Is Trump the next BAYC?

Good morning. Today we've got a Trump NFT collection, a shocking round of funding for Electric Capital, a new NFT anime series, and more!

Market Update (as of 9:01am ET):

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Top 5:

1. Polkadot founder Gavin Wood donates $5.8 million to Ukraine. Over the weekend,  Wood tweeted that he would donate $5 million if the Ukrainian government posted a Polkadot address. On Tuesday, a Polkadot address was posted and Wood followed through on his promise. The address now has more than $6 million in donations. Total donations to the Ukrainian government and other nonprofits aiding the country have exceeded $22 million.

2. NFT artist Pplpleasr’s new project ‘Shibuya’ brings long-form animation to web 3. According to Pplpleasr the new project is “a Web 3 experiment where long-form content is free to watch but monetized on the blockchain to allow viewer participation on the creative process and also shared ownership.” The first production, an anime series called 'White Rabbit', will allow users to purchase NFTs called producer passes that enable them to vote on the ending of the episode. Once the series ends, the entire thing will be minted as an NFT and tokenholders will be able to vote on the show's future (e.g., taking to a production company, selling to a streaming platform, etc.).

3. Electric Capital raises $1 billion to launch crypto venture, token funds. The fundraise is the firm's largest ever and will be allocated to two funds, with $400 million going to a venture fund and $600 million headed to a token specific fund. Investments will focus across five key areas: DAOs, NFTs, DeFi, decentralized infrastructure, and web3 accessibility. The token specific fund follows a similar announcement from Sequoia Capital earlier this month. Sequoia launched a ~$500 million token fund after founders asked the firm to be more active in their protocols.

4. South African exchange takes in $50 million. The Series B funding round puts VALR, a South African crypto exchange, at a valuation of $240 million, a tenfold growth since their last funding round in July 2020. The platform offers access to more than 60 cryptocurrencies and has processed $7.5 billion in trades since inception in 2019. The funds will be used to in part to expand the exchange's reach in Africa, where according to Chainalysis, crypto adoption grew 1200% from July 2020 to July 2021.

5. Parler is trying to attract crypto users to its new marketplace—with Trump NFTs. The "free speech" alternative to Twitter is using the 45th president as a way to market their NFT marketplace, DeepRedSky. The first collection on the platform is called "Official CryptoTrump Club" and consists of 10,000 NFTs, 250 of which are considered "extremely rare." The platform hopes to expand past political NFTs, but I'd say centering their first collection around a highly controversial president may make that difficult.

Updates and other stories:
- FTX launches philanthropic fund with plans to deploy $100M...Read More
- Judge denies request for new trial against Craig Wright...Read More
- US credit unions join R3’s Digital Currency Sandbox...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.