Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($7,690): +4% / -42%
- ETH ($615): +7% / -15%
- LTC ($125): +5% / -43%
- XRP ($0.66): +8% / -66%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Initial coin offerings in 2018 have already surpassed the amount raised in all of 2017, even as government officials from China to the US clamp down on offerings and incidents of fraud continue. ICOs have raised more than $9 billion this year, compared with less than $4 billion in all of 2017, according to ICO data tracker CoinSchedule. Link.

- Block.one is on track to raise $4 billion in its ICO, eclipsing the world’s largest IPOs on stock exchanges this year, despite not having a live flagship product. The system will use its cryptocurrency EOS to support more efficient operations for decentralized applications than existing platforms such as Ethereum, but the product roadmap and use of funds remain unclear. Early bitcoin investor Brock Pierce is an advisor to the company. Link.

- Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange based on daily trading volume, announces a $1 billion fund to invest in blockchain-based projects. The fund will be denominated in Binance’s BNB coin, and will invest in both startups and crypto-focused funds with at least $100 million in AUM. Binance also announced its first incubation project with Dache Coin, a new blockchain-based ride hailing service started by Chen Waxing, founder of Kuaidi Dache, which merged with Didi Dache to become the Chinese ride hailing giant known as Didi Kuaidi (now Didi Chuxing). Link.

- Mary Meeker’s 2018 Internet Trends report shows interest in crypto ‘exploding’ since January of last year. According to the report, “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies” was one of the top courses of 2017 at Princeton University. The report also shows that Coinbase user base grew 4x in 2017. Link.

- Sequoia Partner Matt Huang plans to leave the firm to start a new cryptocurrency fund with Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase. Sequoia will continue to invest in blockchain technologies and is making a substantial commitment to Huang and Ehrsam’s new fund. Link.

- Headphones maker Monster is planning a $300 milion ICO, according to a filing with the SEC. Monster intends to use the capital to build the Monster Money Network, a new e-commerce site for selling its products online. To hedge itself, Monster is also issuing 75 million shares of common stock. If the e-commerce plan doesn’t work, Monster Products will allow investors to redeem tokens for shares of stock at a four-to-one ratio rather than return their funds. Link.

- Blockchain and cryptocurrency startup Paxos raises $65 million from investors including RRE Ventures and Liberty City Ventures. Paxos, which was founding in 2012 as bitcoin exchange itBit, will use the capital to expand its blockchain-based services to financial institutions as well as continue to improve operations of itBit, which it continues to operate. The company has raised $93 million to date. Link.

- Lympo, a blockchain-based app that incentivizes users to meet fitness goals with crypto rewards, announces a partnership with Dallas Mavericks. The partnership includes plans to introduce a way for users to pay for tickets to see the Dallas Mavericks with the LYM tokens they earn using the app. Dallas Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban said: “The Mavericks found clear alignment with Lympo’s mission to create a healthier world by using he latest technology to encourage fitness and healthy living in a whole new way. Through the platform, fans will be able to earn free tickets and merchandise by completing Mavericks fitness challenges on the Lympo app.” Link.

- Bittrex, a Seattle-based crypto exchange, is working on banking agreements that will allow corporate customers to trade in US dollars. To date, Bittrex has focused on crypto-to-crypto swaps on over 200 digital coins. Bittrex has more than 3 million customers globally and will be launching fiat trading for Bitcoin, Tether, and TrueUSD. Link.

- imToken, which claims to be the world’s largest Ethereum wallet, announces a $10 million Series A led by IDG Capital. The capital will be used to expand in Asia and the US, as well as adding new features including support for bitcoin, EOS, and other cryptocurrencies. imToken’s core market is currently China. The company supports 30,000 tokens, claims more than 4 millions monthly active users and says it handled $35 million in pass-through transactions last year. In the US, imToken is competing against both digital and hardware wallet providers such as MyEtherWallet, Coinbase, and Ledger Nano S. Link.

- Estonia scaled down its plan to create a national cryptocurrency after it drew criticism from Mario Draghi and local banking authorities. The Baltic country dropped plans to peg these digital tokens to the euro or offer them to all citizens. Instead, they will be given as an incentive to e-residents, foreigners who use Estonia’s electronic ID to remotely sign documents and set up companies. Link.

- TRON (TRX), the tenth largest crypto by market cap, launched a beta version of its independent blockchain as part of its transition away from the Ethereum blockchain. TRON hopes to compete with Ethereum in providing a platform to support decentralization application development. TRON’s blockchain will use the proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. Link.

- MasterCard submitted a patent application to store coupon data on a blockchain, to validate transactions and ensure redemption by authorized individuals. The idea is that blockchain can help reduce the risk of data manipulation that accompanies the use of outdated systems that store coupon data. Link.

- Supply chain management firm Tradeshift announces plans to expand into blockchain, following a $250 million Series E funding round led by Goldman Sachs and PSP Investments. The round brought Tradeshift’s total funding to more than $400 million and values the firm at $1.1 billion. Link.

- Computer hardware giant Asus announces a new motherboard that can support up to 20 GPUs, aimed specifically at crypto miners. Asus is the latest hardware company looking to move into the crypto space, following in the footsteps of AMD and Nvidia who have both seen their bottom lines boosted thanks to demand from miners for GPUs. Link.