Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_62cfde52ac5e8" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Investors include Peter Thiel’s investment firm, Fifth Down Capital, former Palantir CFO</li>
 <li>Pompliano’s plan to launch a crypto jobs marketplace surfaced in January 2021</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Anthony Pompliano, founder of Pomp Investments, said his cryptocurrency recruitment firm Inflection Points has raised $12.6 million in funding and announced a deal to acquire a competitor.



In a <a href="https://twitter.com/APompliano/status/1547190514130337793" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter thread</a> on Wednesday, the entrepreneur said investors included Thiel Capital, Fifth Down Capital, XYZ Fund, former Palantir CFO Colin Anderson and real estate developer Marc Roberts. Andrew Spellman, Fifth Down Capital’s founder and managing partner, will join the Board of Directors.&nbsp;



Separately, Inflection Points agreed to acquire New York-based crypto-focused recruiting firm Proof of Talent for an undisclosed sum. CEO Rob Paone said in a <a href="https://proofoftalent.co/blog/proof-of-talent-acquired-by-inflection-points-inc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog</a> that Proof of Talent will continue to operate independently. “From the jobseekers perspective, there will be no meaningful changes,” he wrote.



Pompliano said his own firm has helped over 1,000 people score jobs in the cryptocurrency industry and upskilled more than 4,000.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Inflection Points Inc by the numbers: &#8211; 1,000+ people hired &#8211; 4,000+ people trained Many infrastructure companies in crypto provide amazing products and tools (exchanges, wallets, data, etc). We supply the people. This is a key part.&mdash; Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) <a href="https://twitter.com/APompliano/status/1547190522875445251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The platform is among a number of other Web3-based job boards including BlockAce, CryptoJobs and Crypto Recruit.



Blockworks reported Pompliano’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/anthony-pompliano-launches-crypto-jobs-marketplace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plan to launch a jobs marketplace</a> in January 2021, when sentiment around cryptocurrencies was relatively more positive. He launched the business with co-founder Colton Sakamoto, and said the company was self-funded and grew quickly. “We are obsessed with profitability — that is the whole point of capitalism,” he wrote in a tweet.



Fundraising for their crypto jobs marketplace comes during a bear market as the industry faces a downturn triggered by stablecoin TerraUSD’s collapse and several firms facing a liquidity crunch. A chunk of well-known companies have had to reduce their workforce, including <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gemini-joins-growing-list-of-crypto-exchanges-cutting-staff-amid-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockFi</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-cutting-5-of-workforce-amid-digital-asset-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com</a>.



Still, most venture capital firms are hunting for opportunities in the market downturn, as valuations are <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vc-funding-slows-again-in-june-but-experts-say-worthwhile-projects-will-get-money/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">likely to be depressed</a>. That’s one reason why money is <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/funding-roundup-despite-bear-market-money-is-still-pouring-into-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">still pouring</a> into the industry.



“Business models like some of the larger crypto trading firms are going to endure, and the names on the doors may change as good risk management is revealed and bad risk management is punished,” Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, said.



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Anthony Pompliano Nets $12.6M to Help Crypto Labor Liquidity, Buys Rival

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62042cf927e76" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Russia’s central bank and President Vladimir Putin will have to reconcile their divergent views on digital assets</li>
 <li>The country accounts for 11% of the world’s bitcoin mining, giving lawmakers a large incentive to properly regulate the industry</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Russia’s “unsurprising” move to regulate cryptocurrency is expected to spur other countries to follow suit, according to industry participants.



Following a <a href="http://static.government.ru/media/files/Dik7wBqAubc34ed649ql2Kg6HuTANrqZ.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">framework</a> drawn up by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/russia-moves-to-recognize-crypto-as-a-form-of-currency/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russia’s government and central bank</a>, policymakers are expected to draft fresh legislation or amend existing laws to oversee crypto as a currency. The measures, according to Russia, will stabilize any broader economic impacts from digital assets.



Anto Paroian, chief operating officer at digital assets investment fund ARK36, said Russia’s response to the rise of crypto reflects a broader shift in nations conceding the technology is here to stay.&nbsp;



“Overall, authorities [are starting to] recognize that crypto is becoming such an entrenched part of how people think about and deal with money in the digital age that the political and economic cost of banning it appears to be far greater than the risk involved in allowing it to coexist with the legacy financial systems,” Paroian told Blockworks via email.



Time is of the essence before international bodies start to influence policy, according to Nick du Cros, head of compliance and regulatory affairs at CoinShares.



“These proposals will likely send the message that countries should enact local regulations quickly and not wait for the [Group of Seven] to set international standards,” du Cros said, referring to the political forum made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.



Anthony Pompliano, founder of Pomp Investments, wrote in a Wednesday newsletter that Russia turning a “sympathetic” ear to crypto — including putting digital assets on its balance sheet — would “force the hand of the United States.”



“There is a global competition underway that has a decentralized, open system at the heart of it; anyone can plug into the system,” Pompliano wrote. “The game theory is that no one wants to start the cascade, but once your adversary does it, you are forced to adopt the technology or risk being left behind.”



The US, at any rate, will be closely watching developments in Russia, which is set to draw up legislation by Feb. 18, including standards for taxing crypto.&nbsp;



The measures come after Russia’s central bank last month <a href="https://www.cbr.ru/Content/Document/File/132242/Consultation_Paper_20012022_eng.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposed</a> restricting the circulation and exchange of cryptocurrencies, banning crypto investments by financial institutions and prohibiting crypto mining.



Since, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supports a plan to tax and regulate mining, referring to “competitive advantages” Russia could gain from crypto mining.



Members of the US Congress, meanwhile, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-industry-will-move-offshore-if-congress-doesnt-act-executives-warn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have held hearings</a> on crypto in recent months, and industry watchers <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-companies-brace-for-year-of-regulation-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expect more regulatory clarity</a> this year. A <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bipartisan-bill-proposes-tax-exemption-for-small-crypto-transactions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bipartisan bill introduced last week</a> proposed tax exemptions for crypto transactions of $200 or less.



The US and Russia both have big economic incentives to get a plan in place, considering the latter accounts for about 11% of the world’s bitcoin mining, and the former controls 35%, according to the University of Cambridge’s <a href="https://ccaf.io/cbeci/mining_map" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index</a>. Both countries boosted their hashrate following China’s mining ban.



Whit Gibbs, CEO of Compass Mining, — which operates two mining facilities in Siberia, Russia —&nbsp; pegged the country’s approach as “do-no-harm,” adding that Russia has made solid strides in wooing international investors to set up mining operations there.



“I think most nations are already considering taking similar actions to recognize bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as currency,” Gibbs said. “This positive outcome hopefully influences other nations to take the same official stance.”



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