☁️ NFTs on cloud?
Salesforce launches experimental NFT platform, US senators reveal new crypto bill, Pintu raises Series B and more.
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Crypto Market Update 📈
The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at the $1.25 trillion mark, rising 0.58% over the last 24 hours. The total crypto market volume fell 30.50% to $63.81 billion during the same period.
Bitcoin (BTC): $30,468.38 (+0.25%)
Ethereum (ETH): $1,813.17 (+0.41%)
Tether (USDT) : $0.99 (-0.01%)
Binance Coin (BNB): $291.12 (+0.23%)
Top Stories 📰
1. Salesforce launches pilot NFT cloud
A Fortune 500 company is launching a tool to help businesses thrive in web3 right when the NFT market is at its lowest.
American cloud-based software company Salesforce has announced the launch of NFT Cloud, a pilot NFT program that will allow brands and businesses to mint and sell digital assets.
Instead of trading art for value, the service is intended to help brands sell NFTs for increasing brand loyalty and providing special access, such as private web communities and real-life events. “The art should look great. But that’s not really the point,” Adam Caplan, SVP of Emerging Technology at Salesforce, told Bloomberg.
Interestingly, while the service doesn't specify the blockchain platforms that will be allowed to mint NFTs, it does mention that it won't support blockchains using the proof-of-work consensus protocol—a move possibly driven by strong criticisms from Salesforce employees. NFT Cloud is currently open to select US users, but Salesforce plans to make it ”widely available” to all users by October.
The announcement comes when NFT activity has declined about 90% from its September peak amid rampant fraud and scams. Last week, a Federal Trade Commission report said that over $1 billion was stolen from 46,000 people by crypto scammers since the beginning of 2021.
But despite such recent setbacks, the NFT trading is on track to exceed last year’s tally, with nearly $16 billion in organic sales volume through April.
Why it matters? While Salesforce providing a safe and secure way for trading NFTs is a good move for the overall industry, many people think it makes no sense for a CRM platform and deems it "a waste of time and talent."
2. New bipartisan crypto bill is here
The digital asset market has grown from $214 billion in 2020 to $1.25 trillion in 2022. Yet the industry lacks the much-needed regulatory clarity for which crypto firms throughout the globe have spent millions, and unfortunately, to no avail.
But this week, two US senators—Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)—have revealed bipartisan crypto legislation that aims to provide some clear guidelines for the nascent industry.
The 69-paged proposed legislation, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, intends to make a broad attempt to regulate bitcoin and other digital assets and fully integrate them into the financial system.
In addition, the bill would make "a clear distinction between digital assets that are commodities or securities" by examining the powers it grants to its holders. It also further clarifies the role of two regulators—the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—as follows:
CFTC: in charge of the spot markets for decentralized digital tokens like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
SEC: govern digital assets that allow holders a right to profits, liquidation preferences or other financial interests in a business entity.
Other key aspects in the proposal include:
making crypto transactions below $200 tax-free.
establishing an industry "sandbox" program wherein crypto firms could test new, innovative products on a limited scale and duration.
backing payment stablecoins with “not less than 100 percent of the face amount of the liabilities of the institution on payment stablecoins issued by the institution.”
Why it matters? Over the years, crypto-friendly legislators have introduced more than 50 bills seeking regulatory clarity over the digital asset space, but none have come to fruition. While crypto proponents remain hopeful about this new legislation, it has little chance of moving through the Senate this year.
Deal Street 🤑
Pintu raises $113M in Series B
The stock market and crypto frenzy of 2021 invited billions of investments in consumer investment apps. And the trend seems to continue this year, too. Indonesian crypto exchange Pintu has raised a $113 million Series B funding round from venture capital firms, including Northstar Group, Pantera Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This is its third funding round, as the company had previously raised Series A ($6 million) and Series A+($35 million). Launched in 2020, Pintu is a crypto trading app focused on first-time investors, mainly Gen Z and millennials. Since last year, the number of crypto traders in Indonesia doubled from 6 million to 12 million. But the penetration rate in crypto asset ownership is only 4%. With the fresh funding, Pintu hopes to change that by expanding its Pintu Academy program, increasing its staff, and adding more tokens and blockchains.
Ledger-Cathay Innovation's $110M web3 fund
Despite the falling crypto markets, capital continues to flow into web3. Global VC firm Cathay Innovation and crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger have created a $110 million fund to invest in web3 technologies. The fund, called Ledger Cathay Capital, will invest in early-stage ventures across various industries, including crypto, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs. Backed by French public investment bank Bpifrance, the fund will make investments in 20-25 companies in equity and token deals, with average check sizes ranging from $550,000 to $4.3 million. It intends to make these investments within the next three years. Under the partnership, Cathay Innovation—which invested in Ledger's three previous funding rounds—will bring its investment management expertise to Ledger's deal flow.
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