Top Web3 Headlines from This Week 10.20.2023

Here are the top web3 stories from this week.

Legal

🧑‍⚖️ The judge in the SBF trial is getting fed up by lawyer antics. Get the trial updates here.

⚖️ The CFTC brings fraud charges against DeFi lender Voyager co-founder Stephen Ehrlich.

💼 A commodities advisor pleads guilty to a cherry-picking scheme involving crypto futures contracts.

📜 California Governor approves a cryptocurrency bill that enforces stricter regulations on businesses, set to begin in 2025.

🔐The Fantom Foundation gets hacked for over $550K worth of cryptocurrency.

Capital Raised

🚀 Untangled Finance secures $13.5Mn in funding to provide blockchain-based institutional-grade credit access.

🌐 DeFi protocol Elixir closes a $7.5Mn Series A fundraising round at a $100Mn valuation, designed to help it improve exchange liquidity.

💼 Solana-based multisig protocol Squads raises $5.7Mn in funding from investors including Multicoin and Placeholder.

🧠 MyShell, an opBNB-based platform that offers AI tools, raises $5.6Mn in a seed funding round.

🦉 Parsec, a crypto analytics firm, raises $4Mn in an investment round led by Uniswap billionaire Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.

Products

🔐 ConsenSys acquires SMG, aimed to deliver state-of-the-art blockchain solutions.

🌐 BitGo acquires HeightZero, a crypto wealth management platform.

💼 MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet, returns to Apple’s App Store after briefly leaving the platform.

🚀 Forj introduces the ApeCoin community accelerator, offering opportunities for NFT enthusiasts to get involved in the space.

Diversity in Tech

🌟 Venture Access Alliance is launched by 70 investors, dedicated to making NYC’s startup ecosystem more inclusive.

💪🏽 Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator provides $100K in support to tech startups. Meet the latest cohort.

Special thanks to W3 Studio intern Yuna Lee for her work in preparing this week’s newsletter.

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