HODLers strike back

Bitcoin gets a boost from Wall Sttreett [AngelList Logo]( [View Online]( [Bitcoin gets a boost from Wall Street]( Image: André François McKenzie Cryptocurrency is [flying high]( buoyed by public companies and institutional investors getting in the game. Today bitcoin [reached $15k]( its highest level since January 2018 and a 60% increase from this time last year. While price fluctuations are nothing new — [and price manipulation remains a concern]( — a growing list of companies and investors are delivering newfound Wall Street cred to the world’s leading cryptocurrency. Calling cryptocurrency an “instrument of economic empowerment,” Square CEO Jack Dorsey (a well-known crypto booster) last month announced the company bought [$50M worth]( of bitcoin. A couple weeks later, while announcing a $425M bet on bitcoin, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy Inc. remarked that “[cash is trash]( More than [a dozen other public companies]( have small holdings as a reserve asset. If institutions start joining in real volumes, it could usher in a tidal wave of investment. There are signs that investors are getting more serious about crypto, too. Earlier this year Stone Ridge Asset Management announced a [$115M bitcoin position]( and Fidelity [launched a bitcoin fund]( for large institutional and accredited investors. [According to Forbes]( at least 20 investors have SEC paperwork indicating investments in crypto funds. Whether crypto takes on among the masses in another question. There are plenty of companies working to make that happen. PayPal announced customers can buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency and use it to shop at the 26M merchants on its network, and Coinbase says it will release a debit card in the United States. Square has allowed users to buy bitcoin on its Cash App since 2018. Even if they don’t rush out to buy lattes and scooters with their crypto-backed debit cards, analysts at J.P. Morgan speculate that [crypto could surpass gold]( as the cash hedge of choice among millennials. After all, if it’s not on the Internet, does it really exist? Interested in a job at a crypto startup? Many of them are [hiring on AngelList](. [View Story]( Hot startups hiring now 🔥 [TrueAccord]( - A new way of helping consumers deal with debt while safeguarding their credit scores. [Explore 25 jobs](. [Remotion]( - Quick video chat with your remote team. [Hiring engineers](. [Parabola]( - A drag-and-drop productivity tool enabling everyone to automate manual data tasks. [Explore 3 jobs](. [GreenPark Sports]( - Mobile game powered by live sports data. [Explore 19 jobs](. Funding and acquisitions REEF Technology, [a Miami-based startup that provides hardware, software and management services for parking lots]( announced a $700M round led by SoftBank and Mubadala Corp. While REEF is mainly known for its parking lot technology, the new round of financing will be used to transform parking lots into “neighborhood hubs,” containing infrastructure to support cloud kitchens, healthcare clinics, and space for last-mile delivery. Stensul, [a platform which aims to streamline the process of building marketing emails]( raised a $16M Series B. The company’s core product allows marketers to create e-mails on their own, assembling them via a drag-and-drop feature and integrating with a variety of e-mail platforms to send campaigns without an engineer’s help. Hermeus, [an aerospace startup attempting to build a Mach 5 aircraft that can travel from New York to London in just 90 minute]( raised a $16M Series A. Earlier this year, Hermeus debuted the aircraft’s engine prototype, which the team designed and built from scratch in less than 9 months. The company will use the new funding to test its first full-scale engine, the core component that will eventually power its aircraft. AngelList Weekly 90 Gold St San Francisco, CA 94133 [Unsubscribe]( | [Update preferences](