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OpenSea Expands Into the Venture Capital Business
OpenSea Ventures will be led by OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah.
By Eli Tan
Updated May 11, 2023, 5:58 p.m. Published Feb 11, 2022, 6:18 p.m.
Popular non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea is launching an investment arm after raising $300 million at a $13.3 billion valuation in January.
- OpenSea Ventures is dedicated to growing the Web 3 ecosystem “through NFTs, decentralized systems and other novel blockchain uses,” said the company in a blog post.
- Alongside the venture business, OpenSea is also launching Ecosystems Grants, which are “aimed at elevating creators, developers, and passionate community members working to enrich and expand the NFT ecosystem.”
- The venture fund is to be led by OpenSea co-founder Alex Attalah. Among key selling points for potential portfolio companies will be access to the company’s strategic partners, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Standard Crypto, Animoca Brands and Kevin Hartz's A* Capital.
- OpenSea saw more than $5 billion worth of NFTs traded on its platform in January, a new monthly record.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote
The chairman of the former bitcoin miner-turned-ether treasury firm reiterated his view that Ethereum is the future of finance.
What to know:
- Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), urged shareholders to approve an increase in the company's authorized share count from 500 million to 50 billion.
- Lee assured shareholders that the increase is not intended to dilute shares, but instead to enable capital raising, dealmaking, and future share splits.
- Shareholders have until January 14 to vote on the proposal, with the annual meeting scheduled for January 15 in Las Vegas.
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