Gotta Catch 'Em All, Pixelmon!

Good morning. Today we've got updates on Ukraine from a couple different crypt0 angles, a disastrous start for a well-funded NFT project, DeFi lending at the institutional level, and more!

Market Update (as of 7:56am ET):

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Top 5:

1. $18.6M in Crypto Sent to Ukraine. Crypto donations are flowing directly to the Ukrainian government and NGOs operating in the country. As of Sunday night, close to $19 million had been sent to support the country's fight against Russia with the Ukrainian government providing addresses for BTC, ETH, and USDT donations. Other fundraising efforts have seen new DAOs created and proceeds from NFT sales donated to support the defense effort. One such example being UkraineDAO, formed by a founding member of "conceptual protest art group" Pussy Riot.

2. Coinbase prime brokerage, OTC trading desk set records. Estimates from The Block, put Coinbase prime brokerage and over-the-counter trading volumes at $88 billion during Q4. These services cater specifically to institutional traders and provide access to deeper liquidity pools while also avoiding market disruptions when trading large volumes of crypto. Coinbase also announced that their institutional customer base grew 50% and their custody service clients grew 100% during 2021. The takeaway: there's rapid growth of institutional players in the crypto market, but it's still early ($88 billion in one quarter is peanuts when compared to other financial instruments).  

3. White House and EU nations announce expulsion of 'selected Russian banks' from SWIFT. First, what the heck is SWIFT? SWIFT is the "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication" and it serves as the interbank messaging system that facilitates global financial transactions. Cutting Russian banks off from SWIFT essentially prevents the country from accessing the global financial system. The definition of 'selected Russian banks' is still unclear and the White House has not confirmed if that definition would include the Russian Central Bank. The move will put pressure on the Russian economy, but also have impacts on countries in Europe and elsewhere that purchase oil from Russia as they will not be able to pay via SWIFT. Bitcoin and other cryptos could provide Russia with ways around this lockout from the traditional financial system, giving us the flip side to the rapid global fundraising crypto has helped facilitate.

4. One of the Biggest Crypto Traders Is Tapping DeFi Loans for Funding. Crypto trading giant Alameda Research is funding part of it's daily trading using DeFi lenders. The company says they will borrow up to $750 million this year from TrueFi, a DeFi lending platform catering to institutional borrowers. Access to capital through banks and other traditional financial participants has been a challenge for crypto companies since the beginning, but that's where DeFi platforms like TrueFi and Maple are stepping in. Currently, Alameda has $139 million in loans outstanding on TrueFi and is paying ~7.5% on borrowed funds.

5. $70 Million Later, Pixelmon's Founder Calls Artwork Reveal 'a Horrible Mistake'. The team behind Pixelmon, essentially an attempt at creating a Pokémon style game in the metaverse, is getting hammered after the release of their initial artwork (see below). Mints of the in-game creature NFTs sold for as high as 3 ETH and raised $70 million to develop the game, but the current product is not living up to buyers expectations. Syber, the Pixelmon founder, released a statement on Twitter calling the launch "unacceptable" and promised that "the game is in the hands of a professional studio."

Updates and other stories:
- New DAO raises $3 Million in ETH for Ukrainian Army...Read More
- Katherine Wu leaves Coinbase Ventures to join Archetype...Read More
- Russia could use cryptocurrency to blunt the force of U.S. Sanctions...Read More

Top Sharers of the Crypto Top 5:
1. Donna Y. - Nashville, TN
2. Jake Y. - Greenville, SC
3. Forrest H. - Evansville, IN

External Resources:
1. Cryptopedia from Gemini - if you see a word, acronym, or phrase in this newsletter that you don't understand, there's a good chance you can find an explanation here
2. Crypto Explainer+ - intro level courses on Bitcoin, Ethereum, decentralized finance, NFTs, and more
3. Crypto Jobs! - looking for a new job? Check out this page from Anthony Pompliano with hundreds, if not thousands of listings

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter shall not be understood or construed as financial advice. I am not an attorney, accountant, or financial advisor, nor am I holding myself out to be, and the information provided is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.