Sometimes water tastes better when it’s in a cool-looking can. At least that’s the thesis behind Liquid Death, a 3-year-old startup that is already valued at $700 million following its latest round of financing. The $70 million investment was led by Science Ventures, with participation from other investors including Live Nation Entertainment Inc., music group Swedish House Mafia and comedian Whitney Cummings. Read more here.
In a new contributed article for Staffing Insider, KarmaCheck’s co-founder and CEO, Eric Ly, shares his perspective on how the travel industry can prevent the looming travel breakdown in a tight labor market. Read the article here.
Having completed a $7 million investment round, 3,000 NFTs will be minted and distributed on July 15 to fans wanting to help plan the SUPERF3ST festival. Read more here.
The NFT party is not over; it’s just on ice. Here’s how to weather the elements. For NFT or crypto creators, the article outlines three ideas for building heat during the crypto winter. One idea is to “go beyond the NFT.” Velvet Sea Ventures, for example, is helping the art community SUPERF3ST to launch a music festival for the growing NFT and Crypto community during NFT.NYC this year. The goal …
Our own, Michael Lazerow was a guest on My Social Life Podcast to discuss the importance of building strong crypto communities and what unique NFT ventures are on his horizon. NFTs are NOT the product; the product is community. View the podcast here.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has challenged crypto exchanges on their commitment to immutable transactions. Elementus CEO and Co-founder Max Galka joined CoinDesk TV’s”First Mover” to share his take on crypto’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war, discussing ransomware, Russia, and how crypto asset exchanges can use blockchain analytics technology to proactively clean up the crypto space (segment starts ~2:40): Watch the segment here.
The exchanges have resisted blocking Russian users from using their services. But technology exists that might help them to maintain their principles and identify bad actors. Many companies have withdrawn from Russia to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So far, major cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. have resisted, saying they won’t do it unilaterally. Read more here.
Max Galka, CEO, founder, and chief data scientist at Elementus, agreed. While he didn’t think the threat of regime change was credible, ransomware inside a federal or national government is still a major crisis. “If I were in the shoes of the Costa Rican government, I would be extremely nervous,” he said. “And the truth is, even they probably don’t know the full extent of what the ransomware could do.” He …
Cryptocurrency hacks are getting bigger. On Sunday, a hacker exploited a new algorithmic stablecoin project called Beanstalk and drained it of $182 million worth of digital assets. Hackers are finding larger exploits amid the increase of decentralized finance, or DeFi, projects. Hackers tend to target new protocols that haven’t been fully tested and vetted, said Max Galka, chief executive of crypto forensics firm Elementus. Read WSJ article here.
ESPN and Autograph, the Web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady that is pioneering a new era of digital experiences, today announced a multi-year deal for ESPN’s first NFT. The collaboration kicks off with a NFT collection based on Man in the Arena: Tom Brady, the 10-part ESPN+ documentary series produced by Religion of Sports, a media company in which Brady is also a co-founder. Read more.
