Evening News | Mask Network launches venture capital fund Bonfire Union; Voyager files for bankruptcy protection

Organizer: AChai, Chain Catcher

"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?"

1. Mask Network launches venture capital fund Bonfire Union, with a scale of $42 million
Mask Network announced the launch of the venture capital fund Bonfire Union, with an initial scale of $42 million. Mask Network is the largest cornerstone investor, with supporters including Digital Currency Group, Alameda Research, Binance, Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, Protocol Labs, Arweave, FreeS, Y2Z, HashKey Group, Hash Global, SevenX, IOSG Ventures, SNZ, and Fundamental Labs, among others. Other investors include former and current executives from top companies and projects in the Web3 space, including Coinbase, Gitcoin, and DeBank.

It is reported that Bonfire Union plans to invest in the social ecosystem of web3, establishing close relationships with startups building social services, infrastructure, and games for web3. Through this venture capital firm, Mask Network aims to become a venture capital giant in web3, similar to what Tencent has done in web2. (Techcrunch)

2. Voyager files for bankruptcy protection, plans to repay user assets through Three Arrows, distribution of new stock, and platform tokens

Cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy protection in New York. According to documents, it has over 100,000 creditors, with assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. The documents indicate that Voyager Digital believes company funds can be allocated to unsecured creditors. Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc., Voyager Digital, LLC, and Voyager Digital Ltd. have all filed for bankruptcy protection.
According to the proposed plan, users with crypto assets in their accounts on the platform will be repaid through Three Arrows Capital's repayment (totaling $650 million), distribution of stock in the restructured new company, and Voyager tokens. Customers will have the opportunity to choose the ratio of common stock and cryptocurrency they receive. For users with cash in their accounts, their cash will be unlocked after Voyager completes reconciliation and anti-fraud processes with Metropolitan Commercial Bank. (PRNewswire)

3. Blockchain security company BlockSec completes nearly 50 million RMB angel+ round financing, led by Oasis Capital and Matrix Partners

Blockchain security company BlockSec has completed nearly 50 million RMB in angel+ round financing, led by Oasis Capital and Matrix Partners, with follow-on investments from Mirana Ventures (Bybit investment partner), CoinSummer, and YM Capital. It is reported that BlockSec will expand its team and business in the future, converting new security technologies into products for customers and providing security infrastructure for blockchain. (Source link)

4. Chain game launch platform Enjinstarter completes $5 million financing, led by TGV
Metaverse and chain game launch platform Enjinstarter announced the completion of $5 million in financing, led by True Global Ventures (TGV). Enjinstarter helps creators and game developers develop their blockchain and digital asset strategies through IDO and NFT products.
It is reported that the leading investor TGV is a global Web3 investment institution that has invested in companies such as Animoca Brands and The Sandbox. In January of this year, TGV invested $3 million in Enjinstarter through its $100 million TGV 4 Plus fund. (Source link)

5. Layer 1 blockchain protocol Rubix receives $100 million investment from LDA Capital
Layer 1 blockchain protocol Rubix Blockchain Pte Ltd (Rubix) announced that it has received a $100 million investment from LDA Capital. This round of financing will be used to optimize growth in the Web3 space, expand educational opportunities, policy formulation, and complete the transition from Web2 to Web3, enabling partners to build various applications on the platform and enhance internal operations to expand the Rubix ecosystem.

It is reported that Rubix is a Layer 1 blockchain protocol for peer-to-peer data transmission and transactions, with operations covering regions such as Singapore, India, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. (Source link)

6. Solana Web3 phone Saga partners with Dialect to launch open-source chat application Dial
The Solana-based Web3 smart messaging platform Dialect announced that it has partnered with the Solana Mobile team to build core messaging infrastructure and developer tools for the Android smartphone Saga, which is being developed by the Solana team and features the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS). They will also launch a consumer-level open-source messaging application called Dial.

It is reported that Dialect has supported messaging for over 15 DApps on Solana. The Dial application allows users to send private messages and group chats directly from their wallets, and its smart messaging standard signs transactions in messages without involving any Web2 identity. According to Dune Analytics data, Solana Labs' newly launched Web3 phone Saga has currently received 2,571 pre-orders. (Source link)

7. Polygon partners with tech startup Nothing to integrate blockchain technology into smartphones
Polygon has partnered with tech startup Nothing to integrate Polygon's technology into the company's smartphone Nothing Phone (1), providing easy access to applications, games, and Polygon ID on the Android-based Nothing Phone (1).

Additionally, the two parties will launch an "NFT Membership Club," offering a Polygon blockchain-based NFT series "Nothing's Black Dot NFT" to those who crowdfund Nothing's release and pre-order the Nothing Phone (1). (Decrypt)

8. Chevrolet's first NFT auction ends with no bids, resulting in a failed auction
Chevrolet held its first NFT auction on June 20 on the NFT marketplace SuperRare. The NFT, titled "Own the Color," features a lime green Corvette Z06, with a starting bid of 206 ETH (approximately $235,000), and promised to provide the winning bidder with a free 2023 Corvette Z06 car.

However, between June 20 and June 24, the auction received zero bids. SuperRare stated that "the madness of the NFT.NYC event" may have caused users to miss the auction and extended the auction time by another 24 hours, but ultimately, no bids were placed, resulting in a failed auction. (Source link)

"What are some excellent articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?"

1. “Uniswap's 'Value Question': How to Empower UNI?”

Uniswap's market share on Ethereum has fluctuated between 65% and 75% over the past year and has achieved success on networks like Optimism and Polygon. However, there has been a lot of negative market sentiment recently—due to a lack of value capture ability and activities from Uniswap Labs (such as its venture capital department), the UNI token economy is considered poor and may not necessarily bring value to token holders.

Uniswap should eliminate its reliance on Uniswap Labs, and the community should embark on a journey to maximize its own value. The article outlines a rough roadmap aimed at illustrating what a better community-led effort should look like.

2. “Interpreting Aztec: Bringing Privacy to DeFi's L2”

The privacy track lacks fully functional projects with sufficiently high security levels. Aztec, as an emerging privacy project, has the potential to fill this gap: as a ZK Rollup project, it can share Ethereum's security, and its medium-term goal is to achieve privacy in DeFi interactions, bringing new experiences to the privacy track.

Aztec's product system is based on the underlying PLONK proof system, enabling anonymous transactions between accounts and achieving privacy interactions with DeFi projects through gateway contracts. Aside from the gateway aspect, Aztec's method of achieving privacy is actually quite similar to Zcash, akin to a Zcash that shares Ethereum's security through Rollup technology. This article will detail its privacy architecture and DeFi interaction methods.