BlackRock trading bitcoin

Good morning. BlackRock is providing institutional investors access to bitcoin trading, a  Uniswap proposal aims to create an independent ecosystem foundation, and two brothers generated billions of dollars in TVL for Solana. All that and more today! Have a great weekend!

Market Update (as of 8:12am ET):

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Top 5:

1. BlackRock teams up with Coinbase in crypto market expansion. The world's largest asset manager ($8 trillion AUM) is partnering with Coinbase to offer institutional investors access to bitcoin trading via the Coinbase Prime platform. The offering will be available to BlackRock customers that use the company's portfolio management system Aladdin and will provide custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities in addition to trading. Coinbase stock shot up 20% on the news. Tough look for Cathie Wood.

2. Circle invested in 2 hacked crypto companies, adding to its headaches amid stablecoin scrutiny. Two of Circle's venture capital investments, Nomad and Slope, were hacked this week which is not a great look for a company trying to go public later this year. The stablecoin issuer confirmed the investments ($8 million in Slope's Series A and $22 million in Nomad's seed round) but said that no financial damage was done to the company as a result.

3. New Uniswap proposal could help ease the protocol’s governance woes. The new proposal would create an ecosystem foundation equipped with $74 million in UNI tokens to “support the decentralized growth and sustainability of the Uniswap protocol and its supporting ecosystem and community.” The newly created Uniswap Foundation would operate as a standalone entity with a mandate to support the Uniswap protocol. Community member Devin Walsh, who submitted the proposal, believes the foundation would accelerate governance processes for high impact projects, make navigating the ecosystem easier for developers, and drive a more ambitious grants program.

4. Brevan Howard scores largest crypto hedge fund launch ever. The firm's BH Digital unit has raised $1 billion from institutional investors to invest in crypto. Since its initial raise earlier this year, the fund has lost only 4-5% while the broader crypto market has tanked more than 50% from highs. Brevan leverages a multi-strategy approach which includes quantitative trading and value plays. The firm has also left capital on the sideline saying that there's “not enough liquidity” to fully deploy $1 billion with some of the trading strategies they are using.

5. Master of Anons: How a crypto developer faked a defi ecosystem. Two brothers, 11 anonymous identities, and "billions of dollars" of TVL (total value locked). This is a good one for Saturday morning. Have a great weekend!

Updates and other stories:
- Nomad recovers nearly $20M of stolen $190M...Read More
- Crypto lender Voyager Digital has received several purchase offers higher than FTX’s...Read More
- Lattice Capital raises $60M for second crypto fund...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.