Capital and New Launches

Here is what we have in store in this Market Summary:

1. a16z crypto raises $2.2B for its fifth fund

2. FalconX and Sygnum partner on tokenized credit offering

3. Ripple shares data on North Korea-linked crypto threats

4. Upbit launches Ethereum-based chain with Optimism Foundation support

5. Base adopts zero-knowledge technology from Succinct

a16z raises $2.2B fund and promotes CTO to general partner

a16z has raised $2.2B for its fifth fund, citing growth in stablecoins and regulatory progress as key drivers. The firm stated the new fund is intentionally smaller than its previous $4.5B fund, allowing for faster fundraising cycles and better alignment with changing market conditions. As part of the update, CTO Eddy Lazzarin has been promoted to general partner.

Read the full article by The Block here

FalconX and Sygnum partner on tokenized credit offering

FalconX and Sygnum Bank have announced a partnership that gives Sygnum’s institutional and private wealth clients access to FalconX’s tokenized credit facility. The product is built on Pareto, an on-chain fixed-income operating system on Ethereum, with M11 Credit serving as the administrative and collateral agent. Sygnum acts as the lender on record for its eligible clients and connects their participation through Desygnate, its primary market issuance platform.

Read the full article by The Block here

Ripple shares data on North Korea-linked crypto threats

Ripple announced it is now contributing internal threat intelligence on North Korean cyber actors to Crypto ISAC, the crypto industry’s information-sharing and analysis organization. The data includes fraud-linked activity, active threat indicators, and profiles of suspected operatives involved in ongoing DPRK campaigns.

Read the full article by The Block here

Upbit launches Ethereum-based blockchain with Optimism support

Dunamu, the company behind South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, has formalized a partnership with the Optimism Foundation to build GIWA Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 built on the OP Stack.

GIWA Chain is already live on testnet, with nearly 100M transactions processed. Under a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties, GIWA will be the first deployment under the Self-Managed tier of OP Enterprise, meaning Upbit will operate its own sequencer while the Optimism Foundation provides technical support and a backup failover system.

Read the full article by The Block here

Base integrates zero-knowledge technology from Succinct

Base announced it is integrating Succinct‘s SP1 zero-knowledge virtual machine as part of a new upgrade called Azul. Base currently operates as an optimistic rollup, which assumes transactions are valid and allows a window of several days for disputes to be raised. Azul adds SP1 alongside a Trusted Execution Environment as an intermediate step toward full ZK proving, targeting one-day finality for the $7.4B in assets currently held on the network. This makes Base the largest Ethereum Layer 2 by TVL to adopt ZK-based validation.

Read the full article by The Block here

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Disclaimer:

The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered investment or financial advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not reflect those of AP Collective.