Techcrunch blog!: OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, revealed email data breach that may have affected 1.8M users

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Greetings, everyone, on this fine day. If you haven't had the chance yet, please give a shout to our newest reporter, Andrew Mendez, who wrote today about Twelve capturing carbon and turning it into things like sunglasses. We also have a couple of submission requests: students can submit a video pitch to win a Disrupt prize package, and any robotics companies wanting to pitch at the upcoming TC Sessions: Robotics event on July 21 have until July 7 to do so. If you are not sure what's in store there, Brian lays it all out for you in his Actuator column. See you tomorrow! — Christine

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The TechCrunch Top 3

Another data breach: This time it is OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace, that is warning some 1.8 million users that their emails may have been compromised when one of its vendors used their employee access to take said emails and share them with an unauthorized third party, Rita and Ivan report.
Electric fire-breather: Jaclyn delights us with a look at Drako Motors' 2,000-horsepower luxury SUV called Dragon.
Uptick or downturn: Dominic-Madori and Tage teamed up to discuss what effect the global venture capital slowdown will have on Africa. Some of what transpires may be linked to British International Investment's future plans for the continent.

Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images

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Startups and VC

In today's startup and venture capital news, we start with Mary Ann's report on Mottu, a Brazilian motorcycle rental startup that raised $40 million to help Latin Americans become couriers. This seems to be a trend to watch in that region.

Over to Wattpad, a storytelling startup, which unveiled some new programs that could get writers paid through measuring how engaged readers are, Ivan writes.

Spend management is big business right now, and Tage reported that Sava is the latest to attract funding, $2 million in pre-seed capital, for its approach to helping businesses control their spending and eliminate the manual labor of keeping track of it all.

More to love:

MoMoney for MoHash: The startup, which took in $6 million in seed funding, aims to provide crypto options, Manish writes.
Keep your hand out of my pocket: Mary Ann writes about HomeLister's $10 million Series A round that enables homeowners to sell their homes without the Realtor and keep the commission for themselves.
Data dance: Black Swan Data is now flush with $18.5 million in new funding to predict which products will be most successful based on data from social media conversations, Kyle reports.

When it comes to sanctions, PE firms must proceed with great caution

Banks and other financial institutions must follow know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines, but private equity funds have a loophole: They are not legally bound to tell regulators who their investors are — or if they’re behaving suspiciously.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed that, however.

The increasingly isolated nation is now facing international sanctions, and “PEs are investing in the close management of compliance programs, policies and procedures at each of their portfolio companies,” writes Snežana Gebauer, a partner with StoneTurn.

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

When it comes to sanctions, PE firms must proceed with great caution image

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Big Tech Inc.

Samsung Electronics said it is the first to mass produce 3-nanometer chips globally. As Kate reports, this is good news for an industry that is experiencing a shortage that has affected everyone from car makers to anyone trying to build next-generation products.

Tim unpacks the new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that "the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to regulate carbon pollution from existing power plants," writing that anything like that will have to come from Congress.

Over in India, Manish writes that a deal for Lenskart to acquire a majority stake in Japan-based eyewear brand Owndays will create "one of Asia's biggest online retailers of eyewear."

Now here's more:

Remember to read the fine print: It is both a scary and enjoyable read of Zack's account of what happened when Bilt, a rental rewards startup, got his partner's email and home address and then leaked it.
New features: Taylor picked up a pair of stories about new features from YouTube, which is disabling hidden subscriber counts in an effort to eliminate comment spam, while Twitch has a new "Guest Star" mode that enables users to turn their stream into a talk show. No microphone with the long cord necessary.
In space, it's all Relativity: Relativity Space inked a deal with OneWeb to send OneWeb's 3D-printed rockets into space beginning in 2025, Aria writes.
Khaby Lame has a new gig: The silent TikTok superstar is Binance's new frontman who will help the masses learn about crypto, Amanda reports.
Facebook is getting its NFT on: Ivan and Aisha teamed up to cover Facebook's testing of NFTs with some of its U.S. creators. This follows a move Meta already is doing with Instagram.
Blocked: We hoped you San Franciscans weren't affected a few days ago by Cruise's robotaxis blocking traffic for hours earlier this week. Rebecca shares more on what happened.