The march towards Web3 adoption continues despite negative price action in the digital asset market. As Bitcoin and Ethereum approach $23K and $1100, down 65-75% from record highs in November 2021 – banks, corporations, and venture capitalists continue to move forward.
Venture Capital Firm (a16z) founded by Andreessen Horowitz announced the largest crypto venture fund, totaling $4.5B and dedicated to Web3 startups. The firm believes we are now entering the “golden era of Web3” and has raised $7.6B worth of funding for the technology since 2013.
JPMorgan strategists recently replaced real estate with digital assets and hedge funds as their “preferred” alternative assets. Despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s skepticism of Bitcoin over the years, JPMorgan unveiled access to six digital asset funds in 2021 including Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Chipotle Mexican Grill will accept payments in 98 digital assets at US locations. Through integration with digital payments platform Flexa, customers can purchase their burrito bowls with BTC, ETH, SOL, and stablecoins such as USDC and GUSD. Download the Gemini or SPEDN app on a mobile phone to make digital asset payments to over a dozen merchants. Chipotle joins a growing list of food chains, such as McDonalds, Burger King, and ShakeShack, experimenting with digital assets.
Registrations of Web3 domain names broke records in May 2022 on the Ethereum Name Service [ENS]. Dune Analytics reported 356,652 ENS domains were registered last month. Reminiscent of the 90s dotcom days, investors can speculate on domain names such as “Starbucks.eth” or “Walmart.eth”. Users of Web3 domain names can send and receive cryptocurrencies or NFTs without copying and pasting wallet addresses with long strings of letters and numbers.
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