• SharpLink hires former BlackRock executive.

• Succinct Foundation introduced.

• Dragonfly stands by Tornado Cash investment.

• Bit Digital seeks to raise more capital for ETH.

SharpLink Gaming appointed Joseph Chalom, former Head of Digital Assets Strategy at BlackRock, as its new Co-CEO. Chalom spent two decades at BlackRock, where he helped lead the firm’s entry into digital assets, including the launch of the iShares Ethereum Trust, now the largest Ethereum ETP with $10 billion in assets under management, and the BUIDL tokenized fund on Ethereum, now holding $2.4 billion in value. Current CEO Rob Phythian will shift to the role of President and remain on the Board. Chalom stated that SharpLink’s strategy centers on not just holding ETH, but actively deploying it through native staking, restaking, and other Ethereum-based yield-generating protocols.

Succinct Labs launched the Succinct Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of the Succinct Prover Network. The foundation will drive broader adoption of Succinct and ZK by funding research, decentralizing the network, fostering innovation, and cultivating a vibrant developer ecosystem. It will also launch $PROVE, the native utility token of the network. The Succinct Prover Network is a decentralized protocol that connects provers and requesters, enabling applications and infrastructure to be secured through cryptographic proofs. Succinct is also the creator of SP1, a leading ZK virtual machine that makes ZK technology more accessible to developers.

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi shared a statement regarding the firm’s 2020 investment in PepperSec, the development entity behind Tornado Cash, amid the ongoing trial of open-source developer Roman Storm. Qureshi says Dragonfly invested in PepperSec because of its belief in privacy-preserving open-source technology, and it continues to stand by that investment. He revealed that Dragonfly received a DOJ subpoena in 2023 and has fully cooperated with the investigation.  The statement comes amid a recent court disclosure that the U.S. government is considering potential charges against Dragonfly for its investment. Qureshi says the firm is prepared to defend itself if necessary.

Bit Digital is planning to raise substantial additional equity financing in the near term to pursue its growth strategies, including the purchase of Ethereum (ETH). In a proxy statement filed with the SEC, the company is seeking shareholder approval to increase its authorized share capital from 340 million to 1 billion Ordinary Shares. The company currently holds a treasury of 120,000 ETH.

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