The best and worst of crypto
The merger: The fundamental overhaul of Ethereum – the world’s second most popular blockchain and the driving force behind Web3 – finally took place this week. The merger, as it has been called, moved Ethereum to a far more energy-efficient and scalable system for validating transactions.
We explained the merger in detail last month, but in short, it was a software upgrade that ended the Ethereum network’s reliance on the energy-intensive process of cryptocurrency mining, cutting power needs by 99.95%.
The transition, although completed in the end, was far from a foregone conclusion due to the complexity and scale of the Ethereum network, which is second only to Bitcoin.
That explains why, when the merger was completed at 12.13 IST Thursday, more than 41,000 people tuned in to an “Ethereum Mainnet Merge Viewing Party” on YouTube as if it were some kind of crypto WC.
Luna founder risks arrest: Even as the merger was going on, another major crypto story was unfolding in real time. Bloomberg reported that Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon – the man who invented the ill-fated stablecoin terraUSD and its sister token Luna – faced an arrest warrant issued by a South Korean court for allegedly violating a capital markets law.
The order also named five other people. All six are believed to be located in Singapore, according to prosecutors.
We wrote about terraUSD and Luna back in May, when their collapse rocked every crypto asset in existence and triggered a chilly crypto winter.
At its peak, the Terra-Luna ecosystem was valued at around $60 billion, and its rapid disintegration prompted investigations in South Korea and the United States. Bitcoin crashed to around $28,000 the week it collapsed, which was then the lowest price since December 2020, erasing all gains from 2021’s historic bull run.
While the number of crypto scams likely outnumbers the number of cryptocurrencies in existence, rarely—if ever—any individual has been booked for one, making Do Kwon’s imminent arrest a pretty big deal. The ball is in your court, Singapore.
Written by Zaheer Merchant in Mumbai
Top stories by our reporters
Byju’s FY21 results
Byju’s revised revenues may be lower than estimated: Byju Raveendran, co-founder and CEO of edtech unicorn Byju’s, briefed shareholders and board members on the difference between expected revenue and revised numbers, multiple sources told us Monday.
Byju’s losses widen to Rs 4,588 crore in delayed FY21 results: Byju’s, India’s highest-valued startup, said operating income for the fiscal year ended March 2021 (FY21) has been adjusted to Rs 2,280 crore even as it incurred a massive loss of Rs 4,588 crore, around 18 times the Rs 262 crore loss it reported in previous financial statements.
The two most important changes Deloitte sought from Byju: Byju’s adjusted its unaudited FY21 earnings after audit firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells wanted two key changes.
E-commerce corner
Online sales have picked up since August, says CEO of Flipkart: Online sales have picked up in recent weeks in the run-up to Christmas shopping after a relatively sluggish year when growth was muted, Flipkart group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy said as the online retailer prepares for its flagship Big Billion. Day sale, which starts on 23 September.
Myntra bets on global D2C brands for the festive season: Flipkart-owned Myntra is banking on international and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, and new categories like Gen Z and teen fashion to boost growth and give it a competitive edge in the coming Christmas season, the new CEO said. us.
Flipkart, Amazon gear up for festive battle: With days left for their flagship holiday sales, dominant e-commerce marketplaces Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart are going all out with new category launches, reduction in seller fees and direct engagement with merchants, several people aware of the development said. .
Fintech news
“Need modern banks to build advanced economy”: Sachin Bansal, founder of financial services group Navi Technologies, is hoping to get a banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), he told us in an interview.
Sachin Bansal’s Navi gets Sebi nod for Rs 3,350-crore IPO: Sachin Bansal-led Navi Technologies has received the green light from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its initial public offering (IPO). Navi had submitted its draft prospectus to Sebi for an initial public offering of Rs 3,350 crore through fresh issue of shares.
Cryptoverse
Ether Trading Increases On Indian Crypto Exchanges Ahead Of The Merger: Indian cryptocurrency exchanges are seeing a jump in trading volumes of Ether, the world’s second-most valuable crypto-asset, ahead of Ethereum’s switch to a less energy-intensive technology to power its blockchain.
Ethereum’s ‘Merge Day’ lifts gloom in India’s Web3 community: The Indian Web3 community celebrated the successful completion of Ethereum’s merger on Thursday, with “Happy Merge Day” becoming the preferred greeting among stakeholders.
India is an important Web3 market, says Binance co-founder: With its fast-growing ecosystem of founders and developer talent, India is a “key market” for Web3, said Yi He, co-founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.
WazirX says ED has unlocked his bank accounts: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has lifted the freeze on the bank accounts of WazirX, the crypto exchange said in a blog post on Monday.
ETech Deals Digest
■ Edtech firm Upgrad has acquired leader of corporate training solutions Centum Learning in a share swap agreement. With this transaction, Bharti Enterprises Limited and its affiliates will join Upgrad’s cap table. Centum is expected to have a turnover of Rs 170 crore in FY23.
■ Google-backed DotPe, founded by PayU India co-founder Shailaz Nag, raises Rs 434.5 crore (or roughly $54.4 million) in funding led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek.
■ Computer engineering and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider Sigmoid on Thursday said it has raised $12 million in funding in a mix of primary and secondary funding, as part of its latest funding round from Sequoia Capital India. With the current round, Sequoia has $19.3 million in Sigmoid. The startup will use the capital to develop its market offerings, expand delivery centers and cater to new industries.
■ Procurement management software Procol has raised Rs 51 crore in funding from GMO Venture Partners, Alarko Ventures, Esas Ventures, FounderBank Capital and Anchorage Capital.
■ Singapore-based Jungle Ventures will triple its investment team in India over the next six months, founder Amit Anand told us in an interview.
IT corner
Infosys says moonlighting employees may be fired: Infosys has reminded its employees that moonlighting – taking double employment – is against its code of conduct for employees. The development comes weeks after Wipro chairman Rishad Premji publicly expressed his views on moonshine, calling it “pure and simple cheating”.
Tech customers seek to curb spending across IT services as inflation bites: IT service providers are facing pricing pressure from big technology customers as inflationary pressures increase across the US and Europe, experts told us.
Most young technologists employed at the start of Covid have changed jobs: The majority of freshers and employees with less than five years of experience hired by Indian IT companies at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have already changed jobs at least once.
IT watchmakers are betting on borrowed labor as wear and tear increases: Leading IT services companies in the country are increasingly looking to loan labor to meet their talent demand in the face of high attrition and rising costs of lateral hires amid a shortage of talent, particularly for niche skills.
AN e-commerce index
We have launched three indices – ET Ecommerce, ET Ecommerce Profitable and ET Ecommerce Non-Profitable – to track the performance of newly listed technology firms. Here’s how they’ve fared so far.
In other news
Sop evaluations are still ongoing, the ministry says to semiconductor applicants: The government is still “evaluating” applications seeking capital incentives to set up semiconductor fabrication units, it has told ISMC Analog, a consortium of Israeli technology company Tower Semiconductor and Gulf-based Next Orbit Ventures.
Executives continue to leave as Tesla’s interest in India wanes: Several executives have left Tesla Inc as its India business plans continue to face uncertainty, sources said, signaling the company’s waning interest in the Indian market.
Online grocery platforms are experimenting with night delivery: Online grocery platforms are looking to open up a new battlefront – overnight delivery. Instamart, the grocery delivery arm of Swiggy, has extended grocery delivery hours into the early hours, starting with select markets – a first for the industry.
Foxconn in talks with government for battery replacement infra-foray: Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn is holding dialogue with the Center to introduce its electric battery-swapping infrastructure in India amid rising sales of electric vehicles across urban metropolises, officials aware of the talks said.
