Arnold Kirimi
The nonfungible token (NFT) market is gaining momentum as the next frontier in collectibles, gaming and the metaverse. To accelerate this vision, OpenSea announced on Tuesday that it has secured $300 million in a Series C funding led by Coatue and Paradigm.
OpenSea is a digital market based on the Wyvern Protocol, which comprises custom-built Ethereum smart contracts that are expressly created for buying and selling unique digital assets. The marketplace was established in 2018.
With the most recent investment, OpenSea’s value has now surpassed $13.3 billion. Apart from Paradigm and Coatue, OpenSea noted that there were a number of both new and existing investors that participated in the round.
OpenSea said it was going to use the money to further develop its product, enhance customer service and security, invest in the wider NFT and Web3 communities, and hire more employees.
In 2021, NFTs played a major role in the mainstream success of crypto and blockchain. The industry recorded over $14 billion in sales during the year, with digital art collections and digital collectibles accounting for 91% of transactions, according to company data. OpenSea has already generated more than $700 million worth of trade volume since the start of 2022, as reported by Cointelegraph.
Brian Newar
Hemp grower Apothio has raised $330,000 for a lawsuit against Kern County, California via what’s known as an Initial Litigation Offer on the Republic investment platform.
Investments are accepted in USD, but proof of investment is issued as digital tokens on the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain network. It's the first Initial Litigation Offer (ILO) on the Republic platform which launched in 2016 and is designed for equity crowdfunding.
The hemp grower is seeking compensation from the county for damages incurred when deputies and California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife allegedly bulldozed 450 acres of crops worth up to $1 billion.
Apothio’s attorney, Kyle Roche, told Cointelegraph there are many benefits to crowdfunding legal cases via cryptocurrency investments:
“Court systems work really well, they’re just expensive. If you can fix the barriers based on cost by allowing capital to flow into the system where it’s needed, I believe ILOs can be a positive force for access to justice.”
Litigation funding investment is where third-party investors unrelated to a case can provide funds to a litigant in a court case and earn a return on their investment based on the outcome of the case. Under an ILO, fund contributors receive digital tokens that entitle them to a portion of any damages recovered as a result of the ruling in the case.
The global litigation funding investment market was valued at $11.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to more than double to $24 billion by 2028 according to a Dec. 7 2021 report by Research Nester.
Brian Newar
El Salvador’s government, led by President Nayib Bukele, has moved ahead with plans to issue Bitcoin (BTC) bonds by preparing 20 bills designed to provide a legal framework for them.
Alejandro Zelaya, head of the treasury, told Salvadoran media El Mundo on Tuesday that the bills will cover regulations about issuing securities as cryptocurrency to ensure the viability of the Bitcoin bonds that were proposed in November 2021. He said:
“[This is] to provide a legal structure and legal certainty to everyone who buys the Bitcoin bond.”
However, he did not propose a timeframe for the legislation to be submitted to lawmakers.
The $1 billion sought by the bond issuance would be used to fund the Bitcoin City initiative, which President Bukele has promised will provide “digital and technological education, geothermal energy for the entire city, and efficient and sustainable public transport.”
One of the features of the Bitcoin City is a Bitcoin mining operation that harnesses the geothermal power generated by a volcano to power mining rigs — leading to the bonds being dubbed “Volcano Bonds.” The mining operation mined its first 0.00599179 BTC on Oct. 1, 2021.
Funds from the bond issue could also be used to pay down an $800-million Eurobond issue, which will mature in January 2023. Zelaya told El Mundo that the country would need to find financiers to help fill their obligation to pay off the Eurobonds, which could come from Bitcoin bonds or from “institutional offers from various investment banks” rather than another Eurobond issue.
This Daily Dose was brought to you by Cointelegraph.
