Led by investor and entrepreneur Fernando Garcia, Bridge 3 Labs (B3L) is an Austin-based blockchain startup focused on long-term wealth creation through disruptive Web3 technology. Founded in January of this year, the startup describes itself as “the 1st NFT Venture Studio bringing access to exclusive IRL assets through utility NFT projects.”

Born in Spain and now living in San Francisco, B3L’s CEO and Co-Founder Fernando Garcia has made a name for himself as an unstoppable leader and entrepreneur. He currently holds the position of Vice President of K2 Capital and Senior Vice President at Postlane Partners, having held similar leadership positions at Gladieux Energy, CKC Partners, and Search Fund Accelerator. Fernando is now channeling all of his experience on Bridge 3 Labs, which he is sure will outperform his previous $75M fuel automation technology and distribution business.

With this mission in mind, B3L is bringing together a private community of entrepreneurs and investors from different backgrounds to revolutionize how NFTs create wealth. By sourcing, identifying, and investing in promising teams, the startup not only helps new Web3 projects get off the ground but also brings value to its members. The B3L team has over 30 years of combined experience as founders and leaders of start-ups and mid-stage across the IT, Energy, Luxury Real Estate, and Wine industries.

The project uses its own NFT “B3L Pass” not only to grant its holder access to the exclusive community but also to advanced trading analytic tools, research, educational content, private IRL event invitations, and exclusive rewards. While the use of NFTs as a means to access a community is not new by itself, the highly professional nature of the B3L pass. In addition to this, the team will soon be adding value to the Genesis Collection via “Heirloom” NFTs.

Non-Fungible Tokens have been long criticized for their highly speculative nature and supposedly “lack of value”. Heirloom NFTs address this issue by using tangible high.end luxury experiences and commodities as their backing. At this time, these include a private Bitcoin mining operation, a boutique hotel chateaux, and a world-class winery. The high value and utility of the assets backing these NFTs mean that they will be especially beneficial to long-term holders, resulting in them being an heirloom of sorts as they continue to appreciate in value.

By taking the idea of NFT away from an art-focused technological tool, B3L is looking to make them a more effective and attractive wealth-generating tool. While this would be closer to the idea behind cryptocurrencies, Heirloom NFTs differ in their use of stable IRL assets instead of services and trust. B3L is bringing the best out of the worlds of crypto, NFTs, and luxury assets into a single product, a mix that is sure to be a game changer in the long term.

The post NFTs Changed Art and Gaming Forever: B3L Doesn’t Think That’s Enough appeared first on Grit Daily News.

As anyone who has dealt with decentralized apps or cryptocurrency knows, joining the blockchain space can be overwhelming. Crypto wallets, tokens, cryptocurrency, blockchain networks, gas, addresses, protocols, and exchanges, are only some of the terms a beginner will find. There is no going around it and denying it, blockchain is not the most user-friendly technology out there.

If understanding these terms and navigating them is hard as a user, understanding how they work on the backend and the complex infrastructure that supports it can be even harder. In fact, ease of development is considered by many as one of the biggest issues preventing corporations from actively using blockchain. Not only are blockchain developers in limited supply but the work required to transform existing infrastructure into its decentralized version can also result in high costs.

With blockchain still being a young technology, there are also many uncertainties that need to be dealt with. For example, the blockchain trilemma is pretty much still a thing, the bad implementation of blockchain can result in millionaire hacks, and regulatory uncertainty means more risks. While new and crowd-funded projects can afford to risk building on the blockchain, big corporations do not.

It is not surprising that many projects were born over the past few years with the aim to ease these concerns. Some projects promise to bring the best of the centralized and decentralized world to deal with the trilemma, while others claim to be invulnerable or highly resistant to attacks. However, few projects seem to be focusing on the topic of easing concerns around regulation.

While President Biden’s executive order on crypto was received as good news by the crypto community, it is uncertain what the results will be. In the past, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken hostile actions against crypto companies like Coinschedule, Ripple, WisdomTree, and LBRY.  These actions have relied primarily on the claims that some cryptocurrencies and NFTs should be considered a security and as such, are under their jurisdiction.

To deal with this issue, Pocketful of Quarters came up with a unique “‘no Action’ ERC-20 Token” which can be used by projects in the gaming industry while remaining compliant with SEC regulations. This is possible due to the company being the only one to get a no-action letter from the SEC, granting its token “consumer product” status. While unique in its kind so far, the company’s approach has proven to be not only innovative but impactful in the space.

Pocketful of Quarters’ COO Tim Tello joined  CryptoOracle’s Co-Founder Lou Kerner in a fireside chat during Grit Daily House. The chat, which took place during Consensus 2022, provided attendees with unique insights on how this unique token could not only change the gaming industry but also the blockchain space.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and to hear what Joseph had to say, worry not. You will be able to watch the fireside chat in the video below and find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel.

The post Struggling to Adopt Blockchain? Meet the Token That Could Change That! appeared first on Grit Daily News.

According to the Blockchain Game Alliance and DappRadar’s Q1 of 2022 report, $2.5 billion were raised by blockchain games during the first quarter. If this trend was to continue, investments would increase by 150% when compared to last year, with activity having grown already by 2,000%.

This growth is not fortuitous but the result of technologies like NFTs, Web3, and the metaverse gaining relevance in the blockchain and mainstream tech spaces. In fact, blockchain gaming’s impact on the blockchain space has been so strong that its activity accounts for 52% of all blockchain activity.

Games like Axie Infinity, Splinterlands, Alien Worlds, Crazy Defense Heroes, Sky Mavis, and The Sandbox are some of the games leading to the rise of blockchain gaming. Not only have these games allowed players all around the world to generate economic gains but they have also introduced innovative mechanics and partnerships.  An example of this is The Sandbox’s recent partnership with Time Magazine to develop “Time Square”, a metaverse version of NYC’s iconic intersection.

“The Sandbox is often viewed as a ‘virtual Manhattan’, a vibrant space alive with culture, entertainment, and brands, where anyone can discover, learn, work, meet new people, play, dance, and find amazing new opportunities,” said The Sandbox’s Co-Founder and COO Sebastien Borget in the announcement. “By partnering with TIME, we’re adding TIMEPieces as the beating heart and soul of this virtual Manhattan, where a design call for virtual architects will be held in TIME Square, a place in our creative metaverse for brands and creators.”

But what is the reason behind gamers’ captivation with blockchain gaming? The reason is simple: The play-to-earn model. Historically, gamers have been unable to profit from playing their favorite games as most developers don’t allow real money transactions. While the reasons for this decision vary, they are often related to an attempt to prevent botting, account hacking/sharing, and legal issues.

The result is that most players don’t truly own their in-game assets as they can’t sell them nor take them out of the game ecosystem. Blockchain changed this by introducing NFTs and crypto, facilitating the creation of open marketplaces for gamers to trade their assets. This, in addition to being able to move assets out of the game ecosystem, result in true ownership.

As part of Grit Daily House during Consensus 2022, attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from one of the pioneers shaping the future of blockchain gaming. PixelSmarter’s Founder & DashLeague Creator Joseph Lazukin sat with Entrepreneur Magazine’s Jeff Hunter to talk about the opportunities and challenges in the blockchain gaming industry.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and to hear what Joseph had to say, worry not. You will be able to watch the fireside chat in the video below and find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel.

The post The Future of Web3 Gaming and How It Is Driving Blockchain Activity appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Less than one month ago, Austin hosted for the first time what has been one of the most important conferences in the crypto space since 2015: Consensus 2022. The city is also known for hosting South by Southwest “SXSW”, the Enterprise Digital Asset Summit, DCentral, ETH Austin, BitBlockBoom,  and many more. In addition to this, Austin is also home to companies like Gemini, Core Scientific, Talos Digital, and Scala.

When keeping in mind these events and companies, it is easy to understand the reasons behind Musk’s prediction. Austin is a vibrant city in which disruptive tech is not only welcome but has been encouraged over the past years. Back in 2018, Wanchain’s president Dustin Byington was already telling Crunchbase:

“Austin is a natural—and currently budding—hub for cryptocurrency. It has a strong tech and startup community, a big Libertarian influence which the crypto ethos is built off of, and the macro trend of companies moving to Texas because of the lack of state income tax—which could really benefit this new industry.”

Well, Austin has only gotten more relevant in the tech industry since these comments and now, it seems to be only a matter of sustaining organic growth. While the bay area still is the biggest tech hub in the US after having captivated top talent for years, this might be changing. The region’s inability to deal with spiking housing/living prices meant that, over time, the influx of workers and companies shifted directions, with remote working being a major factor.

But what are the reasons that make Austin so attractive to the FinTech, Crypto, and blockchain industries? This was one of the topics discussed in the “Meet Austin’s FinTech Scene” panel, which took place during Grit Daily House at Consensus 2022. Axios’ Reporter Asher Price sat with Henry Collective’s Founder & General Partner Tyler Knight and Silverton Partners’ Managing Partner Morgan Flager to talk all about the city’s vibrant FinTech scene.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and to hear what these experts have to say on the future of Austin as a FinTech hub, worry not. You will be able to watch the panel in the video below and find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel.

The post Meet Austin’s FinTech Scene: Why Texas’ Capital Might Become the Next FinTech Hub appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Concerns around the ethical implications of blockchain technology have been around since its early days. However, as the technology gained relevance, it would eventually become one of the major sources of both positive and negative criticism. Probably the biggest criticism that blockchain technology has had to face was when the New York Times published a piece on Bitcoin’s environmental impact.

The piece, titled “In Coinbase’s Rise, a Reminder: Cryptocurrencies Use Lots of Energy”, brought further attention to existing concerns on Proof-of-work’s energy consumption. Many articles and columns would show up over the next few days, with companies like Square and Citi weighing in. While the topic of Bitcoin’s use case is certainly not in the spotlight nowadays, it remains relevant.

More recently, Non-Fungible Tokens have also risen to prominence as celebrities and brands around the world started using and advocating them. During the NFT craze, thousands of people joined the discussion on how ethical NFTs really were. While supporters defended their potential use cases and their role in democratizing art, detractors pointed at the financial implications of speculation around them and their hypocrisy.

Debate on the ethics of new technologies is nothing new. The International Journal of Ethics published by The University of Chicago Press was already publishing about the topic back in 1923. In an article titled “Some Ethical Consequences of the Industrial Revolution”, Austin Freeman referred to the industrial revolution by saying:

“This ethical atrophy represents the subsidence to a lower level of essential civilization. For civilization, as we have agreed, is based upon the recognition by man of his duty towards his neighbour; of which none can be more obvious than that of honesty and fair dealing.”

Today, most of us don’t think of the technical revolution as a negative but quite the opposite. Just like that, most criticism toward NFT, blockchain, and crypto, is more about their current status… Not about the technology itself. When it comes to investing in a socially responsible manner, it is not about investing in crypto or not, but the how.

The “The Math of Socially Responsible Investing in Blockchain & the Metaverse” panel saw experts discuss this topic as part of Grit Daily House during Consensus 2022. Leah Callon-Butler, Director at Emfarsis; Evin Cheikosman, Policy Analyst at World Economic Forum; and Nisa Amoils, Managing Partner at A100x Ventures, took to the stage to share their insights, opinions, and experience with the attendees.

Moderated by Linqto’s Chief Strategy Officer Karim Nurani, panelists discussed topics such as environmental concerns around blockchain, the regulation of fintech, and the role of women in developing countries. If you want to know what these experts have to say, you can watch the entire panel in the video below. You can also find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel!

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Ever since NFTs went mainstream, their potential was hidden by the noise generated by media, speculators, and the saturation of the market. It is not surprising that NFTs generated a lot of criticisms, getting to the point that one of its co-inventors, Anil Dash, wrote for The Atlantic:

“When we invented non-fungible tokens, we were trying to protect artists. But tech-world opportunism has struck again.”

The NFT craze certainly opened the doors for many creators looking to gain agency over their works, becoming able to sell them and protect them against appropriation by third parties. Unfortunately, the monetary interest behind NFTs gave place to increasing centralization that resulted not only in single-points of failure and corporate greed but also in a lack of innovation around the technology.

Now, celebrities like Serena Williams, MC Hammer, Jimmy Fallon, and Reese Witherspoon are changing their NFT profile picture as the craze dies and media attention shifts. Sure, stars like Cristiano Ronaldo might be joining the space but in general, it seems that NFTs are returning to their roots: empowering artists and collectors.

While NFTs have far more uses than art, the interest shown by brokers like Christie’s and Sotheby’s has allowed NFTs to make it into the world of fine art. With artists already looking to innovate and prepare for the trends that are coming as web3, the metaverse, and the entire blockchain ecosystem continue to evolve.

As part of Grit Daily House during Consensus 2022, Edge of NFT’s Co-host and Co-Founder Josh Kriger moderated the “How Do You “Style” Your NFT?” panel. Amanda Terry, Metagood’s CEO and Co-Founder; Jared Christopherson, OneOf’s Co-Founder; and Mark Murrell, Haddie’s Bay Club’s CEO and Chief Curator shared their expert insights on the topic.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and hear what these panelists have to say about this topic, worry not. You will be able to watch the panel in the video below and learn what the experts are saying about styling your NFTs in the current market. You can also find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel!

The post Getting Ready for The Next NFT Craze? Here is How to “Style” Your NFT! appeared first on Grit Daily News.

According to a report by Credit Suisse, not only are women less likely to hold executive leadership positions but they also receive significantly less funding. Data shows that in Europe, all-male funding teams receive 93% of all capital invested, with only 2% going to all-female teams. This, when combined with the fact that the percentage of women in management positions in companies around the world is only 19.9%, shows a clear bias against feminine stereotypes.

While the entrepreneurial gender gap certainly seems to be closing thanks to the efforts of many organizations and private individuals, there is a lot of work to be done. With most efforts having focused on female representation in leadership positions until now, venture capital financing for female-led teams and the empowerment of female limited/general partners seems to be the next step.

The Bridge is looking to do just that by connecting limited partners with emerging female-led technology VC funds. Founded in 2020, the organization has been fulfilling this mission by organizing “The Bridge Conference”, an invite-only event focused on providing resources to connect both parties, presenting emerging funds, and offering high-quality content.

With more than 36 commitments having already been made through The Bridge to emerging fund female managers, the organization launched its new initiative earlier in June. Known as Bridge Funding Global, the platform relies on a selection committee formed by US top institutional and family office investors. The committee will include 20 permanent judges who will help select the top female GMs to become the first members.

Female GPs interested in becoming members will be able to apply twice a year, with the cap being reached once 100 GP members are selected. The judges, who collectively manage over 2 trillion, will take into consideration the program’s promises to the community, which include:

• Create meaningful and personalized connections
• Be data and growth centric
• Keep a focused, directed, unbiased, and curated access to the community
• Increase transparency on the LP landscape 
• Engage ecosystem partners to ensure the best solutions and support to emerging VC managers

Competition is expected to be high given the increasing interest that The Bridge Conference has received over the past years. The last edition, which took place back in May, saw the participation of 40 LPs and 40 female GPs chosen out of 197 applicants, with a total of 36 commitments taking place. With applications closing on July 1st, there is still time to apply.

The post The Bridge Launches New Initiative to Fight Entrepreneurial Gender Gap appeared first on Grit Daily News.

With investors currently looking for the best way to deal with the inconsistencies of the current economic landscape, caution seems to be the law of the land across markets. As such, investors are choosing to focus on projects generating actual value instead of their potential, status, or connections. This means that at this time, a startup with a positive balance sheet has a unique opportunity to beat unicorns when it comes to raising pre-IPO funding.

Surprisingly, Venture Capitalists in the crypto ecosystem seem to have remained more cool-headed than their stock counterparts. It is well known by now that Andreessen Horowitz raised a $4.5 billion crypto fund. However, other Crypto investors have also achieved the same, with Sequoia raising $500 million back in May and Binance lab doing the same in early June.

What all of these funds have in common is their heavy focus on Web3 projects, a continuation of a trend that has been going on for several months. The popularity of Web3 in the tech world has been so overwhelming that tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have been unable to deal with it. Despite having been the mecca for tech employees for more than a decade, these companies have seen an exodus of top talent looking to work in Web3.

While Web3 is only one of the niches driving the pre-IPO deal flow in the blockchain space, its relevance is of special significance. This is especially true due to the criticism Web3 has received from figures like Jack Dorsey, Aaron Levie, Stephen Diehl, and Molly White. Despite this criticism, investors like Marc Andreessen are extremely bullish on Web 3, going as far as saying:

“The easiest way to think about it is: When you get something like this, this sort of collective effect that has a movement behind it and is attracting many of the world’s smartest people to work on it… basically the criticisms end up playing out differently than the critics think. These critics make a long list of all the problems but these genius engineers and entrepreneurs look at that list of problems as a list of opportunities.”

The question “Where Is the Pre-IPO Deal Flow?” was the main topic of one of the panels at Grit Daily House earlier this month. Karim Nurani, Chief Strategy Officer at Linqto; Evan Greenberg Co-Founder of Blockchain Beach; and Marc Weill, Senior Advisor at Two Sigma Ventures, sat to share the unique environment that has emerged with the latest market winter.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and to hear what these panelists have to say about this topic, worry not. You will be able to watch the panel in the video below and find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel.

The post Crypto Startup Funding Is Still Going Strong, but Where Is the Pre-IPO Deal Flow? appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Back on May 25, Andressen Horowitz doubled down on blockchain when it announced the raising of a $4.5 billion crypto fund. The move took place amid a crash that had resulted in many investors fleeing the crypto market. The fund, which doubled the size of the firm’s latest fund, also followed the announcement of a new crypto research team back in April. Arianna Simpson, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, referred to the fund’s motivation by telling CNBC:

“Bear markets are often when the best opportunities come about when people are actually able to focus on building technology rather than getting distracted by short-term price activity.”

While the firm’s move has been one of the most significant news of the past month, many other organizations are investing heavily in crypto startups. This has been especially true when it comes to big players in the space, with companies like Binance and KuCoin forming their own investment and incubation programs. 

Binance Labs raised $500 million earlier this month to “boost blockchain, Web3, and value-building technologies” with participation from DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital. KuCoin, on the other hand, raised $150 million back in May during a funding round to expand its trading services with the mission “to support the growth of Web 3.0 and the crypto markets.”

With the crypto market capitalization going under the $1 trillion mark, Venture Capitalists have certainly taken a more measured approach when investing in crypto startups. However, as seen during Consensus 2022, most of them remain optimistic about crypto adoption and the future of blockchain, crypto, and Web3.

Xinlu YU, Head of KuCoin Labs; Jason Urban, Co-Head Galaxy Digital Trading at Galaxy Digital; and Stefan Rust, Founder of Laguna joined Grit Daily House as part of Consensus 2022. During the event, they sat with Linqto’s Chief Strategy Officer Karim Nurani to talk all about Crypto Investment Trends in 2022.

If you missed the chance to attend Grit Daily House in person and want to hear what these experts in the DeFi, Venture Capitalism, and crypto incubating industries have to say about crypto investment trends, worry not. You will be able to watch the panel in the video below and find our other panels on Grit Daily’s official YouTube Channel.

The post How Is the Crypto Crash Affecting Investment Trends? appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Founded in 2020 and based in Boston by Sean Mack, Lux Algo was born with the mission to bring clarity to investors dealing with technical indicators. To do this, the startup launched a suite of tools on TradingView and Discord designed to help investors separate the noise from meaning when dealing with technical indicators. Advanced charting, profiles, signaling, and other tools are just some of the features developed by the team for this purpose.

At this time, Lux Algo’s platform is now used by over 50k traders all around the world, becoming one of the most popular vendors of technical analysis indicators. The platform’s tools can be used for scalping, swing trading, day trading, options trading, and much more across the stocks, indices, forex, futures, currencies, and commodities markets. 

As most beginners won’t be familiar with multiple investment strategies and markets, Lux Algo also gives special importance to education beyond platform tutorials. The startup offers resources that cover topics ranging from the basics of trading to advanced technical analysis indicators. This, in combination with the simplicity of the platform, makes for a tool that can help beginners navigate the current chaos.

Lux Algo’s Version 5, which was launched in late May of this year, is especially reflective of the startup’s mission. The release introduced presets designed to let users display multiple features based on their trading style. New oscillators and overlay indicators were introduced, in addition to a new toolkit, allowing users to better choose the indicator for specific market conditions.

With the markets being more volatile than ever, being on top of sudden fluctuations is increasingly important. Lux Algo also gives access to fine-tuned automated alerts that can be triggered by any condition the user sets for any specific asset. These alerts further increase the dynamism that the platform brings to the table, which is especially useful for high-frequency traders or long-term traders who want to avoid surprises.

In its effort to make smart investing as easy as possible, the Lux Algo team has also prioritized the creation of a strong community. The project’s official Discord server has over 100k users connected by their interest in trading. The server offers channels to discuss all things related to the platform, the markets, investment strategies, news, and much more. 

While there certainly is an emphasis on beginners and making technical analysis as easy as possible, this doesn’t mean that Lux Algo doesn’t pack a punch. In fact, the open-source projects run by Lux Algo in TradingView are some of the most popular. There are a total of 50 scripts liked by over 121k users, all of them covering a vast range of use cases and markets. The open-source nature of the scripts also means anyone can provide feedback, report bugs, and adapt them to their specific needs.

The democratization of the markets is a process that has gained momentum over the past years, with the fintech industry driving the effort. Unfortunately, opening the doors to the markets is not enough to truly level the playing field. Easing the technical barriers via powerful yet simple tools and education is just as important, especially during tumultuous times.

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