India's Crypto Dilemma, Funding Rounds, & North Korea's Crypto Heist

[CoinSnacks] April 20, 2022 | Issue #216 Sponsored By: [Coin Snacks]( MUST READS --------------------------------------------------------------- India's Crypto Dilemma India continues to establish itself as a hotbed for the crypto industry... both positively and negatively. From 2020-2021, India's crypto market grew 641% [according]( to Chainalysis. Today, there are an estimated 15 million crypto users in the country, but with a population of more than 1.4 billion people that skew young and well-educated, it's obvious that the country could be a major player in the future of crypto. All Eyes On India: Due to this potential, it's no wonder that Coinbase is pushing into the country, [announcing]( they would hire over 1,000 people in their India hub this year alone. But it doesn't stop with companies hiring. Large crypto players are also making more direct moves into the country. This week, Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX [announced]( the raise of $135 million at a $2 billion valuation. What makes the round interesting is not the traditional VC firms backing the company, but the fact that Coinbase Ventures was a major investor in the round. That's because Coinbase was also a major investor in CoinDCX's direct competitor, CoinSwitch Kuber, which [raised]( $260 million at a $1.9 billion valuation late last year. All in, Coinbase has announced they have invested more than $150 million into the country with more to come. Coinbase isn't the only exchange looking to break into India. In 2019, Binance acquired the Indian-based exchange, [WazirX]( with the two companies then setting up a [$50 million fund]( to invest in the Indian crypto ecosystem. Reports also state that [FTX is in talks]( to invest in the Indian gaming startup MPL, which recently raised money at a $2.5 billion valuation. The Government Punches Back: Even though the population is beginning to embrace crypto and the government states that it sees its potential for tax revenue, the industry still faces determent from the central bank. While India's central bank wouldn't be the first to criticize crypto, the Reserve Bank of India has been particularly cumbersome, comparing the asset class to the Dutch tulip bubble and ponzi schemes, as well as stating that it should be banned as it threatens financial stability. Going further, on April 7th, Coinbase [debuted]( crypto trading for India by supporting the UPI, a payments infrastructure developed by a coalition of Indian retail banks. Only three days later, the company [suspended]( operations after the National Payments Corporation of India made a strange announcement. This all comes at a time when India has proposed a [new taxation law]( that doesn't allow people to offset loss on one asset against profit from another and will tax income from the transfer of any virtual assets at 30%. Although [some were happy]( as the new law would help legitimize crypto in India, others... not so much. Sandeep Nailwal, the founder of Polygon, the largest Layer 2 protocol for Ethereum, said that the new rules are causing a [brain drain]( in India and that “the way the regulatory uncertainty is... it doesn’t make sense for us or for any team to expose their protocols to local risks.” This uncertainty has caused companies like Polygon and WazirX to move operations to Dubai. So, the future remains unclear for India's crypto ecosystem. Regardless, we expect to see a lot more positive and negative announcements alike emerging from the country. SPONSORED --------------------------------------------------------------- Automate Your DeFi Asset Management With DeFi Saver [Coin Snacks]( [DeFi Saver]( is an all-in-one dashboard for creating, managing, and tracking your DeFi positions across multiple DeFi protocols. Famous in the DeFi space for its automated liquidation protection and leverage feature, DeFi Saver, has been the darling of many DeFi investors during big market crashes and movements, having saved thousands of positions from liquidation when borrowing and leveraging DeFi assets. Its flagship automation feature, can be used for either automatic liquidation protection in market drops or for automatic leveraging during market moves in either direction, allowing you to run a constant leverage position based on your own configuration. DeFi Saver constantly monitors your positions and automatically repays your loan or increases your leverage allowing you peace of mind. Recently DeFi Saver released Automated Strategies, a major overhaul of its flagship Automation service. The latest addition to the DeFi Saver toolkit offers non-custodial Stop Loss, Take Profit and stablecoin liquidation protection strategies available to MakerDAO CDP owners. If you haven't already, now's the perfect time to head on over to check out their suite of power tools for Ethereum DeFi users. Save your DeFi positions from liquidation. [Borrow, leverage, and manage your loans with automatic liquidation protection from DeFi Saver](. DEEP DIVES --------------------------------------------------------------- State Of The Market While it's a quiet week on the newswire, today we're going to do some catching up on the overall markets. In their latest [State of the Network]( report, CoinMetrics checks in on some important Bitcoin metrics around network economics, security, adoption, market mechanics, and the quickly evolving technology stack. Charts galore. In a similar fashion, CoinGecko just dropped their [Q1 2022 Market]( report. The report provides an awesome overview of altcoin performance, ETH staking, and monthly volumes across the board. Here are the highlights, for those who want to cut right to the chase: - Of the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap, only BTC and XRP managed to finish Q1 above water, in sharp contrast to the exuberance and astronomical gains of 2021. - In contrast with the rest of the crypto market, the market cap of the top 5 stablecoins grew by 13%, signaling the potential onset of the bear market as traders flee to safer waters. - Not all is doom and gloom, however, as ETH staking is gaining momentum. Despite a dip in ETH price, total staked ETH saw strong upward momentum (+25%) in Q1 2022. - Meanwhile, altchains continued to gain ground with Terra leading the way. Ethereum's overall Total Value Locked (TVL) has reduced by 9% to $177 billion. Ethereum’s share of TVL is now 54%, down from 61% in Dec 2021. - Total spot trading volume took a dip to an average $1.26 trillion monthly volume in Q1 2022. Overall, Q1 2022 spot trading volume across the top-10 centralized and decentralized exchanges declined from $6.08 trillion to $3.79 trillion compared to Q4 2021. 😮 $1 Billion In One Week According to Dove Metrics, ~$1 billion was raised across 42 different funding rounds in the past week alone. Here are some of the more noteworthy announcements: - SoftBank-backed game platform [Sandbox]( gears up to raise $400 million at a $4 billion valuation - [Framework Ventures]( launches $400 million fund to back Web 3 gaming & DeFi - Ethereum-focused [BlockApps]( raised $41 million to expand into the enterprise blockchain space - Blockchain analytics company [Flipside Crypto]( raises $50 million - Crypto startup [Context]( announced a $19.5 million seed round led by early-stage investors Variant Fund and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman - [EPNS]( has raised $10.1 million to continue building out the communication infrastructure for the decentralized future - Solana DeFi platform [Hedge]( raises $3.7 million to offer interest-free loans SPONSORED --------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome To The Future Of Alternative Investing You may remember Stefan and Wyatt from [Alts]( — they do in-depth research into alternative markets that nobody else is doing. Well, it’s amazing - these guys started out as a newsletter, and have launched their first fund. [The ALTS 1 Fund]( spans 10 modern alternative asset classes, from collectibles, to art, to music rights. It's an actively-managed, meticulously-chosen blend of modern alternative assets. Protect yourself from inflation and correlation. Get access to alpha-seeking alternative investments larger funds don't touch. [Check out the ALTS 1 Fund](. REGULATORY FRONT --------------------------------------------------------------- US Officials Tie North Korea’s ‘Lazarus’ Hackers to $625M Crypto Theft On Monday, the FBI, CISA and the U.S. Treasury, in a [joint announcement]( stated that North Korean-backed hackers are actively targeting a variety of organizations in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. This included "cryptocurrency exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, play-to-earn cryptocurrency video games, cryptocurrency trading companies, venture capital funds investing in cryptocurrency, and individual holders of large amounts of cryptocurrency or valuable non-fungible tokens (NFTs)." Only days later, the Treasury Department [alleged]( that Lazarus, a North Korean hacking group, was responsible for the $600 million Ronin Network hack which we covered [here]( at CoinSnacks. Now hacks in crypto (and outside of crypto) aren't uncommon, but when a nation state is backing the group responsible, it begins to get more worrisome. In just the last few days we have learned about potential attack vectors from [MetaMask]( as well as [Google Chrome](. To better understand what to look out for from phishing attacks, we suggest taking a look at [this thread]( from Taylor Monahan showing examples of malicious phishing emails, messages, and sites designed to trick you. SEC Proposal to Redefine 'Exchange' Is 'Unconstitutional' It's rulemaking season over at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC overlords are expected to make several rule adjustments likely pertaining to ESG disclosures, share buybacks, SPACs, and – how could we forget – cryptocurrency. As a result, crypto lobbying groups are on [high alert]( to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. And boy, aren't we glad they exist. As a prime example, this week Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Coin Center (as well as Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer [here]( is [directing attention]( to the SEC's proposed redefinition of the term "exchange" within the Securities Exchange Act. Without getting too deep into the details, the proposed rulemaking poses a direct threat to "anyone writing or distributing [decentralized exchange] software" according to Coin Center's Peter Van Valkenburgh. Coin Center also writes that while the change is meant to bring other "financial services organizations" under the act's umbrella, "the way it does so, however, would create an inappropriately broad standard for registration that would impose an unconstitutional prior restraint on the protected speech activities of countless software developers and technologists." The public comments period on the proposed rule closed on April 18. From here, the SEC will determine whether to incorporate any changes as part of a final rule. TWEET OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- [Coin Snacks]( Other Content You Might Enjoy --------------------------------------------------------------- - What Happens to Your Crypto [When You Die]( - [Dune]( The Data Must Flow - DALL-E, the Metaverse, and [Zero Marginal Content]( - Robinhood to [acquire]( crypto wallet and card startup Ziglu - Silvergate Capital Corporation [Announces]( First Quarter 2022 Results - How Chris Dixon’s Dive Down [The Crypto Rabbit Hole]( Made Him The World’s Top Venture Capitalist - Moonbirds Ethereum NFT Launch [Generates]( $280M in Two Days - Latest Twitter [scam]( aims to capitalize on Moonbirds success — and snares Bernie Sanders' son's verified account - DeFi Developer Andre Cronje [Teases]( New Regulation-Focused Crypto Projects - The [Wolf of Crypto]( - Coinbase NFT marketplace [goes live]( in beta for select customers - Secret Service [seizes]( more than $102 million in crypto assets - Ethereum Foundation [Reveals]( 80% of Treasury Holdings Are Held In ETH --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sponsor With Us]( Copyright (C) 2022 CoinSnacks All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: CoinSnacks 5500 Military Trail Suite 22-250 Jupiter, Florida 33458 USA No more crypto news? [Unsub]( here. | [Forward]( this email to a friend. | [Update your profile](