Welcome back to Chain reaction.
Last week on the podcast we talked about the FTX collapse, which is still ongoing. This week we’re taking a break Thursday news episode for Thanksgiving, but we had plenty of stories for you on the businessroundups.org website, including some from our crypto event last week in Miami.
Before we get into the heart of the matter, Anita would like to share a personal message:
Hello everyone! It feels bittersweet to share that my time at businessroundups.org has come to an end, and with it my involvement in the Chain Reaction newsletter and podcast. I have learned so much about the wild world of crypto with you every week. I’m sorry to say goodbye, but I know you’re in good hands with Jacquelyn and the rest of the businessroundups.org team. As far as I’m concerned, feel free to get in touch Twitter, where I share more about my professional next steps. Thanks for reading and listening every week. I really appreciate you all!
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Table of Contents
this week in web3
Here are some of the biggest crypto stories businessroundups.org covered this week.
FTX’s bankruptcy hearing describes pre-checking by ‘inexperienced and inexperienced individuals’ (TC+)
Hearings that will determine the fate of FTX, once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, began Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. “We’re here on an unprecedented issue and I don’t say those words lightly,” James Bromley, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and co-head of the firm’s global restructuring practice, said at the hearing. “This is a day one hearing over a week after they were filed; that in itself is unusual. But what we have here [ … ] is a different kind of animal.”
NFT marketplace Magic Eden integrates with Polygon to grow blockchain gaming
NFT marketplace Magic Eden is integrating with the Ethereum scaling layer-2 blockchain Polygon to dive deeper into the blockchain gaming and NFT ecosystems, the companies announced Tuesday. The expansion is intended to provide Magic Eden with the ability to support the Polygon ecosystem of game developers and creators. The Polygon network hosts some of the largest web3 gaming projects and publishers such as Ubisoft, Atari, Animoca Brands, Decentraland and Sandbox, among others.
FTX processed billions monthly in Africa before going out of business
On November 14, Nestcoin, one of the startups leading crypto and web3 efforts in Africa, announced it would lay off several employees. At least 30 employees from various departments were laid off, while those who remained with the company had their salaries cut by as much as 40%, according to people familiar with the matter. The news is partly related to the demise of crypto exchange FTX, according to CEO Yele Bademosi.
Crypto firm Genesis says it has ‘no plans to go out of business any time soon’
Genesis, a digital asset financial services company, may be in trouble as it seeks to raise new capital for its lending unit or may face bankruptcy if it fails to do so, according to a report. report by Bloomberg. “We have no plans to go out of business any time soon,” a Genesis spokesperson said in a statement emailed to businessroundups.org on Monday. “Our goal is to resolve the current situation consensually without the need for a bankruptcy filing. Genesis continues to engage in constructive discussions with creditors.”
Binance’s CZ on FTX: ‘We were the straw that broke the camel’
Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, commented on FTX’s collapse during businessroundups.org Sessions: Crypto 2022. He downplayed his personal role in the chain of events that ultimately led to FTX’s bankruptcy. “I still don’t think I have that much influence. I think we were the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s not a straw that’s really strong,” he told businessroundups.org’s Anita Ramaswamy. “There’s a lot of stuff built on it. It could be that I just happened to be the last thing pushing it.
the latest pod
This week we skipped the news episode thanks to good old Thanksgiving, as we mentioned above. But in Chain Reactions Tuesday delivery last week we play a super-timed recording of Anita’s panel on stage with Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. CZ sent some shocks through the crypto ecosystem in recent weeks, so Anita dove in:
- His tweets about rival exchange FTX sparking a firestorm and whether he foresaw its impact
- What Binance is doing to gain user trust and demonstrate transparency despite global regulatory challenges
- Binance’s revenue streams and strategy to weather a crypto downturn that just got much, much worse
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Follow the money
- Carv valued at $40 million as investors race to back web3 identity builders
- Zulu saves $5 million for its LatAm digital wallet amid shaky ground for crypto
- Gaming developer Third verse raises $15 million to build web3 and VR gaming studio
- Starting up privacy and Ethereum focused infrastructure nuclearraises a $4 million seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto and 6th Man Ventures
- NFT utility platform Trophy closed for €5 million in a seed round led by Tioga Capital
This list was compiled using information from Messari and businessroundups.org’s own reporting.
