Binance.US raised $200M, valuing the company at $4.5B, and plans to establish the largest market share in the U.S. The fresh funding will be used for hiring, marketing, and potential acquisitions. More: - Binance was founded in 2019 and quickly became one of the world's largest crypto exchanges.
- CEO Brian Shroder, who joined the company last October, says, "Every dollar that we earn will be invested back into the business."
- An IPO for Binance could come within two or three years; however, Shroder explained that the company would need to improve its product offerings before going public.
- The funding will be used for launching marketing campaigns to show consumers the advantages of Binance over competitor Coinbase.
- With this funding round, the company wants to beat out its competition, namely Coinbase. Shroder says, "Coinbase has an eight-year head start on us, and so we are quite pleased with the traction that we have gotten in the last two years alone."
- Investors that participated in the round include RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, and Circle Ventures.
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Axie Infinity's parent company, Sky Mavis, acknowledged that its rush to grow its userbase potentially led to trade-offs that allowed its $625M hack to happen. A bridge connecting Axie Infinity's side chain, Ronin Network, to the Ethereum main net was exploited for 25.5M USDC and 173,600 ETH on March 29. More: - Sky Mavis said it cut corners on security while focusing on growing user adoption.
- Sky Mavis raised a $150M round, led by Binance, to reimburse affected users.
- Binance has resumed withdrawals and deposits on the Ronin Network.
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OpenSea has gone live with its support for Solana-based NFTs. Popular Solana NFTs show listings, yet the platform is experiencing errors with them at press time. More: - Solana ranks second after Ethereum in NFT volume.
- Before the OpenSea integration, Magic Eden commanded 90% of the Solana NFT volume.
- Solana NFT volume has fallen sharply since January, along with the entire NFT market.
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Canadian conservative MPs are becoming bullish on the potential of cryptocurrencies. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner has drafted a private members bill that will start the crypto debate in the House of Commons tonight. More: - The new bill that was drafted in February aims to compel the Canadian government to create a strategy around introducing crypto assets within three years.
- Rempel believes that there is a knowledge gap around the potential of cryptocurrency amongst many people, including lawmakers, and she wants to change this.
- The MP believes that most people have either a very negative perception of crypto or an overly simplified one. She says: "We have this sort of rigid polarization, where 'crypto is the devil, it's terrible, it's going to ruin your life,' to 'crypto is the savior, it's going to liberate all things.'"
- Fellow MP and Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre believes that digital currencies can help Canadians "opt out of inflation."
Global News 
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Crypto-focused VC firm Pantera Capital is raising a new $200M fund. The fund will help LPs gain exposure to select growth-stage deals. More: - The fund will invest in 10-12 companies in total.
- Three deals have already been made with crypto investments gateway Amber, an unnamed NFT domain company, and an Indian crypto exchange.
- The Panterra Select Fund may also participate in a few early-stage deals led by Pantera Blockchain Fund.
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Quick Hits: - Andreas Veneris dives deeper into the fast-moving crypto and NFT space.
- Politicians are starting to take a second look at cryptocurrencies, and here is what you should be aware of.
- The SEC might add cryptocurrencies to its remit, but this might come with implications for the crypto community.
- Banks are not yet ready to start trading crypto, and it could be years away from becoming a reality.
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 |  | Trevor Grant is an entrepreneur, investor, and writer based out of Chicago, Illinois. His primary area of interest is web3 venture capital, social tokens, and infrastructure. Other pursuits include screenwriting, yoga, and traveling. He holds a BS in biomedical engineering. Connect with him on Twitter @trevorisonline |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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