Top Web3 Headlines from This Week 10.27.2023
Here are the top web3 stories from this week.
Capital Raised
💼An Annapolis hedge fund, Runa Digital Assets, raises $42.5Mn to invest in cryptocurrency.
🔄BlockAid, an Israeli Web3 security startup, raises $33Mn and SynFutures, a decentralized exchange (DEX) platform, raises $22Mn.
📈Triple-A, a Crypto payments startup, and Cube Exchange, a hybrid trading platform, each raises $10Mn and $9Mn.
🕹️ Shrapnel, a Call of Duty-inspired crypto video game, raises $20Mn and Upland raises $7Mn for its virtual land Web3 metaverse project.
📊 Rymedi, a Web3 healthcare information platform, secures $9 Mn and Coin Metrics, a crypto data firm, secures $6.7Mn.
Products
🌐 The Bitcoin price surges 20% over the past five days, with positive news related to bitcoin funds in stock exchanges, including Blackrock’s potential Bitcoin spot ETF.
🤝 Clearinghouse DTCC acquires blockchain startup Securrency to enhance its technological capabilities.
💳 Mastercard announces plans to collaborate with self-custody wallet firms in the Web3 space.
🛒 Walmart partners with Outlier Ventures to launch a Web3 accelerator program featuring five startups.
⚖️ BlockFi gets approval to begin repaying creditors after emerging from bankruptcy.
Web3 ATL
🗓️ Web3 ATL is the biggest conference in Atlanta for crypto and blockchain leaders. It takes place Nov 3–5, and I’ll be speaking on a panel about the growth of the industry in our city. Get 25% off tickets here.
Legal
🏛️ New York takes legal action against crypto firms for alleged $1Bn fraud, citing involvement of SBF Hedge Fund.
⚖️ SEC drops charges against Ripple CEO Garlinghouse and Chairman Larsen, and wins a default judgment against Thor Technologies founder David Chin.
👤 Sam Bankman-Fried agrees to testify in ongoing legal proceedings.
💼 FBI charges six individuals for allegedly running a $30Mn money transmitting business using cryptocurrency.
🤖Maestro Telegram bot experiences a contract exploit, resulting in the theft of $500K of ETH.
Diversity in Tech
💼 Black founders continue to face challenges, receiving only 0.13% of venture capital in Q3, underscoring the need for increased diversity in entrepreneurship.
🤝 Wellington Management closes the Wellington Venture Investments I fund, highlighting their commitment to diverse founders.
🎓 UNCF and Google collaborate to increase opportunities for HBCU students in tech fields with an additional $2Mn investment.
🔦 Spotlight on two Black women led startups. Kai XR offers students the opportunity to experience space travel, expanding horizons in education. Yolanda Barton, founder of Revere XR, speaks about how technology and storytelling can promote diversity in tech.
🌐 Check out this video highlighting diverse founders from the Atlanta Web3 Expo.
Special thanks to W3 Studio intern Yuna Lee for her work in preparing this week’s newsletter.
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