Michael Bodley

<div id="highlights-block_621f7231619aa" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Nested allows user to mint an NFT that replicates their investment portfolios</li>
 <li>Trades are tracked via smart contracts that update the digital collectible, eliminating the need to mint a fresh NFT with each transaction</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A DeFi platform, with a social investing twist that allows users to showcase their investment strategies via NFTs, has raised a $7.5 million round led by billionaire Alan Howard.



Nested Finance intends to use the Series A round to hire staffers, expand to additional blockchains and ramp up its staking capabilities, founder Rudy Kadoch told Blockworks.



Aside from Howard, investors including CMT Digital, <a href="https://kenetic.capital" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kenetic Capital</a> and Republic Capital also participated in the round. 



The startup allows users to mint an NFT (non-fungible token) on a supported blockchain of their choice that uses smart contracts to exhibit their DeFi (decentralized finance) trades on Nested’s platform. Traders — the majority are retail investors — are responsible for covering the costs of minting the NFT.



Supported blockchains now include <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=avalanche" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Avalanche</a>, Binance Smart Chain — now <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/in-overture-to-decentralization-binance-rebrands-its-blockchain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">known as BNB Chain</a> — and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=polygon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Polygon</a>.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Even if you are not a famous person on Twitter, you can create a reputation on Nested,” Kadoch said.&nbsp;</blockquote>



Once minted, the NFT is updated via smart contract to display new trades in real-time, eliminating the need to mint a fresh digital collectible as a trader’s portfolio shifts over time. Users do not connect their Nested portfolio to a centralized crypto exchange; liquidity is provided from the decentralized exchange 0x.



Nested, which allows users to replicate another trader’s portfolio, is betting on surging interest in crowdsourced alpha driven by social media success stories. The idea, Kadoch said, is to bring a clean, streamlined interface to the messy world of DeFi to cut through the crypto noise.



The startup’s founder likened the company to the early days of Coinbase, when the exchange brought crypto trading to the masses.



“Ten years ago, you were able to buy cryptocurrencies, but when Coinbase came, their plan was to democratize cryptocurrencies through a beautiful UX and succeeded with that,” he said.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“This is exactly what we want to do with Nested: Democratize DeFi through simplicity.&#8221;</blockquote>



Nested makes money by charging a nominal fee on each new NFT. When users create an account, they have the option of copying an existing NFT on the marketplace — replicating its trades in the process — or starting from scratch. Traders receive a royalty payout each time their portfolio is copied.



Kadoch said the thousands of DeFi coins trading creates a bottleneck when it comes to breaking into the space.



“Current exchanges are built for [hardcore] users and not for the masses,” he said.



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Correction — March 2, 2022 at 9:45 am ET: The lead investor is Alan Howard, unconnected to the European asset management firm Brevan Howard.



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DeFi Trading Platform Raises Round Led by Alan Howard in Social Investing Push

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_621e76fb8de4a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“There is no longer any room for doubt regarding the impact crypto assets are having on our global financial system,&#8221; said Farzam Ehsani, VALR CEO and co-founder</li>
 <li>VALR has processed over $7.5 billion in trading volume since its 2019 launch</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



South African crypto exchange VALR raised a $50 million venture capital round in one of the largest fundraises for the continent on record.



The exchange raised $50 million — bringing the company’s valuation to $240 million — in a Series B round led by crypto asset manager Pantera Capital, VALR said Tuesday.



The round was oversubscribed with investors including Alameda Research, Cadenza, CMT Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, GSR, Third Prime and Avon Ventures, which is affiliated with Fidelity Investments. Existing investors Bittrex and 4Di Capital also wrote checks.



The funds will be used to expand across Africa and into other emerging markets like India, as well as bringing new products and services onboard and hiring.&nbsp;



In July 2020, VALR raised $3.4 million in a Series A. Its valuation has grown tenfold since.



“There is no longer any room for doubt regarding the impact crypto assets are having on our global financial system,&#8221; Farzam Ehsani, VALR CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.



VALR users can trade and custody more than 60 cryptocurrencies with relatively low fees. Since its 2019 launch, the startup has processed more than $7.5 billion in trades between 250,000 retail customers and 500 institutional clients.



Crypto has grown in Africa as funds have deployed capital to the continent. From July 2020 to June 2021, crypto adoption in Africa increased 1,200%, according to <a href="https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/africas-grassroots-cryptocurrency-adoption/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chainalysis</a>. Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania are considered regional crypto hubs.



“In addition to being the third-fastest growing cryptocurrency economy, Africa also has a bigger share of its overall transaction volume made up of retail-sized transfers than any other region at just over 7%, versus the global average of 5.5%,” the report says.&nbsp;



Last year, rapper Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey, current CEO of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/jack-dorseys-square-to-change-its-name-to-block/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Block</a>, formerly known as Square, created <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=africa#:~:text=Jack%20Dorsey%20and%20Jay%2DZ%20Created%20%E2%82%BFtrust%3B%20Here%E2%80%99s%20How%20its%20Board%20Plans%20to%20Deploy%20the%20500%20Bitcoins" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">₿trust</a>, a new endowment of 500 bitcoins for development across Africa and India. Three of the four ₿trust board members are in Nigeria, with one based in South Africa. 



&#8220;The world is on the precipice of huge financial change,” Ehsani said. “Crypto assets will become more and more pivotal to all our lives.”



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