Top Web3 Headlines from This Week 11.10.2023

Here are the top web3 stories from this week.

Capital Raised

🔄 Stablecoin giant Circle continues to contemplate a 2024 IPO, after its SPAC plans were called off in 2022.

💸Faction Ventures announced a $285MM early-stage Crypto VC fund. Additionally, Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings establish a $100M Crypto fund.

🧠 Ritual, an artificial intelligence platform, secures $25M to decentralize access to AI.

🔒 Modulus raises $6.3M to enhance crypto security in AI applications, and Llama raises $6M to streamline smart contract access management.

⚙️ Ethereum scaling solution Stackr secures $5.5M funding, from a16z CSS, Archetype and others.

🌐 A16z Crypto makes its first UK investment of $4.2M in UK-based Pimlico, a firm that aims to make Ethereum easier.

Products

💹 News on the ETF front. Blackrock registers $ETH ETF name in Delaware, potentially signaling a future application for the second largest Crypto. ARK Invest partners with 21Share to launch a digital asset ETF suite, with five ETF products on the CBOE next week.

🤑Avalanche launches Codebase accelerator for web3 startups.

🌐 Singapore-headquartered Web3 firm Treehouse acquires Origins to expand into NFT analytics,

🚀 Kraken follows Coinbase’s lead, announcing plans to launch a Layer 2 network.

🎮 Ubisoft, the maker of Assassin’s Creed, ventures into the web3 gaming experience, with plans to collaborate with Immutable X.

🔄 Opensea undergoes a restructuring with a significant staff reduction, cutting 50% of its workforce.

Legal

💼 FTX aims to sell assets worth $744M from Grayscale and Bitwise trusts.

⚖️ Indian police arrest 8 individuals, including four cops, in connection with a $300M crypto scam.

🌐 U.S. authorities seize and file a forfeiture action to recover over $54M in cryptocurrency linked to a New Jersey drug distribution scheme.

Diversity in Tech

🚀 Farah Allen, founder of The Labz, showcases her innovative leadership as a tech entrepreneur, challenging traditional norms.

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

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