Weekly News Highlights | Shanghai government encourages exploration of technologies such as NFT and Web3; Zhao Changpeng states Binance's user base exceeds 120 million

Organizer: Linqi, Chain Catcher

Important News

1. Shanghai Municipal Government: Explore key Web3.0 technologies such as distributed data storage, support leading enterprises in exploring the construction of NFT trading platforms

On July 13, news emerged that the Shanghai Municipal People's Government Office issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Economy Development in Shanghai," which includes enhancing digital new infrastructure as a key task. It mentions strengthening the deployment of new network infrastructure, technological research and development, and application innovation to create a future-oriented network ecosystem.

Advance layout of the new generation of network forms, pioneering exploration of multi-platform OpenID (digital identity recognition framework), distributed data storage, decentralized DNS (domain name resolution system), end-to-end encrypted communication, and other key technologies of Web3.0 (the third generation of the World Wide Web), accelerating breakthroughs in core technologies of distributed networks, strengthening forward-looking research and deployment of 6G, IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), Wi-Fi6 (sixth generation wireless technology), quantum communication, etc., to build a third-generation Internet technology application ecosystem for data interconnectivity.

Create a multidisciplinary cross-combination scientific and technological innovation system that integrates blockchain and cutting-edge technologies, promote the research and application of "blockchain+" technologies, and build a blockchain development ecosystem with strong innovation capabilities and independent control. Promote trusted digital transactions, support the advancement of trusted transactions based on blockchain, electronic identity confirmation, and other technologies. Promote trusted transactions in big data, using consensus algorithms to achieve trust and transaction confirmation, focusing on the development of smart contract management and operation platforms. Develop blockchain business models, focusing on the development of blockchain open-source platforms, NFTs, and other business models, accelerating the exploration of digital transformation and digital technology applications in fields such as virtual digital assets, artworks, intellectual property, and gaming.

In addition, the plan also proposes that Shanghai will cultivate new data elements, including digital content and digital trade, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, support leading enterprises in exploring the construction of NFT (non-fungible token) trading platforms, and research and promote the digitization of assets such as NFTs, the globalization of digital IP circulation, and the protection of digital rights in Shanghai as a pilot. (Source Link)

2. Zhao Changpeng releases fifth anniversary open letter: User base exceeds 120 million, hopes to become the portal of Web3

On July 15, news emerged that Binance founder Zhao Changpeng recently released a fifth anniversary open letter, stating that Binance has become an ecosystem serving over 120 million users and hopes to become the portal of Web3, as well as a toolkit for billions of people to take their first step into this new world.

In terms of specific products, Binance Card has issued over 1.7 million cards in two years, Binance Pay's total transaction volume exceeds $12 billion, involving 17 million transactions, over 7,000 merchants, and millions of users; Binance NFT has over 600,000 weekly active users, with a total transaction volume of $1 billion; Binance Earn's active user count has grown to 4.9 million; Binance Labs has invested in and incubated over 200 projects globally. (Source Link)

3. Twitter officially sues Musk for canceling acquisition plan

On July 11, news emerged that Twitter has hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and will file a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery after Musk announced on July 8 that he was canceling the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. It is currently unclear whether the potential lawsuit will ultimately result in Musk acquiring the platform, possibly at the previously agreed price, possibly at a renegotiated price, or possibly not acquiring it at all.

Last week, Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor indicated that the board is committed to completing the transaction according to the previous agreement and plans to take legal action to "enforce the merger agreement." (Cointelegraph)

4. Polygon Studios CEO: Over 48 Terra projects have begun migrating to Polygon

On July 11, news emerged that Polygon Studios CEO Ryan Wyatt stated on Twitter that over 48 Terra projects have begun migrating to Polygon, including the NFT marketplace OnePlanet and the virtual world game Derby Stars. "We will invest funds and resources to address these migrations and welcome developers and their respective communities." (Source Link)

5. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad joins Mask Network as a strategic advisor in the nonprofit sector

On July 11, news emerged that Mask Network announced that former U.S. Ambassador to China and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and former Chief of Staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing Steven Churchill have officially joined Mask Network's nonprofit sector as strategic advisors. Ambassador Branstad and Mr. Churchill will be the first two former U.S. policymakers to join the Web3 community as advisors. They will provide strategic advice to the Mask Network team to help understand future launch strategies and expand Mask Network's global influence.

It is reported that Terry Branstad served as the U.S. Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020 and was a guest speaker at the Ethereum Shanghai Summit held in May 2022. He met with Mask Network founder and CEO Suji Yan last month. (Source Link)

6. Three Arrows Capital founder Su Zhu tweets again after several days, claims cooperation with liquidators was met with baiting

On July 12, news emerged that Three Arrows Capital founder Su Zhu tweeted again after several days, stating, "Sadly, our good faith cooperation with the liquidators was met with baiting. I hope they indeed acted in good faith regarding the StarkWare token warrants." He attached two screenshots of email communications.

In response to Su Zhu's tweet, Hasu, the strategic director of Flashbots, stated on Twitter that Su Zhu claimed that the Starkware equity token warrants expired on July 5, and the liquidators did not exercise the warrants, resulting in the loss of Starkware tokens. (Source Link)

7. OpenSea announces 20% layoffs to maintain normal operations for at least five years during the bear market

On July 15, news emerged that OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer announced on Thursday that OpenSea will lay off about 20% of its workforce, stating that it will provide laid-off employees with "generous severance pay, full medical insurance for 2023, and accelerated equity vesting."

Devin stated, "Everyone who leaves has played a key role in OpenSea's journey. The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented crypto winter and macroeconomic instability, and the company must prepare for the possibility of a prolonged downturn." He mentioned that this round of layoffs will allow OpenSea to maintain normal operations for five years during the crypto bear market.

Previously, OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah announced he would leave on July 30. (Source Link)

8. Celo network experiences repeated outages within 24 hours, now restored

On July 15, news emerged that the Celo network experienced repeated outages lasting about 24 hours, marking the first such incident since its launch in April 2020. Celo announced on social media that the network was restored around 8:00 AM Beijing time today.

Celo stated that the network briefly resumed around 6:30 PM Beijing time yesterday but quickly halted block production again. Subsequently, Celo updated the validator node program to versions 1.5.7 and 1.5.8 on GitHub to resolve the issue. The network officially resumed after the number of nodes running version 1.5.8 reached the legal threshold. Celo mentioned that it is currently conducting a technical analysis of the network outage and will share detailed information. (Cointelegraph)

9. Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution StarkWare announces token economic model, plans to officially issue in September

On July 14, news emerged that Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution StarkWare published the StarkNet token economics model and has minted 10 billion tokens off-chain, planning to use them as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum in September 2022.

The token will serve as a mechanism for operating the network (fees), maintaining and protecting the network (staking), and determining its value and strategic goals (governance). A portion of the newly minted tokens and transaction fees will be granted to core infrastructure developers and smart contract developers.

In terms of token distribution, 17% is allocated to StarkWare investors, 32.9% to core contributors, with all tokens from both groups having a 4-year lock-up period. All tokens allocated to core contributors and investors will have a 4-year vesting period with a 1-year lock-up period. Additionally, 50.1% is granted to the foundation, of which 8.1% is unallocated, which will further support the StarkNet community, with specific methods determined by the community. (Source Link)

10. Polygon joins Disney's "Accelerator Program" to develop AR, NFT, and AI

On July 14, news emerged that Polygon is continuing to expand its Web3 infrastructure through a new project in collaboration with Disney. According to a statement from Disney, Polygon is one of six companies selected to participate in Disney's 2022 Accelerator Program. The program, which started this week, aims to develop new technologies in the fields of AR, NFT, and AI. During the program, each participating company will receive guidance from Disney's senior leadership team and dedicated executive mentors. (CoinDesk)

11. Circle announces reserve asset details: Holds $55.7 billion in cash and treasury reserves

On July 15, news emerged that Circle published a complete monthly breakdown of USDC reserve assets as of June 30, 2022, in an official blog post. The unaudited monthly report shows that Circle currently holds $55.7 billion in cash and treasury reserves.

The reserves include $13.58 billion in cash, held in eight banks: Bank of New York Mellon, Citizens Trust Bank, Customers Bank, New York Community Bank, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank, and U.S. Bank.

Additionally, Circle disclosed that it holds $42.12 billion in three-month treasury bills, showing 19 bonds maturing between July 5 and September 29 this year. (Source Link)

12. Tencent News may shut down digital collectibles business due to poor sales

On July 14, news emerged that Tencent News has replaced the original "digital collectibles" section in its app with "digital orders." The "digital collectibles business adjustment announcement" indicates that due to adjustments in the business model, Tencent News began suspending the sale of digital collectibles starting in July 2022, and users can also view their purchased collectibles in the news app.

It is understood that the digital collectibles released by Tencent News have not performed well compared to other platforms, with many works remaining unsold. Moreover, the collectibles in Tencent News have not integrated data with Tencent's "Huanhe app," and Tencent News included a link to Huanhe in this announcement to invite users to download it. (Source Link)

13. AEX suspends withdrawal function due to short-term liquidity issues

On July 14, news emerged that AEX announced in its Chinese community that the platform has temporarily closed the withdrawal function due to unresolved short-term liquidity issues and is currently unable to meet users' withdrawal needs. The platform expects to reopen withdrawals once it has sufficient short-term liquidity. Additionally, AEX stated in the announcement that the platform's long-term funds are completely secure and can easily cover all user assets. The platform will continue to operate its existing business and will not stop any ongoing external services.

14. Nayuki's Tea offline virtual stock membership activity

On July 14, news emerged that Nayuki's Tea officially ended its virtual stock membership activity after the game settlement on the same day at 16:00, citing "consideration for user experience." After the activity ended, the virtual stocks of participating members will be automatically converted to Nayuki coins at a rate of 1 virtual stock to 6 Nayuki coins between 17:10 and 18:00 on July 14, and the borrowed coins will be automatically returned to the platform during the conversion.

15. DeFiance Capital issues statement claiming no association with Three Arrows Capital and operates independently

On July 15, news emerged that DeFiance Capital stated in a new statement that it is an independent company separate from Three Arrows Capital. It had previously described itself as "a sub-fund and equity class of Three Arrows Capital." DeFiance Capital stated that its founder Arthur Cheong established the company in 2020, and it is completely separate from 3AC, which was founded eight years later by Kyle Davies and Zhu Su.

DeFiance also stated that the assets it manages were not raised from 3AC, its founders, or any affiliates. The company's website now states: DeFiance Capital has no affiliation with Three Arrows Capital Pte and operates independently. (The Block)

16. Three Arrows liquidation company Teneo applies for temporary relief and management authority over Three Arrows assets in Singapore

On July 15, news emerged that Teneo, the liquidation consulting firm for Three Arrows Capital, has hired WongPartnership LLP in Singapore to apply for temporary relief from the High Court, allowing Teneo to manage Three Arrows' assets in Singapore and summon co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies.

It is reported that if Teneo's lawyers are successful, Teneo will be able to obtain Three Arrows Capital's assets in Singapore for its creditors. It is currently unclear when the court will make a ruling. (Coindesk)

Important Financing/Venture Capital News

1. Web3 Foundation announces the 14th batch of Grant project list, with 36 projects selected

On July 11, news emerged that the Web3 Foundation announced the 14th batch of Grant project list on its official blog, including 36 projects such as TDSoftware, ChainSafe Systems, Simply VC, Rusty Crewmates, Web3 Labs Ltd, Perun Network, Sequester, Fennel Labs, and Faceless Protocol. (Source Link)

2. Investment fund Generalist Capital completes $12.25 million financing, with participation from DCG, Polygon, etc.

On July 11, news emerged that Mario Gabriele, founder of the tech community The Generalist, announced the establishment of a $12.25 million investment fund Generalist Capital, with participation from a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, Multicoin Capital co-founders Tushar Jain and Kyle Samani, Digital Currency Group, Polygon, LayerZero, and others. It is reported that the raised funds are planned to invest in about 20 companies over the next 18 months, focusing on cryptocurrency, fintech, and emerging markets. (Source Link)

3. Jubi Labs establishes a $100 million Web3 venture capital fund

On July 11, news emerged that Jubi Labs, the innovative business laboratory under Jubi Group, announced the establishment of a Web3 venture capital fund with an initial special investment fund size of $100 million. This fund will be used to discover and invest in potential projects in cutting-edge fields such as DeFi, NFT, Layer2, Social-Fi, and GameFi, as well as lead the construction of Web3 infrastructure.

It is reported that Jubi Labs was established in 2020 and aims to become a world-class blockchain project investment incubation laboratory. In addition to early-stage venture capital for incubated projects, Jubi Labs will also provide comprehensive solutions for project incubation, including product model design, market strategy formulation, community promotion resources, and more. (Source Link)

4. Animoca Brands completes $75 million financing at a pre-money valuation of $5.9 billion

On July 12, news emerged that NFT development and investment company Animoca Brands completed $75 million in financing at a pre-money valuation of $5.9 billion, with participation from Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Alpha Wave Ventures, 10T, SG Spring Limited Partnership Fund, Generation Highway Ltd, Cosmic Summit Investments Limited, and others. This round of financing will be used to continue funding strategic acquisitions, investments, and product development, obtain licenses for popular intellectual properties, and promote open virtual worlds. Earlier this year in January, Animoca Brands raised $358.8 million at a valuation of $5 billion. (The Block)

5. Web3 infrastructure provider Mysten Labs seeks to raise at least $200 million in Series B funding at a $2 billion valuation

On July 12, news emerged that Mysten Labs, a Web3 infrastructure startup founded by former Meta engineers, is negotiating to raise at least $200 million in Series B funding at a $2 billion valuation, with investors led by FTX Ventures having already committed at least $140 million to this round of financing.

A source familiar with the matter stated that the $2 billion valuation may change depending on whether equity investors receive additional warrants, granting them the right to purchase its blockchain-native tokens, and the exercise price of these options is currently unknown.

Mysten Labs was founded by senior members of Meta's crypto research department, Novi Research, and one of its co-founders and CEO Evan Cheng previously served as the head of research and development for Meta's crypto wallet program. The company launched the decentralized blockchain Sui in March. Previously, Mysten raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in December 2021. (The Information)

6. Gnosis Safe completes $100 million strategic financing, led by 1kx, with participation from Tiger Global, etc.

On July 12, news emerged that Gnosis Safe announced the completion of $100 million in strategic financing, led by 1kx, with participation from Tiger Global, A&T Capital, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Greenfield One, Rockaway Blockchain Fund, ParaFi, Lightspeed, Polymorphic Capital, Superscrypt, and others. Additionally, after successfully voting to split from Gnosis, the Gnosis Safe project is being renamed to Safe. This funding is raised for the Safe Ecosystem Foundation, a nonprofit organization that protects strategic assets and contributes to the further development of Safe.

This round of financing is an important milestone for Safe's development as a programmable ownership platform, enabling secure management of digital assets, data, and identities across DAOs, retail, and institutional users. The funds and strategic alliances will allow Safe to develop applications and tools on top of its smart contract account protocol. (Source Link)

7. Multicoin Capital announces the launch of new venture fund Venture Fund III, with a size of $430 million

On July 12, news emerged that Multicoin Capital announced the launch of a new venture fund, Venture Fund III, with a committed amount of up to $430 million. The institution is focusing on areas including proof of physical work, DataDAO, online platforms that use crypto payments, DeFi applications, NFTs, and social tokens to provide monetization projects for creators, as well as building crypto-native consumer products. (Decrypt)

8. Lightspeed's four funds complete $7.1 billion financing and launch crypto fund Lightspeed Faction

On July 12, news emerged that Lightspeed's four funds have completed a total of $7.1 billion in financing, including three U.S. funds and one Indian fund: an early-stage fund (less than $2 billion), a growth fund ($2.3 billion), an international investment fund ($2.4 billion), and Lightspeed India Partners ($500 million).

At the same time, Lightspeed also announced the launch of a new early-stage crypto fund, Lightspeed Faction. The fund declined to disclose financing information, but according to a source, it has completed $325 million in initial fundraising, although fundraising activities are not yet over, and the total amount raised for this crypto fund is expected to reach $400 million.

It is reported that Lightspeed has invested in over 500 companies over the past two decades and currently manages approximately $18 billion in assets. (Fortune)

9. Decentralized social protocol Farcaster completes $30 million financing, led by a16z

On July 13, news emerged that the centralized social protocol Farcaster completed $30 million in financing, led by a16z, with participation from Standard Crypto, Elad Gil, 1confirmation, Scalar Capital, First Round Capital, Volt Capital, A Capital, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Coinbase Ventures, Mischief, Ansa Capital, Haystack, Ribbit Capital, Chapter One, Multicoin Capital, Offline Ventures, Archetype, Canonical Crypto, Proof Group, Floodgate, Balaji Srinivasan, 6529, Ray Tonsing, and others.

Farcaster is a fully decentralized protocol for building social networks, aimed at establishing a trusted neutral protocol that allows users to build direct relationships with their audiences and enables developers to freely build new clients without permission. Farcaster has released the initial version of the protocol and client and is developing Farcaster v2, which is planned to be launched later this year. (Source Link)

10. Line's NFT subsidiary Line Next completes $10 million strategic financing, with participation from SoftBank, Hashed, etc.

On July 13, news emerged that Line Next, the NFT subsidiary of Japanese communications giant Line, announced the completion of $10 million in strategic financing, with participation from SoftBank, NAVER, NAVER WEBTOON, NAVER Z, LINE Games, CJ ENM, YG PLUS, SHINSEGAE, Hashed, K Auction, and others. This round of financing will support the launch of Line Next's global NFT platform "DOSI" and the development of NFT projects based on IP content. (Source Link)

11. Upbit operator Dunamu plans to invest approximately $385 million in Web3 startups

On July 13, news emerged that Dunamu, the operator of the South Korean crypto trading platform Upbit, announced plans to invest approximately 500 billion Korean won (about $385 million) in 500 Web3 startups over the next five years.

As part of the roadmap, Dunamu has currently announced two projects: the UP Start incubator and the Up Start Platform. Through the former, Dunamu can provide Web3 consulting services to early-stage blockchain startups, while the latter aims to serve as a connector for startups and investors, providing them with funding.

It is understood that in addition to UPbit, Dunamu also operates two investment trading platforms, Stockplus and U-Stockplus, as well as a stock management platform called Onboard. Since 2018, the company has invested 88 billion Korean won (about $67 million) in blockchain and fintech startups. (Source Link)

12. Web3 startup zbyte completes $10 million private placement financing to build DApp application store

On July 13, news emerged that Web3 startup zbyte announced the completion of $10 million in private placement financing, with specific financing information not yet disclosed. zbyte is developing a blockchain-based low-code, no-code platform and will launch a DApp application store.

It is reported that zbyte was co-founded by strategist Nitin Kumar, serial entrepreneur Krish Kupathil, technology expert Ankush Tiwari, and Saurabh Radhakrishnan. zbyte also plans to launch its token ZBYT in the fourth quarter of this year. (inc42)

13. Saber Labs founder launches a $100 million crypto fund Protagonist

On July 13, news emerged that Saber Labs founder launched a $100 million crypto fund called Protagonist. Protagonist plans to invest in and incubate early web3 protocols and startups across verticals, including gaming, infrastructure, security, and privacy. Its current portfolio includes Layer 1 public chain Aptos, Solana-based NFT utility protocol Cardinal, and digital banking platform Cogni.

The founders of Protagonist include Dylan Macalinao and Ian Macalinao, who are associated with the cross-chain decentralized exchange Sabre Labs based on Solana. (The Block)

14. Insider: Crypto custody company Copper to complete Series C financing at a $2 billion valuation

On July 14, news emerged that British crypto asset custody company Copper is set to complete Series C financing at a $2 billion valuation, with the financing currently underway and expected to conclude in the coming weeks. It is unclear whether the financing amount will be disclosed.

It is reported that Copper sought $500 million in financing at a $3 billion valuation last November but was postponed due to the UK's temporary regulatory registration. Previously, it raised $50 million in Series B financing in March 2021, but the valuation was not disclosed. (CoinDesk)

15. Crypto bank and payment company Zamp completes $25 million financing, led by Sequoia Capital

On July 15, news emerged that crypto bank and payment company Zamp announced the completion of $25 million in financing, led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from former Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure, Polygon founder Sandeep Naliwal, Coinbase board member Gokul Rajaram, former Facebook executive Kirthiga Reddy, Juspay and Hyperface founder Ramanathan RV, and Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan, among others.

It is understood that Zamp aims to build a crypto economic bank and payment service to help businesses innovate and meet consumer demand for digital goods in a compliant manner, providing seamless and borderless experiences in banking, payment, and credit services, while building banking service products based on card/non-card payments, credit, crypto payments, crypto custody, and crypto integration. (Source Link)