#303
The "Pac"
2019 was supposed to the year of the STO (security token offering) – mass tokenization was expected across a broad array of real world assets including real estate and fine art.
But due to custody and regulatory concerns, the market has been extremely slow to get out of the starting gate. Instead, we are seeing sports organizations and athletes tokenize – including the recent announcement by Manny Pacquiao that he is launching his own cryptocurrency called the “Pac.”
So is this a brilliant innovation in capital raising and fan interaction, or just a last ditch marketing effort by an over-the-hill boxer?
Sports fans are notoriously passionate, and the use of cryptocurrencies and digital tokens can give fans access to exclusive content and items. In the case of the Pac token, it can be used to purchase Manny merchandise - and with enough “Pac” tokens, you can even meet the boxer in person. As far as liquidity and secondary trading, the token will be listed on GCOX, a crypto exchange based in Singapore.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has also made inroads into the digital collectible space by introducing MLB Crypto, making unique trading cards and bobbleheads only available on the Ethereum blockchain. In Europe, high profile soccer clubs Juventus, Paris Saint Germaine, West Ham, and Roma have engaged in their own partnership on blockchain platform Socios, allowing fans who hold the cryptocurrency to vote on outcomes such as changes to a club’s jerseys.
So while Floyd Mayweather has to dance around the authorities as a result of his promotion of the fraudulent $32m Centra ICO, Manny Pacquiao is clearly ready to fight the good cryptocurrency fight.
Portfolio News
2019 WealthManagement.com industry awards - Congratulations to portfolio company Vestwell for its strong showing at the 2019 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards - winning for 401(k) technology support. Read more
Forbes: The Cloud 100 - Congratulations to portfolio company Plaid for being recognized by Forbes as one of the best private cloud companies in the world. Plaid comes in at #17 on the list of 100 companies. Read more
The "Pac"
Boxing champ Pacquiao launches his own crypto tokens - In front of more than 2k fans in Manila, the boxer has announced his new token which will allow fans to interact with him a new way. Read more
Major League Baseball is going crypto - Last summer, MLB Crypto Baseball launched to allow users to pay in Ether to buy digital avatars tied to specific moments in recent games. They can then sell the items, or in some cases, earn rewards and stickers. Read more
Industry News
From communism to coding: how Daniel Dines of $7b UiPath became the first bot billionaire - Forbes highlights the founder of UiPath, the leader in the emerging bot automation landgrab. After generating only $5m of bookings two years ago, UiPath expects to generate $300m this year. Read more
Coinbase launches fund to invest in DeFi protocols - The SF based cryptocurrency exchange is looking to support the growth in decentralized finance by launching the "USDC Bootstrap Fund", and is starting by contributing $2m worth of USDC cryptocurrency to lending protocol Compound and derivative platform dydX. Read more
JPMorgan creates ‘Volfefe’ index to track Trump tweet impact - Noting the statistical significance of Trump's tweets, analysts at J.P. Morgan have created an index to quantify the growing impact on bond yields. Read more
Wealthfront is now managing $20b - At $20b, Wealthfront has roughly doubled it's AUM over the last eight months. In addition to brokerage, retirement, and college savings accounts, Wealthfront now offers a high-yield-savings cash account, which it says has earned clients $10m in interest. Read more
Hong Kong stock exchange makes $36.6b offer for London stock exchange - In a conference call for media and analysts, HKEX executives described the potential deal as facilitating the connection of trading and capital between East and West. Read more
Nasdaq adds new index for decentralized finance - The crypto related index for DeFi is done in partnership with London-based brokerage firm EXANTE, and will offer "real-time" information for promising decentralized finance blockchain projects such as Augur, Gnosis, Numerai, MakerDao, and 0x. Read more
Gemini exchange launches custody product - The Gemini Trust Company, a regulated custodian overseen by the NYDFS, has announced the launch of its institutional-grade custody solution which covers 18 cryptos (including ERC-20 tokens). Read more
Select Financings
AppZen - San Jose based provider of AI tools for corporate expensing and finance teams raised a $50m Series C led by Coatue Management. Read more
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Middesk - San Francisco based corporate background check provider has raised a $4m Series Seed led by Accel and Sequoia Capital. Read more
Numerated - Boston based bank digitization platform has closed a $15m Series B led by Patriot Financial Partners. Read more
OkCredit - Indian bookkeeping automation startup raised $67m in Series B funding co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tiger Global. Read more
Patch Homes - San Francisco based home equity release startup has raised a $5m Series A led by Union Square Ventures. Read more
Prevu Raises - New York based digital home buying platform raised a $2m Series Seed led by Corigin Ventures. Read more
Realized - Austin based provider of wealth management solutions for investment properties raised a $6m Series A led by Calibrate Ventures. Read more
T-REX - New York based complex investment analytics platform raised $15m in venture financing led by Citi, the Westly Group and Viola Fintech. Read more
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