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Safety First

VeradiVerdict - Issue #86

Paul Veradittakit
May 26, 2020
3
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Safety First

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First and foremost, Happy Memorial Day to everyone and many thanks for the contributions from fallen soldiers.

As mentioned in previous newsletters and in this Bitcoin Halving panel that I moderated recently, I really do think crypto is going to come out of this pandemic very strong. With Bitcoin continuing to be a great store of value and Ethereum leading in developer traction for decentralized applications and launching their version 2.0, those two cryptocurrencies have the largest market caps. If you need a primer on why Bitcoin is compelling, check out this resource list from Matt Huang of Paradigm. For Ethereum, here’s something I wrote way back in the day. While crypto price isn’t the best indication of progress, price does encourage more entrepreneurs, users, and capital to come into the space and hopefully more regulatory clarity to foster innovation. Even Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit (which just launched a community token), discussed publicly why he thinks crypto spring is here.

With more interest in Bitcoin and price movement recently, this has led to more security attacks and scams in the space. Last week, I know quite a few folks that had fallen to a sim-swap attack. In case you don’t know what a sim-swap attack is, here’s an article on one of the more famous attacks. Common ways to start protecting yourself include putting 2-factor authentication (google authenticator/Authy) on all of your financial and social accounts, having your crypto in cold storage, and letting your carrier know to not port your phone number unless you authorize it in person at a local carrier store.

I mention social accounts because scams have occurred through the use of compromised real or fake social accounts on mostly Zoom, Linkedin, and Telegram. For example, Pantera will NEVER:

  • Ask for any money to review or execute on a possible investment opportunity, there’s NO venture injection program

  • Promise extraordinary returns from an investment

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Obviously verify that messages come from legit company email addresses or social accounts. On top of that, use common connections or multiple methods of communication to confirm identity.

I hope folks continue to learn about the space and participate in this nascent disruptive space yet be vigilant.

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DIGESTS

Ahead of Ethereum 2.0 Launch, 3 Key Metrics Point to ETH Price Surge

While Ethereum 2.0 is still not set in stone, three key metrics show us that users and investors are optimistic about the price of ETH.

How companies will work post COVID19: embracing a remote-first culture.

Companies are thinking about how and when to have employees come back to work


NEWS

FTX.US goes live, CEO says the crypto exchange has 'tons of liquidity' to offer

Crypto exchange FTX has launched a new trading platform for U.S. users, almost a month after first revealing the news.

2020 Q1 Investor Update

The following is an excerpt from our quarterly letter to limited partners in Electric Capital.

Announcing IDEO’s Product Validation Day for DeFi Founders

A future where individuals around the world will not only have the ability to “be your own bank,” but also to create and access any imaginable financial asset, at globally available rates, with a tap on your phone.


REGULATIONS

Telegram Quits Court Fight With SEC Over TON Blockchain Project

Telegram has thrown in the towel in its court battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will no longer be fighting the ban on its blockchain token project.


IN THE TWEETS

Twitter avatar for @eladgil
Elad Gil @eladgil
Notable: Everyone has forgotten Facebook did a down round in 2009. A number of down rounds are coming this year and that is OK. The key is bridging the next 18-24 months through COVID and out the other side. Valuation is temporary, company building ongoing 🙂
Twitter avatar for @drose007
Dan Rose @drose007
2 years earlier we famously raised from Microsoft at $15B valuation. That turned out to be a mistake because it set us up for a painful down round. By 2009 growth had slowed and the financial crisis crushed advertising. “Smart money” bids for our Series D were coming in at $3-6B.
3:31 AM ∙ May 26, 2020
174Likes20Retweets
Twitter avatar for @obussmann
Oliver Bussmann @obussmann
IBM Blockchain to Offer Decentralized Smart Contract Option buff.ly/3biXuO4
Image
6:56 AM ∙ May 25, 2020
29Likes12Retweets

NEW PRODUCTS AND HOT DEALS

Livepeer’s Decentralized Governance Process is Now Ratified

After a 10 day voting period, the community overwhelmingly voted to ratify the decentralized governance process which will be used to shape the future of the Livepeer protocol and network.

New DeFi Alliance reveals its first cohort of seven startups

The Chicago DeFi Alliance has announced its first group of startups that will take part in its new incubation program. And some of the biggest names in DeFi are on board.


MEET WITH ME

Walks and jogs at the park, 6 feet apart, wearing masks

Zoom coffee meetings


ADDITIONAL INFO

Hi, I’m Paul Veradittakit, a Partner at Pantera Capital, one of the oldest and largest institutional investors focused on investing in blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies. The firm invests in equity, pre-sales/IEO rounds, and cryptocurrencies on the secondary markets. I focus on early-stage investments and share my thoughts on what’s going on in the industry in this weekly newsletter.

👋 Working on building new technologies? I’d love to hear about it, shoot me an email

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