Gravity Reports Strong Q2 Revenues, Outlining Blockchain Game Roadmap

Nano Labs, a Web3-focused semiconductor design company listed on the Nasdaq (NA) and headquartered in Hangzhou, China, has arranged $500 million in financing to fund a BNB treasury. In a press release published on the company’s behalf by GlobeNewswire on June 24, Nano Labs outlined that it has entered into a convertible notes purchase agreement with a number of investors. Convertible promissory notes to the value of $500 million will be issued. Holders of the notes, which mature in 360 days, have the option to convert them to Class A ordinary shares at an initial conversion price of $20 per share. Unconverted notes will not accrue interest, but will be repaid in line with the initial principal amount at maturity. 5%-10% of BNB’s total supplyNano Labs asserted that the agreement “marks an important step in the company’s strategic growth.” It stated that as part of the initiative it plans to conduct an in-depth assessment of the BNB token, the native token of the BNB Chain ecosystem. The token enables transactions on the BNB Chain and access to various services and decentralized applications (DApps) that run on the blockchain network. In the initial phase of the initiative, Nano Labs plans to acquire $1 billion worth of BNB through convertible notes and private placements. In the long term, the firm plans to build up a holding equal to 5% to 10% of BNB’s total circulating supply. On X, @Whdysseus, the pseudonymous founder of Asian Web3 and crypto financial media project BroadChain Finance, commented on Nano Labs' BNB reserve initiative, considering it to be a BNB version of the Bitcoin treasury strategy pioneered by American firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy).Photo by Vadim Artyukhin on UnsplashShare price surgeChangpeng Zhao (CZ), the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, who has been heavily involved in the development and overall vision of BNB Chain, outlined on X that Nano Labs’ share price “went through the roof” following the announcement. He added that none of his affiliated entities participated in the funding that Nano Labs has put in place. At the time of writing, Nano Labs stock (NA) was trading at $14.85, up 36.36% over the course of 24 hours. Nano Labs isn’t the only corporate entity to declare an interest in holding BNB. According to a report published by Bloomberg on June 23, former executives at Coral Capital, a Japanese venture capital firm, are understood to be in the process of raising $100 million through a newly formed entity called Build & Build Corporation, in order to launch a crypto treasury that will invest in BNB. In another positive development, on-chain analytics firm Nansen highlighted last month that the BNB Chain had seen active addresses double to two million.  Earlier in May, Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, outlined in a research report that the BNB token could reach a unit price of $2,775 by 2028. Kendrick maintained that the deflationary nature of the token, together with its ties to the Binance exchange platform, are factors that support its long-term value.

Hong Kong Bank to Act as Settlement Bank for Crypto FirmsZA Bank, Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank, is looking to become the go-to bank for crypto startups. The online bank has been given permission to serve as the settlement bank for regulated Web3 companies in the city. This development was announced at Hong Kong’s Web3 Festival, an event supported by the local government and attended by crypto startups and institutions from across Asia.©Pexels/Frank BarningHashKey and OSL collaborationZA Bank is expected to facilitate crypto-fiat conversions with two licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, HashKey and OSL, where customers can swap crypto into fiat currencies. ZA Bank will also offer basic banking services to local Web3 startups, a category that is currently underserved by traditional financial institutions.ZA Bank is focusing on assisting local Web3 startups and small-medium enterprises (SMEs).The bank linked up to the city’s company registry data, allowing for minimal information input and cross-checking. According to Devon Sin, alternate chief executive of ZA Bank, the bank currently conducts AML scrutiny against the usual checklists to satisfy the regulatory requirements. No AML issues have emerged during the recent months of work.Competing for global crypto businessHong Kong is trying to establish itself as a crypto-friendly alternative to other hubs, such as the US and Singapore, and a sandbox for Web3 businesses from China, where crypto trading is illegal. The city is revamping its digital assets regulatory framework, with plans to legalize retail trading of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. Ronald Lu, CEO of ZA Bank, said that ZA Bank’s online account opening for Web3 startups is a major step forward in integrating traditional banking services with the Web3 world.According to Lu, ZA Bank will act as a settlement bank for clients to allow withdrawals in Hong Kong, China, and US currencies after they deposit crypto tokens with exchanges. The business model is already operational through HashKey and OSL, the only two licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong. The bank will provide the same service for other exchanges as they become licensed.HK China’s crypto “trial run”Hong Kong is opening up to the beleaguered sector in a move that aims to revive its status as a financial center following years of COVID restrictions and political upheaval. However, access to banking has been a major hurdle for the city’s ambitions. The city’s banking and securities regulators are hosting a round-table for crypto players and bankers to share experiences and perspectives on banking services later this month.Many have speculated about a softening stance on cryptocurrency by the Chinese authorities. However, it’s more likely that they continue with strict regulation and control relative to crypto in mainland China while happy to monitor a more open approach to it within Hong Kong. Crypto analyst Myles Deutscher likens the approach to a “trial run” that is being monitored by China.Launched in March 2020, ZA Bank is one of Hong Kong’s eight licensed virtual banks and had the most net assets as of last year, despite remaining unprofitable. The virtual lender doesn’t expect it will need to boost its headcount to handle the crypto client push. Although the revenue model is still unclear, Lu said that more clients, more deposits, and more business opportunities are always great for the bank. The lender doesn’t offer services for clients from mainland China, given the restrictions in place there.

WazirX Founder’s Blockchain Startup Raises $5.4MShardeum, a highly-scalable layer-1 blockchain utilizing dynamic state sharding, has successfully closed a strategic raise of $5.4 million.The project was co-founded by Nischal Shetty, who also founded leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashWorking towards mainnet launchThe funding round saw participation from prominent investors including Galxe, J17 Capital, JSquare, and TRGC, among others. Singapore’s Amber Group, a digital assets trading, products, and infrastructure firm, also participated. The additional capital will be used to facilitate the expansion of Shardeum’s ecosystem, leading up to the highly anticipated mainnet launch later this year. As part of that launch, it will also introduce $SHM, its native token. 5% of $SHM tokens are being allocated to ecosystem development and to community airdrops.What is Shardeum?Shardeum is a highly-scalable EVM-based layer-1 blockchain that utilizes dynamic state sharding. By employing dynamic state sharding, Shardeum ensures low gas fees and high transactions per second as the network expands. The platform achieves consensus at the transaction level, reducing the computational power required for validator nodes. This composition means that it’s engineered for linear scalability.This consensus mechanism enables broad accessibility and increased decentralization by allowing anyone to run a node. Through the power of dynamic state sharding, Shardeum offers a scalable and secure solution that addresses the blockchain trilemma while ensuring decentralization for all participants.Dynamic state shardingSince its establishment in 2022, Shardeum has been focused on delivering a highly-scalable EVM-based layer-1 blockchain with dynamic state sharding capabilities. As of Friday, the Shardeum testnet has already witnessed over 7.4 million transactions, with over 820,000 accounts and more than 230,000 contracts deployed.Kelsey McGuire, the Chief Growth Officer at Shardeum, expressed enthusiasm about the completion of the strategic raise, emphasizing the company’s commitment to cultivating a global and diverse community. McGuire highlighted Shardeum’s consensus design and the accessibility of validator participation, regardless of users’ computing resources. The additional funding will further support Shardeum’s dedication to decentralization by fostering worldwide community growth through educational initiatives and other key programs.Initial $18.2M seed roundIn addition to the aforementioned investors, the strategic raise attracted notable participants such as Bware Labs, Tané Labs, Hyperithm Group, and Luganodes, among others. This round follows Shardeum’s successful seed round in October 2022, which raised $18.2 million and involved backers such as Jane Street, Big Brain Holdings, Struck Crypto, The Spartan Group, Ghaf Capital, DFG, CoinGecko Ventures, and Foresight Ventures. Funding from that initial seed round went towards hiring more employees, expanding the Shardeum network, and growing its community.A Shardeum project team member told The Block that the raise now places a valuation on the overall company of around $248 million. Shetty recently told Forbes that he believes Shardeum can be a direct competitor to Ethereum. The WazirX Founder outlined that the blockchain was envisioned on the basis of low fees and scalability regardless of the extent of the network growth that transpires.