Welcome to The Daily Forkast, September 23rd, 2021, presented by Angie Lau. For the latest in blockchain & crypto news. On today's show:
00:00 Coming Up
00:40 Well-known VC names validate NFT space.
02:41 Crypto investors brush off Evergrande concerns.
03:57 Korean lawmaker reveals crypto exchange data ahead of September 24 deadline.
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First up, Dapper Labs, the company behind the NBA Top Shot NFT series, is the latest to announce a hugely successful funding round led by two other participants in the US$250 million round include a16z, GV and GIC. And that follows hot on the heels of SoftBank leading a USS$680 million round in French fantasy soccer game NFT startup Sorare. Softbank is known for investing incredibly large amounts that send valuations soaring. Could this mean that investing in NFT companies is set to get more expensive? One expert told Forkast.News that the NFT market is hot right now, with valuations inflated, but resources are looking for investments with high potential. Yat Siu of Animoca Brands, which has previously invested in Dapper Labs, says SoftBank’s move will encourage a wider pool of investors to get involved. Gazmararian says that in terms of validating the industry, the numbers getting involved going from tens to hundreds of thousands is actually more important than SoftBank’s involvement. Both agree that as the market is so new, there are still opportunities for VCs to find companies with lower valuations.
Meanwhile, news of developer China Evergrande Group resolving a scheduled payment has sent markets back into positive territory. The crypto market was up across the board as markets opened Thursday morning at Asia time. Polkadot and Solana saw the biggest moves, each gaining 17% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin gained 5%, while Ethereum gained 9% and Cardano regained its third spot position, as Evergrande stepped back from its debt cliff. However, one expert told Forkast.News that while one coupon payment is being resolved is good news, many uncertainties remain, including the full details of that payment. With regard to restructuring, he’s sceptical as to whether the Chinese government would consider turning Evergrande into a state-owned enterprise. Sullivan also says he’s concerned over the news that China Estates has been selling down its stake, as historically Evergreen has had a lot of friends who would be willing to support it, which means investors should be wary of a dead cat bounce.
And finally, with Korea’s crypto deadline looming, data is revealing more about the massive popularity of crypto trading in the country. There are currently three types of exchanges in Korea – those that have met both the government-mandated requirements, those that have met only one of the two, and the rest which have failed to meet any. Only four: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit have met all the new standards. And according to data from lawmaker Kang Ming-kuk, these four oversee more than US$50 billion worth of deposits or about 96.1% of total deposits in crypto in the country. Now, between them, they have 12.5 million users, but Upbit remains a dominant player, responsible for 8.2 million of that total. So here’s how it stands just one day before D-Day. 25 smaller exchanges meet one requirement being certified for their level of information security. Now, these exchanges cannot offer cash-to-crypto functions they operate instead token-to-token services. Data from 18 of these show a little less than US$2 billion worth of deposits shared across 2.2 million users. And thirty-something exchanges that fail to meet either requirement have already shut down or will close as of Friday. Now, many have already raised a lot of noise here, denouncing authorities, saying their tactics have caused an exodus of users into just the dominant four, the big guys get all the glory while the little ones are forced into extinction.
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#Crypto #Blockchain #BlockchainTechnology #DigitalAssets #Cryptocurrency #DeFi #VentureCapital #NFT #Evergrande #Softbank #GIC #Sorare #CryptoExchange #China #Korea
00:00 Coming Up
00:40 Well-known VC names validate NFT space.
02:41 Crypto investors brush off Evergrande concerns.
03:57 Korean lawmaker reveals crypto exchange data ahead of September 24 deadline.
---
First up, Dapper Labs, the company behind the NBA Top Shot NFT series, is the latest to announce a hugely successful funding round led by two other participants in the US$250 million round include a16z, GV and GIC. And that follows hot on the heels of SoftBank leading a USS$680 million round in French fantasy soccer game NFT startup Sorare. Softbank is known for investing incredibly large amounts that send valuations soaring. Could this mean that investing in NFT companies is set to get more expensive? One expert told Forkast.News that the NFT market is hot right now, with valuations inflated, but resources are looking for investments with high potential. Yat Siu of Animoca Brands, which has previously invested in Dapper Labs, says SoftBank’s move will encourage a wider pool of investors to get involved. Gazmararian says that in terms of validating the industry, the numbers getting involved going from tens to hundreds of thousands is actually more important than SoftBank’s involvement. Both agree that as the market is so new, there are still opportunities for VCs to find companies with lower valuations.
Meanwhile, news of developer China Evergrande Group resolving a scheduled payment has sent markets back into positive territory. The crypto market was up across the board as markets opened Thursday morning at Asia time. Polkadot and Solana saw the biggest moves, each gaining 17% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin gained 5%, while Ethereum gained 9% and Cardano regained its third spot position, as Evergrande stepped back from its debt cliff. However, one expert told Forkast.News that while one coupon payment is being resolved is good news, many uncertainties remain, including the full details of that payment. With regard to restructuring, he’s sceptical as to whether the Chinese government would consider turning Evergrande into a state-owned enterprise. Sullivan also says he’s concerned over the news that China Estates has been selling down its stake, as historically Evergreen has had a lot of friends who would be willing to support it, which means investors should be wary of a dead cat bounce.
And finally, with Korea’s crypto deadline looming, data is revealing more about the massive popularity of crypto trading in the country. There are currently three types of exchanges in Korea – those that have met both the government-mandated requirements, those that have met only one of the two, and the rest which have failed to meet any. Only four: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit have met all the new standards. And according to data from lawmaker Kang Ming-kuk, these four oversee more than US$50 billion worth of deposits or about 96.1% of total deposits in crypto in the country. Now, between them, they have 12.5 million users, but Upbit remains a dominant player, responsible for 8.2 million of that total. So here’s how it stands just one day before D-Day. 25 smaller exchanges meet one requirement being certified for their level of information security. Now, these exchanges cannot offer cash-to-crypto functions they operate instead token-to-token services. Data from 18 of these show a little less than US$2 billion worth of deposits shared across 2.2 million users. And thirty-something exchanges that fail to meet either requirement have already shut down or will close as of Friday. Now, many have already raised a lot of noise here, denouncing authorities, saying their tactics have caused an exodus of users into just the dominant four, the big guys get all the glory while the little ones are forced into extinction.
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#Crypto #Blockchain #BlockchainTechnology #DigitalAssets #Cryptocurrency #DeFi #VentureCapital #NFT #Evergrande #Softbank #GIC #Sorare #CryptoExchange #China #Korea
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The fears on Evergrande continue, even with the reassurances from the company and China. Now, we can't do anything but wait to see what happens. Meanwhile big money continues looking for spaces in digital economy to go, and it's time for NFTs to receive the VC money. What will this mean if there is a bubble? Korean exchanges continue their work to comply with State regulations.