Projects Fundraising on RootData (July 13 - July 19) Last week, 20 blockchain companies/projects received funding. 💎 @cryptocom — Cryptocurrency exchange, raised $400M in strategic round by Citadel Securities. 💎 @AlpacaHQ — Developer-first API for stock, options and crypto, raised $135M by @peakxvpartners, @ElefundVC, Opera Tech Ventures & others. 💎 @FlexSuperApp — AI fintech platform, raised $70M in Series B1 by @RyanQualtrics, @halo_fund & others. 💎 @velocityxyz_ — Stablecoin payment company, raised $38M in Series A by @HadickM, @dragonfly_xyz, @cbventures & others. 💎 @Cyclops_inc — Stablecoin and crypto platforms, raised $20M in Series A by @NavaVentures, @cbventures, @CastleIslandVC & others. 💎 @pascaldottrade — Prediction market, raised $9M in Series A led by @usv.

The tyranny of web2 is perhaps the tyranny of the UI moreso than centralization itself. One of the best parts of the GPT UI is how slim it is. Enshittification has begun with the new chat screen now recommending content. In our physical homez, we have near perfect control over our immediate surroundings. Furniture. Art. Appliances. But in our digital homes- the apps we inhabit- the company decides the contents, aesthetics, utilities, etc. I'm optimistic that ai clis and onchain app/plugins distribution could help us reclaim control over personal digital habitats. Consider this app - I wish I could swipe on a post to like it or mark it as irrelevant. But Nikita doesn't care. Centralized apps with strong unique network effects, like X, are the hardest digital habitats to reclaim because they have the most leverage over us. Most of the new AI systems, dashboards, crypto wallets, etc, will have massively less leverage than X. We should be able to customize their UIs to our liking, using AI of course. Eg. if I ran Base App, I'd build in an AI native modular UI framework directly into the app so you can just talk to Base App and it'll code itself to how you like it. Want a custom NFT widget on your homepage? Fabulous, just ask. GPT is headed in the wrong direction here. You can just feel them starting to think of their audience as cattle to be farmed. But switching costs are ultimately going to be significantly lower in this modern world and apps that actually put the user front and center as the real customer and not the farm animal are going to build great relationships around loyalty and the user's own customizations. The future of digital ux is for consumers to have as much control over their digital homes as they do over their physical homes.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez says XRP’s chart has tightened to a level last seen in August, but the setup does not say which way the price will break. Read more:

Crypto mostly up while Trump Crime Coins down: $TRUMP & $MELANIA down double digits $WLFI would go down more if they didn't control most of tokens & locked most of investors. The nature is healing

Crypto spent big against Sherrod Brown in two straight cycles and will end up with him back in the Senate and probably with Elizabeth Warren as the Banking Chair depending on how committees shake out 😬