News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News - Karia Samaroo, founder and former CEO of Canadian crypto company WonderFi, recently stated that the company's acquisition by US trading platform Robinhood Markets for CAD 250 million was not due to a lack of growth potential, but rather because Canada's market environment has restricted local tech companies from continuing to scale.Samaroo said that WonderFi was founded in 2021. After several years of development, the company consolidated Canada's fragmented crypto market, built a nationwide brand, and survived the QuadrigaCX collapse, the FTX crash, and Canada's strict crypto regulatory environment. By 2023, WonderFi had become a leading crypto platform in the Canadian market.However, he believes that succeeding in Canada was not the company's ultimate goal. WonderFi had originally hoped to grow into a global enterprise, and Robinhood saw WonderFi as a strategic gateway into the Canadian market, which led to the CAD 250 million acquisition. Samaroo pointed out that Canada has long faced structural issues that limit companies' ability to scale, including insufficient venture capital, weak public markets, regulatory fragmentation, and declining attractiveness of entrepreneurial returns.For the crypto industry, the challenges are even more pronounced. Samaroo noted that after the QuadrigaCX incident, Canadian regulators established one of the world's strictest crypto regulatory frameworks. While the original intent was to protect investors, it also increased operational costs for businesses. International trading platforms including Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Gemini all entered the Canadian market previously and then exited. He believes that Canada's crypto regulations are not only strict but also compounded by fragmented securities regulatory systems, leading to higher financing costs, increased operational complexity, and diminished interest from overseas investors.Samaroo said that WonderFi is not an isolated case—many Canadian tech companies have followed a similar trajectory: growing domestically until hitting market ceilings, then ultimately seeking overseas capital or strategic buyers. Shopify founder Tobi Lütke has also previously criticized Canada for repeatedly "nurturing important companies only to send them abroad." Restricting corporate sales can easily become a political statement, but the real key to solving the problem lies in building a business environment that supports companies in financing, expansion, and competing globally.Robinhood previously announced the acquisition of WonderFi for approximately CAD 250 million. This deal also reflects the accelerating consolidation in the North American crypto industry, as US platforms expand into other markets through M&A. (Fortune)
Fox Business crypto journalist posted on platform X, stating that the bill specifies the rules for handling digital assets when an exchange or custodian becomes insolvent. This legislation helps ensure customer assets receive the same protections as traditional financial assets and remain the property of the customers, rather than becoming part of the company's bankruptcy estate. This could help prevent a repeat of situations like FTX.
Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale, released a research report stating that, based on multiple on-chain valuation metrics, Bitcoin’s current price is below its long-term average, indicating it is undervalued—though not to the same extent as previous cycle lows, such as those following the FTX collapse.
Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000 last week, recording its worst single-week performance since the collapse of the FTX exchange in 2022. In the seven days through Sunday, Bitcoin accumulated a decline of 16%, retreating over 50% from its all-time high of over $126,000 in 2025.Multiple market analysts have warned that the current rebound may be difficult to sustain, and Bitcoin may not have reached the bottom of this cycle yet. Griffin Ardern, co-founder of Primal Fund, stated that the market is still "a considerable distance" from a "true bottom."Data shows that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded net outflows for 13 consecutive trading days, with total outflows reaching approximately $5.5 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin last week fell below the 200-week moving average, widely regarded as a key support level, further weakening market confidence. Paul Howard, a senior executive at crypto trading firm Wincent, described the current market conditions as a "silent bear market," arguing that breaking below the 200-week moving average is a significant confirmation signal that the market has entered a bear phase.Analysts point out that the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, the reversal of expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and strong U.S. employment data are driving the market to reassess the rate path. A high-interest-rate environment is unfavorable for the performance of risk assets, including crypto assets. Additionally, some capital is flowing out of the crypto market into artificial intelligence and technology stock sectors.Despite this, the magnitude of the current correction is still smaller than historical bear market cycles. In past bear markets, Bitcoin typically retraced about 80% from its peak, whereas this cycle's decline is approximately 50%. Some traders believe that if the macroeconomic environment continues to deteriorate and companies holding large amounts of Bitcoin face financing pressures, the market still faces further downside risks in the future. (Bloomberg)
According to Forbes, SBF’s early investment portfolio is undergoing renewed market scrutiny; had he not been imprisoned due to the FTX collapse, his venture capital returns could theoretically have generated wealth growth reaching approximately $100 billion. Prior to FTX’s collapse, SBF had built an investment portfolio spanning several high-profile companies—including Anthropic, SpaceX, Robinhood, and Cursor—with Cursor valued at $60 billion and Anthropic nearing a $90 billion valuation. Rory O’Driscoll, Partner at Scale Venture Partners, noted that SBF had backed multiple pivotal AI companies even before the ChatGPT era, demonstrating an exceptionally rare investment acumen.
SpaceX announced today that it has reached a cooperation agreement with AI-powered programming startup Cursor, which has granted SpaceX the right to acquire Cursor later this year for $6 billion—or pay $1 billion to advance their collaboration. According to reports, Cursor’s developer, Anysphere, closed a $400,000 pre-seed funding round in April 2022, co-led by Alameda Research and Heroic Ventures. Alameda invested $200,000 in Anysphere, acquiring approximately 5% equity; this stake was sold at its original price during FTX’s bankruptcy liquidation. Had it not been sold, the stake would now be worth roughly $3 billion.