Funding Deals 20th To 26th February 2024

UBS, the largest private bank in the world, has officially announced the introduction of uMINT, which stands for UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token, a tokenized investment fund utilizing the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.

High Quality Offerings

While UBS did not specify the financial instruments included in the fund, it mentioned that it offers investors access to high-quality money market instruments within a conservative, risk-managed framework, as stated in their press release.

Thomas Kaegi, co-head of the UBS Asian division, noted that the bank has observed an increasing interest among investors for tokenized financial assets across various asset classes. Currently, Ethereum is recognized as the leading blockchain for real-world asset tokenization, according to RWA.xyz, which reports over $3 billion in tokenized assets on the platform.

A Steady Increase

Approximately $3.9 billion in assets have been tokenized on-chain, excluding private credit, with U.S. Treasury Debt comprising the largest portion. Moreover, the value of tokenized assets on Ethereum has risen nearly 4% over the past month.

$BUIDL (by BlackRock) holds the highest market cap for U.S. Treasury products at over $523 million, while $FOBXX (by Franklin Templeton) has a market cap of around $408 million. Earlier on in 2024, Ethereum demonstrated notable progress in the percentage of investors maintaining their assets for over a year, marking a significant milestone for the blockchain.

During a recent appearance at the Chainlink SmartCon at Hong Kong Fintech Week, Tron founder Justin Sun shared his insights into various topics, including the fairness of meme coins compared to venture-capital-backed tokens and what kind of role Chainlink has in integrating traditional finance (TradFi) within the Tron ecosystem.

The Case For Meme Coins

Sun articulated a strong case for meme coins, emphasizing the concept of a fair launch as a key advantage. He noted that the transparency of meme coins allows the community to track movements, which serves as a safeguard against sudden price drops that can occur when large amounts of assets are moved without community knowledge.

Sun has witnessed the fallout via rug pulls in the crypto space, where developers abandon projects, leaving investors in the lurch. He believes that a commitment to fair distribution is essential for any meme coin developer aiming for success.

He also briefly talked about the evolving market structure, where major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) coexist with meme coins and venture-capital-backed tokens. Sun expressed confidence in a trend that favors community engagement, citing recent launches on the HTX platform that have yielded impressive returns, often exceeding 100%.

In contrast, tokens listed on Binance have faced disappointing performance, with some declining by as much as 50%. Sun highlighted that while getting listed on Binance can take up to six months, HTX prioritizes tokens backed by strong communities, enabling returns as high as 500x.

Future Aspirations

Looking ahead, Sun is focused on enhancing USDD, a fully decentralized stablecoin by Tron. Justin sees USDD as a necessary alternative to many stablecoins currently on the market, especially DAI. By the end of the year, he aims to upgrade the USDD smart contract system to bolster its functionality and decentralization.

In tandem with the Chainlink collaboration, Tron plans to engage with DeFi developers and industry leaders like Aave to explore new opportunities. Additionally, the Tron team is set to launch various innovative meme coin projects, including those themed around artificial intelligence, by early next year.

Coinbase recently saw its shares experience their largest single-day drop in over two years after the company released its latest earnings report, which fell short of expectations and coincided with a significant downturn in the stock market.

Despite this setback, traders remain optimistic about a recovery for the stock in 2025. On October 31st, 2024, COIN closed at $179.25, marking a 15.34% decrease, the steepest intraday decline since July 26th, 2022, when it dropped 21% during an SEC investigation. After hours, COIN experienced a slight rebound of 1.43%.

Falling Short

Crypto trader Pickle, who has 16,100 followers on X, expressed confidence in the company and its future earnings, predicting a strong performance in Q1 and Q2 of the following year, and suggested that the current market reaction to the earnings call is exaggerated. 

It was reported on October 30th that the Q3 2024 earnings for Coinbase were approximately 11% below what Wall Street had estimated. Still, confidence in COIN remains strong, with Pickle highlighting that the summer months tend to be quieter for all markets, and he anticipates a rise to $600 for COIN. The exchange reported a 27% quarter-over-quarter decline in transaction revenue, totaling $573 million, yet this still represents a more than 98% increase compared to Q3 2023.

Room For Improvement

Market analyst Geert Leysen noted that COIN still holds plenty of potential for growth, especially in relation to Bitcoin (BTC) and its  performance. Traders are also closely monitoring the upcoming U.S. elections on November 5th, which could introduce increased market volatility.

Meanwhile, crypto trader Cable remarked on the surprising fact that COIN is still trading below its IPO price of $250 which was reached in April 2021. Overall, October 31st proved challenging for the stock market, with analyst Andrew Lokenauth reporting that over $950 billion was lost.

In the midst of this volatility, traders noted that MicroStrategy (MSTR), led by Michael Saylor, has surpassed Coinbase in market capitalization, with MicroStrategy now valued at $49.5 billion. In related news, Coinbase recently integrated support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, a solution facilitating faster and more affordable BTC transactions.

On Wednesday, Kraken announced it will be laying off 15% of its workforce, equating to 400 jobs, as part of a corporate restructuring that includes a leadership change. Arjun Sethi has been appointed co-CEO alongside Dave Ripley, who took over after the founder, Jesse Powell, gave up the position in 2023.

As part of its efforts to work alongside regulatory authorities, Kraken previously hinted at potentially delisting the USDT stablecoin. Since then though, the crypto exchange has reassured users that it does not intend to remove USDT in Europe and will continue adhering to all legal obligations.

Key Departures

The layoffs will see significant departures as far as the leadership team is concerned, notably Chief Operating Officer Gilles BianRosa and Chief Technology Officer Vishnu Patankar. The new co-CEOs explained that streamlining operations is aimed at creating a more agile and competitive organization, with the goal of becoming the largest cryptocurrency platform globally.

In a blog post, they stated that Kraken remains fully committed to making organizational discipline decisions in order to effectively eliminate layers while simultaneously improving on pre-existing features and services and adding new ones.

A Leaner Approach

Kraken has faced various challenges, including divisive internal policies under Powell, which led to a culture clash within the company and a federal investigation for potential sanction violations, resulting in his resignation later that year. In 2022, Kraken also cut 30% of its staff following the collapse of the FTX exchange, marking this latest round of layoffs as its second major cut in under two years.

Despite a partial recovery in the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin (BTC) reaching new highs this year, Kraken is opting for a leaner approach. The company reported over $1 billion in net revenue, but the co-CEOs believe that a simplified management structure will allow employees to prioritize building over managing.

VanEck is taking a significant step in enhancing its Solana investment strategy by partnering with Kiln, a digital asset rewards platform. This collaboration is designed to simplify the staking process for institutional investors, allowing them to take advantage of Solana and their rewards program without the technical complexities or direct management of SOL tokens.

A little over a month ago, Solana Breakpoint Day One kicked off with multiple significant announcements, including Firedancer, key updates by Jupiter, and Franklin Templeton revealing plans for a mutual fund on Solana. Day Two maintained the excitement with more major developments.

Bridging The Gap

By integrating staking solutions into its product offerings, such as exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on Solana, VanEck aims to bridge traditional finance with the innovative Solana network.

This long-standing commitment to Solana reflects an overall belief by the asset manager in the pivotal role that Solana has in the digital finance landscape. VanEck was also among the very first to launch a Solana ETF, underscoring its confidence in the asset.

In related news, as of September 26th, Solana led the charge in positive net flows, surpassing all other chains with a total of $1.0 billion over the past three months. It recorded the third-highest inflow at $1.5 billion and the seventh-highest outflow at $458.5 million, resulting in an overall positive net flow.

Simplification Is Key

The partnership with Kiln, known for its expertise in simplifying staking complexities, will enable VanEck to provide a secure and user-friendly pathway for institutional investors eager to explore Solana. Laszlo Szabo, Co-Founder and CEO of Kiln, expressed enthusiasm for this initiative, highlighting it as a milestone in offering staking options tailored to institutional needs.

VanEck is optimistic about Solana and its ability to establish a strong foothold in the digital asset market, anticipating steady growth following a recent price recovery after a summer dip. The firm views its Solana offerings as a vital entry point for institutional investors, positioning itself as a premier gateway for SOL investments.

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange established by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has obtained preliminary approval for its Major Payment Institution license application in Singapore as part of its expansion efforts in Asia.

Strongly Committed

In an official statement released on Tuesday, the company noted that this initial endorsement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore highlights its commitment to the Singaporean market, which has been central to its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. The MPI license permits exchanges to offer cross-border money transfer and cryptocurrency payment services.

Since setting up their regional headquarters in Singapore, Gemini has prioritized expanding its presence worldwide, ensuring a localized, secure, and compliant trading experience for users throughout the region.

Continued Expansion

The update regarding the license application follows the appointment of Saad Ahmed as the head of APAC in January. Ahmed has previously held leadership positions at Uber and Grab in the area. In June of the previous year, Gemini revealed plans to enhance its hub in Singapore to target the Asian market while exploring opportunities beyond the U.S.

The company reiterated on Tuesday that it continues to grow its team in Singapore, particularly focusing on talent in growth support and compliance. In related news, a recent report by Aspen Digital indicated that 76% of private wealth in Asia has engaged with digital assets, with an additional 18% intending to invest in the future.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu engaged in a significant phone conversation with the U.S. President Joe Biden, covering a range of important topics. One of the key issues discussed was the release of Tigran Gambaryan, who holds the position of Head of Finance Crime Compliance at Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange.

An Important Discussion

Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided details about the call during a briefing with reporters at the State House in Abuja. He noted that the conversation took place around 04:00 PM Nigerian time and lasted for roughly 30 minutes, highlighting the seriousness and depth of the discussions.

In addition to the release of Gambaryan, the two leaders addressed the matter of permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Tuggar emphasized that Biden reassured Tinubu of the strong commitment by the U.S. toward supporting Africa in its quest for a permanent seat on the Council, recognizing the growing influence and importance of the continent in global affairs.

Collaboration Is Key

Tuggar further explained that the dialogue also centered on enhancing collaboration between the two countries in the realm of law enforcement. This includes discussions on the cooperation between law enforcement agencies and strategies to combat financial crimes, particularly in the context of cryptocurrency regulation.

President Tinubu expressed his gratitude to the U.S. for its ongoing partnership in various security initiatives, not just in Nigeria but across the broader West African region. This acknowledgment reflects the mutual recognition of the challenges both nations face and the need for collaborative efforts to address them.

Through BitcoinOS, Cardano (ADA) will soon facilitate the signing of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions while allowing users to utilize its currency, ADA, for transaction fees. This innovation represents a significant advancement that has not been accomplished previously.

The Devil Is In The Details

Much like a vehicle requires fuel to operate, blockchain transactions necessitate a fee for processing. This fee compensates the computational work needed to ensure smooth operation. By enabling users to cover these fees with ADA while engaging with Bitcoin, Cardano simplifies interactions between the two cryptocurrencies.

This process hinges on a unique technology known as BitcoinOS. For the first time, a ZK-proof, which is a sophisticated method for securely verifying transactions, has been successfully implemented on the Bitcoin Mainnet. This development allows for rapid and secure transaction processing without altering existing Bitcoin protocols, also referred to as a soft fork.

Opening Up New Avenues

The initial integration with BitcoinOS involves Cardano and features the BitcoinOS Grail Bridge. This bridge will open up new avenues for decentralized applications (dApps) on the Bitcoin network, enabling developers to create advanced functionalities and enhance overall usability for Bitcoin in a practical sense.

Cardano is a blockchain platform designed for building decentralized applications and smart contracts. It aims to provide a secure and scalable environment for developers, using a unique proof-of-stake consensus mechanism called Ouroboros. Founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum (ETH(, Cardano emphasizes academic research and peer-reviewed development to ensure its reliability and innovation.

AggrNews monitoring recently caught the X account of AI chatbot project Truth Terminal founder Andy Ayrey being hacked. The hacked account posted a message claiming the founder of Truth Terminal planned to launch a new cryptocurrency token named IB.

This post included an image indicating that the token had completed its development phase on the pump.fun platform, though it was later removed. Hacks are commonplace in the crypto space, though many are now actively promoting fraudulent meme tokens through malicious means.

An Evolving Project

Truth Terminal is an AI-driven chatbot initiative that initially captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community with its innovative mix of artificial intelligence and cultural storytelling. Launched by researcher Ayrey, the bot gained significant recognition in July 2024 after receiving a notable Bitcoin donation by Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z.

What began as an X bot parodying a fictional religion called the Goatse Gospel has evolved into a project exploring meme coins, digital culture, and the complexities of AI interactions in the ever-changing crypto space.

A Refined Version

The founder describes the initiative as a refined version of the Meta Llama 3.1 model, aimed at pushing the limits and examining the impact of AI in meme content creation. Ayrey originally conceived the bot to crack other language models in order to deliver bad jokes.

While Truth Terminal operates as an independent AI, it does not engage in trading or creating any cryptocurrencies. Ayrey, who holds the associated wallet, emphasizes that the project is an artistic endeavor rather than a commercial one.

Both Ethereum (ETH) and Toncoin (TON) have attracted a significant amount of investors, but a recent analysis by CryptoQuant indicates that TON might actually exceed ETH in holder numbers.

This assertion is grounded in the impressive growth rate that TON has experienced over recent months, averaging 500,000 new followers daily for the last four weeks. If this trend continues, TON is projected to surpass Ethereum by late December.

Ethereum Still Fighting

Despite the aforementioned growth, it is important to note that the number of ETH holders could rise as well, and there is a chance that the growth in TON holders might slow. Furthermore, comparing TON addresses to those of ETH, as of October 26th, the total for TON stood at 113.71 million.

Of these, 93.18 million had balances, while 20.54 million had none. A year ago, TON had only 3.63 million addresses, reflecting an astounding 3,032% increase. In contrast, Ethereum had 309.32 million addresses on the same date, resulting in a year-over-year growth of 14.42%. This indicates that the increase in TON addresses occurred at a rate 210 times faster than that of Ethereum.

The Decline Continues

Ownership statistics reveal that interest in Toncoin has declined over the past month. Whale holdings decreased to 33.19% at the time of reporting. Meanwhile, investor balances dropped to 25.51%, while retail ownership rose to 41.31%. This trend indicates that whales and investors have been reducing their holdings, while retail investors have been accumulating.

In terms of price action, despite a general positive trend among top cryptocurrencies since September, Toncoin has fallen, revisiting September lows. On October 25th, it dropped to $4.51, marking a 16% decrease compared to its weekly peak.

Stil, the bullish momentum for Toncoin continues, as the recent surge of clicker games within Telegram has notably amplified the appeal and functionality of the TON Blockchain and its native token, TON.

A Donald Trump presidency could be detrimental for meme coins, which thrive as a protest against perceived injustices, according to finance professor Omid Malekan who works at Columbia Business School.

He argues that meme coins embody economic populism, reacting against the inequities of venture capital-backed tokens. Malekan warns that increased regulatory clarity in the U.S. might shift focus toward decentralized applications, leading to a prolonged downturn where many investors face losses.

In related news, the former United States President has recently voiced strong support for Bitcoin (BTC), sparking discussions on categorizing the cryptocurrency as a strategic reserve asset.

Responding To Strict Regulation

With a market capitalization of $61 billion, meme coins represent a significant segment of the crypto landscape. Malekan suggests that a Republican sweep could revive initial coin offerings and unrestricted token airdrops, countering pressures by figures like Senator Elizabeth Warren and SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures supports this view, claiming that meme coins largely emerged as a response to a restrictive SEC environment. However, critics argue that many meme coin traders are indifferent to political matters. Meme coin enthusiast Murad Mahmudov believes their appeal is tied to the rising global money supply, which he expects to continue under Trump.

Increasing Difficulty

Crypto trader Jordan Fish, better known as Cobie, adds that meme coins attract investors due to their potential for rapid price increases. He notes that it is increasingly difficult for average investors to access non meme coins early, and even a more crypto-friendly SEC may not change that.

Moreover, the vague promises made by Trump about crypto regulation aim to position the U.S. as a global leader in the meme coin space. Recent polls indicate strong support for pro-crypto candidates among crypto owners in key swing states, although the backing is nearly evenly split between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. As the November 5th elections approach, Harris holds a slight 1.5-point lead over Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight.

BulbaSwap raised $1.30M in Seed Funding with assistance by Foresight Ventures. BulbaSwap is a decentralized exchange that enables secure token swaps and liquidity provision.

Moonwalk Fitness obtained $3.40M in Seed Funding with help by Hack VC. Moonwalk is a fitness accountability app that combines daily step goals with financial incentives. Users can join or create a crew, set a daily step target, and stake their crypto using USDC, SOL, or BONK.

Skyfire secured $1M in Strategic Funding with help by Coinbase Ventures. Skyfire is a financial stack designed for the AI economy, offering an instant, global payment system for AI Agents, LLMs, data platforms, service providers, and other goods and services.

Hana Network acquired $4M in Undisclosed Funding with support by Dewhales Capital. Hana Network is a PoS blockchain on Cosmos SDK and Tendermint, designed for Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other L1 and L2s.

STOKR raised $7.98M in Undisclosed Funding with help by Fulgur Ventures. STOKR is a digital marketplace for alternative investments, allowing users to invest in a wide range of assets such as BTC mining, real estate, and music royalties.

Party Icons secured $9M in Seed Funding with assistance by BITKRAFT Ventures. Party Icons is a Web3 mobile gaming platform that combines social party games with the excitement of extraction shooters. It offers three unique game modes designed for quick and engaging play sessions under 12 minutes, catering to modern gaming habits.

Craftt obtained $2M in Seed Funding with help by Superscrypt. Craftt is a decentralized infrastructure platform designed to support the modern workforce with universal benefits, payments, and identity solutions. It aims to create a seamless and fair work environment, enhancing financial confidence for gig workers, freelancers, and digital nomads.

Variational raised $10.30M in Seed Funding with support by Bain Capital Crypto. Variational is a P2P trading protocol for perpetuals and generalized derivatives. It automates the end-to-end process of trading and clearing for safe bilateral trading of options, futures, perpetuals, and more.

Validation Cloud secured $10M in Undisclosed Funding with assistance by True Global Ventures. Validation Cloud has a Node API which is designed for enterprises and developers needing a robust Web3 solution. It provides an extensive range of API endpoints organized by crypto network for easy integration.

Azura acquired $6.90M in Seed Funding with help by Initialized Capital. Azura is a full-stack decentralized platform offering a non-custodial trading app for DeFi assets. It provides real-time market data, multi-chain interoperability, and secure execution of trades.