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☆ Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee wants us to 'ignore' Web3: 'Web3 is not the web at all'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It involves a few technologies, including blockchain, cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens. Personal data stores have to be fast, cheap and private." "Ignore the Web3 stuff, random Web3 that was built on blockchain," he added. Berners-Lee said people too often conflate Web3 with "Web 3.0," his own proposal for reshaping the internet. "The result was a big data race where the winner was the one corporation that controlled the most data and the losers were everybody else," he said.

☆ Cryptocurrencies posted strong gains in October. Here’s why investors are optimistic on the rest of the year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Things are looking up for crypto after bitcoin and ether finally climbed enough to post gains for October. Prices were unusually flat for most of the month, but several investors have interpreted that as stability and resilience. Still, investors say that while it may be too early to call a bottom, recovery is in sight. McClurg also a highlighted a recent move of $940 million in bitcoin investors removed from exchanges, calling it a typically bullish signal and an indicator that people are saving their bitcoin rather than selling it. While the central bank continues to dominate investors' attention, the case for bitcoin continues develop for other market participants.

☆ Shopify's startup investments this year include millions into companies that focus on NFTs, Web3 apps, customer-engagement, and financial services
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In its press release announcing the new funding, Wati said the investment was Shopify's first in a startup operating in Southeast Asia. The goal is to make Thirdweb's tools available to Shopify merchants who want to bring Web3 products and experiences to their online stores. Shopify recently participated in Gorgias' $30 million Series C round, which valued the startup at $710 million. According to the company, merchants using its technology report a 96% increase in sales on average. Flexport announced it had received a strategic investment from Shopify as part of its $935 million Series E on February 7.

☆ Coinbase reports better-than-expected user numbers even as third-quarter revenue plunges
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Coinbase reported user numbers that topped analysts' estimates even as third-quarter revenue missed estimates and the cryptocurrency exchange had a wider-than-expected loss. Loss of $2.43 per share, adjusted, vs. loss of $2.40 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue: $590 million, vs. $654 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. "Transaction revenue was significantly impacted by stronger macroeconomic and crypto market headwinds, as well as trading volume moving offshore," Coinbase said in its investor letter. October trading volume was $47 billion, and monthly users through October were roughly in-line with the third-quarter results, according to the filing.

☆ Crypto winter ‘only going to get worse,’ blockchain firm CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

There's something about the latest crypto crash that makes it different from previous downturns. Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesThe ongoing crypto winter is "only going to get worse" as the industry recalibrates to a higher interest rate world, according to the chief executive of blockchain firm Tezos. "Crypto hasn't been evaluated by that metric, and neither has technology in the last 10 years that we've had low interest rates," Breitman told CNBC. "It remains to be seen, but basically I think what you'll find is the things that are useful are going to thrive." The notion of the end of the era of easy money in crypto is one that analysts have been discussing in recent months amid the downturn.

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☆ A Meta exec quit after 11 years to join Web3 at the peak of its hype. Here's why she's staying through a crypto winter.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ex-Meta marketing exec Jennifer Kattula quit after 11 years to "take the leap" into Web3. The call piqued her interest and she began to research crypto and Web3 — both still nascent industries. Former Meta marketing executive Jennifer Kattula, now senior vice president of marketing at Polygon. Interest in Web3 and crypto was peaking, with bullish investors pouring a record $30 billion into crypto ventures that year. But Kattula's first foray into crypto did not go smoothly, and she left Celsius after less than six months in April 2022.

☆ 3 things not to do when pitching your startup to a VC, according to a partner at a $750 million crypto venture firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Marc Weinstein, a partner at VC firm Mechanism Capital, has cut 100 checks as an angel investor. The crypto venture firm grew from $500,000 to a peak AUM of $750 million in two years. But venture firms like Mechanism Capital say there are still tons of deals to be made. Founders who are 'catching the latest fad'The Mechanism Capital partner is focused on the team's backgrounds and what they've accomplished in the past. The firm, Weinstein included, looks for a certain level of consistency in their potential portfolio companies.

☆ Crypto winter is hurting Google's ad empire
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A cryptocurrency price crash and the onset of a new so-called "crypto winter" has left many companies in the industry facing a liquidity crisis. Google's overall ad growth of 6% in the quarter was the weakest for any period since 2013, other than one quarter at the beginning of the pandemic. CEO Sundar Pichai said the "challenging macro climate" is having an impact on Google's ad business. Schindler referenced the crypto pullback twice, but he didn't provide any additional color or specifics. Additionally, Coinbase will move data-related applications to Google's cloud infrastructure from Amazon Web Services, which the company has relied on for years.

☆ How ethereum and bitcoin are trying to go green
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Katie Brigham | Jeniece Pettitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow ethereum and bitcoin are trying to go greenEthereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, recently implemented a major network upgrade that reduced its energy consumption by 99.9%. But though energy usage has been one of the cryptocurrency industry's biggest targets for critique, it's not likely that bitcoin will follow suit. Instead, bitcoin miners are touting their use of renewables and their benefit to the electrical grid, as they try to green their image. Here's how both networks are trying to become more sustainable.

☆ How ethereum's merge made crypto mining more sustainable
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Called proof-of-stake, this system has reduced ethereum's energy consumption by more than 99%. All of this work helps to secure the network by making it nearly impossible for bad actors to accrue enough computing power to take control. But recent research also shows that in 2020, mining Bitcoin consumed 75.4 terawatt hours of electricity, more than all of Austria or Portugal. Ethereum proponents say this penalty will make the network more secure, while bitcoin enthusiasts see proof-of-work as the more secure, tried and true approach. However, the optics of bitcoin's energy use in the midst of the global climate crisis has become a problem for the network.

☆ A month after the Ethereum merge, supply is finally declining as hoped but the price of ether remains stuck
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In crypto terms, that means that the supply of ether is now decreasing rather than increasing. Despite basic supply and demand dynamics on the network, the macro backdrop still has a strong hold on crypto prices. "Theoretically speaking, if we see a deflationary environment then there should be upward pressure on the price, but there are other factors that affect the ether price," said Owen Lau, an analyst at Oppenheimer. Ethereum uses those gas fees to burn tokens, so with higher fees the network had more money to burn. High gas fees can always come down however, Lau said, and that would mean the network would have less ether to burn.

☆ How Jason Goldberg went against investors' advice amid the crypto winter and raised $3 million for his Web3 development startup Airstack
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cofounder and CEO Jason Goldberg launched Airstack during the depths of the crypto crash. He ignored advice to take the summer off and instead built a prototype, which caught VCs' attention. Jason Goldberg cofounded his Web3 development startup, Airstack, in May, just as crypto markets began to unravel. Airstack's technology essentially creates application programming interfaces, or APIs, for Web3 applications. It improves upon existing infrastructure such as The Graph by allowing developers to access real-time data from several Web3 applications at a time, Goldberg said.

☆ Against investors' advice, Jason Goldberg launched a Web3 development startup in the middle of the crypto winter. Here's how he raised $3 million anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cofounder and CEO Jason Goldberg launched Airstack during the depths of the crypto crash. Jason Goldberg cofounded his Web3 development startup, Airstack, in May, just as crypto markets began to unravel. Airtable has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Animal Ventures, Warburg Serres, Polygon, Genblock, Fenbushi, Resolute Ventures, WW Ventures, Tensai Capital, WestWave Ventures, Lecca Ventures, and Martin Crowley's Peoples Syndicate. Airstack's technology essentially creates application programming interfaces, or APIs, for Web3 applications. It improves upon existing infrastructure such as The Graph by allowing developers to access real-time data from several Web3 applications at a time, Goldberg said.

☆ Brazil's Nubank to introduce cryptocurrency as part of rewards program
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's Nubank on Wednesday announced plans to release its own cryptocurrency as part of a new customer rewards program. Warren Buffett-backed Nubank said in a statement the Nucoin digital currency is expected to be launched in the first half of 2023. Its goal is to offer customers benefits such as discounts and perks as they accumulate Nucoins. Nubank announced in May it would allow its Brazilian customers to make cryptocurrency transactions on its banking app. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Buffett-backed digital bank Nubank to launch its own cryptocurrency in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Brazilian digital banking startup Nubank will launch its own cryptocurrency in the country next year, marking the latest move into digital assets by a large financial institution. Nubank said Wednesday it will launch the token, called Nucoin, in the first half of 2023. In a press release, the company touts Nucoin as "a new way to recognize customer loyalty and encourage engagement with Nubank products." Nubank isn't the first bank to launch its own cryptocurrency. The Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs , meanwhile, has its own internal crypto trading desk.

☆ Best Online Stock Trading Platforms of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +15 min

Luckily, the past few years has seen a profusion of online stock trading platforms. We spent hours comparing more than a dozen stock trading platforms looking for the most intuitive tools, in-depth research and access to guidance and other educational content. We considered all of this when making our picks for the Best Stock Trading Platforms of 2022. How we pickedTo pick Buy Side from WSJ’s best stock trading platforms, we reviewed offerings from more than a dozen companies. Morgan Stanley is the corporate parent of E*Trade, one of the stock trading platforms considered for this story.

☆ A Goldman Sachs alum turned crypto exec breaks down why Wall Street's next push into digital assets will be through bitcoin
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

John Haar, a managing director at digital asset services platform Swan Bitcoin, previously had a 12-year stint at Goldman Sachs. He says bitcoin is the biggest contender to gain traction in legacy finance and pull institutional interest in further. Investors saw the first wave of institutional interest in crypto through bitcoin as well. First, the value prop of bitcoin, Haar says, is the concept of "sound money," a currency that isn't prone to a sudden depreciation or appreciation in value. "I think Bitcoin is an easier sell, but I think we're still very early in terms of them potentially getting on board.

☆ From Whole Foods to Gamestop, here are 5 retailers that accept crypto—but there's a catch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Nearly 40% of millennials and Gen Zers who own cryptocurrency plan to use it to make payments, according to PYMNT and BitPay's "Paying With Crypto" survey. About 75% of them plan to begin accepting crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years, according to a recent Deloitte survey. A number of companies are already welcoming payments with digital currencies — just not directly. For example, Flexa, a digital payments platform, partners with a variety of retailers and enables them to accept payments made with crypto such as bitcoin and ethereum. Users store their crypto in the app's digital wallet and then can use a code to spend their funds at various participating stores.

☆ See the 14-slide pitch deck a former Citi banker used to raise $26 million for his Web3 startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Ellen Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The idea came after Ceesay helped the basketball player securitize his NBA contract using ethereum. Solo Ceesay, a 27-year-old ex-Citi investment banker, has paired up with the NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie to launch a new Web3 company. Ceesay and Dinwiddie first saw a business opportunity in Web3 after Ceesay used his investment-banking expertise to help Dinwiddie securitize a $34.4 million NBA contract using ethereum. On Calaxy, creators set all the rules and price out what their content is worth in "tokens" that their fans can buy. Ceesay walked Insider through the pitch deck that secured Calaxy $26 million in funding:

☆ FASB Settles on Fair-Value Accounting for Measuring Crypto Assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Financial Accounting Standards Board on Wednesday said companies should use fair-value accounting for measuring bitcoin and other crypto assets, moving a step closer to a standard that could clear up uncertainty over reporting how much such holdings are worth. Companies and accountants want the FASB to adopt fair-value accounting instead, which would allow them to recognize losses and gains immediately and treat digital assets as financial assets. The FASB on Wednesday said fair-value accounting best captures the economics of crypto assets and determined the method would be a requirement rather than an option for companies. PREVIEWCompanies and investors have asked the FASB for years for rules on how to account for and disclose crypto assets. “Without these standards for the accounting and valuation of crypto assets, companies are reluctant to hold them,” she said.

☆ Crypto prices are higher ahead of key inflation data, bitcoin holds at $19,000
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ether has hugely outperformed bitcoin since both cryptocurrencies formed a bottom in June 2022. Ether's superior gains have come as investors anticipate a major upgrade to the ethereum blockchain called "the merge." Cryptocurrencies were slightly higher on Wednesday after investors shrugged off a higher-than-expected inflation report in anticipation of another key inflation indicator due to come out on Thursday. The price of bitcoin edged higher by about 0.4% and was trading at $19,072.00, while ether rose 0.6% to $1,290.73. The September producer price index, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, came in higher than expected, suggesting to investors that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue aggressively hiking rates until inflation comes down.

☆ Blockchain.com gets Singapore licence, second crypto firm to obtain approval this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Xinghui Kok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash plunge into water in this illustration taken, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoSINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, said on Wednesday it had received approval from Singapore's central bank to offer payment services in the city-state. The announcement came a day after crypto giant, Coinbase, said it had also received the same approval. This brings the number of crypto companies allowed to operate in Singapore to 18, out of the roughly 180 firms who have applied for a crypto payments licence since 2020. Blockchain.com, which was valued at $14 billion in March, said in a statement that it views Singapore as an attractive location to grow its institutional customers and team.

☆ Former Google ads boss launches ‘Web3’ search startup with backing from Coinbase, top VCs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The round was led by Paradigm, a prolific crypto and "Web3" dealmaker, while Coinbase, Sequoia and Greylock — where Ramaswamy is a partner — also invested. Nxyz was conceived earlier this year by a team of engineers at Neeva, a search engine that doesn't include any ads and blocks online tracking tools. In a March blogpost on Neeva's website, nxyz is described as "an experiment bringing the same user-first ethos of Neeva search to web3." Unlike Neeva and Google — the "Web2" behemoth Neeva wants to disrupt — nxyz's Web3 search software isn't targeted at consumers. "I think it'll be a very different trajectory" to Web3 and crypto companies that have run into financial troubles, he said.

☆ Crypto startup Edge & Node's newly named interim CEO has a plan to make Web3 easier for software developers to build in
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Edge & Node, the startup behind the Web3 protocol The Graph, has a new interim CEO, Brandon Ramirez. The same goes for the developers seeking to build decentralized apps, or dapps, as they're commonly called. Companies such as the decentralized-finance startups Sushi and Lido and the crypto research startup Messari have used The Graph for their development. Like many blockchain developers, Ramirez earned his programming chops in enterprise software. Ramirez, Tal, and Pohlmann founded The Graph in 2018 to help create some of that basic infrastructure.

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