Calling All Capital

(1) Blocktower’s Ari Paul was one of several investors that contributed to a $100 million fundraising round for Hedera Hashgraph, a project that uses an alternative type of distributed ledger technology dubbed hashgraph consensus.

An additional $20 million is being sought via a private placement for accredited investors to enhance the speed, security, and scalability of the platform, which could be handy for IoT transactions.

(2) Decentralized trading platform Radar Relay completed a $10 million series A round that was spearheaded by Blockchain Capital, with investments also coming from Collaborative Fund and Distributed Global.

Other VCs participated — the listed funds double dipping after having pledged their allegiance during RR’s seed round speaks volumes about the project’s team, strategy, and market opportunity.

(3) SBI Holdings set their eye on US-based digital marketplace developer Clear Water, purchasing a 12% stake at an estimated value of $9 million. The Japanese firm will develop crypto derivative products in anticipation of institutional interest spurred on by refined custodial solutions.

SBI is firing on all cylinders. Their capital injection comes on the heels of their crypto exchange VCTRADE’s launch and a $15 million strategic partnershipwith AI startup Antworks, which will scout out Asian market ventures to join the ranks of the 20+ crypto stakes that SBI planted over the past year.

(4) In the world of Harry Potter, Square’s (+3.42%) second quarter results received an ‘E’ for ‘Exceeds Expectations’, outpacing Wall Street’s earnings estimates of 12 cents/share by one penny.

Bitcoin trading revenues weren’t as fortunate, landing a ‘D’ (Dreadful) due to a meager $37 million when compared to Square’s transaction-based revenues of $625 million that rose 30% in the past year.

Markets

(1) Galaxy Digital had a sorry start on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange, falling nearly 31% before closing at CAD $2.30 from an opening price of CAD $2.75. Galaxy’s journey north involved the acquisition of Coin Capital and the reverse takeover (RTO) of Canadian shell company Bradmer Pharmaceuticals.

What’s in store for Novogratz? (1) Expand GLXY trading to Frankfurt, London, and Hong Kong, and (2) give this employee a raise for being a team player.

(2) Overstock subsidiary Medici Land Ventures is upheaving Zambia’s land ownership processes, cementing property rights to the blockchain. Dual synergies can be reaped from the transfer, such as public service access for individuals and city planning and tax collections for governments.

(3) CoinJar, an Australian exchange pushing roughly $560,000 in daily trade volume, launched a multi-class investment fund that consists of Bitcoin Class (strictly Bitcoin @ 1.3% annual fees) and Mixed Class (BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP @ 1.8% annual fees).

(4) Coinbase added GBP support for UK traders, streamlining the former process where pounds and euros were swapped during deposits and withdrawals.