The return of Web3 Games, Binance appoints a board and more.

After a few years of growth after the last bull cycle, the gaming industry is poised to release massive games production in 2024, game developers are rethinking business models to attract players and keep them in the growing competition.

Metaverses, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and even monetized features are still on the table for some studios. Game developer Eluvium, for example, is working on an interconnected environment that combines three different titles into the same experience.

In addition, Illuvium's upcoming release will feature a revenue sharing model. “We take all in-game revenue from players spending on travel, heal shards, buy cosmetics and fuel and then use it to buy ILV from the market. After that, we take the ILV and distribute it to the participants in the protocol. The more shares you buy, the higher the amount you get from each distribution,” Kieren Warwick, co-founder and CEO of Eluvium, told Cointelegraph.

The platform recently raised $12 million to support the game's launch, which is slated for the second quarter of 2024. “The gaming market is going to explode,” Warwick predicted.

Venture capital (VC) firm Andreessen Horowitz is in the same boat. It recently announced that it will invest $30 million in the intersection between tech and gaming.

With renewed excitement around the gaming industry, this week's CryptoBiz explores Binance's new (and first) board of directors, Paradigm's new crypto fund, and how miners are preparing for Bitcoin's halving.

Andreessen Horowitz is set to invest $30 million in a tech-fueled gaming startup.

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has announced it will invest $30 million in technology-focused gaming startups, including artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and artificial reality (VR/AR), and Web3 games. “We are investing in the intersection of TECH x GAMES, which means AI/infra, 3D tools, VR/AR, web3 games, gamified consumer apps and more games in one fund,” said Andrew Chen, general partner of 16z, who oversees 16z. The $30 million investment will be made over the next 45 days through the company's early stage accelerator “SPEEDRUN” program, which Chen said in an April 1st post will give $750,000 to each startup that joins the program.

Binance will establish a board of directors for the first time

Binance Holdings, which operates the cryptocurrency exchange of the same name, has established a seven-person board of directors filled with company executives and independent members. According to Binance's website, the company's board of directors is now chaired by Gabriel Abd, former ambassador of Barbados to the United Arab Emirates. Other members include Binance CEO Richard Teng, Binance co-founder Heina Chen, Bayview Acquisition Corp CEO Xin Wang, Gojo & Company Management partner Arnaud Ventura, Roger Wang and Rock He. The formation of the board is likely to be one of the changes in Binance's leadership since Teng stepped down from his regional markets role and became CEO in November 2023.

Crypto VC Paradigm Raises Up to $850 Million: Report

Crypto VC firm Paradigm is reportedly in talks to raise up to $850 million in new funding. Paradigm is in talks with investors to raise between $750 million and $850 million, which crypto markets have returned in recent months, Bloomberg reported on April 3, citing people familiar with the matter. If Paradigm completes the raise, it will be the largest since it raised a $2.5 billion fund at the peak of the last cycle's bull run in November 2021 — the largest cryptocurrency fund at the time. Paradigm's most popular Web3-related investments include Coinbase, Fireblocks, Blast, Optimism, Uniswap, Gitcoin, and Friend.tech.

BitFarms Announces $240 Million Mining Upgrade to Triple Post-Holving Hash Rate

Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Bitfarms will invest approximately 240 million will invest approximately 240 million to improve mining equipment, which aims to remain profitable after the upcoming Bitcoin halving. Bitfarms earned 286 BTC by mining. In the year In March 2023, the company claims to have mined 424 BTC at 4.8 EH/s – indicating the need for increased hash rate capacity to remain profitable in Bitcoin mining. BitFarms has sold the bitcoins it has produced over the past two months as it continues to reinvest in growing its mining fleet.

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