Paradigm Capital suspected of draining $3.5 million stake in MakerDAO
Date: 2023-07-28 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTO PAYMENTS
Venture capital fund Paradigm Capital was likely preparing to sell its governance token MakerDAO (MKR) worth $3.5 million, according to data from Arkham Intelligence
A total of 3000 MKR was transferred from the Paradigm crypto wallet to an address marked as an over-the-counter trading wallet. This happened after Andressen Horowitz's fund (a16z) listed $7 million worth of MKR on the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. Arkham's data shows that the over-the-counter wallet that received the Paradigm tokens has already received MKR and transferred it to Coinbase.
Funds supposedly sold MKR, after it rose to its highest levels since August last year. Both funds invested in MakerDAO in their early stages. In total, Paradigm purchased 5.5% of all MKR tokens in a $27.5 million investment round from Dragonfly Capital at the end of 2019, and a16z bought 6% of the MKR supply for $15 million in 2018.
$50 million worth of Coinbase shares
In May, the Paradigm fund purchased 810,000 shares of Coinbase stock at an average price of $61. As of mid-May, two divisions of the firm — Paradigm One LP and Paradigm Fund LP — owned a total of 4.5 million shares of Coinbase.
This purchase was reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the co-founder of the fund, Fred Ehrsam. In total, he owns 1.1 million securities through the Frederick Ernest Ehrsam III Living Trust trust.
A16Z shifts focus
Last month, a16z decided to open the first cryptocurrency division outside the United States. The Foundation has chosen London as the new base jurisdiction. According to a16z partner Chris Dixon, the British government sees the prospects for Web3, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is ready to work with the industry to create policies that "stimulate the decentralization of start-ups."
It is expected that the British division of the fund will support cryptocurrency startups not only in the UK, but also in continental Europe. At the same time, the company is still ready to work with politicians and regulators in the United States to achieve "greater regulatory clarity for crypto startups."
