Aptos Labs raises $150M

Layer 1 blockchain Aptos Labs, which is made up of former employees from Facebook parent Meta Platforms, raised $150 million in a Series A funding round that was led by FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of crypto exchange FTX, and Jump Crypto. Aptos will use the investment to support the development of the project.

Moelis & Co. co-founder to head group advising blockchain companies

New York-based investment banking giant Moelis & Co. has launched a Global Blockchain Group that will provide advisory services to blockchain and crypto firms. The group is being fronted by Moelis & Co. co-founder John Momtazee and supported by a team of senior bankers that have significant experience in advising blockchain companies, according to the firm.

Chipotle takes ‘buy the dip’ literally with new $200K crypto giveaway

United States-based fast casual restaurant chain Chipotle will give away Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Avalanche and Dogecoin through an online game “Buy The Dip”. This give customers the chance to win more than $200,000 in crypto. “We want to build the next generation of Chipotle fandom by connecting with the Web3 community,” said Chipotle chief marketing officer Chris Brandt.

Over a quarter of Asian Pacific ‘emerging giant’ startups tied to blockchain: Report

Big Four accounting firm KPMG and international banking firm HSBC release reports on regional new economy businesses with strong potential to impact the global business landscape over the next decade. According to the report, there are 6,472 tech-focused startups with a market capitalization of up to $500 million.

Tesla reports $64M profit from Bitcoin sale

Tesla’s decision to offload most of its Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries netted the company a hefty profit in the second quarter, the company netted a realized gain of $64 million. Tesla recorded per-share earnings of $2.27 in the second quarter on revenues of $16.93 billion.