AI Agent launches memecoin to the moon? 🌖

Bonus: Deal flow over last week + Top in Mainstream 🤝

October 23, 2024

GM Builders. 🚧 

Welcome back to a regularly scheduled edition of the BW3 newsletter, buckle up—today’s news is like a rollercoaster ride with no seatbelt. 💺 

Here’s the lineup today:

  • Top News in the Mainstream Today 📰 

  • The AI Agent age of memecoins is here 🐐 

  • Deal flow over last 7 days 💸 

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TOP NEWS IN MAINSTREAM TODAY 📰 

Short and sweet like an Airhead. 🎈 Here's today's roundup of the top stories in the crypto mainstream:

  1. DOGE and XRP Lead Declines: Major cryptocurrencies like DOGE and XRP are taking a hit today as Bitcoin ETFs experience an $80 million outflow. It’s a rollercoaster ride for these crypto majors as they navigate the market's volatility.

  2. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP Fall: Despite key partnerships and developments, the market sees red. FXStreet reports that major cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP are all down today, highlighting continued market challenges.

  3. Musk’s Crypto Vision: At a recent event in Pittsburgh, Elon Musk discussed the future of XRP and the broader potential of crypto. Digital Watch Observatory notes his optimistic view but emphasizes the uncertainties surrounding regulation.

  4. Crypto Tax Planning Tips: Mondaq released a video on crypto tax loss harvesting, helping traders and investors strategize their tax obligations efficiently.

  5. Japan’s ETF Stance: Cointelegraph reports Japan is slow to approve crypto ETFs, citing stringent tax and regulatory policies as the primary barriers.

  6. Betting on Politics: The New Yorker dives into a crypto betting platform that’s gaining traction with predictions on the 2024 U.S. election, specifically betting on a Trump win.

  7. Arbitrum’s Variational Raises $10.3M: The Block highlights the latest funding round for the Arbitrum-based derivatives trading protocol, demonstrating the ongoing investor interest in DeFi products.

AI AGENT SENDS A MEMECOIN TO MOON? 🐐 

The crypto world just got its own Black Mirror episode, starring an AI named Terminal of Truths, funded by Marc Andreessen himself. Here’s the scoop on how this digital oracle, Truth Terminal (known as @Truth_Terminal on X), managed to make waves in the memecoin world:

  • GOAT Memecoin Origin: GOAT, the latest star of the Solana-based memecoin incubator Pump.Fun, was getting its shine long before the AI even entered the chat. Despite the rumors, Truth Terminal didn't create the coin—just gave it an AI-powered thumbs up after the fact. But hey, in crypto, who needs facts when you’ve got narratives?

  • Impact of the Endorsement: As soon as the AI publicly endorsed GOAT, the memecoin's value shot up faster than a caffeine-fueled trader—its market cap soared to a jaw-dropping $268 million to $346 million. Turns out, when an AI known for “truth” stamps approval on a coin, people throw their wallets at it. The AI’s endorsement was about exploring the meme magic that keeps the crypto world spinning.

  • Fact vs. Fiction: Social media spun a tale that the AI created GOAT, but it’s just that—a tale. Truth Terminal’s creator, Andy Ayrey, got a $50,000 research grant from Marc Andreessen, but it wasn’t to build or launch a crypto. The AI’s job? Stir the pot. Whether it was a social experiment or just a clever play on crypto culture, it worked.

  • Cultural Shockwaves: This whole AI-meets-memecoin saga became an instant case study in how quickly hype, rumors, and AI fascination can fuel market behavior. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about how AI could be the next big influencer in not just finance but digital culture at large.

  • Setting the Record Straight: Andreessen and Ayrey made it clear—yes, the AI endorsed GOAT, but it didn’t birth it. The real genius was in turning a simple token endorsement into a viral spectacle, blending technology, humor, and the crypto community’s obsession with hype into one chaotic (yet oddly compelling) event.

In the end, Terminal of Truths didn’t just pump a memecoin; it became the meme. This story is one more chapter in the saga of crypto, where AI bots, venture capitalists, and memecoins dance on the line between truth and hype—reminding everyone that in crypto, the story is often just as valuable as the coin itself.

DEAL FROM OVER LAST WEEK 💵 

Lots of action has been happening in the deal flow realm, let’s dive right in to our featured 5:

  1. Yellow Card Financial

    • Round: Series C

    • Raised: $33M

    • Category: CEX, Finance/Banking

    • Investors: Blockchain Capital, Polychain Capital, Block, and 6 others.

    • 🏦 This Africa-focused exchange keeps the growth going, expanding its reach across the continent with fresh capital infusion.

  2. zkPass

    • Round: Series A

    • Raised: $12.5M

    • FDV: $100M

    • Category: Data Service, Identity, Zero-Knowledge

    • Investors: Animoca Brands, dao5, and 13 others.

    • 🔍 zkPass continues to innovate in the zero-knowledge space, pushing forward with privacy-first identity solutions.

  3. Validation Cloud

    • Round: Unknown

    • Raised: $10M

    • Category: Data Service, Infrastructure, Staking

    • 🌩 This cloud provider focuses on secure and scalable staking solutions, securing a solid investment boost.

  4. Mento Labs

    • Round: Unknown

    • Raised: $10M

    • Category: Celo Ecosystem, DApp, DeFi, Infrastructure, Stablecoin

    • Investors: T Capital, Hashkey Capital, Flori Ventures.

    • 🌐 Mento Labs is doubling down on the Celo ecosystem, pushing forward DeFi solutions and infrastructure development.

  5. Karpatkey

    • Round: Unknown

    • Raised: $7M

    • Category: Data Service

    • Investors: AppWorks, Wintermute, Borderless, and 11 others.

    • 💾 With a focus on data service optimization, Karpatkey is geared up to scale with strategic backing.

M&A Spotlight 🔍: Bridge x Stripe

Bridge secured a $1.1B acquisition deal with Stripe, signaling a major leap in infrastructure and stablecoin payment solutions. Stripe is doubling down on crypto integrations, and Bridge is their latest, ahem, bridge to that future! 🌉💸

Other Action:

Praxis, developers of a crypto-friendly city, raised $525M. Investors in the round include Arch Lending, GEM Digital, Manifold Trading, and angels like Farcaster CEO Dan Romero and Worldcoin co-founder Max Novendstern.

Bitnomial, a digital asset derivatives exchange company, raised $25M in a round led by Ripple.

Opacity Network, a zero-knowledge proofs provider for data verification, raised $12M. Archetype and Breyer Capital co-led the round, with participation from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Finality Capital Partners, Bodhi Ventures and Escape Velocity (EV3)

Solv Protocol, a bitcoin staking platform, raised $11M from Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital and OKX Ventures.

Predicate, a blockchain network, raised $7M in a round that included Tribe and 1kx.

Drop Protocol, a liquid staking protocol, raised $4M. The round was led by CoinFund, with additional backing from CMS Holdings, Anagram, Interop Ventures, Cosmostation, and others. Angel investors included Vasiliy Shapovalov (Co-founder of Lido DAO), Mustafa Al-Bassam (Co-founder of Celestia Labs), and Jon Kol (CEO of Abacus Labs, a core contributor to Hyperlane).

Hermetica, a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin developer, raised $1.7M. UTXO Management led the round, which had further support from CMS Holdings, Ethos Fund, Trust Machines SPV, Newman Capital, Silvermine and numerous angel investors.

Lombard, the largest bitcoin liquid staking platform, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Binance.

MEME CITY 🏙️ 

Until Friday Builders! 🏗️ 

Keep grinding and oil your tractors. 🚜