$100 million Web3 fund for Middle East

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The Blends Briefs
TL’DR: Here’s a sneak peek into today’s newsletter

• Solana passed $100.

• Worldcoin discontinues Orb Verification in India, Brazil, and France.

• $100 million Web3 fund for the Middle East.

• British court freezes $1 billion of 3AC assets.

• Coinbase and Circle receive French regulatory approvals.

• Crypto Crowdfunding

Global Biscuits

Solana passed $100.
Solana achieved a significant milestone by surpassing the $100 mark for the first time in 20 months, marking a 770% gain over the past year. Currently priced at nearly $103, SOL has risen by 6% in the day, overtaking XRP and Binance Coin to become the fourth-largest coin by market cap. With a market cap of $44 billion, Solana's decentralized exchanges (DEXs) surpassed Ethereum in weekly transaction volume, driven by the popularity of meme coins like BONK and Dogwifhat (WIF) on the Solana blockchain. While other Solana-based tokens, such as BONK and WIF, exhibit volatility, they have seen substantial gains. Solana stands out as the top gainer in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, with a remarkable 37% rise in the past days, outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum, which posted roughly 3% gains in the last seven days.

Worldcoin discontinues Orb Verification in India, Brazil, and France.
Worldcoin has ceased offering its Orb-verification service in India, Brazil, and France just months after expanding the eyeball-scanning device to these markets. The decision to retract comes as a surprise, especially given the significant interest and user sign-ups in India, where Worldcoin had established pop-up kiosks. While the sudden move sparked speculation about regulatory hurdles in India, a spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, the foundation overseeing Worldcoin's development, stated that the Orb-verified services were "temporarily scaled back" in India and other countries. Despite the halt in Orb services, World App, the startup's protocol-compatible wallet software, continues to onboard users in India. Worldcoin remains committed to working with global partners to meet regulatory requirements and provide a secure and transparent service. The company had raised approximately $250 million and attracted backing from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Reid Hoffman. Worldcoin's Orb scans an individual's eyeballs for identity verification, similar to India's Aadhaar system, and the startup aims to distinguish humans from AI online while boosting economic opportunities globally.

Tastes of the regions

$100 million Web3 fund for Middle East.
South Korean game publisher Wemade has partnered with Singapore-based investment firm Whampoa Digital to launch a $100 million Web3 fund aimed at investing in blockchain gaming projects, primarily in the Middle East. Despite South Korea's stringent anti-blockchain gaming rules, Wemade is focusing on international markets. The newly established Wemade Web3 Fund aims to accelerate blockchain adoption and will support blockchain gaming companies in the Middle East. Additionally, Wemade is constructing the Wemix Play Center in Dubai's DIFC Innovation Hub, a blockchain gaming-focused commercial space where grant-receiving projects are expected to set up offices for collaboration and mentorship. The move signifies Wemade's commitment to exploring opportunities in the rapidly growing Web3 space in the Middle East.

British court freezes $1 Billion of assets of 3AC.
A British Virgin Islands court has frozen over $1 billion in assets belonging to the founders of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), according to the firm's liquidators, Teneo Restructuring. The worldwide court order, issued on Monday, applies to founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, along with Davies' wife, Kelly Chen. Zhu had been jailed for four months in Singapore in September for failing to assist in winding up 3AC, and he is expected to be released this month for good behaviour. 3AC filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in July of the previous year after the collapse of stablecoin issuer Terra, which resulted in irrecoverable losses. Teneo has been seeking $1.3 billion and included Chen in order to maximize returns to creditors, whose claims total over $3 billion. The freezing order aims to prevent the founders and Kelly Chen from disposing of assets that might frustrate eventual enforcement by the liquidators. Additionally, a Singapore court has applied a domestic freezing order for assets located there.

Coinbase and Circle receive French regulatory approvals.
French regulatory authorities have granted approvals to Coinbase and Circle, both foreign cryptocurrency firms, as 2023 comes to a close. Coinbase has obtained the Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) authorization from France’s financial regulator, allowing the exchange to custody digital assets and facilitate crypto trading in the country. Meanwhile, Circle has received conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider, subject to certain restrictions and pending approval as a Payment Services Provider, contingent on obtaining an Electronic Money Institution license, for which Circle has applied. These approvals come amid significant regulatory changes in the crypto industry, particularly with the enforcement of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) by the European Union since June. In contrast, crypto firms in the United States are facing a more challenging regulatory landscape, with the Securities and Exchange Commission leading lawsuits against them. Coinbase, in particular, has been seeking regulatory clarity and appealed the SEC's recent decision after its request for new rules handling cryptocurrencies was denied.

Dictionomics:  Crypto Crowdfunding

Crypto crowdfunding is a way of raising funds for a project or a cause using cryptocurrencies. For example, a startup may launch a crypto crowdfunding campaign to collect funds to develop a new product or service. Alternatively, a charity may use crypto crowdfunding to support a social or environmental cause. Crypto crowdfunding can be done through platforms that allow users to create campaigns and accept donations in various digital assets. For instance, Gitcoin is a platform that enables open-source software developers to receive funding from the crypto community. Crypto crowdfunding can also be done through smart contracts that define the rules and conditions of the fundraising process, such as the goal, the deadline, the distribution of funds, and the incentives for the donors.

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