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NFTs, NBA, Top Shot


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Flying Cats

Published:

Feb 27, 2021


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NFTs, NBA, Top Shot

Published:

Feb 27, 2021


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With the hot start for cryptocurrencies in 2021, investors are turning their attention to digital assets (read: non-fungible tokens - NFTs) that can represent anything from art to sports memorabilia, mostly built on the Ethereum blockchain.

First popularized by CryptoKitties in 2017 and taken mainstream by the NBA and Christies, the former saw over $140m in transaction volume this week alone (total value of NFT transaction last year was $250m). NBA Top Shot has been key to bringing this asset mainstream, with 60k buyers on the platform completing over 330k transactions. In second place is Crypto Punks, with $40m in transaction volume. A single piece of art at Christie’s has a current bid of $1.2m at the time of writing.

For some, taking part in this market is an investment decision. Art has historically been an uncorrelated asset to equities and with a volatile equities market and uncertain bond market, NFTs provide a great (and entertaining) source of diversification. For others, it is simply a digital version of self-expression, and perhaps owning something with sentimental value. The financialization of NFTs is here.

Unlike Bitcoin, each NFT is unique, can’t be replicated, and accrues value independently, mainly driven by scarcity. Beyond art and sports, people have also found uses for NFTs in virtual real estate, music, and gaming.

If you’ve got diamond hands, and you’re into punks, dunks, flying cats (with Pop-Tart bodies) or anything for that matter - an NFT will surely be available for you to collect. And as anyone who grew up in the 90s will understand, while the LeBron dunk might be just as scarce as Princess the Bear, the bright side of digital assets is that it can’t possibly turn out like this…

Portfolio News


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Galaxy Digital leads $4.3m SAFT into blockchain platform Centrifuge - Congratulations to portfolio company Centrifuge on their new round of funding. The SAFT round began last December and was led by Mike Novogratz’s investment firm Galaxy Digital and research-driven venture capital fund IOSG Ventures. The round also saw participation from companies such as Rockaway, Fintech Collective, Moonwhale, Fenbushi, TRGC, and HashCIB. Read more

Revolut’s rival Bottlepay bags £11m funding; lets users send Bitcoin to on social media - Bottlepay, a Bitcoin-based global payments app, has secured £11m in seed funding. The round was led by a range of investors including British fund manager and billionaire Alan Howard, present and former Goldman Sachs partners, FinTech Collective, NYDIG, and tech entrepreneur Phil Doye. The funding will be used to expand the team and develop the platform’s functionality and geographical reach. Read more

The future of fintech: Trends and opportunities in lending - Matt Levinson and Octane co-founder and CEO Jason Guss examine the evolution of fintech from the first to the second generation of companies, explore the challenges and opportunities presented by the marketplace, and present their views on the future of the industry. Listen here. Read more

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Industry News


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Coinbase files for direct listing after revenue more than doubles in 2020 - According to the S-1 filing, Coinbase had net revenue of $1.14b in 2020, up from $483m the previous year, and net income of $322m for the year after posting a loss in 2019. The company also said it has 43m verified users as of the end of 2020, with 2.8m making monthly transactions. Read more

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Square buys $170m worth of bitcoin - The company said it purchased approximately 3,318 bitcoins, expanding on its October 2020 buy of 4,709. Square said it represents about 5% of the company’s total assets as of the end of 2020. Read more

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Select Financings


Ageras - Copenhagen based accounting software and marketplace startup raised $73m in new funding from Lugard Road Capital. Read more

Anchorage - San Francisco based digital asset custodian and banking company raised $80m in Series C funding led by GIC. Read more

Borrowell - Toronto based fintech and credit education startup raised $25m in Series C funding from Kensington Capital Partners, BDC Capital, iA Financial Group, Impact Engine and insiders Portag3 Ventures, White Star Capital, National Bank of Canada and Equitable Bank. Read more

Earnix - Israel based developer of predictive customer analytics software for financial institutions raised $75m in growth funding led by Insight Partners. Read more

EarnUp - San Francisco based platform for financially challenged homeowners raised $25m in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. Read more

EquityBee - Palo Alto based stock option financing marketplace raised $20m in Series A funding led by Group 11. Read more

First Boulevard - Kansas based digitally native neobank focused on Black America raised $5m in Seed funding led by Barclays and Anthemis. Read more

FundGuard - New York and Tel Aviv based AI-powered investment management SaaS startup raised $12m in Series A funding led by Team8, Blumberg Capital and LionBird Ventures. Read more

Fundtastic - Indonesia based retail investing platform raised $7.7m in Series A funding led by Ascend Capital Group. Read more

Koffie Labs - Brooklyn based insurtech startup focused on the trucking market raised $4.5m in Seed funding led by Anthemis Group and Lerer Hippeau. Read more

Optimism - New York based Ethereum scaling solution raised $25m in Series A funding led by a16z. Read more

PureStream Trading - New York based alternative trading system raised $14m in Series A funding from Nasdaq Ventures, Goldman Sachs, BMO Financial Group, BofA, AllianceBernstein and MaC VC. Read more

RecargaPay - Miami based payments platform focused on Brazil raised $70m in Series C funding led by IDC Ventures and Fuel Venture Capital. Read more

Stitch - South Africa based fintech API startup raised $4m in Seed funding led by Firstminute Capital and The Raba Partnership. Read more

Stori - Mexico based credit card startup raised $32.5m in Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Read more

TreeCard - UK based credit card startup raised $5m in Seed funding led by EQT Ventures. Read more

TymeBank - South Africa based digital bank raised $109m in new funding from Apis Partners and JG Summit Holdings. Read more

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