A Landmark Ruling that Shows Promise for Crypto 👀

Hey fam!

Hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend! *cues Summer’s Over Interlude by Drake* 

Even though we’re headed towards the end of summer, we still have a lot to be excited about. The academic year has started back up at Wharton, Chad is a couple weeks into his new role as a Principal in Strategy at Google Cloud, and it’s Virgo SZN so that means Kendall’s got a birthday coming up (it’s on Thursday y’all - mark your calendars)! Woot woot 🎉

As if that wasn’t enough, we also have some exciting news about our platform.  After some long brainstorming sessions and conversations on the direction we want to take this, we decided to undergo a rebrand, starting with a new name… Drumroll please! 🥁

Introducing Nexwave 🌊

When this platform started in January 2022, Kendall was mainly focused on sharing educational content about web3. But over the past year or so, there’s been a lot more information surfacing about AI, VR/AR, and more. As tech lovers (and lowkey nerds!), we both have a natural curiosity about these spaces and how they’ll interact with each other in the future. It was only right that we change our name from Web3 for the Culture to Nexwave– a name that allows us to expand the topics we write about and keep giving you all the latest & greatest in tech.   

Even though we are changing our name to Nexwave, our mission remains the same – we are a media company that breaks down topics and news related to emerging technologies such as web3, blockchain, AI, and more in a creative and culturally relevant way. Through this platform, we aim to democratize access to knowledge about innovation, empowering underserved communities to become early champions of adoption of the next wave of technology, whatever that may be over the coming years. 

What to expect over the next few weeks

Transitions can be tough, especially in the tech industry, where things change so quickly. Over the past few years, we've seen a lot of rebrands, and it's safe to say that they're not always smooth. So, over the next few weeks, we'll be going through some transitions of our own as we move from Web3 for the Culture and to Nexwave.

We'll keep you all in the loop of any big changes coming your way, but we appreciate your patience during this time. We're excited for what the future holds, and we can't wait to share it with you!

Now that we’ve shared our special news, we’re going to dive into what’s going on in the world of crypto!

Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) 101 💲

Riding the investing wave from last week's newsletter, let's talk about another new way to invest: Bitcoin Spot ETFs. But let’s get up to speed first.

ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are baskets of investments that track a particular sector, index, commodity, or other asset. They're traded on exchanges like stocks, so you can buy and sell them throughout the day.

So far so good? Now we have Spot ETFs. 

Spot ETFs are a type of ETF that tracks the spot price of the fund's underlying asset. The spot price is the current market price of an asset, and it can change throughout the day. So a Spot ETF is designed to give you exposure to the spot price of an asset without having to buy that asset itself.

And now the final piece: Bitcoin Spot ETFs

If you're an investor interested in crypto, you know that the price can fluctuate a lot. That's where Bitcoin Spot ETFs come in handy. These are a type of ETF that tracks the price of Bitcoin, and allows you to get exposure to the coin without having to own any crypto yourself.

Since ProShares' Bitcoin Strategy ETF became the first Bitcoin futures ETF available in the US in 2021, a bunch of companies have launched Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck. But today, we're going to focus on one company in particular: Grayscale.

Grayscale’s Journey to Bitcoin Spot ETFs 📈

Grayscale, a leading American crypto asset management firm, was one of the first to apply for a spot ETF with the SEC. In 2013, Grayscale launched its Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which actually checked all the boxes for approval with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Four years later, Grayscale tried to convert GBTC into a Bitcoin Spot ETF, but the SEC was concerned that it didn’t quite meet their anti-money laundering and anti-market maneuvering requirements. So Grayscale withdrew its application, waited a few years, and reapplied in 2021, believing that it finally cracked the code and addressed the SEC's concerns.

“Yeah… don’t think so” said the SEC ❌

Despite their attempts to do what the SEC asks, Grayscale's application for a Bitcoin Spot ETF was declined… WITHOUT FAIR REASON!

And Grayscale is not alone. A handful of other Wall Street firms, including Fidelity, BlackRock, and ARK Invest, are also waiting for the SEC to approve their crypto spot ETF applications. Some people believe that the SEC is flexing its “authority” in crypto by delaying or denying these applications. Others believe that the SEC is simply playing it safe, given the crypto market can be a little unpredictable.

Whatever the reason, the SEC is frustrating investors and crypto firms across the board. 

Not so fast, SEC. Let’s review that decision again 🧐

On August 28th, in a landmark victory, U.S. judges ruled that the SEC wrongfully rejected Grayscale Investments’ application to create a spot Bitcoin ETF. This could really pave the way for other major firms to also begin creating Bitcoin ETFs, and in some cases, applications that were already denied could be overturned as well.

What does this mean for the future of crypto? 🔮

This undoubtedly is a big win for crypto adoption and generally seen as a positive indicator for the market. Immediately after the ruling, the price of Bitcoin jumped up to over $27,500. Investors expect that we’ll see more regulation around ETF applications in the near term which could result in several other Wall Street giants making investments in the space as well. Even though the crypto markets have felt a bit rocky over the past month, it feels like we may be getting one step closer to mainstream adoption after all, if this momentum keeps up.

Company Spotlight: Immersed 🚀

Immersed is a workspace collaboration platform that’s powered by VR, AR, and mixed reality. They launched in 2019, right before the pandemic, and saw immense success once virtual work became necessary for most people. They are building the best way to get things done no matter where you are. They empower users all around the world to immerse themselves and others into a portable, distraction-free workspace, giving them deeper focus and increased productivity. 

Check out more of the dope things they’re building on their Twitter. 

Jobs in Web3: Bag Talk 💰

Check out some roles that we recently came across! Also, let us know if there are specific types of roles and companies you're interested in. We’d love to tailor this to our audience, especially those actively looking. :)

• Product Strategy & Operations at Anthropic

• Director, Business Planning at Relational AI

• Investment Partner at Dorm Room Fund

• Program Manager, Company Operations at Stripe

• Manager, Investor Relations at Aurora

What’s Happening in the News 🗞️

Here’s what caught our attention over the past two weeks –

• All 161 things announced at Google Cloud Next ‘23 – a recap

• Solana Pay Integrates with Shopify as New Payment Option to Transform Commerce

• Hollywood strikes echoed the unbalanced value distribution in the streaming video industry — blockchain can change that.

As always, thanks for tapping in with us! And be sure to catch Nexwave with us - you won’t want to miss it. 

– Chad & Kendall