Fingerlabs teams up with Metaclub to gather users for Web3 membership platform

U.S. crypto fund targets Asian investors for new $800M growth equity fundDan Tapiero, the New York-based founder of 1RoundTable Partners and 10T Holdings, is on a mission to raise between $700 million and $800 million for his upcoming fourth fund, with a recent focus on Asian investment interest.A recent report by Deal Street Asia pointed out that Tapiero has turned his attention to the potential of inward Asian investment, not least through his recent one-week business trip to the region in early December.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashInvestment vehicles1RoundTable Partners was Tapiero’s original investment vehicle, positioning itself as a growth equity fund building a portfolio focused exclusively on growth-stage blockchain and crypto projects. 10T Holdings was established more recently, targeting mid to late stage digital asset ecosystem (DAE) firms as part of its equity fund. Earlier this year, 10T was reported by Bloomberg to have $1.2 billion under management while seeking another $200 million in new funding.10T Holdings has fully deployed its three previous funds, forming a portfolio of 24 active DAE companies, including Gemini, Animoca Brands, Yuga Labs and Deribit. Tapiero’s cautious approach to valuations has been rewarded. He turned down opportunities in FTX and Celsius Network at their peaks prior to both entities failing spectacularly in 2022.Crypto equity fund resilienceThe crypto industry faced challenges, including the collapse of FTX, leading to tighter regulations and reputational damage. Venture investments in the sector saw a decline, with statistics from Galaxy Digital Holdings indicating that Q3 2023’s venture investments were below $2 billion, the lowest since Q4 2020.Tapiero is undeterred and is actively raising his fourth growth equity fund, focusing on “digital asset ecosystem (DAE) companies.” This fund, managed under 1RoundTable Partners, will primarily invest in mature DAE companies with $40–50 million in annual revenue and a market valuation exceeding $400 million. Tapiero’s strategy of targeting lower-risk, growth-stage opportunities aligns with his hedge fund legacy.Asian investor focusTapiero is actively seeking new investors in Asia for Fund IV, targeting a first close in Q1 2024. His efforts are focused on addressing the lack of growth-stage capital, particularly in Asia, where confidence in digital assets has strengthened due to crypto-friendly regulations.The veteran macro investor, who founded Gold Bullion International in 2009 prior to turning his attention to the digital assets space, sees a window of opportunity in the secondary market. Having already invested about $660 million through 10T Holdings, he notes that investors may have only a “six-month window” to capture discounted opportunities.In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month, Tapiero outlined his view that Q4, 2023 will be the crypto sector’s “best quarter since the bull market.” He added:“We think that the bear market finished in Q4 2022. We had a sideways move for a while and then in July [2023] things sparked off with Larry Fink’s [BlackRock CEO] comments.”As Tapiero navigates the crypto landscape with a strategic focus on growth and risk management, his approach appeals to traditional investors, including major pension funds. Fund IV represents a step toward contributing to the ongoing evolution of the digital asset ecosystem. It’s on that basis that the investment industry veteran is targeting Asian limited partnerships (LPs).

Fair Square Lab to Develop Blockchain-Based Shareholder Meeting PlatformSouth Korean Web3 technology company Fair Square Lab announced on Friday that it is in the process of developing a blockchain-based platform for holding electronic shareholder general meetings. The firm said that it has applied for two patents for technologies related to blockchain-based electronic shareholder meetings. One is related to their operation methods and systems, and the other is associated with the utilization of voting rights tokens.Photo by Benjamin Child on UnsplashEmpowering shareholdersIn shareholder general meetings, many minority shareholders are often unable to attend in person, thereby finding it difficult to effectively exercise their opinions or rights during the decision-making process of a company. Fair Square Lab’s pending patents aim to address this issue by enabling more shareholders to easily participate in shareholder meetings through an electronic medium. Utilizing blockchain technology would also ensure the integrity and security of voting processes.Fair Square Lab’s growing portfolioWith this latest development, Fair Square Lab is now poised to possess a total of eight blockchain-related patents. Its other patents encompass areas like managing wallets in the blockchain network, generating wallet addresses for security token platforms, and preventing erroneous transfers of security tokens on a blockchain network. The company said that it is continuously working to secure intellectual property rights for its blockchain business, including design patents and its own trademark.“We have been consistently striving to secure intellectual property rights by linking research and development with the core blockchain technologies that we have accumulated over the years. We plan to obtain a total of 12 core technology patents by the end of this year,” said Jake Kim, CEO of Fair Square Lab.

Web3 Security Startup Blockaid Raises $33M in FundingIsraeli enterprise Blockaid, a Web3 security startup founded by two former Israeli military cyber intelligence personnel, has secured a total of $33 million in funding.The recent Series A round of $27 million was led by Ribbit Capital and Variant and saw participation from Cyberstarts, Sequoia Capital, and Greylock Partners. This funding totals $33 million when consolidated with an initial $6 million seed round.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashSecuring Web3 against threatsBlockaid offers comprehensive Web3 security solutions designed to combat crypto fraud, phishing, and hacks. Its approach involves the examination of both on-chain and off-chain transactions. In this way, the firm is seeking to set itself apart from competitors like CertiK and Cyvers.The company’s decentralized application (dApp) Scanning Engine simulates and validates blockchain transactions before they are executed. This process takes place within Blockaid’s dApp Scanning Sandbox, which also assesses the potential maliciousness of interactions and dApps.Since its inception in September 2022, Blockaid claims to have successfully scanned over 450 million transactions, preventing over 1.3 million attacks and safeguarding more than $7.1 billion in assets. Furthermore, the Israeli startup’s efforts have averted losses of over $500 million in the Web3 ecosystem.Recent success storiesOne notable success story involves the prevention of a phishing attack targeting Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Due to Blockaid’s security measures, users’ wallets remained protected, though unsecured wallets with approximately $700,000 in assets, including valuable NFTs, suffered losses in the attack. Blockaid has been involved in enhancing security for prominent platforms, including MetaMask, OpenSea, Zerion Wallet, and Rainbow Wallet.With the newly acquired funds, Blockaid aims to expand its client base and meet an increasing demand for its security solutions. Ido Ben-Natan, co-founder and CEO of Blockaid, expressed confidence in their ability to support both existing and new customers during these market conditions. Blockaid operates from New York and Tel Aviv and plans to bolster its workforce by hiring additional personnel across various functions.Addressing the Web3 security challengeThe significance of Blockaid’s work becomes even more apparent when considering the current challenges in the Web3 space. In recent years, the Web3 sector has faced a rising tide of fraud, phishing attempts, and hacks. As noted by Ben-Natan, Web3 has experienced staggering losses, with $14 billion stolen in just one year, surpassing losses in all non-crypto cyber-crime combined. Additionally, one in ten decentralized applications (dApps) has been identified as malicious, making even crypto-savvy users susceptible to malicious actors.Furthermore, there is a growing concern about nation-state actors actively targeting and stealing user funds for their economic gain. In this adversarial and uncertain environment, the usability and security of Web3 must be enhanced to unlock its full potential. Blockaid’s innovative security tools aim to provide the necessary protection for Web3 builders and users.There’s no doubt that Web3 has to become more seamless and far more secure if it is to appeal to the mass market. In its blog post announcing the funding round, the project stated:”We believe that users shouldn’t have to know they’re interacting with crypto. We believe that web3 should just work, and work securely.”