On Friday, Bitcoin financial services firm, Unchained Capital announced the close of their $25M Series A round from lead investor and institutional powerhouse, NYDIG. NYDIG has also committed to lending Unchained another $100 million, for a total commitment of $150 million.

"Historically, there has been a lack of investment in bitcoin-dedicated infrastructure, often in favor of platforms supporting many digital currencies, but Unchained Capital expects this raise to be the first of a growing trend of bitcoin-only businesses attracting capital investment at the scale which has long been deserved," Parker Lewis, head of business development at Unchained, said.

Unchained and NYDIG also plan to offer collaborative custody services in which both hold private keys with the intention of encouraging more financial institutions to do the same.

On June 1st, a new German law came into effect that could theoretically see up to $415 billion flow into crypto. The German Fund Location Act, introduced in April and approved by parliament shortly thereafter, permits Spezialfonds, or special funds, to invest as much as 20% of their portfolios in crypto.

Sven Hildebrandt, CEO of Distributed Ledger Consulting estimates that if every Spezialfond chooses to allocate the full 20% in crypto, that would equate to &euro350 billion ($415 billion), based on the total AUM (assets under management) of such funds in Germany. His work was cited in a report by the financial newspaper Boersen Zeitung in April.

Spezialfonds are the dominant institutional investment vehicle in Germany. While the $415 billion figure is sizable enough on its own, it pales in comparison to the potential inflows that may come from other European countries if they chose to follow suit. Given Germany's status as the euro zone's most powerful economy, their policy actions have profound impacts on the surrounding neighbours.

There have been other signs of such acceptance of crypto emanating from Germany in recent months. Last Monday, Coinbase received a crypto custody license from Germany's Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). The license allows Coinbase to continue serving the German market. Deutsche Bank also announced its intention to offer custody and brokerage services to its institutional clients in December.

We are currently witnessing the beginnings of a very bullish narrative for institutional Bitcoin buying in Germany. Given their impact and influence on the entire Euro-zone, it will be interesting to see how Germany's policy influences the sentiment coming from the rest of Europe.

The scrutiny and regulatory eye on crypto tighten as the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, Binance seems to be the "example", and focus of traditional investment regulators from around the globe. Tension mounts in crypto as the regulation vs. crypto battle heats up, and governments try to retain a position of power in this economic revolution.

As countries push forward with their own centralized digital currencies, decentralized cryptos and exchanges we know and support are being illuminated by regulators and governments as competition to their own projects, and the regulation heat is being turned up. Of course, all crackdowns with crypto regulation are cited as efforts to curtail money laundering, illicit activities, crypto scams, tax evasion, and to protect investors. Countries such as China, India, Turkey, Germany, and Nigeria are leading the regulation parade, and have already put measures or threats of exchange fines in place to restrict or stop crypto trading.

Binance exchange, with a history of traditional investment regulation breaches, has again come under attack by regulators, most recently in Japan and UK. There has also been a recent change for Binance's operations in the Canadian province of Ontario, in reaction to regulators' dealings with other crypto exchanges. The regulation attacks are aimed at hybrid crypto investments products that are pegged to traditional regulated stock market offerings, a dangerous line for exchanges to walk. Binance seems to be the "example" here but is not alone, many other exchanges are also being addressed by regulators.

Financial Services Agency of Japan has filed its second warning in 3 years to Binance, stating that Binance is not licensed to operate in Japan. In the UK the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has banned Binance from conducting any regulated investment activity within their boundaries, which does not include trading of unregulated crypto investments. In Ontario, Binance ceased operations, where recently 3 crypto exchanges have been issued notice by regulators stating that they were in breach of investment regulations.

Increased threat of regulations and scrutiny is having an impact on the crypto industry's overall growth, market sentiment, and maybe the reason a slew of new crypto exchange and trading applications with Britain's FCA have been withdrawn in recent months. Regulation in crypto is desirable, necessary, and in most cases welcome. Let's hope that these regulations are in fact designed for, and effective in protecting investors, and not just tools to protect the interests of those who are late to the party, and stand to lose some control.

Last Thursday, Andressen Horowitz cemented its support for the crypto industry with the launch of a massive new crypto-focused fund called Crypto Fund III. The $2.2 billion Crypto Fund III will be among the largest capital commitments to the crypto ecosystem in history, and roughly four times the size of the firm's second cryptocurrency fund a year ago. The fund will be co-lead by Andressen Horowitz partners, Chris Dixon and Katie Haun.

Andreessen Horowitz also introduced several new advisers to the crypto team, who are meant to help "translate crypto to the mainstream" and perhaps navigate future regulation over the crypto market. Tomicah Tillemann, the former chair of the Global Blockchain Business Council and an adviser to the White House, will join as global head of policy. Two others with government experience Bill Hinman, the former director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance, and Brent McIntosh, former undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs will also join as advisers. Anthony Albanese, who left the New York Stock Exchange last year to take a role on Andreessen Horowitz's crypto team, will now serve as chief operating officer.

In 2013, Andressen Horowitz took a bet on crypto by leading the first funding round for a little-known cryptocurrency exchange called Coinbase. The company pledged to be the financial exchange of the future. Eight years later, the investment has paid off. In April, Coinbase became the first major crypto company to go public and did so in spectacular fashion. Coinbase closed its first day of trading at $328.28 a share, putting its value at $85.8 billion, making it Andreessen Horowitz's biggest exit yet.

After such a phenomenal exit, Andressen Horowitz has chosen to double down on crypto and roll some of their profits into a new gigantic fund. Andreessen Horowitz announced on Thursday its third crypto-focused fund for the "next generation of visionary crypto founders."

Andreessen Horowitz said in a press release about the fund, "The largest crypto fund ever raised to date, Crypto Fund III is a validating moment for the ecosystem and another sign that crypto becoming an ever more mainstream part of our financial infrastructure." Let's hope this statement and the creation of Crypto Fund III serve as the dime light at the end of the tunnel of this major market correction.

pIt seems as though Elons opinion surrounding Bitcoins true use of renewable energy is changing Is he realizing how Bitcoin can serve as the worlds greatest propellant for the renewable energy industry and understanding better how Bitcoins potential does in fact align with his business goals It should be pretty obvious to all that his business could benefit from a surge in renewable energy product demand Being able to buy a Tesla solar roof with Bitcoin is a nobrainer should be an initiative observed to support Teslas ESG and profit mandates and be a top priorityppElon has lost some credibility and taken flak for his cryptic Tweets and what some are interpreting as Bitcoin price manipulation via his social media posts and influence A little disappointing to realize our new champion of crypto is a novice tourist who is misinformed With his latest marketmoving Tweet however Elon illustrates that his understanding of the facts is evolving and we may be buying his vehicles with Bitcoin again soonppElon recently Tweet reacted to a Cointelegraph article that said Musk had deliberately pumped up the price of Bitcoin so Tesla could sell off a big chunk of it Musk disputes this in his latest Bitcoin price moving TweetppThis is inaccurate Tesla only sold of its holdings to confirm BTC could be liquidated easily without moving the market When therersquos confirmation of reasonable clean energy usage by miners with the positive future trend Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactionsppIt is not explained whom Elon would accept this clean energy usage confirmation but it does identify his acceptance level that we may already be at or be close to El Salvador has demonstrated a positive future trend by announcing a plan to use volcanic geothermal power production as a means to create their own Bitcoin attract Bitcoin miners and stimulate their economy China also seems to be indirectly pushing an improved renewable energy penetration in Bitcoin by forcing miners drawing on their coalpowered energy to leave and set up elsewhere Many miners will land in countries or regions outside of China that have much greater renewable energy infrastructures and supply thus pushing Bitcoins overall application of renewable energy even higher than it presently is Elons wants are already in motion and in fact may have already been achievedppElectricity is the biggest expense involved in Bitcoin mining and the adoption pursuit or purchase of renewable energy sources can reduce or eliminate that expense I cant think of a better motivator than profit for Bitcoin miners to incorporate as much renewable energy as possible Bitcoin profit is a driver for the renewable energy industryppFor Elon to profit is a motivator and he showed his cards with some real nonsense tweets that left many in crypto hyper suspicious of his motives It is nice to see his position on Bitcoin changing back as he digs deeper Elon and Tesla certainly have much to gain in the renewable energy future and in a Bitcoin price expansion We hope he sees a way to facilitate both these things with his announcements Tweets and business moves surrounding Bitcoin His credibility and reputation would be well served by not circulating incorrect facts and FUD on social media impacting the crypto investments of so many others on a whimp

It's been a few months since we last covered b-cube, but we wanted to share an update on one of our favorite up-and-coming projects in the crypto-trading niche. b-cube.ai is an AI-powered trading bot platform democratizing access to top-tier AI-trading tools. They completed a successful public token sale in March and have been on a tear adding new features and functionality to their platform. We wanted to take a minute to discuss some of the new announcements and features they're launching:

B-Cube Staking & Tokenomics:

The b-cube team has built-in some innovative utility into their BCUBE token. Users will have the ability to lock up their tokens for a given period on the b-cube platform to earn APY. Users that stake their tokens will also be granted free b-cube bots trading courses and other products depending on their amount staked. Token holders will also benefit from profit sharing from the B2B side of b-cube's business. When hedge funds pay b-cube to build them custom trading bots, a percentage of the proceeds will be distributed back to BCUBE token holders.

Burning Program:

A percentage of the tokens collected for payment of the services and products on the platform will be burned. 100% of the payments received in BCUBE directly will be burned from August 2021 to August 2022 & 25% of the FIAT payments received for our bots and services will be used to buy BCUBE tokens by the company and will be burned. The b-cube team hopes to reduce the supply of b-cube tokens by 50% within one year time.

New Trading Bots:

The b-cube team is getting ready to release 10 trading bots on their platform. While these bots are new to the public, they have already been hard at work building successful track records. Their results are already available on the site.

DEX Integration:

B-cube makes it easy to integrate your bot with leading exchanges like Binance, FTX, Kucoin, and BitMEX, however, they are now rolling out DEX integration. You will be able to add APIs to leading DEX's like Uniswap, but don't worry about trading fees.. trading fees are aggregated by the b-cube algorithm and one gas fee can be shared by up to 120 users. Trading fees are also covered by the b-cube so there is no need to worry about trading frequency.

Defi Stake & Trade:

No longer will you have to choose if you want to trade crypto or stake it. Defi stake & trade is one of the most innovative features we have seen in a crypto project. b-cube has partnered with MontraDAO to allow you to stake your defi tokens and automatically unlock your tokens when your bot finds you a trading opportunity. In Q1 2022, you will be able to earn while staking and benefit from AI-powered trading at the same time!

We are excited to watch this project unfold and bring AI-powered trading to the masses. If you are interested in purchasing the b-cube token you can find it on Uniswap, or find more information here.

There's a new decentralized autonomous organization on the block.

BitDAO has launched after a $230M private funding round featuring over 20 institutional investors and DeFi partners, already making it one of the world's largest DAO's. The round saw participation from Peter Thiel, a billionaire entrepreneur and co-founder of Paypal, Alan Howard, Dragonfly Capital, Fenbushi, Founders Fund, Jump Capital, Pantera Capital, and more.

In addition to the funding, Bybit, one of the largest crypto derivatives trading platforms, has pledged to contribute 2.5 basis points from all of its futures contracts transaction volume as recurring support for the BitDAO treasury. Based on 2021 numbers, this could amount to roughly $1B annually.

BitDAO aims to improve adoption, collaboration, and innovation within DeFi. Through the BitDAO treasury, the organization will support new and existing DeFi protocols with funding, R&D, and liquidity. The holders of BDAO, BitDAO's governance token, will be given the opportunity to vote on where this capital is allocated. The BDAO token is pegged to the value of Bitcoin but BitDAO has plans to launch additional pegs. The DAO's utilizes a multi-chain design to counteract the potential downsides of centralized pegged tokens.

The fresh capital, and future inflows, will fund new DeFi initiatives through BitDAO's grant program and help existing protocols with liquidity using token swaps. Another key objective is to attract talent. BitDAO has plans to employ hundreds and launch development and research centers posed to tackle some of the pressing technical problems facing DeFi.

This is exciting news for the DeFi space. For the past few years, DeFi has had the attention of major VCs, both crypto and non-crypto. Taking a decentralized approach to support the long-term growth of the industry is only fitting.

pLedger the cold storage hardware crypto wallet maker announced its hugenbspa hrefhttpswwwcoindeskcomledgerseriescfundingm targetblank million series Cnbspaat a B valuation in anbspa hrefhttpswwwbusinesswirecomnewshomeenLedgercompletesamillionSeriesCfundraisingvaluingthecompanyatmorethanbilliontostrengthenitspositionastheleadingsecuregatewaytodigitalassets targetblankpress releaseanbsplast Thursday The round was led bynbspa hrefhttpstfundcom targetblankT Holdingsanbspa digital assets fund founded by wellknown macro investornbspa hrefhttpswwwlinkedincomindantapierobb targetblankDan Tapieroa The round saw participation from both new and old investors such as Tekne Capital Uphold Ventures Felix Capital Draper Associates DCG and more The funding will help Ledger expand its product offerings enterprise capabilities and potential international expansionppIn case some of our readers donrsquot already knownbspa hrefhttpswwwledgercom targetblankLedgerrsquosanbspmain offering is a hardware wallet that enables users to store and manage their digital assets offexchange Since its launch in the Parisbased company has played a pivotal role in supporting the growth of the cryptoasset ecosystem and has exploded alongside it To date Ledger has sold over million hardware wallets enables million people monthly to track and manage their assets using Ledger Live and secures aroundnbspa hrefhttpstechcrunchcomledgerraisesmillionforitscryptohardwarewallet targetblank of all crypto assetsanbspworldwideppldquoItrsquos a billion valuation that wersquove reached through this round but the reality is that our real target is a billion valuation and the reason why we think itrsquos going to be a billion valuation is that the marketrsquos going to be really hugerdquo explains Pascal Gauthier chairman amp CEO of Ledger to the Block ldquoComparing bitcoin to gold is fun but this market is going to be the whole value in the world going onto blockchain at one point the whole value in the world being tokenizedhellip Ledger is ideally and uniquely positioned to be that secure gateway to WebrdquoppWith fresh capital at hand the company has plans to bringnbspa hrefhttpswwwledgercomdecentralizedfinancedefi targetblankDeFianbspservices to its users through ledger live a game changer for many who would like to make the switch from online storage Ledger also looks to nearly double its human resources with hopes to hire an additional employees Additionally the company aims to focus on tailoring its services to nonEnglish speakersp

pLawmakers in El Salvador made history last Tuesday when they voted to adopt Bitcoin as a new form of legal tender Congress approved President Nayib Bukeles proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency withnbsp out of possible votesnbspThe historic announcement garnered praise from leaders of other South American world leaders including Argentina Paraguay Brazil and Panama Most of which are now frantically trying to organize a plan to make their country the next to adopt favorable cryptocurrency legislationnbspppThe bill passed by El Salvador lawmakers explicitly referred to Bitcoin as a means ofnbspcircumventing hostile actionsnbsptaken by Central Banks such as the FED and the ECB In a tweet shortly before the bill was passed President Bukele said quotIt will bring financial inclusion investment tourism innovation and economic development for our countryquotnbspBukele also instructed stateowned geothermal electric firm LaGeo to develop a plan to offer bitcoin mining facilities using renewable energy from the countrys volcanoesppIn El Salvador around percent of the population do not use or have access to banking services This is particularly concerning for El Salvador considering remittances representnbspa hrefhttpsapnewscomarticlesansalvadorcoronaviruspandemicelsalvadorcddcaafabcbtextRemittancesaccountforpercentandbenefitaboutChouseholds targetblankroughly anbspof their annual GDP Using the traditional financial system sometimes up to of a remittance payment can be taken as fees by the various intermediaries that touch the transaction In a country where th of the GDP comes from foreign remittance the importance of a peertopeer monetary network like Bitcoin can not be understatednbspppnbspppstrongWhat This Means for CryptostrongppThis may be the biggest news for Bitcoin ever The adoption of Bitcoin on a national scale has long been the goal of Bitcoiners but few suspected that day to come so soon Similar to how Microstrategys Bitcoin announcement set off a chain reaction of corporations holding Bitcoin on their balance sheet this announcement will surely lead to a tidal wave of developing nations racing to adopt Bitcoin as a means of paymentnbspppnbspppstrongCurrency is a Game of PowerstrongppThe dominance of the United States on a global stage has largely stemmed from two factors their military and their currency With most developed nations now setting their sites on central bank digital currencies it seemed almost inevitable that power would continue to consolidate towards the largest governments in the world However announcements like these may change everything Now that the example has been set for countries to adopt a decentralized and nationless currency we are less beholden to the powers of our own Central Bank Decentralization always follows the path of least resistance and in doing so it has become the answer for the developing world The place that needs it the mostnbspnbspppFinally now that El Salvador has declared Bitcoin as legal tender in their country other countries must now view it as a foreign currency This means it will no longer be able to be taxed as an asset and must instead be thought of as a foreign investment incomenbspnbspp

pMiami is quickly ascending as one of the most forwardthinking cities in the world when it comes to quickly That was put on display last week for Bitcoin Week in Miami Conference organizers estimated that over people attended the twoday event Crypto investors including the industrys best and brightest minds came together alongside everyday investors and enthusiasts making it the biggest Bitcoin event of all time The event was packed with toptier industry experts gaming stations VR and fun brand activations like a ceremonial quotcash is trashquot fiat bonfire They even toilet paper printed with bills on each rollppOur team made the trip and it did not disappoint Here is a recap of some of our highlights from the weekpulliOpening Remarks from MiaminbspMayor Francis Suareznbspsaid he wants Miami to become the crypto capital of the worldliliMichael Saylor and Max KaisernbspFireside Chat Bitcoin emerging as the alpha asset of the human race How Michael Saylors Bitcoin purchase revitalized his career his company morale and his balance sheetliliFormer Presidential CandidatenbspRon Paulnbsp quotEverybody wants monetary freedom I would hope buthellipI want to clarify that because some people want free money and thats different Theres a lot of free money circulating out there these days and its all fake and its all political corruption that goes in hellip It makes the country poorer no matter how many people get richer in the meantimequotliliJack Dorseynbsp Talking about his life work shifting to growing the adoption of Bitcoin quotWhatever I can do mdash whatever my companies can do mdash to make Bitcoin accessible to everyone that is what I will do for the rest of my lifequot he saidliliCharity WaternbspAnnouncing Their Bitcoin Trust Charity Water is a USbased charity that works to build wells and provide clean drinking water to the world They are launching a Bitcoin Trust in which they are asking for donations from people in the amount of BTC each They will then hold this Bitcoin for a full market cycle sell it in and use of the proceeds to advance their missionliulpThe week was also packed with many auxiliary events hosted by crypto firms to bring the industry together Some of our favorite events of the week were thenbspa hrefhttpsnftsummitnet targetblankNFT Summitanbspand thenbspa hrefhttpsnftbazlcom targetblankNFT Bazlnbspahosted by GDA Capital As well as thenbspa hrefhttpswwwprimetrustcom targetblankPrime TrustanbspAfter PartyppWhile crypto is truly a global phenomenon Miami is quickly taking the lead in relation to crypto regulation and adoption If you didnt have a chance to make the event this year we highly recommend you circle this one on your calendar next yearp

pOne of our most anticipated projects of is a crosschain crypto launchpad calledppa hrefhttpsgemstarterio targetblankGemStartera We love the team and think they are building essential technology that will accelerate the growth of our ecosystem We even put our money where our mouth is and invested in the company at seed stage through our earlystage venture fund CW VenturesppGemStarter has been known as the bridge to a new world of fundraising across all smartcontractbased blockchains Accessible for everybody with a democratized tier system redesigned from scratch and allowing for investment at any stage of project development After completing a successful Seed Private A and Private B rounds from internationally recognized venture funds likenbspa hrefhttpsmoonwhaleventures targetblankMoonwhale Venturesa Gemstarter is now ready to take their project to the next level Synapse Network CoFounder Micha Domarecki says ldquoAt Synapse Network we want to go beyond being a launchpad mdash we are also harnessing the power of decentralized finance and blockchain to democratize blockchain incubation and fundraisingrdquoppBuilding on their existing tech and pioneering to solve market inefficiencies Synapse Network is offering groundbreaking products to the investment marketpullistrongAcceleratorstrongnbspmdash access to accelerator amp incubator for startups and entrepreneurs where ideas are converted into working productslilistrongLaunchpadstrongnbspmdash a chainagnostic platform matching projects and private investors enabling investment opportunities in earlystage startups to everyonelilistrongDEXnbspstrongmdash a safe simple and userfriendly crosschain decentralized exchangelilistrongDeFi Marketplacestrongnbspmdash a simple and secure platform allowing token holders users to stake their token earn rewards and APR and participate in the eventslilistrongInvestment Syndicatestrongnbspmdash a network of trusted and reliable VC funds business angels tech partners private investors and blockchain projects providing fasttrack access to capital technology and partnershipsliulpThe launch of Synapse Network will be unique in its scale and scope We believe it will be a giant leap forward in the adoption and acceleration of blockchainbased projects as well as the growth of our industry It is the first solution of this type to increase blockchain adoption by connecting it to traditional markets and democratizing investment in crypto assetsp

pIn an excitingly positive turn for the crypto industry more and more institutional investors highnetworth individuals and family funds are showing keenness to invest in digital assets In the latest addition to this growing trend US billionaire Carl Icahn is reportedly contemplating anbspa hrefhttpsmarketsbusinessinsidercomcurrenciesnewscarlicahncryptocurrencyinvestmentbilliondigitalassetsbitcoinskeptic targetblank billion investmentanbspin digital currencies Icahn is the latest billionaire to flip his stance on cryptocurrencies after tellingnbspa hrefhttpswwwcnbccomcarlicahnbitcoinandothercryptocurrenciesareridiculoushtml targetblankCNBC in anbspthat he thought cryptocurrencies were quotridiculousquotppHowever the activist investor is now selfadmittedly looking at investing in crypto in ldquoa relatively big wayrdquo where ldquobigrdquo could mean ldquo billion to oneandahalf billionrdquo Icahnrsquos wellknown pessimism about cryptocurrencies had once led him to compare cryptocurrencies with the th century Mississippi land bubble That pessimism does not exist anymore as Icahn is now interested in the overall crypto business and not only a few lucrative coinsnbspppRevising his stand to a great extent Icahn now believes that cryptocurrencies are here to stay in one form or another Icahnrsquos potential investment plans in digital assets follow a substantially long trail of big businesses going after digital assets Another billionaire investor Mark Cuban known for his sarcastic jabs said that ldquoa hrefhttpswwwforbescomsitesbillybambroughtechbillionairemarkcubanpicksbananasoverbitcoinshccce targetblankIrsquod rather have bananas than bitcoinaquot He too now owns a substantial position in bitcoin Cuban is also an ardent advocate of nonfungible tokensrdquoppThe Bridgewater Associates founder and billionaire hedge fund boss Ray Dalio has also flipped in favour of Bitcoin He sees an inflationary future where ldquocash is trashrdquo and BTC becomes a store of wealth However his assessment is tempered with caution He doubts that the governments will tolerate it Worth billion Howard Marks the cofounder of alternative investment management firm Oaktree Capital says he has reconsidered his previous ldquodismissiverdquo stance on bitcoin These instances show that crypto is gaining momentum and changing the perception of skeptics globallynbspppAs the trail of billionaireflippedbitcoiners gets longer and longer the future of digital assets becomes clearer and clearer When analyzing the investment strategies of the wealthiest people on earth it is always a better idea to quotwatch what they do not what they sayquot It is no secret that money is resoundingly flooding the crypto markets and buying the discount So for all those that have been here with us for years all we have to say isnbspCONGRATULATIONSnbspfor beating the billionaires to the punchp