web3
TechCrunch Minute: Where CZ’s sentencing leaves the state of crypto
Four months behind bars and a massive fine, that’s what CZ is getting from the government for his crypto exchange’s misdeeds. Regardless of how you view the verdict — too…
Kiki World, a beauty brand that uses web3 for customer co-creation and ownership, raises $7M from a16z
If you think that choosing a nail polish color or which ingredients go into your face cream can’t have anything to do with blockchain, think again. Kiki World, a beauty…
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Nine crypto VCs on why Q1 investments were so hot and how it compares to previous bull market
If the 2023 crypto venture landscape was an ice-cold pot of water, the first quarter of 2024 is the part where the bubbles start to form right before water boils, Tom Schmidt, a partner at Dragonfly Capital, said to TechCrunch. And he’s not wrong: $2.52 billion in total capital has been raised across the crypto…
Web3 investment firm Borderless Capital acquires CTF Capital to bring AI and quant expertise
Borderless Capital, an investment firm that specializes in web3, announced Tuesday that it is acquiring CTF Capital, a quantitative trading and asset management firm headquartered in Miami, with technology and…
Rails launches with $6.2M round for its decentralized FTX alternative
Rails, a decentralized crypto exchange, has raised $6.2 million in attempts to fill the void FTX left behind after crashing in 2022, the startup’s co-founder and CEO Satraj Bambra exclusively…
Former web3 gaming founders raise $2.5M for their NFT marketplace to retain users even when there ‘isn’t money to be made’
Even though NFT sales volume is still down 88% from 2022 all-time highs (and down 38% year-to-date), Pallet Exchange is building a new type of NFT marketplace focused on user…
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NFT fantasy sports startup Sorare lays off 13% of staff as web3 gaming continues to sputter
Web3-enabled fantasy sports platform Sorare laid off 22 employees based in its New York office in February. The move comes as the startup wants certain teams to be concentrated at the company’s Paris headquarters to improve communication and efficiency, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. “As we plan for our next stage of…
OpenSea’s partnership with Coachella is a sign that NFTs can be more than profile pictures
The NFT sector has not yet returned to the glory of its 2022 heyday, but that hasn’t stopped the evolution of the tech. For instance, OpenSea has partnered with the…
Taiko raises $37M to build web3 infrastructure for a censorship-free internet
Amid the speculation and volatility in the casino-like crypto land, there remains a subset of individuals who espouse blockchain’s potential to decentralize various aspects of human activities for the greater…
Karma3 Labs raises $4.5M to improve trust in web3 with ratings and recommendations
There’s no reputation system in the decentralized world of web3, so it’s hard to figure out which entities and individuals to trust and depend on.
Asymmetric Financial has a plan to unlock Bitcoin’s trillion-dollar potential with dedicated DeFi fund
As the digital asset industry picks up steam again, some crypto funds are looking to home in on specific sectors. Crypto fund Asymmetric Financial is creating its Bitcoin DeFi Venture…
NodeShift wants to challenge the hyperscalers with its decentralized cloud
When the large cloud providers have excess compute capacity, they tend to discount it through programs like AWS’s and Azure’s spot instances. Any time a server idles, it isn’t making…
Hivemapper reveals new Bee dashcam as its latest weapon against Google’s map dominance
Mapping startup Hivemapper will launch a new dashcam later this year that its co-founder believes will speed up efforts to claw market share away from Google. The new Hivemapper Bee…
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Coinbase cites stablecoins, Base as key 2024 priorities after crushing Q4 estimates
After disclosing better-than-expected financial results in its fourth-quarter earnings report, U.S.-based Coinbase has big plans. The second-largest crypto exchange told its investors that it intends to lean heavily on its work with the popular USDC stablecoin this year, lever its recently launched layer-2 blockchain Base as a way to experiment with and improve blockchain utility…
New PitchBook data makes it clear that if the larger startup market is suffering from an exit-drought, crypto startups are possibly even more parched.
OpenSea takes the long view by focusing on its UX even as NFT sales remain low
The NFT space has lost a lot of its sparkle over the past few years, but that hasn’t stopped some founders, investors and projects from trucking along in hopes of…
SEC’s Hester Peirce still plans to push for a token ‘safe harbor’ plan
It’s been almost 3 years since SEC commissioner Hester Peirce released her updated Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0, but she isn’t giving up.
Decentralized social network Farcaster is trying to reach mass adoption through Web 2.0 techniques
More often than not, it’s rare for crypto-native users to have an easy, quick onboarding experience. Farcaster wants to change that.
Polygon Labs lays off 60 employees, about 19% of its staff, CEO says
Polygon Labs, the team focused on building the layer-2 blockchain Polygon, has laid off 60 employees, or about 19% of its staff, according to a post published Thursday by CEO…
On Tuesday, hackers stole around $112 million of the Ripple-focused cryptocurrency XRP from a crypto wallet, Ripple’s co-founder and executive chairman has disclosed. Ripple’s Chris Larsen said on Wednesday that…
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Ethereum developer interest hit new all-time highs in 2023 despite a bear market
Last year, 2023, was especially a home run for Ethereum, which saw SDK installs increase 31% year-over year.
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Solana Mobile still has a long way to go until it hits breakeven
If Solana Mobile’s devices have 100,000 users, Yakovenko views that user base as a stronger distribution channel for dApps than through traditional app stores like Google or Apple.
Like a tenacious balloon, no matter how hard crypto gets knocked down, it tends to float back up again. But the current crypto bust looks a bit different.
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Number of monthly active crypto devs fell 25% in 2023
Developers with more than two years of experience in crypto are at an all-time high.
Inception Capital closes flagship $30M Fund of Funds focused on crypto emerging managers
The fund targeted family offices and high-net-worth individuals who want “diversified” exposure to early-stage crypto venture deals.
To survive, web3 startups must expand their buyer base to brand-new markets that showcase a greater willingness to spend, invest and innovate.
The current mini crypto bull run could help get web3 corporate venture capital out of its slump.
Why Puma is sticking to its web3 bets as crypto shakes off a long winter
While some brands moved away from web3 in 2023 during a long crypto winter, Puma stayed the course and its head of emerging technology, Ivan Dashkov, told TechCrunch+ it has no…
For yet another year, hackers stole billions of dollars in crypto. But for the first time since 2020, the trend is downwards, according to crypto security firms. This year, hackers…
EthSign brings DocuSign-like features to Line, Telegram with a web3 twist
Despite the ongoing regulatory crackdown on the crypto industry and the collapse of some of its poster children, the underlying decentralized technology continues to drive internet incumbents into the web3…
