The DAS: London agenda is live! Learn more and get your tickets today.
webinars
From the rapid growth of crypto to the dramatic volatility of the asset class, governments around the world are responding through regulatory and legislative actions. Some jurisdictions have announced clear and accommodating frameworks in the hope to create the crypto hubs […]
Chiru Labs would reportedly be valued at least $300 million once the round closes
At first, Twitter rumor had it that the Azuki NFT project had raised a round of funding that brought its creator company, Chiru Labs, to a valuation of $1.4 billion. That unconfirmed rumor was reportedly an exaggeration.
New information from The Block suggests that Chiru Labs is closing an upcoming $30 million Series A round, which would value Chiru Labs between $300 million and $400 million once completed.
Neither the company nor the project’s pseudonymous founder Zagabond have confirmed these values.
During the speculative frenzy, the price of the mean average Azuki went from 11.5 ether (ETH) to 15.7 ETH on OpenSea, with the collection peaking at a floor price of 11.9 ETH, on Wednesday.
The highest price paid in US dollars for an Azuki NFT in the past 30 days was around $142,700 — 105 ETH, on Monday, according to NonFungible. As the price of ether declined, another collector ended up purchasing an Azuki NFT two days later for 106 ETH, or about $135,000.
Prohibitions against trading on insider information, when it comes to NFTs, remains a murky area of business policy and the law.
Recently, Hong-Kong based art collector Adrian Cheng tweeted that he acquired 101 Azukis to “democratise and demystify Web3 and Metaverse for all” out of “love and admiration” for the collection.
My latest acquisition of 101 Azukis to democratise and demystify #Web3 and #Metaverse for all. We will carve out a unique space in the Web3 world and bring our culture of creativity and community-based experiences to life. pic.twitter.com/6rnpdP4sL7
Cheng, who is also a co-founder of the venture capital firm C Capital, announced his firm’s rebrand to C Ventures and its plans to raise a $200 million blockchain fund and a $300 million private equity fund within the next 18 months, reported Bloomberg.
Whether Cheng participated in Chiru Labs’ supposed fundraising efforts is not yet clear.
However, Benoit Pagotto, the co-founder of the Nike-owned NFT project RTFKT, did make a curious Tweet not long before the rumors started. In response to a Twitter user alluding to a venture capital funding announcement from Azuki on Sept. 13, Pagotto stated that Chiru Labs may have been “talking to a lot of vcs” but it wasn’t closing deals.
He also mentioned Cheng’s recent NFT sweep as the potential “start of something” and revealed Cheng had also invested in RTFKT.
they been talking to a lot of vcs but got a lot of no from what I’ve heard.
Adrian Cheng recent big floor sweep must be the start of something though, him being the founder of C ventures [ previous rtfkt investor ]
Hume, a Web3 record label, previously acquired the virtual “metastar” Angelbaby — an NFT character from the NFT project FLUF World. On Thursday, Hume announced it raised $11.7 million in a Series A round to fund more metaverse-based musical artists.
Doodles revealed last week it had raised $54 million at a $704 million valuation, in a round led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm 776. Although Doodles had originally announced the investment in June, during NFT.NYC, it had not disclosed the deal’s specifics.
Proof Collective, the company behind Moonbirds NFTs, raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) at the end of August.
And the largest NFT funding round to date goes to Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs.
Thanks to a16z, the startup raised $450 million in March, bringing its valuation to $4 billion.
These projects claim the capital raised will go toward executing their roadmaps and funding the expansion of their intellectual property and NFT ecosystem into entertainment, metaverse and gaming ventures.
Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.
DATE
Monday & Tuesday, October 17 & 18, 2022
LOCATION
The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London
Vitalik Buterin says improving scalability is Ethereum’s next area of focus
The bill will require the Treasury and the State Departments to compile a report on how crypto impacts the effectiveness and enforcement of sanctions against Russia
The metaverse is expanding what it means to be an architect
The former agency execs to lead Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s digital practice with former CFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo
Crypto data center operator, which provides infrastructure for crypto miners, has filed for bankruptcy protection
