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As we enter the holiday season, it’s a time for spreading joy, love, warmth, and perhaps a bit of generosity. But not everyone may be feeling the holiday spirit – some may even be feeling a bit like the Grinch. In the world of crypto, this smaller party of individuals could include the likes of hackers, who are not letting the holiday season stop them from acting out. But then again, maybe for them, every successful scam is reason to be jolly. It’s all just two sides of the same coin.
On Thursday, Ledger, the popular crypto software and hardware wallet maker, announced that hackers had compromised the code of a crypto protocol used by multiple web3 applications and services.
“It’s not immediately clear how many people fell victim to the hack,” wrote well-known independent crypto researcher ZachXBT on X, adding that at least one victim had lost over $600,000 in drained crypto assets from their account.
Check out the details below for more information on what’s happening in web3.
The latest on web3
On this week’s episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed Johann Kerbrat, the general manager of crypto at Robinhood.
Johann is currently leading the platform’s efforts to expand its crypto exchange business and make digital assets more accessible to retail investors. Prior to joining Robinhood, he had engineering roles at Airbnb and Uber, and was VP of engineering at privacy-focused crypto startup Iron Fish.
In the interview, they discuss Robinhood’s international expansion, their decision to restrict certain crypto assets for holding and trading in June, and their current stance on those restrictions.
Other topics include:
- How Robinhood is appealing to mainstream audiences
- The growth of crypto on their platform
- Regulatory concerns
- Roinhood’s 2024 objectives
To keep up with the latest episodes, be sure to subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite pod platform. And if you like what you hear, please leave us a review!
Follow the money
Here’s a rundown of recent funding news in the world of web3:
- Line Next secures $140 million for its web3 platform
- Lolli raises $8 million Series B to expand bitcoin and cashback rewards to enterprises
- Andalusia Labs raises $48 million Series A to improve digital asset risk infrastructure
- Dynamic raises $13.5 million from a16z crypto and Founders Fund to simplify access to web3 and crypto wallets
- Avalanche-based Nodekit raised $1.2 million in pre-seed round to create a network focused on rollups
This list was compiled with information from Messari as well as TechCrunch’s own reporting.
What else we’re writing
Interested in exploring beyond the world of web3? Here are some articles on TechCrunch that caught our attention this week:
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Be sure to follow Jacquelyn on Twitter @Jacqmelinek for breaking crypto news, memes, and more.
