The music-tech market is hotter than ever — so hot that it might be reaching a boiling point. While music and tech have always been tightly intertwined throughout history, the concept of music-tech as a vital investment category has emerged only in the last two decades, with significant momentum bubbling up in the last five years. We can break down this evolution into three stages:

The ecological token TOX of the well-known Web3 social application INTO was officially launched on the top ten global exchanges Gate.io on December 19th at 20:00, and the TOX/USDT trading pair was opened. Users can trade, purchase, convert and deposit/withdraw TOX on Gate.io.It is reported that INTO, as a Web3 social application, integrates encrypted wallets, SocialFi, SoulBound Token (SBT) and AI-assisted Web3 community operation management tools and other functions, committed to providing users with an open, free, efficient, secure and compatible decentralized social environment. Official data shows that INTO's current number of users has exceeded 4 million, and SBT users have exceeded 400,000, and has successfully entered more than 50 countries and regions.

Fiat Republic, a web3 advocate for encryption platforms, has raised $7 million in a delayed seed funding round. This round of financing received Kraken Ventures' first investment (supporting Shield and Rally), Fabric Ventures, Arca, Inovo.vc, and Pretiosum Ventures, as well as existing investors Speedinvest, Credo Ventures, and Seedcamp.This funding will drive its development and expansion, as well as key initiatives such as strategic recruitment, strengthening bank partnerships, and expanding into new areas.It is reported that Fiat Republic is building a cryptocurrency platform alliance to gain strong representation in regulatory agencies, lead the development of asset class standards, and change the traditional financial institutions' perspectives.

On December 18th, according to official sources, Web3 game Layer2 COMBO announced the official launch of its mainnet, meeting the high-performance and low-fee requirements for game development, and building a convenient Web3 game development, deployment and operation ecosystem for developers.

Enigma Fund, a Web3 venture capital firm, announced that FTX's $240 million worth of cryptocurrency was sold yesterday.

The issuer of the US dollar stablecoin USDC, Circle, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with digital asset infrastructure provider Fuze, aimed at expanding the adoption of USDC stablecoins in the Middle East and North Africa region. The goal is to extend USDC to institutions such as banks, fintech companies, traditional enterprises, and Web3 companies in the relevant regions.

On December 16th, data-driven Web3 influencer network Aki Network completed its Series A financing with a valuation of 5000 Perfect Yuan. The financing amount was not disclosed. This round of financing was led by Korean Web3 gaming platform MARBLEX and a Japanese venture capital company, with participation from Puzzle Ventures and others. Aki Protocol stated that it plans to conduct multiple rounds of AKI token airdrops.

Jonah, a partner at Game Fund Partners, posted on X that the Immortal Game team has withdrawn from Web3 games. They raised $15 million and are now trying to return to Web2.The Immortal Game team responded in the comments, clarifying that they are strong supporters of Web3 and game ownership. However, they believe that playing for money is not sustainable, especially for chess. They are still actively developing Web3 features for their platform, especially solutions for online chess cheating. More new features will be launched in the coming months.

Wallet infrastructure is playing a crucial role in unlocking the web3 experience for the next generation of dapps. So far, users have had to install additional software, source and fund it with a novel currency, and face unfamiliar confirmation screens before even making the first interaction in web3. Despite improved firewalling and a movement away from seed phrases, these hurdles are still points of high churn for decentralized applications.

The L7 Crypto Card, introduced by the Web3 digital asset management platform L7, made its official debut on December 7, 2023. This universally accessible card is designed for practical applications, including consumer payments, one-click payments, and ATM withdrawals using cryptocurrencies.