BlockByBlock | Polygon Pushes For Web3
Local Developments
Movements In The GCC ๐
A report released by Strategy& Middle East reveals that the metaverse industry's contribution to Saudi Arabia's economy could reach $7.6 billion by 2030.
OasisX, an NFT marketplace targeting the MENA region, uses FTX's collapse as evidence for the need to vet crypto market participants, a process it has applied to its 250+ artists.
Binance CEO "CZ" Zhao denies asking Abu Dhabi authorities for cash for the exchange's crypto recovery fund.
โCZโs meetings in Abu Dhabi were all focused on general global regulatory matters โ specifically how Middle Eastern regulators could lead the globe by exploring more aggressive proof of custody requirements for crypto exchanges,โ a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk.
Thoughts From A Blockchain VC
About The Interviewee ๐จโ๐ผ:
We spoke toย Amit Mehra, the General Partner of Borderless Capital (BC), over the weekend to get his insights on blockchain startups and investments.
BC is a blockchain venture capital company focused on investing capital and co-building financial products built on the Algorand Borderless Economy. BC recently engaged in funding rounds forย Wayruย andย Goracle, both of which have collectively raised $3.5 million in their seed rounds.
Amit has had an extensive investment career, starting Unicorn India Ventures, advising WoodStock Fund and now leading BC. He has been in the blockchain space since 2016 and was an early investor inย OpenNeoBank, which is now amongst the top 100 unicorn projects in India.
A Blockchain Conversation๐ฃ๏ธ:
Q1:ย How much capital does BC manage?
A1: We have over $1 billion across all our funds. I manage the flagship fund, which is the Algorand fund, looking at the overall investment process end-to-end.
Q2:ย What differentiates BC from other blockchain funds?
A2: We really believed in the technical superiority of Algorand, and the idea was instead of doing a cross-chain fund, letโs actually go deep within an ecosystem, and instead of growing horizontal, grow vertical. Thatโs how BC was born in 2019.
Q3:ย What attracted you to the Algorand Layer 1 network?
A3:ย We feel that itโs one of the most underpriced Layer 1s out there. [There are three reasons we look at Algorand]. (1) The speed - itโs one of the fastest networks out there. (2) [Forking inability] - if you check the finality on the Algorand network, it can never be forked. (3) Layer 1 primitives. Example: Atomic swaps - which means you can transfer one asset to another without trusting a smart contract or a third party.
Q4:ย Which of the NFT use cases do you think has the most potential to disrupt the status quo?
A4:ย Amit tells us that NFTs have incredible use cases for art. He mentions NFTsโ roles in scanning and monetizing art sculptures, in creating digital marketplaces for art, in fractionalizing ownership in art and in solidifying provenance.
Q5: Any closing thoughts?
A5: Take advantage of the favorable regulatory framework thatโs coming up in the GCC region. I think that there a few times in life that you get an opportunity to do that. The second thing - do a lot of reading. The analogy people do [for blockchain] is comparing [blockchain] to where the Internet was in 1995-1996. I think weโre looking at the new internet now, so if people do the reading, people can really take advantage of that.
Find the full interview on our socials:ย hereย andย here.
Key Industry Development
Polygon Initiatives Mesh Web2 & Web3 Together ๐ฅย
Ah, Web3.
An Internet where users are financially rewarded for adding value and centralized entities are barred from leeching off of user information. It's an attractive vision. For many, it's the future, but what exactly does that future look like?
Perhaps we could get a hint from Polygon's recent initiatives. As a project that "believes in Web3 for all," the Ethereum scaling platform has dished out a list of impressive partnerships that could be the world's first iterations of Web3.
Specifically, the platform has:
Partnered with Meta to integrate NFT creation and trading tools into Instagram.
Provided the platform for "Reddit Avatar" NFTs, whose sales transcended $1.88 million at the end of October.
Partnered with Nike to create .Swoosh, the "epicenter for Nike's digital efforts around Web3."
After months of teasing, the Polygon Network has officially added another corporate giant into the Web3 fold: Starbucks. Starbucks Odyssey, the coffee chain's new Web3 rewards platform, officially rolled out last Thursday, and the demand for the platform is reportedly already in 'unprecedented' territory.
The Polygon Network is piecing together an early vision of Web3. As these initiatives are build with traditional web2 operators, they are still a far-cry from Web3's proposed desertion of centralized entities.
Nonetheless, they represent some of the earliest signs of a Web3 economy, where users are empowered to earn rewards and creators are financially rewarded for adding value to their platforms.
Startup Action
Updates From The Startup Ecosystemย ๐ธ
Easy Coins, a Bahrain-based cryptocurrency broker, launches the trial of Tether USD on its platform, enabling purchases for the 43,000 registered crypto wallets in Oman.
Blockchain Trends
Global Trends ๐
Starbucks sees 'unprecedented' interest as Polygon NFT rewards program launches.
A report by Cointelegraph shows Q3 crypto venture deals are down to $5 billion, a 66% decrease from Q2's $14 billion figure
Sam Bankman-Fried has been named in 7 class action lawsuits and is expected to speak at a hearing on Dec. 13th.
Goldman Sachs looks to buy crypto firms after FTX's collapse lowers project valuations to more "sensible" prices.
Local Trends ๐
Coca Cola and Crypto.com, sponsors of the Qatar World Cup, team up with digital artist GMUNK to launch 10,000 world-cup based NFTs in May 2023.
Upcoming Events
Events By AgoraGroup ๐ด
AgoraGroup will host the Global Blockchain Congress (11th Edition) on March 6th and 7th in Dubai, the UAE.
Events Across The UAEย ๐ต
The Future Blockchain Summit will be hosted between May 10th and May 12th in Dubai, the UAE.
Crypto Expo Dubai will be hosted on March 8th and 9th in Dubai, the UAE.