A raising ape
Monkey Tilt raises $30m in funding round
Crypto gambling site promises to be the future of entertainment.
Crypto gambling site DexWin goes gasless on the Polygon network.
Loose change: Blockasset hires Sheehan, BC.GAME’s Curaçao threat.
Crypto crowd celebrates as Gensler jumps before he is pushed.
Pump.fun courts meme coin controversy.
Monkey business
Come out swinging: A crypto-based iCasino and sportsbook site that says it blends entertainment with traditional gaming has raised $30m in a Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital and with the participation of Polychain Capital, PokerGo, Hack VC, Dream Ventures, Accomplice, Mirana, and Josh Hannah from Augmentum.
Monkey Tilt is led by Las Vegas-based CEO and co-founder Sam Kiki.
The company posted on X that the new money brings the total raised by the company to $50m.
It came out of beta earlier this year and offers a range of iCasino games alongside poker and sports betting.
Word salad: Ryan Barney, a partner at Pantera Capital, said Monkey Tilt is “pushing the online gaming world into a new era that’s heads and shoulders above the rest of the market.”
He added that Kiki has “already proven to be an authoritative leader in this space,” claiming that Monkey Tilt was “genuinely shaping the future of entertainment.”
A police car and a screaming siren: On this entertainment point, the little we have to go on are statements from the press release, which claimed it “combines traditional casino experiences with improved social and lifestyle integrations.”
The press release added that it “capitalizes on its multi-currency crypto payment infrastructure to accommodate wagering with a wide range of digital assets.”
It stated the platform includes dealer-led craps, roulette, a 24/7 sportsbook and more.
Another post on X from earlier this year suggested the site was “born out of frustration” and that “online gaming needs to level up.”
The press release noted it would launch a “new crypto trading gamified product in the first quarter of next year.”
“Monkey Tilt will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in online gaming.”
Going gasless
Foot off the gas: Hitting all the crypto gambling buzz words in one press release this week was the decentralized crypto casino DexWin, which launched ‘gasless betting’ on the Polygon network last week.
The Nicosia, Cyprus-based but Curaçao-licensed operator said it brings an “enhanced” betting experience via faster transactions, zero gas fees, and an increased overall reward and freebet system to the players.
The press release spoke about offering a seamless experience for users globally with instant withdrawals and regular token airdrops.
Get your bingo cards ready: DexWin said it merges “Web3 benefits with social logins, Ramp and Bridge to easily deposit and withdraw with no KYC hassles.”
The site also features AI customer service and is also available via Telegram.
Prediction News is a next-gen media and data company dedicated to coverage of prediction trading markets, and the go-to source for data, tools, analysis, stories and news in this space.
Loose change
Down the block: Fan token and crypto sportsbook operator Blockasset has hired Michael Sheehan, former director of marketing at Evoke, as its new CMO. He joins his old colleague Alexis Zamboglou, also previously at Evoke where he was MD, who is now CEO at Blockasset.
In his posting on LinkedIn, Sheehan said in BlockBet the company was building the “next generation of GambleFi” with a casino and sportsbook platform.
“With entertainment, innovation and community at our core, we aim to set the standard in the world of Web3 crypto betting and gaming,” he added.
BC.GAME faces the loss of its Curaçao gambling license despite it having denied the judgment of the courts within the Dutch offshore jurisdiction that it is a bankrupt entity.
According to Next.io, the crypto-based operator has until this coming Friday to clarify its position with the regulator.
iCasino backend provider Tequity has partnered with crypto casino operator MetaWin to integrate its licensed modular RGS platform. MetaWin will now be able to create bespoke slot games and bring new games to market.
Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind the President-elect’s Truth Social platform, has filed a trademark application for a crypto payment processor dubbed TruthFi. The move signals that TMTG is expanding operations into the Web3 sector, with the company previously rumored to be in talks to acquire crypto-exchange Bakkt.
Gensler resignation
The witch is dead: Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, didn’t wait to get pushed on President-elect Donald Trump’s first day in office in January but instead fell on his sword with a resignation late last week. Gensler will leave his post on the day of the inauguration.
The X-verse celebrated as was to be expected, as witnessed here. And here.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, one of the companies the SEC has been dogging for the last few years, said “this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for…” as a reply to Gensler’s resignation X posting.
In his resignation statement, Gensler – appointed by Joe Biden in April 2021 – thanked the outgoing President for “entrusting me with this incredible responsibility.”
Swordsman: During his three-plus years in office Gensler took a number of actions against crypto firms, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Ripple and more.
Critics said his crusade against the crypto exchanges et al was misconceived and stifled innovation.
Pump it up
Ending in dirty looks: The meme coin world went, well, kinda crazy in the last week as Pump.fun hit the headlines with what appeared to be some highly exploitative coin offerings designed, it would appear, to gull the gullible while achieving their own meme status.
The Solana meme coin launchpad was forced to suspend its livestream after a number of violent, offensive and racist streams began circulating on social media.
Listen to the propaganda: The meme coin equivalent to 4chan, Pump.fun is no stranger to controversy, having previously hosted a number of racist and pornographic tokens on the site, and appears to favor the zero moderation model.
There’s nothing underhand: The anonymous founder Alon posted on X in response that Pump.fun “actively moderates illicit content on the site. That includes images, videos, live streams and comments.”
“Although we strongly stand for free speech and expression, it’s our responsibility to ensure that users don’t see clearly repulsive/dangerous content and that bad actors aren’t given a platform to act as they wish,” they added.
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