Decentralizing Amazon, Yale's move to crypto, and Circle acquires SeedInvest
Bitcoin $6,574 ▼ Ethereum $223.19 ▼
Crypto Mkt Cap $218 Billion ▼ BTC Dominance 52.10%
“It’s not just ‘how do we let companies do ICOs? It’s ‘how do we support the tokenization of everything?” — Jeremy Allaire, CEO Circle on his company’s acquisition of SeedInvest
The Big Block
E-commerce has been a growing part of how businesses and consumers purchase products and services since the beginning of the consumer internet era in the mid-1990s. E-commerce now drives trillions of dollars worth of sales, and is still growing at double-digit percentages year over year. Startup brands are increasingly becoming digital-native verticals, selling their products exclusively online — at least at first.
Leading the growth of e-commerce marketplaces are companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay — the American firms both more than 20 years old, and Alibaba closing in on that milestone. The services provided by these marketplaces are important: Connecting sellers and buyers worldwide through the internet has already had a lasting impact on consumer purchasing behaviors and how businesses operate. However, as commerce becomes increasingly digitized and consolidated — Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay account for 65% of cross-border e-commerce purchases — the risks of centralization becomes more apparent.
Read More on The Block (4 Minutes)
Around The Block
Yale’s endowment enters the crypto fray
Yale’s endowment invested in Paradigm, a fresh $400 million crypto fund founded by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia partner Matt Huang. This investment follows Yale’s decision to invest in Andreessen Horowitz’s $300 million venture fund earlier this year as reported by CNBC. — More
Survey: Cryptocurrencies make Americans feel uncertain and confused
Clovr, a startup focused on promoting blockchain adoption, conducted a survey of over 1000 participants to gauge how Americans feel about cryptocurrency. The survey was separated into five categories: general knowledge, market sentiment, reason for investing, traits of investors, and demographics. — More
Circle to acquire crowdfunding firm SeedInvest — More
Celsius heats up with interest-paying crypto accounts — More
CFTC: Cryptocurrency scams contributed to an increase in fines — More
The Block Events
Come and check us! The Block is settling into our new events and co-working space at 11 Park Place! Please send all hosting inquiries to events@theblockcrypto.com.
October 10 – Digital Assets for Family Offices & Fund Managers (New York); The Block community receives 30% off using the promo code THEBLOCK
October 16 – WISER, the women’s inclusion network of Shearman & Sterling, Blockchain Panel
October 19 – Startup Weekend NYC: Blockchain Edition
October 22-24 – Web3 Summit (Funkhaus, Berlin)
October 25 – Bringing Cities on to the Blockchain presented by Blockfinity (New York)
October 26 – What is Real? Authenticity, Transparency, and Trust in the Digital Age of Fashion (New York); Kelcey Gosserand, GM, and Head of Community is participating in the Tech Talk panel: Blockchain and the Future of Fashion with Cathy Yoon, General Counsel at Genesis Block and Samantha Radocchia, C0-founder at Chronicled
October 26 – Argentina’s Crypto Scene presented by Bitex (New York)
November 7 – Unchained Ventures – Unchain Ventures Fall Cohort Demo Day (San Francisco) Featuring 10 Blockchain companies building products and services for the Financial Services Industry. Accredited investor request invitation (Brnoyes@unbank.ventures.com)
November 14 – The Future of Logistics Technology Summit (Miami); The Block community receives 20% off using the promo code BLOCK20