Crypto Biz: The Web3 arms race is upon us, April 14–20, 2022

cointelegraph.com:

“Web3” used to be an empty industry buzzword that described the next iteration of the internet. In 2022, Web3 is still an annoying buzzword, but at least the blockchain community is trying to assign it real-world utility. 

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter features several major funding rounds dedicated to building the Web3 economy. After reading through the stories, you can decide whether we’re actually getting closer to defining Web3. Oh, and remember all the buzz surrounding Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs? A crypto-focused SPAC just closed an initial public offering on the Nasdaq, raising $115 million in the process.

Remember DeFi Summer 2020? Well, venture capitalists are gearing up for Web3 Summer 2022. That should help numb the crippling pain of 2021’s Summer of Wyckoff. Framework Ventures is anticipating big things for the space. This week, the venture firm announced that it would invest $200 million of a new $400 million fund in Web3 gaming projects. Now for the hard part: How do they identify the next Axie Infinity? Framework was an early investor in Chainlink, Aave and The Graph, so it knows how to spot gems very early.

I used to associate KuCoin with endless shitcoin listings, but the exchange is a lot bigger than I thought. Not only does KuCoin have its own venture arm, but it’s also rolling out a new NFT marketplace called Windvane. KuCoin Ventures and Windvane have co-launched a $100 million “Creators Fund” to help fund — you guessed it — Web3 projects. If we’re going to be technical about it, the Creators Fund wants to target NFT startups that are contributing to the development of Web3. Projects at the intersection of art, sports and GameFi are eligible to receive funding.

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