The Breakdown First Five - Monday, June 17, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Paradigm Raises $850M 

Paradigm has raised their third crypto VC fund for $850M. This is one of the largest funds raised in the history of the industry. To date, $100B has been raised to fund crypto startups over 10 years. Galaxy Digital and Pantera also have funds of a similar size looking for a home during this cycle. The capital is there, but have crypto seed rounds become over saturated? 

4. Binance Hopeful on Dropped Charges

Binance are “hopeful” that all charges will be dropped against compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan. The Nigerian government detained Gambaryan almost four months ago, eventually bringing tax evasion and money laundering charges. Since then he has contracted malaria and pneumonia and is reportedly receiving insufficient medical care. The Nigerian government dropped tax charges on Friday alongside a visit from  the FBI Director.

3. Microstrategy Supersized

Michael Saylor is making the bottom he wants to see in the world with a supersized tranche of convertible debt issuance. What began as a $500M offering on Thursday has now swelled to $700M. The notes are priced at a very low 2.25% interest rate and won’t expire until 2032. The round should be closed sometime this week, with cash in hand to smash that buy button. 

2. Stablecoins to Save US Debt

The US can print trillions of dollars and make Tether pay for it. That’s the message from Paul Ryan, who thinks the growth of stablecoins can stave off a US debt crisis. Aside from providing the marginal bid that keeps treasury auctions on track, Ryan is pitching stablecoins as a way to promote dollar use abroad in competition with the Chinese CBDC. The soundness of the argument is less important than the fact it's happening in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. 

1. Khanna’s Crypto Roundtable

California Democrat Ro Khanna is hosting a crypto roundtable in hopes of convincing the Biden campaign to change tack. Khanna’s office billed the meeting as "the most significant meeting between policymakers and innovation leaders in blockchain to date." The only named guest representing the crypto industry is Mark Cuban. Optimistic signs of a Dem pivot or last ditch effort?