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Welcome to TechCrunch Crypto, previously generally known as Chain Response.
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Howdy and welcome again to the TechCrunch Crypto publication. I used to be out final week, so there was no publication, however we’re again to usually scheduled information bits and a few contemporary recurring segments and options — so should you like what you see (or don’t), let me know at jacquelyn@techcrunch.com.
Right here’s what was the largest information this week: bitcoin’s worth jumped over $60,000 and Coinbase’s app crashed, Telegram rolled out a plan to pay out rewards utilizing toncoin on the TON blockchain and Nigerian crypto customers confronted difficulties with some exchanges. Let’s get into it.
This week in web3
- Ex-Meta employees’ Aptos tests Hong Kong’s crypto appetite
- Bitcoin’s so high, it crashed Coinbase
- Telegram is launching ad revenue sharing next month using toncoin
- Crypto users in Nigeria briefly lose access to Binance, Kraken and Coinbase
- Starbucks Odyssey’s community lead sees NFTs as the best way to build brand loyalty
Crunching numbers
This week the crypto market was very overestimated as the 2 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether, each jumped about 23.6% and 18%, respectively, on the week, in accordance with CoinMarketCap data. The total crypto market cap elevated 19.4% over a seven-day interval to $2.34 trillion.
The current worth bounce for bitcoin, coupled with the incoming bitcoin halving and spot bitcoin ETF approvals in early January boosting demand, has many crypto market gamers questioning if the grandfather of cryptocurrencies will hit a brand new all-time excessive quickly or if this rally is short-lived.
Our favourite ‘Crypto Twitter’ submit
ICYMI, final week lots of crypto individuals had been tweeting about emails from Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. Satoshi stated lots of attention-grabbing issues, however this post on X by Tom Schmidt, associate at Dragonfly Capital, bought lots of consideration and even precipitated some Bitcoiners to exit and purchase a pineapple and jalapeno pizza in honor of it. Which brings me to the query…would you eat that?
Picture Credit: Tom Schmidt on X(opens in a new window)
The most recent pod
Chain Response is doing a month-to-month sequence diving into totally different matters and themes in crypto. This month we’re specializing in NFTs.
As a result of there was no publication final week, we’re highlighting last week’s episode, the place I interviewed Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the guide “The Every thing Token,” and co-host of a web3 morning present, Espresso with Captain.
He additionally co-authored the primary Harvard Enterprise Evaluate article about NFTs. Outdoors of that, he consults with companies and types about constructing their web3 methods, together with his position with Starbucks, the place he's a neighborhood lead for its NFT-focused loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey.
Earlier than entering into the web3 world, Steve labored in communications and advertising roles for greater than 15 years.
Jacquelyn and Steve mentioned what bought him curious about NFTs, how vital it's to construct understanding for the sector and why communities matter greater than flooring costs.
Additionally they dove into:
- Future adoption for Bored Ape Yacht Membership
- Rising Starbucks’ NFT-based loyalty program
- What companies and types have to find out about web3
- Learn how to get began within the NFT area
BONUS: For this week’s episode, we’re resharing a dialog I had in June 2023 with Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden.
Once we recorded this episode, NFT gross sales had been down round $640 million in the beginning of the month, in comparison with at present the place February 2024 NFT gross sales quantity hit $1 billion, for the primary time since February 2023.
Trying again on this dialog, we determined this episode was an incredible addition to the NFT sequence so as to add some context for what a loopy yr it has been and the way a lot issues have modified (and a few issues stayed the identical) — particularly for individuals constructing within the NFT area.
Magic Eden initially started as a Solana-based NFT buying and selling platform, however has expanded its help to different blockchain networks like Polygon, Ethereum and Bitcoin. In June 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million in a Collection B spherical that granted it unicorn standing.
We mentioned why the NFT market expanded its help to different blockchains, its BRC-20 token help and the way the corporate plans on staying aggressive within the consistently altering market.
We additionally talked about:
- NFT market volatility
- Royalty charges
- Web3 gaming enlargement
- Recommendation for NFT neighborhood
Subscribe to Chain Response on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite pod platform to maintain up with the most recent episodes, and please go away us a assessment should you like what you hear!
Comply with the cash
- Silence Laboratories, a cryptographic safety startup, secures $4.1 million in funding
- Initia raises $7.5 million seed spherical to simplify blockchain improvement
- Uneven Monetary has a plan to unlock Bitcoin’s trillion-dollar potential with devoted DeFi fund
- Crypto pockets and alternate Backpack raised $17 million in strategic Collection A spherical
- Ethereum-based Etherfi raised $27 million in a spherical led by Bullish and CoinFund
This record was compiled with data from Messari in addition to TechCrunch’s personal reporting.
What else we’re writing
Wish to department out from the world of web3? Listed below are some articles on TechCrunch that caught our consideration this week.
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