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Union Square Ventures is planning to allocate a notable segment of its new fund to the crypto space.

Per a January 26 blog post penned by USV managing partner Andy Weissman, USV raised “a 2021 Core Fund with commitments of $250 million.” 

The crypto approach is in line with USV’s established “thesis-driven” approach to investing, with Weissman noting that “[a]s in our last several funds, we expect a significant portion of the investments -around 30%- will be crypto-related investments.”

He went on to explain:

“This will include holding tokens directly as well as equity in early-stage blockchain-related projects. Crypto networks embody both the evolution of trust in computing and financial systems, as well as vastly expanded access, so we view crypto networks as completely aligned with Thesis 3.0.”

“We believe the opportunity to decentralize systems is still in early stages, seeing adoption tailwinds, and with a lot of interesting new activity,” Weissman wrote.

Notable investments by USV in the crypto space include Coinbase, Polychain Capital and Dapper Labs, among others. 

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

24-year-old Jeremy Spence bilked his investors of $5 million, according to a criminal complaint.

Today, the Stellar Development Foundation announced Tuesday that it invested $5 million in Wyre.

The SDF told The Block that the funding effort was a Series B2 funding round, with the foundation leading for $5 million. Draper Associates and Great Oaks Venture Capital invested an additional $2.5 million.

The funds are intended to help broaden fintech payment API options for Stellar. By adding Wyre to its ecosystem, Stellar intends to expand its USDC on/off ramps with pairs for USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, and AUS as well as boost its overall support infrastructure.

“Growing the network of Stellar anchors — stablecoin issuers and on/off ramps — is fundamental to how Stellar connects global financial systems with blockchain technology,” Denelle Dixon, Stellar’s CEO and executive director, said in a statement.

Dixon also recently filled Stellar’s new board seat. “Bringing Wyre’s industry-leading payment APIs to the Stellar ecosystem will empower businesses, especially anchors, to expand existing payment corridors and develop new ones.”

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Meanwhile, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said crypto qua crypto fails as currency qua currency, though dissidents like Alexey Navalny might disagree.

Representatives say the $25B stablecoin is “regulated” but the issuer doesn’t look like a financial institution bound by norms and laws.

Federal prosecutors have charged a Rhode Island-based cryptocurrency trader for defrauding investors out of $5 million in investments in a Ponzi-like scheme.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said that Jeremy Spence — known as “Coin Signals” allegedly defrauded investors between November 2017 and April 2019. Specifically, Spence is charged with commodities fraud and wire fraud.

“As alleged, SPENCE took cryptocurrency worth over $5 million from more than 170 individual investors after making false representations in connection with these cryptocurrency funds,” the DOJ said.

Per the DOJ statement:

“From November 2017 through April 2019, SPENCE solicited investors in various cryptocurrency investment pools that SPENCE had created and managed (the “Funds”). SPENCE solicited investments for several Funds, the largest and most active of which were the Coin Signals Bitmex Fund, a/k/a the “CS Mex Fund,” the Coin Signals Alternative Fund, a/k/a the “CS Alt Fund,” and the Coin Signals Long Term Fund. Investors who wanted to participate in a Fund would transfer cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, to SPENCE in order for SPENCE to invest it.”

“As alleged, Jeremy Spence misrepresented the success of his investment platform in order to entice people to send money his way. Because his trading was less than profitable and significantly less successful than he represented to investors, he used money from new investors to pay off others in order to keep his plan moving—a typical marker of a Ponzi scheme,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said in a statement.

If convicted on all charges, Spence faces as many as 30 years in prison. 

A copy of the sealed complaint can be found below:

u.s. v. Jeremy Spence 21 Mag 880 Complaint by MichaelPatrickMcSweeney on Scribd

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

With bitcoin hovering around $32K for a fourth straight day and top Ivy League universities said to be accumulating crypto, CoinDesk’s Market’s Daily is back with the latest news roundup.

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