Polymarket Plans Token Launch and a $50 Million Raise

Polymarket Plans Token Launch and a $50 Million Raise

Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market, is seeking $50 million in fresh funding. The startup is also exploring the potential launch of its own token, with investors possibly receiving warrants to buy tokens if issued. The proposed token could be used to validate real-world event outcomes, though it's unclear if it would replace or supplement the UMA Protocol, which Polymarket currently uses.

In May, Polymarket raised $70 million through two funding rounds led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The platform has gained attention for its prediction markets, especially tied to the US election, and bets are settled using USDC on the Polygon blockchain. The company has yet to disclose its valuation or the structure of the new fundraising round.

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Celestia Raised $100 Million for Modular Blockchain Expansion

Celestia Foundation, which powers the modular blockchain network Celestia, raised $100 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto. Other investors included Syncracy Capital and Placeholder, bringing total financing for Celestia to $155 million. The network, launched in October 2023, aims to scale other blockchains by offloading data requirements through its “data availability sampling” technology.

As a result, Celestia has earned a spot in the most funded crypto projects in 2024 while TIA pumped 17.29% in 24 hours. Moreover, Celestia developers plan to scale blocks to 1 gigabyte, far exceeding Bitcoin’s current 1-2 megabyte block size. Since its mainnet launch, two dozen rollups have deployed on Celestia. The foundation’s roadmap aims to further scale blockspace while maintaining low latency.

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Treasure DAO Approves to Migrate from Arbitrum to ZKsync

Treasure DAO members voted overwhelmingly (99.5%) to migrate from Arbitrum to ZKsync, a decision aimed at leveraging ZKsync’s ZK Stack technology for its gaming ecosystem. The decentralized gaming console, Treasure, will transition to the Elastic Chain on ZKsync, with a public testnet called "Topaz" already in development.

The migration plan, originally proposed earlier this month, is expected to be completed within 1.5 to 2 months. This marks a departure from Arbitrum Orbit, which was previously planned for the ecosystem. More than 10 blockchain games currently on Treasure will transition to the new environment with the DAO's support. A token swap with the ZKsync Foundation is set to take place soon.

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Australia to Expand Licensing Requirements for Crypto Firms

Australia’s financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), plans to extend licensing requirements to crypto firms beyond just exchanges. The decision aims to regulate most major crypto assets under the Corporations Act, with an update to “Information Paper 225” expected by November.

The Department of the Treasury has also proposed requiring Australian crypto exchanges holding considerable assets to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence. Although the bill may not be introduced until after the federal election, regulators are increasingly concerned about crypto-related risks. Since July 2023, ASIC has shut down over 7,300 scam websites, with 615 tied to cryptocurrency.

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Data of the Day

China still controls over 55% of the global Bitcoin hashrate, despite a nationwide ban on cryptocurrencies in 2021. This surprising dominance highlights Chinese mining pools’ continued strength in the global Bitcoin network, supporting smaller miners across Asia.

However, US mining pools are growing, now controlling around 40% of the hashrate and mainly serving institutional miners. The migration toward US-based miners is slow but steady, according to analysts at CryptoQuant.

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More Breaking News

• Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin after the Federal Reserve’s 50 bps rate cut, driven by rising demand for leveraged long positions in ether futures.
• Analysts at Bernstein suggest a Trump presidency would result in stronger crypto market sentiment due to clearer policy promises.
• Digital asset investment products saw $321 million in inflows last week, with Bitcoin leading gains, while Ether-linked products continued to experience outflows.
• Bitcoin mining firms Riot Platforms and Bitfarms settle their takeover dispute, with Riot agreeing to limit its stake and appoint a new independent director.
• Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that the platform will now share user details with authorities in cases of rule violations, involving illegal content searches.

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