NFT-focused Animoca Brands valued at $5B following $358M raise. NFT and virtual property-focused firm Animoca Brands secured $358 million worth of...
A week in review: Jan. 16–22 We've selected the hottest materials of the past week for you to stay up to date with the latest crypto news: | | #1. NFT-focused Animoca Brands valued at $5B following $358M raise | | | NFT and virtual property-focused firm Animoca Brands secured $358 million worth of funding earlier this week at a valuation of $5 billion. | | | The company said the fresh funds will go towards financing strategic acquisitions and investments, product development, and IP accumulation. The firm has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months, raising more than $216 million in 2021, while its valuation has more than doubled since its previous capital raise in October. | | | A key area of focus for Animoca is GameFi, with the firm pointing to research suggesting that the video gaming sector will grow to around $829 billion by 2028. The firm is also invested heavily in the virtual property and Metaverse space, with The Sandbox metaverse being one of its prime jewels. | | #2. Microsoft's massive Metaverse move: Buying Activision for $69B | | | Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it is acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $95 per share at a valuation of $68.7 billion, with the deal slated to close in the 2023 fiscal year. | | | Activision Blizzard boasts a strong list of iconic gaming series such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. Activision titles will be added to Microsoft's Xbox and PC Game Pass service. | | | Microsoft noted that the acquisition will help the company provide the "building blocks for the Metaverse." CEO and chairman Satya Nadella explained: | | | "Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms." | | #3. OpenSea surpasses $3.5B in monthly Ether trading volume setting new ATH | | | While the crypto market may have cooled in January, it appears that the NFT sector is booming with countless investors who are aping into tokenized collectibles, among other things. | | | It was reported on Monday that top NFT marketplace OpenSea had reached a new all-time high in terms of monthly volume after it topped $3.5 billion. At the time of writing, the figure stands at a whopping $4.3 billion, suggesting an average daily volume of around $204 million in January so far. | | | The surge in NFT trade volume appears to be led by the price increases of several Yuga Labs projects such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and the Bored Ape Kennel Club. | | #4. Prediction of the week. Nations to adopt Bitcoin, crypto users to reach 1B by 2023: Report | | | After trading sideways for most of the week, Bitcoin's price nosedived on Thursday and continued lower on Friday. BTC dropped from $43,596 down to $38,251 inside of Thursday, according to Cointelegraph's BTC price index, before reaching a low of $37,778 on Friday. January has largely been a downward and sideways month for Bitcoin's price action, which is not unlike its historical price performance during the month. | | | One report Cointelegraph covered this week, however, sees potential for further crypto adoption in 2022. Digital currency exchange Crypto.com produced a report showing a large uptick in crypto industry participants in 2021. According to the firm, there were 295 million crypto owners at the end of 2021, up from 106 million in the first month of the year. Crypto.com believes crypto ownership could surpass 1 billion this year. | | | "Nations can no longer afford to ignore the growing push towards crypto by the public," the report said. | | #5. FUD of the week. Crypto.com shares details on security breach: 483 accounts compromised | | | Crypto.com revealed details about its security breach that resulted in the loss of roughly $33.8 million worth of digital assets on Monday. The firm initially halted withdrawals on the platform and revoked all customer two-factor authentication (2FA) tokens after spotting "unauthorized activity on a small number of user accounts." | | | In a statement on Thursday, Crypto.com said that 483 accounts had been compromised, with "4,836.26 ETH, 443.93 BTC and approximately US$66,200 in other currencies" stolen from clients. | | | The firm stated that it has now implemented an additional layer of protection in which a new whitelisted withdrawal address must be registered within 24 hours before the first withdrawal. It is unclear if that solution will soothe the users who had their funds drained already. | | #6. FUD of the week. Singapore bars crypto service providers from advertising in public spaces | | | The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a new set of guidelines on Monday for digital payment token (DPT) providers, barring them from marketing their services in public places, such as on public transportation, social media platforms and broadcast and print media. | | | MAS also warned the public of the high-risk nature of crypto assets as it introduced new guidelines that will apply to all registered crypto service providers as well as those that are in a transitional period. The guidelines stipulated: | | | "MAS stresses that DPT service providers should conduct themselves with the understanding that trading of DPTs is not suitable for the general public. These Guidelines set out MAS' expectation that DPT service providers should not promote their DPT services to the general public in Singapore." | | | Feel free to explore the most important news with Hodler's Digest: | | | |
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