia’s largest crypto investment firms, putting the company on track to expand its portfolio and geographic presence. Although funding terms weren’t disclosed, the Series A gave PANONY a valuation of $100 million, the company reported Monday. The Hong Kong-based PANONY said it would use the funds to expand into other jurisdictions, launch new service offerings and expand its networking capabilities. Founded in 2018 by Alyssa Tsai and Tongtong Bee, PANONY invests in blockchain- and Web3-focused startups and offers ongoing advisory and business …

In the world of crypto, FUD stands for fear, uncertainty and doubt. It’s often evoked intentionally in order to draw negative attention to a particular project or business. One of crypto’s most enduring legacies has been the constant FUD surrounding Tether, whose USDT stablecoin commands a market capitalization of nearly $68 billion. Whether intentional or not, The Wall Street Journal ran a story this week claiming that Tether was on the edge of technical insolvency and that it wouldn’t take much to push the stablecoin issuer into financial peril. Of course, Tether didn’t take it lying down and immediately issued …

Crypto lending platform SALT has received a buyout offer from a prominent online investment platform — a move the company said could potentially enhance its product offerings and advance its mission of making digital assets more accessible to mainstream audiences. Bnk To The Future, or BF, has submitted a letter of intent to acquire SALT for an undisclosed amount, the companies disclosed Friday. The acquisition is contingent on both parties signing definitive agreements and requires regulatory approval. Robert Odell, SALT’s chief product officer, described the potential acquisition as being a unity of first-movers in the cryptocurrency market: “This potential union …

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital (VC) firm Seven Seven Six (776) is looking to raise a crypto investment fund worth $177.6 million, while current and former executives from Galaxy Digital and Genesis are raising a $500 million fund of their own. 776’s crypto play According to an Aug. 29 report from The Information, 776’s fund “Kryptos” will launch in October to capitalize on the current bear market. It emphasized there are currently some bargain bin token discounts on the market that are ripe for the taking. “This is the best time to buy if you’re really long on the …

The venture capital market of the cryptocurrency industry is holding strong despite the crypto winter as major government-linked firms reportedly continue betting on big industry players. Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek is joining a $100 million funding round for the blockchain and venture studio Animoca Brands, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Temasek will lead Animoca's financing round through convertible bonds. Both Animoca and Temasek are known for investing in major crypto firms. In March 2022, both companies participated in a $200 million funding round for the Australian nonfungible token (NFT) platform Immutable. Temasek is a major crypto-related …

Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s investment arm has reportedly absorbed the venture capital operations of Alameda Research in response to the ongoing crypto bear market. According to a Thursday Bloomberg report, Alameda's Caroline Ellison said in an interview that the merger had happened prior to former co-CEO Sam Trabucco announcing his resignation on Wednesday, leaving Ellison as the firm’s sole CEO. The investment arm of the crypto exchange, FTX Ventures launched in January — when the absorption of Alameda reportedly began — with $2 billion in assets under management. BREAKING: Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX and Alameda merged their VC operations as …

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur and Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal has raised $50 million for a new startup fund dedicated to Web3 companies, underscoring venture capital’s growing interest in the blockchain-powered internet. Nailwal’s venture firm, Symbolic Capital, is backed by cryptocurrency protocols, exchanges, crypto-focused auditing firms and other venture capital investors, the company disclosed Thursday. Symbolic’s fund has already invested in three blockchain-focused gaming startups: BlinkMoon, Planet Mojo and Community Gaming. The initial funding received by these startups was not disclosed. In perhaps a new take on venture funding, Nailwal said his company is focused on supporting project founders from emerging markets. “Starting …