Blockchain Founders Fund

Last Week in Blockchain - 24th May, 2026 🚨 1. Trump announced a peace agreement with Iran has been "largely negotiated," including reopening the Strait of Hormuz. BTC rebounded from $74.2K to $77.3K, recovering a 4% intraday slide. Polymarket's US-Iran peace contracts hit $154M in volume. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/gNtV74nf] 2. Tether acquired SoftBank's entire stake in Twenty One Capital (XXI), consolidating majority control over 43.5K BTC as SoftBank exits the board. Tether is advancing a merger of XXI with Strike and Elektron Energy. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/gZGkbZ6s] 3. Blockchain.com filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC, joining Kraken, Circle, and Gemini in the crypto IPO pipeline. Last valued at $14B in 2022. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/gge--8_E] 4. The DOJ opened a sanctions evasion investigation into Binance over Iran-linked crypto flows during the conflict period. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/dti5b4B] 5. SEC Chair Atkins rejected applications for prediction-market-based investment funds, ruling that prediction contracts do not qualify as securities under the Investment Company Act. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/dti5b4B] #Web3 #Blockchain #News

$200B industry. 17-vendor tech stacks. 90-day payment delays. Today, a single Nasdaq ticker started replacing all of it. Roundtable (NASDAQ: RTB) began trading today! What just listed is the full-stack enterprise platform combining AI, DeFi, and Web3 for the $200B premium media industry. Decentralized publishing, real-time blockchain payments, IP protection, syndication, business intelligence, and an end-to-end video stack, all in one integration that replaces what some media companies have been running across 17 vendors. Enormous congratulations to James C. Heckman, Eyal Hertzog, Bill Sornsin, Brock Pierce and Walton Comer for the vision. To William Heckman, Jackson Alton Hinkle, Chris , Kade Kistner, Alp G., Mehab Q, Liz , Lior Cohen Avioz, Or Bachar, Steven Fletcher, Sefi Golan, Guy B., you built the thing that made today possible. Honored to be part of the journey alongside David Bailey, Craig Shapiro, Jason Dorsett, Victor Vedovato, Luke Stokes, Craig Sellars, Jan Ritch-Frel, Michael Strong, Rob, Robert Jarrin, Dillon Bracken, Jon Skaggs, Ann Barnes, Trent Barnes, Kyle Chassé, Michael Alexander, Scott Melker, Mario Nawfal, and Zack. Special shout to the Blockchain Founders Fund team. Mansoor, Nirav, Hossam, Ahan, Ernest and everyone who put in the hours on diligence, structuring, and support. You know what this one took. The $200B media industry just got a new operating system. NASDAQ: RTB. Day one. https://lnkd.in/gfEN_Yts

Last Week in Blockchain - 10th May, 2026 🚨 1. Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti for $4.2B ($1.85B in assumed debt, $2.35B in stock), the largest crypto-linked acquisition ever. Equiniti serves ~3,000 issuer clients, 20M shareholders, and processes $500B in annual payments. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/gKQv_yc5] 2. BlackRock filed with the SEC to launch two tokenized money market funds on Ethereum targeting stablecoin holders, including a digital share class of its $6.1B Treasury liquidity fund (BSTBL). The move builds on BUIDL, now at $2.5B+ AUM across eight blockchains. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/gfAtGAkW] 3. Securitize received FINRA approval to custody tokenized securities within its broker-dealer, becoming the first to offer underwriting, custody, and atomic on-chain settlement against stablecoins in a single regulated entity. [The Block: https://lnkd.in/esvc88nd] 4. South Korea's Finance Ministry confirmed a 22% tax on crypto gains above KRW 2.5M (~$1,800) takes effect January 2027, ending years of delays. The rule applies to an estimated 13.26M investors. [crypto.news: https://lnkd.in/gZPnfGey] 5. Kraken parent Payward agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm Reap for up to $600M in cash and stock, adding card issuance and cross-border settlement to its B2B platform. The deal values Payward at $20B. [Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/gb7eaFvQ] What's your take on these developments? Share your thoughts in the comments. #Crypto #Web3 #Blockchain #News

Today is a defining moment for Kemet Trading . We're partnering with Coinbase, and Coinbase Ventures is investing in us as part of the partnership. Coinbase Institutional clients can now execute sophisticated derivatives strategies across Coinbase Exchange, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, Coinbase International Exchange, and Deribit — all through Kemet's platform. Coinbase's acquisition of Deribit gave them the most comprehensive derivatives offering in crypto. Institutional clients running multi-leg options strategies, spread trades, and delta-hedged positions need expanded institutional-grade derivatives execution — the workflow layer that turns those venues into a unified institutional stack. That's the gap Kemet fills. We started Kemet on the bet that crypto derivatives infrastructure would need to look more like traditional markets — proper OEMS, PMS, smart routing, real risk management. Coinbase choosing us as their preferred OEMS partner for institutional derivatives is meaningful validation of that thesis. To the Kemet team — none of this happens without you. To Greg Tusar, Liz Martin, Luuk Strijers , Lauren Abendschein, Usman Naeem, Aklil Ibssa, Samuel Hoebelheinrich and the broader Coinbase team — thank you for believing in what we're building and for putting Coinbase's name behind us. The work starts now. We have a lot of clients to win, a lot of product to build, and a lot of trust to earn. Excited for what comes next. Read more: official press release link in the comments

Fantasy sports is projected to become a $56B industry and is still growing. The US, UK, India, France, Germany, the numbers compound every year. What it proved is more significant than what it built. Fantasy extended fan attention beyond tribal allegiance. A lifelong Liverpool supporter tracking a Real Madrid midfielder's assist count because of a fantasy points table. That's a meaningful behavior shift and it happened at scale. That behavior change is the signal. Fantasy captured one expression of it: pre-game, weekly, individual. The live, social, real-time expression remains largely unaddressed. The infrastructure to serve it is now being built. JOA came out of stealth with its Live Link Sports platform, AI-driven real-time fan experiences synced to live broadcasts, and the strategic acquisition of GreenPark Sports (Acquired). For the deeper thesis on where this is heading, read Aly Madhavji's analysis: https://lnkd.in/gE5wdKQ7 #FanEngagement #Web3Infrastructure #SportsTech

Last Week in Blockchain - 1st May, 2026 🚨 1. The EU imposed a total sectoral ban on all Russian crypto providers and DeFi platforms, effective May 24, also prohibiting the digital ruble and RUBx stablecoin. The measures target the A7A5 settlement network ($119B+ processed) and designate Kyrgyz exchange TengriCoin. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/gCb4GBuz] 2. The Fed held rates at 3.5-3.75% in Powell's final meeting as chair, with four FOMC dissents for the first time since 1992. The Senate Banking Committee advanced Kevin Warsh's nomination 13-11 the same day, with full Senate vote expected the week of May 11. [CNBC: https://lnkd.in/gJTp2RE4] 3. TRM Labs reported North Korean hackers account for 76% of all crypto hack losses in 2026 (~$600M), with the $285M Drift Protocol and $292M KelpDAO exploits together draining $577M in 18 days. Cumulative DPRK-attributed crypto theft now exceeds $6B since 2017. [The Block: https://lnkd.in/gD4y7VA4] 4. Western Union confirmed its Solana-based USDPT stablecoin launches in May via Anchorage Digital Bank, targeting agent settlements across 200+ countries as a SWIFT alternative. [Cryptopolitan: https://lnkd.in/gkrv_Y5j] 5. Strategy acquired 3,273 BTC for ~$255M at ~$77.9K per coin, bringing total holdings to 818,334 BTC (~$61.81B) at an average cost of ~$75.5K. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/gWxenSJj] What's your take on these developments? Share your thoughts in the comments. #Blockchain #Crypto #Web3 #News

📣 Big news: Roundtable is merging with RYVYL (NASDAQ: RVYL) and together they are coming for the entire media stack. The average media company runs up to 17 vendors to publish a single piece of content. Hosting, CMS, analytics, ad operations, payments, rights management, DRM, CDN, identity, billing, tax, compliance, moderation, translation, attribution, archival, and distribution. Each one takes a cut. Each one owns a piece of your data. Each one slows you down. Roundtable consolidates all 17 into a single stack:  • AI runs the operations  • DeFi handles monetization with real-time payouts  • Web3 gives creators real ownership of their IP No 90-day payment cycles. No intermediaries eroding margin. No platforms standing between creators and their audiences. This is what media infrastructure looks like when it's built from first principles, not bolted onto a legacy stack. 📰 Full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gMArSUqq 👥 Leadership and founding team: · James C. Heckman (CEO; founder of Maven/Arena Group; previously Fox, Yahoo, NFL)  · Walton Comer (Chairman; co-founder of XBTO; founding investor in Deribit)  · Eyal Hertzog (Co-Founder; co-founder of Bancor; inventor of LP and AMM models)  · Bill Sornsin (COO/CFO; co-founder of Maven)  · David Bailey (Co-Founder; CEO of BTC Inc and Bitcoin Magazine) · Blockchain Founders Fund  · Michael Alexander (Co-Founder; former CEO of Jefferies Asia)  · W. Graeme Roustan ICD.D (Co-Founder; CEO of The Hockey News; former Chairman of Bauer)  · Brock Pierce (Co-Founder; co-founder of Tether and Block.one)  · Liz Larson (Network Development)  · George Oliva (incoming Chief Accounting Officer)  · Steven Fletcher (Board; previously Goldman Sachs) 🎙️ Anchor creator partners:  Mario Nawfal, Scott Melker, Aaron Arnold, Austin Arnold, George Tung, David Gokhshtein, Wendy O, Gav Blaxberg, Kyle Chassé, Kelly Kellam, Nick Valdez, and Joshua Jake.

Our Head of Investments, Ahan Rajgor, is joining the jury at 10X Founders Demo Day. Founders, this is the room to be in. See you May 1. 

Last Week in Blockchain - April 26, 2026 1. North Korea's Lazarus Group drained $292M in rsETH from Kelp DAO's LayerZero bridge on Apr 18, the largest DeFi exploit of 2026. The attack triggered $13B in TVL outflows, emergency freezes across nine protocols, and left Aave facing ~$200M in bad debt. A recovery effort has raised ~$160M so far. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/epp3cstq] 2. Justin Sun sued Trump-backed World Liberty Financial on Apr 21, alleging it froze ~$75M in WLFI tokens via an undisclosed smart contract blacklist, stripped his governance rights, and threatened to burn his holdings. WLFI dropped 15% to a record low. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/efdtwmPs] 3. BlackRock's IBIT options open interest hit $27.61B on Apr 25, surpassing Deribit's $26.90B for the first time, closing the gap with the nine-year-old offshore platform in just two years. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/eeP_WKex] 4. Attackers exploited a zero-day in Litecoin's MWEB privacy layer on Apr 25, triggering a 13-block chain reorganization that rewound ~32 minutes of network activity. GitHub commits show the consensus bug was privately patched four weeks earlier, but unpatched mining nodes remained vulnerable. Double-spend attempts hit several cross-chain swap protocols. [CoinDesk: https://lnkd.in/exc-3pHx] 5. The UK Treasury announced a single regulatory framework covering stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and traditional payments, with £1M in funding for the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology and new legislation to reduce compliance burdens for stablecoin payment providers. [The Block: https://lnkd.in/dSm88m6p] What's your take on these developments? Share your thoughts in the comments. #News #Bitcoin #Crypto #Web3