Evening News ｜ Uniswap may raise $100 million to $200 million at a valuation of about $1 billion; Element's trading volume exceeds $100 million

Organizer: flowie, Chain Catcher

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

1. Sources: Uniswap plans to raise $100 million to $200 million at a valuation of about $1 billion.

According to Tech Crunch, citing four informed sources, Uniswap Labs is in talks with investors, including Polychain and a Singapore sovereign fund, to raise $100 million to $200 million at a valuation of about $1 billion.
The sources stated that the review of this round of negotiations has not yet reached the final stage, so the terms of the agreement may change. Uniswap Labs declined to comment, and Polychain did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Additionally, the new funding plan indicates that Uniswap plans to expand its products. (Source link)

2. Monetary Authority of Singapore: Will crack down on cryptocurrency speculation.
According to Bloomberg, Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, stated that there will be a severe crackdown on cryptocurrency speculation. Sopnendu Mohanty mentioned that many project advertisements at TOKEN2049 in Singapore completely failed to mention risk-related issues, and the authority needs to make the market aware that this asset class is not suitable for retail investors. (Source link)

3. Data: NFT multi-chain aggregation trading platform Element's trading volume exceeds $100 million.
According to Chain Catcher, data from Dune Analytics shows that from April 15, 2022, to date, the total trading volume of the multi-chain aggregation NFT trading platform Element has surpassed $100 million, currently at $104 million, with approximately $47.32 million on the Ethereum chain, about $13.85 million on the BNB Chain, and around $1.39 million on the Avalanche chain. Additionally, the current number of independent users on Element is 52,395, with a total of 144,643 transactions. (Source link)

4. StarkWare delays StarkNet token issuance due to technical optimization.
A member of the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling development team StarkWare, odin_free, announced on Discord that the Ethereum StarkNet Token, originally scheduled for release at the end of September, has been temporarily postponed due to technical optimization, with no specific release date announced. He stated: "Although we originally planned to launch the Token at the end of September, we have been committed to acting responsibly and thoughtfully. Currently, some components still need optimization, and we will inform the community as soon as there is news."

Previously, on July 13, StarkWare planned to launch the StarkNet Token on Ethereum in September this year. Initially, 10 billion tokens were to be minted, with 17% allocated to StarkWare investors, 32.9% to core contributors, both of which have a 4-year lock-up period, and 50.1% granted to the foundation. The token will serve as a mechanism for operating the network (fees), maintaining and securing the network (staking), and determining its value and strategic goals (governance).

5. SoftBank plans to cut at least 30% of Vision Fund staff, totaling 150 people.
According to CNBC, SoftBank's Vision Fund has initiated a comprehensive layoff, with a 30% reduction in staff, totaling 150 people. SoftBank CEO and founder Masayoshi Son stated that the company will review the scale and structure of the organization and plans to implement cost reductions, as the company's losses reached a record 3.2 trillion yen (approximately $23.4 billion) in the three months ending in June. It is reported that despite the significant losses, SoftBank is still considering launching a third Vision Fund.

SoftBank Vision's investments in the crypto industry include DeFi trading service company BloXroute and blockchain gaming company Improbable. (Source link)

6. Celsius creditors have begun to subpoena lending company Equities First, which Celsius owes $439 million.
Celsius creditors have begun to subpoena Equities First, a lending company embroiled in Celsius's bankruptcy. Previously, Celsius's former CEO Alex Mashinsky stated that the company had borrowed from Equities First, and when they attempted to repay the loan, Equities First was unable to return the collateral. Mashinsky stated that Celsius still owes Equities First $439 million.

Creditors are currently seeking information regarding the loan agreement between Celsius and Equities First, any cash transfers between Celsius and the lender, and the reasons why Equities First was unable to return the $439 million collateral. (CoinDesk)

7. BlackRock plans to launch an ETF targeting metaverse companies.
According to Bloomberg, the world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, is planning to create a new fund called the iShares Future Metaverse Tech and Communications ETF, allowing its clients to add companies with metaverse risk exposure to their portfolios.

Previously, BlackRock announced the launch of a new European blockchain ETF, adding the iShares Blockchain Technology UCITS ETF to its product suite, listed on the pan-European trading platform, with major holdings including cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, crypto trading giant Galaxy Digital, Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital, as well as Paypal, Nvidia, and IBM. (Source link)

8. Meta expands digital collectibles range, allowing users to cross-post digital collectibles on Instagram and Facebook.
Meta has expanded its digital collectibles range, announcing that starting today, every user in the U.S. on Facebook and Instagram can connect their wallets and share digital collectibles, including the ability to cross-post their owned digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, users in 100 countries/regions offering digital collectibles on Instagram can now use this feature.

It is reported that Instagram began testing NFT features in May, and Facebook rolled out NFT features to some U.S. creators in July. (Source link)

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

1. "Analyzing from the perspective of MEV and value capture, why will Uniswap eventually turn to UNIchain?"

In the past two years, Nascent has increasingly believed that some form of application chain-centric (or application rollup-centric) world is a possible state for the future of the crypto ecosystem.

This article will not attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of why and how this will happen, but rather offer a single case study that hopes to help builders who have not yet considered application chains understand why they ultimately must consider application chains.

2. "A Conversation with Stanford's Jerry Liu: Discussing the History of Copyright and the Characteristics of CC0"

When we buy NFTs, what are we really purchasing? As people in the NFT ecosystem seek a way to avoid chaotic copyright issues while legally empowering collectors, some projects have begun using a copyright license called CC0, which seems to become a legal tool for some to address Web3 issues. However, is the intent of many NFT projects to turn to CC0 sincere? Does it have legal effect?

Professor Jerry Liu from Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society (Jerry Liu) discusses what CC0 really is and the legal issues faced by the Web3 world.

3. "Exclusive Interview with CZ: I am proud to lead an industry-leading organization as a Chinese"

In the crypto field, he is referred to as CZ, the head of one of the industry's most dominant players.

Binance CEO and co-founder Changpeng Zhao has transformed his company (founded in 2017) into the world's largest exchange in just five years, but Binance has also become one of the most controversial companies in the crypto space.

In an interview with Protocol, CZ discussed why he felt it necessary to address these allegations, the recent controversy surrounding Binance's handling of the USDC stablecoin, and his views on the ongoing push for more cryptocurrency regulation.