Quick News №3

Non-interchangeable tokens (NFT) are now sounding all over the place: unique token technology makes it possible to sell digital art and to anchor the source data of objects, for example. Recently NFT-marketplace NFTb raises $200 000 in a Seed round. One of the marketplace founders is Ukrainian entrepreneur Alexey Fedorov, as the Na chasi media notes. Experts believe that non-interchangeable tokens may revolutionize copyright control. They are more convenient to work with than real objects, and 2021 will be the start of technology development.

In parallel with this round, Clubhouse closed its round C. Two things are interesting within this news. Firstly, Yuri Milner’s DST Global fund participated in it. However, neither the amount of its investment nor its total funding has been disclosed. Therefore, secondly, Reuters is reporting on the basis of its sources that the Clubhouse has a total valuation of $4B. This confirms last week’s rumors and also means that the valuation has quadrupled in four months.

Returning to the topic of cryptocurrencies, the well-known platform that allows to sell, buy and manage cryptocurrency, Coinbase, has made one of its most successful exits to the exchange. Starting trading at $381 a share with a capitalization of $99.6B, the first minutes raised the price per share to $429 a share and the capitalization to $112B, making Coinbase one of the 100 most expensive public companies in the US.

Blockchain is on the rise, and so is the gaming industry. Recent months have delighted us with news of new product launches and major game studio roundups. Ex-employees of Mail.ru Group, namely the managers of the Mail.ru Games Ventures investment fund, are launching The Games Fund. The volume is $50M and the focus is on early-stage gaming startups in Eastern Europe. The fund has already invested $500 000 in the Belarusian studio Purple Games and has attracted high-profile investors from major funds as advisors.

Telegram continues to deliver the news. This week, it became known about the testing of the in-app purchase feature. Payments will be made using third-party payment systems, including Sber, UMoneu, Payme, Stripe, and others. Even before the special function was introduced, sales were being made through the messenger. After it was unblocked in Russia, the number of transactions on Telegram reached ₽1.6B last year.

And finally, some good news! Startup Papa raises $60M, the round led by Tiger Global. The idea is wonderful: lonely old people can use the platform to find companions. They, in turn, help their new elderly friends around the house, get groceries, and go to the doctor. The companions are available for people between 18 and 45 years old.

Have a productive week!