Crypto Biz: Smart money ignores BTC price correction as $800M set to flow into blockchain startups, Dec. 9

Bitcoin’s (BTC) return to sub-$50,000 levels has many market participants fretting over the legitimacy of their favorite price models. For venture capitalists and other smart money investors, the latest decline is nothing but noise. Instead, they see the emergence of an entirely new economy that is transforming business, redefining monetary value and pushing the internet to a new frontier. 

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter highlights four major funding deals from the world of blockchain. Below is a concise version of the Thursday edition of our newsletter.

10T Holdings plans $500M crypto fund

Earlier this week, equity fund 10T Holdings filed a notice with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a new $500 million crypto-focused investment fund. The 10T DAE Fund 3.0 has been designed to support mid-to-late-stage companies in the digital asset space. 10T has an excellent track record identifying promising crypto plays, with the likes of Kraken, eToro, Huobi and Ledger already a part of its portfolio.

Binance Smart Chain and Animoca Brands launch $200M GameFi fund

Binance Smart Chain and Animoca Brands have each allocated $100 million to a new development fund focused on the fast-growing GameFi ecosystem. GameFi, which refers to the financialization of gaming, is expected to be one of the biggest trends in crypto in 2022 and beyond. The new fund will focus specifically on projects building on the Binance Smart Chain.

Former Facebook engineers at Mysten Labs raise $36M

Mysten Labs, the research and development firm founded by former Facebook engineers, has raised $36 million from some of crypto’s biggest venture funds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, Coinbase Ventures and Samsung NEXT. If you haven’t heard of Mysten Labs, the infrastructure developer is working on building a Web 3.0 interface, which includes a “next-generation NFT platform for the Metaverse.”

Related: Hong Kong-based Chiron Partners launches $50M Terra fund

Fintech startup Lydia raises $100 million in Series C

Speaking of major funding news, crypto-friendly fintech startup Lydia has concluded a $100-million funding round, bringing its total valuation to over $1 billion. You can think of Lydia as an alternative to the popular Cash App and Venmo peer-to-peer payment services. And much like those platforms, Lydia provides another mobile payment gateway to the cryptocurrency market.

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