Crypto Daily Digest - April 19th

DeFi

• Ribbon Finance will leverage Paradigm's liquidity network to optimize product flow. Source
• Former Coinbase CTO has taken on the role of strategic advisor to NFT.com. Source
• Nasdaq is considering offering Bitcoin and crypto-related services. Source
• Ethereum layer 2 network Optimism is about to start the next phase plan. Source
• DEX aggregator KyberSwap integrated with BTTC with $1.5 million liquidity mining and incentive rewards. Source
• Scammers pose as official Moonbirds Twitter account, constantly sending fake messages to steal funds. Source
• Bancor V3 Beta is live. Source
• SingularityNet Bridge on Cardano is live. Source
• Cosmos ecosystem DEX Junoswap will open $RAW claiming on May 1. Source
• Google partners with NBA to launch metaverse project Google Pixel Arena. Source
• ConsenSys opposes SEC's proposed Draft exchange act. Source
• Crypto exchange Blockchain.com plans IPO as soon as this year. Source
• Synthetix ecosystem options protocol Thales goes to Polygon. Source
• Decentralized Automated Market-Maker Hummus is live on Metis. Source
• BNB Chain will burn over 1.8 million $BNB. Source
• Profit optimizer redemption and algorithmic stablecoin protocol 2omb Finance hit by Flash Loans attack. Source
• Lido Finance announces 2 million $LDO to fund Ethereum protocol contributors. Source
• Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange KUNA founder Michael Chobanian tweeted that he will return stolen funds received from Beanstalk Farms. Source
• Decentralized real-time detection network Forta will launch $FORT. Source
• Filecoin tweeted that its first production Network Indexer has officially launched. Source
• Andre Cronje says he will try to engage and educate on regulated crypto. Source
• a16z submitted a comment letter objecting to the SEC's proposed definition of an exchange as overbroad and likely to inhibit web3 innovation. Source
• Beanstalk Farms called on the hackers to return 90% of the withdrawn funds and pay them the remaining 10% as a Whitehat bounty. Source
• Terra Founder: $UST market cap only needs to increase by 5x to become the largest stablecoin. Source
• Vanguard will restrict trading in most OTC stocks. Source
• Apollo Global considers participating in a bid for Twitter. Source
• Monero community reaches consensus for July hard fork. Source

Policy & Regulation

• European crypto industry steps up efforts to influence EU policy. Source
• Korean MP: will speed up the virtual asset law legislation, and expects the relevant law integration plan to be ready by the end of May. Source
• Digital Ruble 'Much Needed,' Russia's Central Bank Says, Won't Delay Testing Source
• Russians will be able to buy a maximum of 600,000 rubles (approx. $7,000) worth of cryptocurrency each year. Source
• Japan will model digital Yen tests on Sweden's approach. Source

NFT

• Luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana announces partnership with inBetweenersNFT. Source
• NFT interoperability platform AssetMantle mainnet is live. Source
• NFT oracle Quoth will launch farming features on April 22nd. Source
• STEPN launches v0.6.3 version. Source
• The NFT marketplace X2Y2 has integrated with Etherscan's live chat tool Blockscan Chat. Source

Fundings

• Framework Ventures unveils $400 million fund. Source
• Solana DeFi Protocol Delta One closes $9.1 Million funding round Alameda Research and Ship Capital Lead. Source
• Blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto closes $50 million funding round led by Republic Capital. Source
• Blockchain infrastructure company BlockApps closes $41 million funding round led by Liberty City Ventures. Source
• a16z launched "a16z START" program to provide startups with up to $1 million in funding and resource network support. Source
• CoinDCX raised $135 million in funding at $2.15 billion valuation led by Pantera Capital and others. Source
• Animoca Brands acquired 67% stake in digital service company Be Media. Source
• Digital asset manager Hyperithm secures follow-on investment from Coinbase Ventures. Source
• The Sandbox is considering raising fresh funds at a valuation of more than $4 billion. Source
• Crypto exchange KuCoin launches $100 million Creators Fund. Source
• Metaverse infrastructure company Mytaverse closes $7.6 million seed round led by Blumberg Capital. Source
• Singapore blockchain startup Doxa closes $2.2 million Pre-A round of funding. Source
• Bithumb subsidiary Rotonda raises about $8.5 million with participation from WeMade and others. Source
• Cosmos ecosystem Aura Network closes $2.5 million seed round with participation from GBV Capital and others. Source