Calgary Business Podcast Allen R. Wazny

This is the 18th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of SwapAcross (formerly known as X528 DAO) and Allen Wazny, Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.

All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services

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Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts.  As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD

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Crypto news articles discussed during this update:

Ethena’s “Synthetic dollar” (CoinTelegraph, 5 April 2024) | https://tinyurl.com/4td46j8f

What is Blast? Blur’s Native Yield L2 and Token Airdrop Explained (DappRadar, 28 February 2024) | https://tinyurl.com/3ducb7j7 

Bitcoin Mining Ban Proposed in Paraguay Over Power Problems (Decrypt, 4 April 2024) | https://tinyurl.com/4vkfpmyp

Solana Price Falls Amid Network Congestion as Wormhole Plunges After Airdrop (Decrypt, 5 April 2024) | https://tinyurl.com/4fyj2mtz

Bitcoin Price Returns to $69,000 Ahead of 4/20 Halving (Decrypt, 4 April 2024) | https://tinyurl.com/2fsns5hd

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Crypto-related funding announcements

1kx, a blockchain fund focused on consumer crypto applications raised a $75 million fund that counts Andreessen Horowitz's Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon as investors, along with Galaxy Digital and anchor tenant Accolade Partners.

Website: https://1kx.network/

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Midas, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of a asset tokenization protocol, raised $8M in funding led by Framework Ventures, BlockTower and HV Capital, with participation from Cathay Ledger, 6th Man Ventures, Hack VC, GSR, Lattice Capital, Phaedrus, Theia Blockchain, Pareto, Axelar Foundation, Peer VC, FJ Labs, and Coinbase Ventures

Website: https://midas.app

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OrdinalsBot allows users to attach various types of digital content like images, text, and videos to individual Bitcoin transactions, raised a $3 million seed round. DACM led the transaction, with Eden Block, Nural Capital, WWVentures, Lightning Ventures, Oak Grove Ventures, UTXO Management, Kenetic Capital, CMS Holdings, Kestrel0x1, Sora Ventures, London Real Ventures, Crypto Zombie and MDX Crypto 

Website: https://ordinalsbot.com

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Rails, a decentralized crypto exchange seeking to be replacement for FTX, raised $6.2 million from Slow Ventures, CMCC Global, Round13 Capital and Quantstamp. 

Website: https://rails.xyz

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Keyring, is building an on-chain compliance platform for institutional investors and protocols, raised $6 million from Gumi Cryptos Capital, Greenfield Capital, Motier Ventures and Kima Ventures

Website: https://keyring.network

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D2X, a crypto derivatives exchange for institutions, raised $10 million Series A from Point72 Ventures, GSR Markets, Tioga Capital, Fortino Capital, Jabre Capital Partners, Picus Capital, and TRGC also piling on. 

Website: https://www.d2x.com

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Umoja, automating the buying, selling, and risk management of blockchain-based assets, raised a $2 million seed extension from Coinbase, 500 Global, Quantstamp, Blockchain Founders Fund, Orange DAO, Hyperithm, Psalion and the Blizzard Fund by Avalanche. 

Website: https://umoja.xyz

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We invite listeners to join the SwapAcross Discord channel (formerly X528 DAO): https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT

Visit the SwapAcross website (formerly X528DAO) to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io

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#web3 #Metaverse #Innovation #Technology #Marketplace #Community #DigitalAssets #CryptoAssets #Blockchain #TokenEconomy #DigitalBusiness #Bitcoin #Ethereum #DEFI #innovation #Finance #FinTech #cryptocurrencies #crypto #digitalwallet

This is the 18th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of SwapAcross (formerly known as X528 DAO) and Allen Wazny, host of the Calgary Business Podcast and Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.



All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services



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Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts. 



As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD



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Crypto news articles discussed during this update:



“Bitcoin ETFs Start With a Bang: $4.5 Billion on Day One of Trading” | Decrypt, 11 January 2024: https://rb.gy/o2qzf7



“How to Buy a Bitcoin ETF” | Decrypt, 11 January 2024: https://rb.gy/okbzdy



“MicroStrategy’s bitcoin is now worth $1B more than the actual company” | Blockworks, 11 January 2024: https://rb.gy/cwkswg



“NEAR Foundation Cuts 40% of Workforce” | Unchained Crypto, 12 January 2024: https://rb.gy/nmaae2



“Terra founder Do Kwon asks court to delay SEC trial for personal appearance” | The Block, 12 January 2024: https://rebrand.ly/cqydqug



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Crypto-related funding announcements



Eesee, a Dubai startup that provides sellers of digital assets, tokens, and RWAs with a gamified marketplace that they can use to sell their wares, raised a $2.85 million round from SevenX Ventures, Maven Capital, MetaBros, Contango Digital Assets, and BasementDAO 

[StrictlyVC, 13 January 2024: http://tiny.cc/kfw0wz]

Pontem, a seven-year-old Singapore startup whose platform enables developers to build and test applications for blockchains like Aptos and Sui, raised a $6 million seed round. Investors included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital, Aptos Foundation, Wintermute, Altonomy, Shima Capital, and Kraken Ventures. 

[StrictlyVC, 13 January 2024; NFTgators article: https://rb.gy/tyx4e9]



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We invite listeners to join the SwapAcross Discord channel (formerly X528 DAO): https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT



Visit the SwapAcross website (formerly X528DAO) to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io



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#web3 #Web3.0 #Metaverse #Innovation #Technology #Marketplace #Community #DAO #DecentralizedAssets #DecentralizedFinance #DigitalAssets #CryptoAssets #Blockchain #TokenEconomy #DigitalBusiness #Bitcoin #Ethereum #AltCoins #DEFI #innovation #Finance #FinTech




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allen-wazny/message

This is the 17th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of SwapAcross (formerly known as X528 DAO) and Allen Wazny, host of the Calgary Business Podcast and Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.

All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services

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Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts.  As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD

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Crypto news articles discussed during this update:

Bitcoin climbs above $45,000 to 21-month peak as new year kicks off | (Reuters,2 January 2024):  http://tiny.cc/s19tvz

Celsius to Unstake $466 Million Ethereum Holdings, 'Ensure Ample Liquidity' for Creditors | (Decrypt, 5 January 2024): http://tiny.cc/k49tvz

Ether ETF likely coming, as SEC ‘implicitly’ nodded ETH as commodity | (CoinTelegraph, 4 January 2024): http://tiny.cc/4tyyvz

Fox Corporation collaborates with Polygon Labs to launch blockchain-based media platform Verify | (The Block, 9 January 2024): https://www.theblock.co/post/271288/fox-corporation-polygon-labs-verify

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Crypto-related funding announcements

Cumulus Encrypted Storage System, a Singapore-based provider of a blockchain-powered decentralized storage and CDN infrastructure for Web3, raised $8M in Series A funding led by HTX Venture, Infinity Ventures Crypto, DWF Labs, Mentha Partners, Vespertine Capital , Web3 Foundation, Singchain Investment, 7 O’Clock Capital, SolrDAO, FishDAO, OneBlock+, Winkrypto, and Polkadot Ecology Research Institute | FinSMEs article (2 January 2024): http://tiny.cc/y89tvz

Addressable, a Los Angeles startup that specializes in analyzing blockchain data to identify and categorize cryptocurrency wallet owners for targeted advertising and marketing campaigns, raised a $6 million seed extension led by BITKRAFT Ventures, with participation from Karatage as well as previous investors Viola Ventures, Fabric Ventures, Mensch Capital Partners, and North Island Ventures. (StrictlyVC, 21 December 2023) | CTech article: http://tiny.cc/ncgtvz

Metagood, a blockchain technology and digital assets company, announced the successful completion of a $5 million series seed funding round aimed at advancing its Osura marketplace, focused on art within the Bitcoin ecosystem.  The funding was led by Sora Ventures, ACTAI Ventures, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, UTXO Management, London Real Ventures, and Peach.xyz | FinSMEs article (19 December 2023): http://tiny.cc/bvmtvz

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We invite listeners to join the SwapAcross Discord channel (formerly X528 DAO): https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT

Visit the SwapAcross website (formerly X528DAO) to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io

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#web3 #Web3.0 #Metaverse #Innovation #Technology #Marketplace #Community #DAO #DecentralizedAssets #DecentralizedFinance #DigitalAssets #CryptoAssets #Blockchain #TokenEconomy #DigitalBusiness #Bitcoin #Ethereum #AltCoins #DEFI #innovation #Finance #FinTech




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allen-wazny/message

This is the 16th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of SwapAcross (formerly known as X528 DAO) and Allen Wazny, host of the Calgary Business Podcast and Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.



All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services



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Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts.  



As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD



We also highlighted the price of Bitcoin on 30 December between 2017 and 2023 courtesy of the team at CoinMarketCap:



30 December 2023: US $42,250

30 December 2022: US $16,547

30 December 2021: US $46,306

30 December 2020: US $29,002

30 December 2019: US $7,194

30 December 2018: US $3,743

30 December 2017: US $14,156 



To track all historical prices of BTC and other crypto currencies, click on the link to the CoinMarketCap website: https://coinmarketcap.com





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2023 Year in Crypto



Mark referenced the 25 December 2023 article published by The Block titled “From SBF to Taylor Swift, BlackRock, CZ and Binance: The top crypto stories of 2023” with some notable takeaways: 



USDC Stablecoin



The key issue related to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the exposure that the fintech giant, Circle, had to the bank resulting in massive sell-off of its stablecoin, USDC and a 15% drop in the coin’s market cap within a 24-hour period.



Taylor Swift and FTX



Unlike notable football hall of famer, Tom Brady, and NBA great, Shaquille O’Neal, Taylor Swift did not sign on to promote FTX.  It seems that Swift-enomics kicked in and some due diligence was performed prior to the decision, unlike other celebrity influence



BlackRock and Bitcoin ETF



In June of 2023, BlackRock filed a registration with the SEC for its spot bitcoin ETF, known as the iShares Bitcoin Trust.  Other notable investment firms, including Franklin Templeton, VanEck and Fidelity, are reportedly also seeking approval for a spot bitcoin ETF





Binance and Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”)



Binance and the US Department of Justice settled for $4.3 billion after the DOJ commenced a criminal investigation alleging money laundering and sanctions violations. As part of the plea deal, CZ agreed to step down as CEO of Binance and pay a $50 million fine after pleading guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. 



Link to The Block article: https://www.theblock.co/post/265652/sbf-taylor-swift-blackrock-cz-binance-top-crypto-stories-2023



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Celsius bankruptcy 



Celsius actually declared bankruptcy in July 2022 but continued to form part of the 2023 crypto narrative alongside other notable bankruptcies such as Three Arrows Capital and Genesis (founded by Barry Silbert).  



We discussed the back story to Celsius and the founder of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky and a spring 2018 conference with Alex on stage with anti-crypto influencer, Nouriel Roubini (or “Dr. Doom” ) and Bill Barhydt (founder of Abra Global).  Alex rebutted Nouriel’s claims of "99% of crypto land is one shitcoin traded for another shitcoin…"

Link to Yahoo Finance article of October 2018 titled “Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Throws Shade at Bitcoin Bashing Economist”  | http://tiny.cc/t7qnvz



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We invite listeners to join the SwapAcross Discord channel (formerly X528 DAO): https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT



Visit the SwapAcross website (formerly X528DAO) to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io



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#DecentralizedFinance #Decentralized #Autonomous #Organizations #DigitalA

This is the 15th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of SwapAcross (formerly known as X528 DAO) and Allen Wazny, host of the Calgary Business Podcast and Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.



All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services



/////



Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts.  As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD



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Crypto news articles discussed during this update:



Over $2.7 million in Ethereum and others stolen from OKX Exchange | The Daily HODL (14 December 2023): http://tiny.cc/5l9jvz



Tech billionaires launch fund to create new Libertarian societies | Vice article (14 December 2023): http://tiny.cc/9l9jvz



Ledger Phishing Attack | Decrypt article (14 December 2023): http://tiny.cc/jl9jvz



JPMorgan says Ethererum to outperform Bitcoin in 2024 | Decrypt article (14 December 2023): 



Solana mobile phone “Saga” sells out on high demand for BONK | Decrypt article (15 December 2023): http://tiny.cc/tl9jvz





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Crypto-related funding announcements



There were 5 companies highlighted in this episode, based upon the following funding announcements found in one or more newsletters of StrictlyVC, FinSMEs, VentureBeat and Crunchbase:



Lolli, a Durham, N.C.-based startup whose rewards app lets consumers earn Bitcoin or cash back on everyday purchases, raised an $8 million Series B round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, with participation from Sfermion, Prisma Ventures, Hypersphere Ventures, 2 Punks Capital, and MZ Web3 Fund as well as previous investors Seven Seven Six, Founders Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, Serena Ventures, MrBeast’s Night Media, and Logan Paul [TechCrunch, 15 December 2023]



NodeKit, an Ames, Iowa startup, helps crypto developers avoid sequencing delays, raised a $1.2 million pre-seed round led by Borderless Capital, with Blizzard Fund, Polygon Ventures, and Wormhole Cross-Chain Ecosystem Fund also stepping up [The Block, 15 December 2023]



Hackless, a Kyiv, Ukraine-based company which specializes in blockchain security solutions, raised $1.2M in funding led by DaoMaker, Insignius Capital, Cosima Capital, DeltaHub Capital, Factorial, and Halvings Capital [FinSMEs, 15 December 2023]



Reltime, an Oslo, Norway-based blockchain technology company, received a funding approval from the Research Council of Norway [FinSMEs, 12 December 2023]



Gacha Monsters, a Tokyo startup that publishes a web3 game called Poglin, raised a $3 million seed round from Animoca Brands, Infinity Ventures Crypto, FBG, and Big Time Games [FinSMEs, 9 December 2023]



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We invite listeners to join the SwapAcross Discord channel (formerly X528 DAO): https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT



Visit the SwapAcross website (formerly X528DAO) to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io



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#web3 #Web3.0 #Metaverse #Innovation #Technology #Marketplace #Community #DAO #DecentralizedAssets | #DecentralizedFinance #Decentralized #Autonomous #Organizations #DigitalAssets #CryptoAssets #Blockchain #TokenEconomy #DigitalBusiness #Bitcoin #Ethereum #AltCoins


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allen-wazny/message

This is the 14th episode of the Crypto Market update with Mark Magliocco, co-founder of X528 DAO and Allen Wazny, host of the Calgary Business Podcast and Partner/CFO of Purpose Driven Travel in Calgary.



All discussions in this episode are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services



/////



Yahoo Finance and Bitcoin trading charts.  As is customary, Mark opened the discussion by sharing his knowledge and understanding of reading the technical charts around the price of Bitcoin | https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/BTC-USD



///



Crypto news articles discussed during this update:



Tether's new sanctions froze 161 wallets | The Block (10 December 2023) |  https://rb.gy/gcc1mb



Crypto Provisions Dropped From 2023 U.S. Defense Bill | Coindesk (8 December) | https://rb.gy/kykfcc



Chainlink Community Staking Pool Draws more than $620 million | Unchained Crypto (7 December) | https://rb.gy/h0q4hj



Reebok and Digital Wearables | Decrypt (7 December) | http://tiny.cc/dk8ivz



Ethereum Layer-2 Starknet Reveals STRK Token Airdrop | Decrypt (8 December) | http://tiny.cc/qk8ivz



PayPal (Stable Coin) and CoinBase (TikTok and Instagram transfers) were both mentioned by David Pakman, partner at CoinFund, during his appearance on the “Chain Reaction” podcast which aired on 7 December 2023 | https://rb.gy/4tlumq | 



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Crypto-related funding announcements



There were 2 companies highlighted in this episode, based upon the following funding announcements:



Sindri, a one-year-old Denver startup that helps developers build and deploy zero-knowledge applications, raised a $5 million seed round led by CoinFund. The Block: http://surl.li/ocizg [8 December 2023]



Shadow, a Paris startup that says it can help businesses develop crypto products faster and cheaper by creating “shadow forks,” or private testing grounds that mirror the blockchain, raised a $9 million seed round. Paradigm was the deal lead, with additional investors including Coinbase Ventures, Electric Capital, Ethereum Foundation, Uniswap, and Flashbots. The Block: http://surl.li/ocjvb [6 December 2023]



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We invite listeners to join the X528 Discord channel: https://discord.gg/fhsekcgJVT



Visit the X528 website to learn more: ​​https://www.x528.io/



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#web3 #Web3.0 #Metaverse #Innovation #Technology #Marketplace #Community #DAO #DecentralizedAssets | #DecentralizedFinance #Decentralized #Autonomous #Organizations #DigitalAssets #CryptoAssets #Blockchain #TokenEconomy #DigitalBusiness #Bitcoin #Ethereum #AltCoins



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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allen-wazny/message