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Remember, the money you have raised is not yours to spend as you wish—this is one of Ycombinator’s advice for startups. Spend your company’s money ethically and with full transparency. It is vital to maintain financial integrity for the sake of your investors, co-founders, and the future of your startup. Every penny counts! Here is a typical “it’s not your money” scenario: A crypto startup founded in 2021, lost $15.9 million in 2022, according to a copy of an audited financial statement sent to investors. It didn’t report revenue because it hadn’t launched a product in 2022 yet expenses were already astronomical.👀 Allegedly the founder was also paying himself a whopping sum of $108,333 monthly. After loosing all their cash within two years, CEO registered a new entity named in early 2024 allegedly to avoid responsibility for the failed startup’s liabilities according to his co-founders. What are your thoughts on this recent dilemma?

CORTMA is concentrating on the crypto business. Robinhood, a trading platform, is purchasing the crypto exchange Bitstamp for a reported price of $200 million. This acquisition marks Robinhood's most significant move yet and will aid its global expansion and growing crypto business. https://lnkd.in/duPvym5r Bitstamp, the 16th-ranked exchange globally, is well-liked in Europe and Asia. This deal will enable Robinhood to compete with Coinbase and Binance directly. The finalisation of the deal is anticipated next year. However, Robinhood is presently dealing with regulatory action from the SEC, which might limit its ability to offer Bitstamp's services to American customers. Delve deeper_ ______ Follow our thinking At a glance:   At Mactur, we provide advisory services on corporate turnarounds (operationalising restructurings and enterprise-wide transformations). At CORTMA, we apply an entrepreneurial ecosystem-based approach to facilitate the lower mid-market (MSME) business transfer. Thank you for choosing my content curation. I hope you find it insightful and enjoyable. ______ #Growth #Marketing #Technology #Ecosystems #Turnarounds #Management #Entrepreneurship #Economy #Strategy #Leadership #Directorship #Data #businessContinuity #CortmaTranferOfSMEs #AI #AGI #BusinessTransformation #CryptoAssets

🌐 Corporate Clash in the Crypto Mining World! 🚀 At AlphaBlock, we’re dedicated to keeping you informed about the latest trends and conflicts shaping the crypto industry. This week’s headline story is the escalating corporate dispute between Riot Platforms and Bitfarms, showcasing the intense dynamics in the crypto mining sector. 🔗 Key Highlights: - Riot Platforms Increases Stake: On June 11, Riot Platforms boosted its stake in Bitfarms, acquiring six million shares worth over $111 million, raising its holding to 13.1%. - Bitfarms' Defense Strategy: Bitfarms responded with a “poison pill” strategy to prevent Riot from raising its stake to 15% or more, aiming to dilute share value and block a takeover. - Rejected Proposal: Riot previously offered to acquire Bitfarms at a premium, but Bitfarms’ board rejected the proposal. This week’s Crypto Biz also covers: - Tether’s $1 Billion Investment Plan: Tether plans to invest in startups focusing on emerging markets, AI, and biotech. - Ripple Labs' New Custodian Deal: Ripple has acquired Standard Custody, potentially paving the way for a USD stablecoin. - Circle’s Solana Integration: Circle is rolling out support for Solana, enabling programmable wallets and gas station features. - Fireblocks and Coinbase Partnership: Fireblocks has partnered with Coinbase International to introduce perpetual futures and spot trading. 👉 Follow AlphaBlock for more insights and updates! and to read more about this article click here: https://lnkd.in/gQzuTHZE #Crypto #Blockchain #Web3 #AlphaBlock #RiotPlatforms #Bitfarms #Tether #RippleLabs #Circle #Fireblocks #Coinbase

ZKX shutdown caught investors and market maker by surprise After the closure of the StarkNet-based ZKX protocol, investors and market maker criticized the management decisions of the project, accusing the management of secrecy. "When ZKX closed, we as investors received no warning. The team claimed they ran out of money, refused to provide any financial or spending data, and did not want to communicate with us," Ye Su, founding partner of venture capital firm ArkStream Capital, wrote. He said ZKX founder Edward Jubani Tour said in private correspondence that he was not obligated to provide expense information, and the funds being used now "are not from investors." In announcing the closure, the protocol's co-founder cited economic hardship and low community engagement. "[The project head] took money from early backers without any communication, showing no moral fiber and losing his right to future business in the industry," Su added. HashKey, as an investor, has also experienced a "lack of transparency and accountability" from ZKX in the context of financial disclosure, fund allocation and operational plans. Market maker and investor in the project, Amber Group, said it still holds about 3 million ZKX native tokens after paying back half of its initial loan of 2 million coins and purchasing another 2 million through MM operations. "Due to the lack of organic buying interest post-launch and our commitment to ongoing liquidity, we have been making net purchases of ZKX tokens since listing, even as prices have declined. This approach is consistent with our commitment to support projects and their communities by providing stable market conditions, even potentially at our expense," the Amber Group wrote. The company's representatives clarified that the ZKX team was no longer in contact with them after the closure was announced. The decision itself was also made without prior notice. Recall that in June, the Yield App platform ceased operations after "realizing" the losses incurred from the collapse of FTX.

We're excited to announce that Morpho has secured $50M, led by Ribbit Capital! The funding from Ribbit and other strategic partners further enhances Morpho's decentralization and supports its mission to make financial infrastructure a public good. With this development, Morpho stands to benefit from a long list of industry leaders who not only share a vision of building finance like the early internet but will also actively contribute their expertise and resources to Morpho's growth and the network’s decentralization. The potential impact of Morpho extends far beyond current DeFi markets, as the protocol is capable of becoming decentralized infrastructure that underpins a truly global, internet-native financial system. Ribbit Capital, a pre-eminent fintech investment firm, recognizes this potential, and its investment connects Morpho to Ribbit's global network of portfolio companies including Revolut, NuBank, Coinbase, Robinhood, Mercado Libre, Figure, and Uniswap. There was also participation from a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Variant, Pantera, Brevan Howard, BlockTower, Kraken Ventures, Hack VC, IOSG, Rockaway, L1D, Semantic, Mirana, Cherry, Fenbushi, LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures, Robot Ventures and 40+ others who will help guide the future of Morpho. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/erHgGP3n

I'm excited to share that Morpho secured $50m in funding led by Ribbit Capital. There was also participation from a16z crypto Coinbase Variant Pantera Capital and 50+ others who will help guide the future of Morpho. From a student project to one of the fastest-growing and now premier DeFi protocols, Morpho has come a long way. In just 2 years, it went from 0$ to $3B in deposits and evolved into a fully independent financial infrastructure. This funding will help: → Grow the Morpho Ecosystem outside the (still self-referential) DeFi space leveraging Ribbit's fintech portfolio companies like @revolut @robinhood @nubank. → Consolidate the Morpho Stack by creating products servicing users of all types. → Develop our vision of building finance like the early internet: by building transparent, efficient & open protocols. → Hire incredible talents sharing this vision: jobs.morpho.org Thank you to all our partners, individuals, friends, and families who helped us along the way. Morpho is just getting started. Let’s make financial infrastructure a public good 💙

💼 VC Investments Review for the Month The previous month of July was quite active for the #fundraising market. The change in the regulatory stance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the approval of ETH–ETF became a “green light” for #investors. Total #investments in July amounted to more than $681 million. Top 5 Biggest Investments: 1️⃣ Sentient – a platform for building artificial intelligence tools that promote an open AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) economy. The project has raised $85 million from Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Hack VC, Delphi Ventures, etc. 2️⃣ Partior – a developer of blockchain-based #infrastructure for cross-border #payments and remittances. The project has raised $60 million from Peak XV Partners (ранее Sequoia India & South East Asia), JPMorgan, Jump Trading, etc. 3️⃣ Morpho – a #decentralized P2P lending #protocol on the Ethereum and Base #blockchains. The project has raised $50 million from Ribbit Capital, a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Variant Fund, etc. 4️⃣ NPC Labs – a company that provides tools to protect, monetize, and scale intellectual property. The project has raised $18 million from Pantera Capital, Hashed, Mirana Ventures, etc. 5️⃣ Allium – a platform that monitors #blockchain activity, conducts investment research, accounting, and auditing, and provides access to data from over 40 blockchains. The project has raised $16.5 million from Theory VC, Kleiner Perkins и Amplify Partners. Also receiving more than $15 million in investments this month were projects such as Lombard, Prodia, ZAP, Chainbase, RedStone, and Caldera. Our analysts shared that #institutional investors remain uncertain about the market's long-term prospects. They are beginning to adopt risk mitigation #strategies, limiting themselves to smaller investments in later rounds.

Gray Wolf Analytics gets lots of unsolicited emails saying that they are keen to invest and we look at #PitchBook to see if they are #real or it is a #scam. Recently, we received an interesting email through our website, so I responded to them and then the conversation became strange when they said you need to pay $200,000 in #crypto as commission! #Founders of #startup please be careful!

Apologies for my recent absence on LinkedIn, I've been fully engaged in a deep dive into the world of decentralized finance for the past month. This has all been part of my work with a new Web3 startup. I'm now excited to take the next big step. Stay tuned for updates! #Web3 #DecentralizedFinance #staking #defi #crypto

Polychain Capital has accused a former General Partner of an undisclosed side deal with portfolio company Eclipse Labs. According to CoinDesk, the former GP allegedly received a significant token allocation from Eclipse shortly after leading Polychain's investment in the company, violating the firm's conflict of interest policies. We have no idea if the accusations are true, but if they are, this situation highlights the critical need for advanced compliance measures in crypto VC. Aer Compliance's undeclared wallet analytics system is designed to address precisely these scenarios. In a hypothetical situation, our software would: 1. Identify an account the employee hasn't declared via proprietary analytics 2. Flag to compliance this account and the determination behind it 3. Give them all relevant data to have a conversation with the employee By implementing our system, firms like Polychain can enhance their ability to prevent conflicts of interest before they escalate. This level of transparency is crucial for maintaining trust in the crypto VC ecosystem, protecting the interests of companies, employees, and investors alike. In an industry where reputational risk is high, Aer Compliance's robust tool provides the oversight needed to navigate the complex world of crypto investments ethically and securely.