Photographer: Camilo Freedman/Bloomberg Crypto venture capital funds are confronting an identity crisis. Plummeting digital-asset prices and a wave of market consolidations are exposing the fragility of an industry that boomed on speculation but has struggled to build sustainable, revenue-generating businesses. Most Read from Bloomberg Retail traders have continued to drift away from digital art and memecoins, while token prices have crashed — a casualty of the rug pulls and day-trader blowups that f ...

Core Insights - OFA Group clarifies the scope and functionality of its Hearth platform, emphasizing its role as a non-custodial technology infrastructure for digital record-keeping and workflow coordination related to real-world assets [1][2]. Platform Nature - Hearth is operated by Hearth Labs, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of OFA Group, and is designed exclusively as a non-custodial, technology-only infrastructure platform [3]. Platform Functionality - At launch, Hearth's functionality is limited to technology services, with all asset ownership, financing, issuance, and investor engagement activities occurring outside the Hearth platform [5]. Relationship to OFA-Affiliated Assets - OFA-affiliated entities may use Hearth solely as a technology tool for internal data coordination and record-keeping, without implying any issuance or marketing of securities [6]. Tokenization Clarification - Digital tokens generated through Hearth function solely as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for record-referencing and audit-support purposes [7]. Restrictions on Platform Operations - Hearth does not hold, custody, or control funds or assets, nor does it act as an issuer, distributor, or broker [8]. - The platform does not represent securities or financial instruments and is not designed for secondary trading or speculative use [9]. Forward Platform Development - OFA Group is evaluating potential future enhancements to Hearth strictly within a technology-infrastructure framework, with no current plans for secondary trading or investor-facing marketplace functionality [10]. Strategic Context - Hearth is part of OFA Group's initiative to modernize internal systems and digital infrastructure, aimed at enhancing transparency and operational coordination across asset lifecycles without engaging in regulated financial activities [11].

Core Insights - Crypto trading activity on prediction markets, particularly Polymarket, has seen a significant decline in high-conviction trading since early January after peaking in late December and early January [1][2] Group 1: Trading Activity Trends - Daily active crypto makers on Polymarket peaked at around 40,000–45,000 wallets in early January, following a previous peak in late December when activity reached the high-30,000 range [2][3] - After January 9, daily crypto maker activity consistently declined, falling to the low-20,000 range by mid-January, with a sharp drop at the end of the observation period [3] Group 2: Bitcoin Market Engagement - Bitcoin-focused markets exhibited a similar trend, with active Bitcoin makers dropping to 2,875 wallets by January 18, down from five-figure levels earlier in the period [4][5] - This decline indicates that the slowdown in trading activity is not confined to niche crypto bets or altcoins but extends to Bitcoin, which is the most liquid category on the platform [5] Group 3: Overall Market Dynamics - Polymarket remains the dominant platform in terms of weekly prediction market users, significantly outpacing smaller competitors, with total weekly users reaching the high-200,000s to low-300,000s during peak weeks [6][7] - Despite the elevated total user numbers, the composition of activity has shifted, with a decline in maker participation in crypto markets, suggesting that traders are becoming more selective about their capital commitments [7]

Group 1 - Meta Platforms Inc. is cutting over 1,000 jobs from its Reality Labs division to redirect resources towards AI wearables and phone features, moving away from virtual reality and metaverse products [1] - The company's metaverse initiative has been costly, with Meta investing tens of billions of dollars since 2021, yet it has struggled to gain user adoption, resulting in a $4.4 billion loss in Reality Labs for Q3 [2] - Meta's previous ambitions included non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of its virtual world strategy, but interest waned following the crypto market slump in 2022, leading to the shutdown of all NFT-related efforts by March 2023 [3][4] Group 2 - The shift in priorities towards generative AI and consumer-facing AI products marks a significant departure from Meta's earlier focus on the metaverse [4] - Following the news of Meta's job cuts and strategic shift, metaverse-linked tokens experienced a decline, with Render (RENDER) dropping by 7.96% and other tokens like Sandbox (SAND) and Decentraland (MANA) also trading lower [5][6] - The total market capitalization of metaverse tokens fell by 4.11% in 24 hours, standing at $5.74 billion at the time of reporting [6]

Core Insights - Nike has sold its non-fungible token (NFT) arm, RTFKT, marking the end of an acquisition that represented the company's ambitious metaverse plans [1] NFT Market Overview - NFTs are unique digital assets on a blockchain, representing ownership of items like art and collectibles, gaining mainstream popularity in 2021 [2] - The popularity of NFTs has declined due to market saturation, falling resale values, and reduced speculative interest, alongside issues like scams and environmental concerns [3] RTFKT and Nike's Strategy - RTFKT was a digital fashion and collectibles studio that specialized in NFTs and virtual wearables, founded in 2020 and acquired by Nike in 2021 as part of its metaverse strategy [4] - RTFKT played a significant role in Nike's Web3 strategy, launching virtual sneakers and avatars before the subsidiary was ultimately shut down and sold [5] Shift in Company Focus - Nike's decision to sell RTFKT followed its 2023 move to shut down the subsidiary, with current CEO Elliott Hill refocusing the company on core sports performance and rebuilding relationships with major wholesale partners [6] - The sale of RTFKT became effective on December 16, marking a new chapter for the company [7]

Core Insights - The U.K. and 47 other countries are implementing the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF), marking a significant shift in global crypto taxation starting in 2026 [1][4][6] - The CARF aims to bring crypto transactions under the same tax scrutiny as traditional financial assets, addressing the issue of unreported profits from cryptocurrencies [3][5] Group 1: CARF Overview - CARF was developed by the OECD to tackle the growing issue of unreported cryptocurrency profits [3] - Under CARF, crypto exchanges and service providers must collect detailed user information, including tax residency, and report annual transaction data to local tax authorities [3][6] - The framework will facilitate international data sharing among participating countries [3][4] Group 2: Implementation Timeline - The U.K. is among the first adopters, with exchanges required to gather necessary data starting in 2026 and cross-border information sharing beginning in 2027 [4] - A total of 75 countries have committed to implementing CARF, with 48 jurisdictions already moving forward [4] - The U.S. is expected to adopt the framework in 2028, with data exchanges commencing in 2029 [5] Group 3: Implications for Crypto Users - Individuals in participating jurisdictions, particularly high-net-worth traders, will face increased scrutiny regarding their crypto transactions [5][6] - The enforcement of mandatory KYC and data sharing may deter privacy-focused users, leading some to consider decentralized finance (DeFi) or self-custody wallets [7] - Unreported gains could result in audits, back taxes, interest, and penalties, with the U.K. capital gains tax on crypto potentially reaching up to 20% [7]

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Streamlining efficiencies for users, should be EVERY products goal right now.There are countless dApps, apps, protocols, everything under the sun, doing one thing or another.With that each user feels as tho they are all over the place, trading coins on one spot, trading NFTs on another, looking at analytics on a third, and then it's an entirely different beast if you are on mobile vs desktop.What OpenSea has been focused on as of late has been a great change of pace.Becoming the One Stop Shop, for Trading E ...