In today’s edition of The Daily, we look at a successful funding round for a developer of a popular cryptocurrency-powered game. We also report on a famous early entrepreneur in the Bitcoin space who has been accused of stealing money to buy Maserati cars, big powerboats and luxury real estate.
Also Read: Lawyer Invests $300 Million to Build Crypto City in the Nevada Desert
Google and Samsung Invest
in Crypto Kitties Developer
Dapper Labs — the developer behind Crypto Kitties, the game that famously clogged up the Ethereum network — has announced that it has raised $15 million in a financing round led by Venrock. The investment arms of Google and Samsung also participated, bringing the total funds raised by the Canadian company to $27.85 million. Additional investors in the round included Coin Fund, Animoca Brands, June Fund, HOF Capital, GBIC, John Pfeffer, and Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of the rock band Muse. Previous investors in Dapper Labs also participated, including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, SV Angel, Digital Currency Group, William Mougayar, Hex Capital, and Rising Tide Fund.
Dapper Labs will use the funds to expand both locally and globally, and has already revealed plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary. In addition, the investment will help the Vancouver-based company to accelerate the build-out of its technology.
“This round of financing was about getting the right partners around the table to bring compelling content to the blockchain — and make sure usability and infrastructure allow for adoption by mainstream consumers,” explained Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs.
Charlie Shrem Accused of Stealing Funds
Charlie Shrem, who is known for running the company Bitinstant during the early days of Bitcoin, has only been out of prison for a little over two years,
