web3
Crypto investor Katie Haun raises $1.5 billion for Web3 venture fund
Katie Haun, crypto investor and board member for Coinbase and OpenSea announced that she had raised $1.5 billion for her new fund, Haun Ventures. On Tuesday, March 22, Haun posted an article on Twitter, briefly introducing the firm and sharing that the funds would be used to invest in Web3 projects. Introducing @HaunVentures, a firm built for the next generation of the internet. We’ve raised $1.5 billion across two funds to invest in web3. An exciting first step, but the real work begins now. https://t.co/tBeE4OEJkD — Kathryn Haun (@katie_haun) March 22, 2022 The firm will invest through two funds, a $500 million early-stage fund, and a $1 billion acceleration fund. The two funds represent the largest debut on record for investment vehicles led by a female General Partner, according to dat...
Animoca Brands targets social media giants in latest Web3 expansion plans
Animoca Brands co-founder and chairman Yat Siu stated that his firm will continue to “shepherd companies into Web3” to speed up the evolution of the internet into an open Metaverse. Siu has long advocated for the broader concept of an open Metaverse as opposed to a closed one that is dominated by large centralized Web2 companies. Central to Siu’s argument is that decentralized Web3 platforms and tech such as NFTs offer users a chance to maintain ownership rights over their data and content online, instead of it being controlled and utilized by firms such as Meta (formerly Facebook). Siu made his latest comments while speaking on day three of the Australian Blockchain Week event earlier today. During his discussion hosted by Caroline Bowler — the CEO of local crypto exchange BTC Markets — t...
SXSW 2022 showcased immersive NFT experiences, lacking crypto and Bitcoin sessions
South by Southwest — commonly referred to as “South By” or “SXSW” — has returned to Austin, Texas this year to showcase the latest trends in interactive media, music, art, film and technology. While SXSW runs through March 20, 2022, the entertainment and technology festival kicked off its first weekend with a large focus on Web3 and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). NFT activations and panels SXSW’s attendees’ interest in NFTs and the future of the internet was particularly evident at the venue hosted by Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) — a business and creative unit formed by FOX Entertainment in 2021. On March 11, the first day of SXSW, a line consisting of hundreds of people wrapped around the streets of Fifth and Trinity in downtown Austin as SXSW badge holders anxiously awaited entrance to BCL...
VC Roundup: NFTs, crypto mortgages, 5G network and Web3 devs raise millions
The cryptocurrency market has failed to make significant headway in recent months, but that hasn’t stopped the industry’s builders from building. Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), crypto mortgages, blockchain-powered cellular networks and Web3 gaming have all piqued the interest of venture capitalists. These new and familiar investment themes headline the latest edition of VC Roundup, as venture funds continue to target blockchain’s most promising value plays. a16z execs back new NFT fund Andreessen Horowitz’s foray into the blockchain industry continued this month after a large segment of its investing team backed a new nonfungible token fund called Curated. The fund, which is worth $30 million, has the singular purpose of buying and holding NFT artwork. Among the a16z brass, Marc Andreess...
The metaverse will change the paradigm of content creation
Content constitutes the essence of the internet and comes in many different forms that the current Web2 internet iteration supports — text, audio, video or a mix of all three. However, content is scarcely a free resource. It is content creators who are now becoming opinion leaders, influencers and the cornerstones of so many of the critical services businesses rely on, such as advertising, marketing and public relations management. The need for content and its strive for independence — embodied by thousands of bloggers and indie performers — has spawned an immense online economy that trades talent and often rakes in sales volumes many a top-level artist would salivate to earn. This economy has been dubbed the creator economy: a financial framework that allows independent individuals to ear...
Web3 will be key to the future of China’s internet, says security regulator
The director of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau of China’s Securities Regulatory Commission Yao Qian has called for a special focus on Web3, deeming it to be the future of the internet. Yao published an article titled “Web 3.0: A New Generation of Internet that is Approaching,” talking about the significance of the evolving tech and how the world is at a crucial transition from Web2 to Web3. The article talked about the significance of forward-looking research and strategic infrastructure development. Yao predicted that Web3 will reconstruct the organizational form and business model of the Internet economy and is expected to greatly improve the existing Internet ecosystem, Related: Republican lawmakers introduce bill targeting China’s CBDC on...
Hashdex to launch Web3 and smart contracts ETF on Brazil’s stock exchange B3
Hashdex, a global crypto-focused asset manager, has revealed the launch of its Web3 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with a new announcement. As per a report by Cointelegraph Brazil, the new ETF will be available on B3, Brazil’s main stock exchange, and will give investors a secure and diversified way to invest in Web3 and its underlying smart contract platforms. The new ETF’s reserve period started Monday, March 14, 2022, and runs until Friday, March 25, 2022. Hashdex’s co-founder and CEO Marcelo Sampaio said the company believes that Web3 represents the future of the internet and is a further indication of blockchain technology’s potential. He added that: “The WEB311 ETF not only provides exposure to the smart contract platforms underpinning Web3, but serves as an...
Deep Dive: A Musician’s Guide to Web3
The music industry hasn’t always welcomed new technology, but the booming NFT marketplace — overall sales generated $25 billion last year — shows the promise of Web3, and everyone wants a piece of the action. Deep Dive explains how artists and executives can get in on it wisely and examines blockchain’s potential to reshape the industry. Plus: lessons in NFT drops from dance music’s pioneers, legal pitfalls to avoid when you’re minting the goods, all the crypto lingo you need to know and a guide to the top startups supporting musicians in the metaverse. Read the full Deep Dive here. Learn To Speak Web3: Translating Crypto’s Buzzwords For The Music Business A primer for artists and executives considering doing business in the metaverse. Read more. Shira Inbar Doing Music Deals In The M...
Okcoin launches $165M collective investment to push Bitcoin adoption
Cryptocurrency exchange Okcoin, along with the Stacks Accelerator and Stacks Foundation, announced on Thursday the start of the “Bitcoin Odyssey,” a one-year commitment among investment firms to invest $165 million in inventive solutions to help drive Bitcoin (BTC) adoption. The Bitcoin Odyssey is funded by Digital Currency Group, GBV Capital, White Star Capital and GSR, among other organizations, to respond to the rise in interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) and new technological capabilities made possible with Stacks. Alex Chizhik, head of listings at Okcoin, and Kyle Ellicott, partner at Stacks Accelerator, will co-lead the initiative. The money and assets will be used to finance initiatives that are being built on Stacks, an open-source network for Bitcoin-based smart contracts, an...
Sia Says She’s Behind Popular Snoop Dogg-Affiliated NFT Twitter Account
Sia has come out… as an avid NFT collector. On Tuesday (March 8), the singer-songwriter revealed that she’s behind the NFT Twitter handle @BiancaMedici69, which trades and discusses NFTs with over 13,000 followers. The account owner had been teasing their identity for several days, tweeting on Monday, “It’s been a joy quietly collecting NFTs this last year supporting other artists & causes. And oh what fun being a secret Medici. But I think it may bring more attention to these artists & causes if I went ‘public.’ So Tuesday at 2pm PT, I will dox & reveal my true identity.” Sia revealed her involvement with a tweet from her official account on Tuesday which read, “I am @BiancaMedici69.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news I am @BiancaMed...
Happy International Women’s Day! Leaders share their experiences in crypto
The International Women’s Day theme this year is #BreakTheBias, so Cointelegraph spoke to 10 leaders in the blockchain industry about their experiences as women in Web3 and gathered their advice. From discussing barriers to entry to nonfungible tokens and role models, the following comments are from women in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia. When asked what the current barriers to entry that women may face when considering careers in crypto, Dr. Cagla Gul Senkardes, Co-founder of the Istanbul Blockchain Women Association and lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University, flatly answered “bias.” Speaking from a more academic point of view, Senkardes sees gender bias and culturally constructed ideologies in the context of cryptofeminism, the concept of havin...
Making the Metaverse the key to a better future instead of a dystopian prison
Will the Metaverse(s) change humanity as we know it? Will the Metaverse(s) be the ultimate augmentation of human perception? Will it become an agora for our dreams (and, of course, nightmares), able to transform human perception entirely? Has it already started? To start with the latter question: Yes, the groundwork has already been laid. Sensors from our smartphones, social media, digital devices, and the digital data-driven companies that top the Fortune 500 comprise the new cathedrals, religions and tribal spaces for humanity. These technologies and the onset of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, or 4IR, and the AI-driven Society 5.0 have seen more change in humanity in the last 50 years than in the previous 30,000 combined. And this is just the beginning! In 1974, in a thought...
