VCs are falling out of love with crypto 😢

Hello there,

Can you feel that chill in the air?

No, I'm not talking about the weather getting colder—I'm talking about the crypto winter hitting harder.

In Q3, only $2.1 billion was raised across 297 deals.

That's a 36% drop from last quarter and nearly 70% down from Q3 2022.

It's like the entire crypto industry got swiped left on by investors.

But don't go lighting your Bitcoin sweaters on fire just yet—or stop tracking your portfolio 👀.

This could just be a seasonal slump as VCs tighten their belts during uncertain economic times—it has nothing to do with them warming up to AI startups… right? 🤔.

Still, some positives exist, like El Salvadore launching its first mining pool and Ripple getting a Singapore license.

Anyway, here are this week’s highlights

• Opening arguments begin in Sam Bankman-Fried trial
• Polygon co-founder steps down
• Startup funding in the crypto industry has fallen back to Q4 2020 levels amid the ongoing bear market
• El Salvador launches first Bitcoin mining pool as Volcano Energy partners with Luxor

Opening arguments begin in Sam Bankman-Fried trial

In a New York courtroom on Oct. 4, Assistant United States Attorney Thane Rehn and SBF’s attorney Mark Cohen delivered opening arguments to a jury of 12 people on the events leading up to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX as well as Bankman-Fried’s alleged role. The remarks followed Judge Lewis Kaplan finalizing a selection of 12 members of the jury and six alternates after more than a day of questioning roughly 50 people.

Here’s the full story.

Polygon co-founder steps down

Kanani, who founded Polygon in 2017 alongside Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, announced his plans in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, saying he "decided to step back" about six months ago and that he would be "focusing on new adventures while still cheering and contributing to Polygon from the sidelines."

Here’s the full story.

Startup funding in the crypto industry has fallen back to Q4 2020 levels amid the ongoing bear market

Funding for crypto startups continues to grow more scarce. Venture capital flowing into the industry dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter since Q1 2022 to $2.34 billion globally as investors withhold their checkbooks, fearing risks from a severe regulatory stance and an uncertain economy.

Read the full story.

El Salvador launches first Bitcoin mining pool as Volcano Energy partners with Luxor

Volcano Energy, a renewable energy-focused Bitcoin mining company, has announced a strategic partnership with Luxor Technologies, a Bitcoin mining tech company, to launch Lava Pool, the first Salvadoran Bitcoin mining pool. Lava Pool will be harnessed by Volcano Energy, a company building a mining facility in Metapan.

Here’s the complete story.

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning

• Binance to shut down BUSD lending by October 25 - The Crypto Times
• UK to launch Digital Securities Sandbox in Q1 2024 - CoinGeek
• Crypto suffered 153% YoY increase in hacks and scams in Q3 - Cointelegraph
• Ripple obtained a full crypto asset license in Singapore on 3 October - AMBCrypto