Welcome to this edition of Chain Reaction. It’s the start of a new year and the crypto space is off to a strong start in 2024. Reports and ETF analysts have suggested that a bitcoin spot ETF approval in the U.S. could be coming soon, leading to a surge in bitcoin’s price to over $45,000. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has also reached its highest level since May 2022 at $1.68 trillion.
In other news, the Financial Intelligence Unit of India has issued a notice to nine global crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin, and Mexc, alleging that they are operating illegally in the country and have blocked their websites. More details below.
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This week in web3:
1. Crypto optimism in the age of the doomer
2. India to block crypto exchanges Binance, Kraken websites
3. NFTs can survive thanks to their community (TC+ article)
4. Crypto losses declined over 50% in 2023 (TC+ article)
5. Hackers stole $2 billion in crypto in 2023
6. Why I’m modestly crypto-bullish in 2024 (TC+ article)
7. Puma remains committed to web3 investments (TC+ article)
The latest pod episode:
For this week’s news episode, Jacquelyn dove into the latest developments on spot bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. with Marathon Digital Holdings CEO Fred Thiel. Currently, 14 asset management firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, are vying for approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for their spot bitcoin ETFs. Some reports suggest that approval may happen soon, given the frequent meetings and updated filings in recent weeks. The discussion also touched on what a spot bitcoin ETF could mean for investors, institutions, miners, and bitcoin’s price. Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform and leave us a review if you enjoy the episode.
Follow the money:
– Arkon Energy raises $110 million to expand U.S. bitcoin mining and launch AI cloud service in Norway
– Web3 gaming company Portal closed a strategic funding round
– Lending platform Tonka Finance secured $2.5 million in funding
– Animoca Brands invested in racing esports startup Veloce in a pre-IPO funding round
What else we’re writing:
If you want to explore beyond the world of web3, check out some articles on TechCrunch that caught our attention this week:
– 23andMe blames victims for data breach
– I never thought I’d be a projector person
– Remembering the startups we lost in 2023
– Spiders aren’t interested in your viral body butter
– More than 40 investors share their predictions for 2024 (TC+ article)
Follow me on Twitter @Jacqmelinek for breaking crypto news, memes, and more.
Thank you for reading this edition of Chain Reaction. Stay tuned for our next issue on Thursday at 12 p.m. PT.
