Shares in Moon Inc. surge following 1 BTC purchase

Symbiotic, a shared security protocol project that seeks to create a marketplace for blockchain network economic security, has raised $29 million in a Series A funding round.The funding round related to the Dubai-headquartered project was led by American venture capital and hedge fund firm Pantera Capital. Other funding round participants included Coinbase Ventures and a long list of angel investors, including Aave CEO Stani Kulechov, 1inch co-founder Anton Bukov, Conduit founder Andrew Huang and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashBuilding out ‘universal staking’Announcing the Series A funding on social media, the project stated that it is building “universal staking” and with that, transforming “how blockchains implement security and economic alignment.”Symbiotic started out as an Ethereum-centric restaking project. It announced last August that its staking infrastructure had been deployed across 14 blockchain networks. Symbiotic co-founder Misha Putiatin told Blockworks that in now working towards building out a universal staking framework, it's going to double the number of supported blockchain networks. He stated: “This isn’t a pivot, it’s an expansion — a natural progression of the vision we started with.” In a press release publicizing the funding round, Pantera Capital Managing Partner Paul Veradittakit described universal staking as “the next step in blockchain infrastructure.” Describing Symbiotic’s business proposition, he said that the firm “unlocks economic coordination between assets and networks that were previously impossible,” allowing these assets “to easily serve as economic security while enabling entirely new use cases across DeFi.” Team & product expansionThe funding will also be used to expand the project’s current team. It will also expand its product offering beyond restaking, putting support in place for other staking activities. Symbiotic stated that beyond blockchain network security, the protocol supports other use cases, including insurance and other financial products.Putiatin told CoinDesk that the company is building infrastructure, and that its task going forward “is to improve on that by a huge margin.” The Symbiotic co-founder added that the company is catering to the needs of market participants who don’t want to share their security. He added: “They want to build their own security vertical and their own alignment, just using us.” Symbiotic emerged in June 2024 with backing from Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov, co-founders of the Lido liquid staking protocol. At that time, the project attracted $5.8 million in seed funding, with the funding round having been led by crypto investment firm Paradigm and tech-oriented investment company cyber•Fund. It initially introduced a devnet on the Ethereum Holesky testnet. Following a considerable period of development, the project eventually launched on the Ethereum mainnet in January. The same month, the firm added customizable slashing capabilities to its restaking system. Slashing refers to a penalty system imposed on validators of proof-of-stake (PoS)-based networks.Symbiotic was introduced to the market as an alternative to EigenLayer, the restaking protocol with the largest share of total value locked (TVL). It differs from the market leader insofar as Symbiotic’s users can deposit any ERC-20 token into the protocol, whereas EigenLayer only facilitates ETH.

Japanese Games Publisher Suspends Metaverse DownloadsJapanese video game publisher Bandai Namco has taken the step of temporarily suspending downloads of its recently unveiled Gundam Metaverse, raising questions and concerns about a potential major leak within the project.In an official announcement on Thursday (local time), the company expressed regret over the temporary suspension of client file downloads, stating that the firm is sorry that downloading the client files for the Gundam Metaverse has been temporarily suspended.Photo by Jason Ng on UnsplashRecent game releaseGundam Metaverse was launched with the collaborative intention of Bandai Namco and Gundam fans, aimed at creating a community that contributes to future Gundam projects. The sudden halt to downloads came as a surprise, given that the game was released just this month.The Gundam Metaverse was initially slated to be open for a limited time in Japan and the US. It featured an “Early Access” phase for a select number of users, which commenced on October 6, followed by the “General Access” phase available to the public starting on October 12.During this time, visitors had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a 3D world inspired by the iconic Gundam anime. The virtual world included a store offering six distinct Gundam Plastic models, commonly known as Gunpla, and a space for digital live performances by artists affiliated with the Gundam series.Suspected design file flawsBandai Namco has remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind the decision to cease downloads, leaving fans and observers speculating about potential issues with the project. Speculation was further fueled by rumors that circulated online, suggesting that the game’s downloads contained unencrypted design files related to specific models from “Gundam SEED Freedom.”These rumors began circulating as early as mid-September when a Weibo user claimed to have shared images of the “Freedom Gundam” and “Justice Gundam” designs, scheduled to make their debut in “Gundam SEED Freedom.” This upcoming animated film is produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda, with a release date set for January 26 next year, marking the 20th anniversary of the Gundam SEED franchise.Given that Gunpla models were set to be released in tandem with the film’s screening in January, the alleged leak of design files would be a substantial concern for Bandai Namco.Hong Kong news outlet HK01 reported:“There were a large number of 3D model CAD [computer-aided design] files of Gundam models hidden inside [a download], including 2024-only 3D model CAD files.”Metaverse visionBandai Namco set out its metaverse vision in March 2022 when it provided initial details on what it termed back then as its “Gundam Metaverse Project.” The project involved an outlay of $130 million for the company to get it off the ground.At the time, Bandai Namco saw its entry into the world of the metaverse as an opportunity for it to be “connected with fans,” becoming a hub so that those connections could run more deeply and broadly and result in greater enjoyment for IP fans, partners, group employees, and society worldwide.Bandai Namco’s decision to halt downloads remains a topic of intrigue that has left Gundam fans and industry observers eagerly awaiting further developments and clarifications from the gaming giant.

Fasset becomes sixth crypto firm to secure VARA licenseFasset FZE, a digital asset brokerage based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has successfully obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).This achievement, evidenced by a listing on VARA’s website on Wednesday, marks the culmination of VARA’s approval process, granting Fasset the authorization to provide broker-dealer services through its Web3-based financial services platform to a broad spectrum of clients, including both retail and institutional investors.Fasset, with a focus on practical applications of digital assets underpinned by blockchain technology, offers a range of services encompassing stable cryptocurrencies, tokenized commodities, precious metals and fiat currencies.Photo by Hongbin on UnsplashInvestcorp fundingSimultaneous with securing the VARA license, Fasset announced an upcoming investment from global investment manager Investcorp ahead of its Series B funding round, although the exact funding amount remains undisclosed. In 2022 the firm raised $22 million in Series A funding. With plans for a beta launch scheduled for this month and a full roll-out in January 2024, the startup is attempting to make an impact on the market.Mohammad Raafi Hossain, the CEO of Fasset, underscored the strategic importance of the VARA license in advancing the company’s mission to facilitate access to digital assets in emerging markets. In a post published on Thursday via the company’s LinkedIn account, Hossain outlined that this approval plays a crucial role in Fasset’s global licensing strategy, enabling seamless asset transfers across high-traffic remittance corridors, particularly from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to Asia.Targeting emerging marketsHossain remarked:“Fasset’s focus on enabling people across emerging markets to access to digital assets is bolstered with this permission from VARA in UAE. As one of the most progressive regulatory frameworks in the world, the VARA approval is a crucial link in our global licensing portfolio, connecting places like Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkiye through blockchain.”The countries Hossain mentioned are precisely the markets that the firm is attempting to target. In August the firm launched an app which allows users to buy, sell and swap various cryptocurrencies with those markets in mind. Earlier in the year, Fasset had partnered with Mastercard in an effort to expand its service and product offering in IndonesiaWorking towards compliant frameworksFasset has been proactive in engaging with regulatory bodies, dating back to its establishment in 2019. The fledgling firm is now reaping the benefits of following that approach of regulatory compliance. The founding team’s prior collaboration with the UAE Prime Minister’s Office in crypto regulation laid the groundwork for compliant frameworks, something that is seen by officials as essential to the UAE’s technological progress.Dubai’s emergence as a key player in the cryptocurrency industry is evident, with an increasing number of crypto companies setting their sights on the Middle East, particularly Dubai, as a potential hub. In the month of November alone, five distinct entities, including CFI, GCEX, HEX, Crypto.com and Ripple, secured authorization from Dubai for crypto operations, showcasing the growing prominence of the region.