Berachain Secures $100 Million in Series B Funding
Berachain, a layer-1 blockchain that has yet to announce its mainnet, has successfully raised $100 million in a Series B funding round. Leading the round were venture firms Framework Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital, with contributions from Hack VC, Animoca Ventures, and Polychain Capital, among others. The funding will be used to support the expansion of Berachain in various regions, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as reported by Bloomberg.
Some of the contributors to Berachain’s Series B round can be seen below: 
Berachain’s investors supported the blockchain through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), in which they provided funds in exchange for future Berachain tokens. The blockchain’s testnet has reportedly processed 100 million transactions and is aiming to launch its mainnet in the second quarter of this year. The mainnet has been designed to be compatible with Ethereum-based applications.
In a funding announcement seen by Bloomberg, an anonymous co-founder of Berachain, known as “Smokey The Bera,” stated that the successful raise was a significant validation of their approach to building a blockchain based on feedback from real users and developers. Smokey The Bera was recently seen onstage at Hong Kong’s Hack Summit on April 9.
Trump NFT Sales Plummet as Criminal Trial Begins
Trading of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) featuring former United States President Donald Trump has experienced a sharp decline of 99% as his criminal trial in New York begins. The Trump Digital Trading Cards NFT collection, which consists of 45,000 tokens and marks the first NFTs licensed with Trump’s image, was initially seeing hundreds of weekly sales in early February. However, since early March, sales have dwindled to just a handful, according to data from OpenSea. The collection has not seen any sales since April 2. On the other hand, the second version of Trump’s NFTs has performed better, with 966 sales in the past 30 days, compared to the original collection’s 16.
Jury selection for Trump’s trial began on Monday, April 15, and he is facing 34 felony charges filed by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. These charges allege that Trump falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair. Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges. Newsweek previously reported that the NFT collections were pulled from sale until the end of 2024, although the reason behind this decision was not explained. It is important to note that Trump does not own or control the NFT collection directly, but instead licenses his image to a company called NFT International, LLC.
Dentsu Collaborates with Azuki NFT Collection for Anime Series
Dentsu, an advertising and creative giant, has partnered with Chiru Labs, the creator of the Azuki NFT collection, to produce an anime series featuring characters from Azuki’s NFTs. The three-part anime series, titled “Enter The Garden,” will be released throughout 2024, with the first episode premiering on April 30. Dentsu will assist in the production of the series and has expressed plans to include cameo appearances of the NFT characters and product placements of businesses owned by NFT holders. Azuki is a collection of NFTs that showcases anime-style art characters, and the holders of these NFTs own the intellectual property rights. Some NFT holders have even established businesses centered around their NFTs, such as a skateboard and a tea shop. Yusuke Nii, the head of anime operations at Dentsu, stated that anime has become a global phenomenon, and the company intends to further pursue this partnership.
Bitcoin Expected to Recover After Weekend Flash Crash
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz believes that Bitcoin (BTC) will rebound from its recent slump and continue to trend higher following a tumultuous weekend of trading caused by Iran’s attack on Israel. According to Cointelegraph Markets Pro, Bitcoin experienced an 8% drop to a three-week low of $61,918 on April 13 after Iran launched multiple strikes against Israel. Novogratz stated in an X post on April 13 that Bitcoin will resume its upward trend after this period of risk aversion. The price drop resulted in approximately $964 million worth of liquidations within a 24-hour period. Novogratz also expressed hope for a peaceful resolution and urged for calm. Bitcoin has already started to recover, with a 1.5% increase in the past day, reaching $65,407.
Other News
Nigeria has traced Nadeem Arjarwalla, a local executive of Binance, to Kenya after he escaped custody, and the country is taking steps to extradite him.
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong is expected to approve the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Monday, April 15. Market watchers anticipate that this approval could trigger another price rally, similar to what occurred after the Bitcoin halving event.
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