Is Vitalik Buterin’s donation really worth over $1B, what’s cooking with Travis Kalanick, & the big leap of online brands

Regulatory dilly-dallying on digital currencies isn’t just straining the crypto industry but also casting a shadow on the crypto donations pouring in for India’s covid relief efforts. The sector is already hampered with major banks recently halting all business relationships with crypto platforms. Last week, The CapTable also wrote on online brands outpacing traditional brands and Uber Co-founder Travis Kalanick’s strategy for his cloud kitchen business in India.

Here’s a roundup of news and analysis last week from The CapTable. The CapTable is a YourStory product. Sign up if you haven’t already.

Premium Reads

Rs 500 Cr: Online consumer brands accelerate to their next big milestone

Online consumer brands such as Vahdam Teas and Wow Skin Sciences are racing to Rs 500 crore in annual revenue at a fraction of the time traditional brands needed to reach that milestone. The secret sauce: a focus on data and a willingness to experiment with products and channels. The pace and ambition has made investors sit up and take notice.

Banks break up with crypto platforms; payment gateways feel the pain

Major banks have stopped all business relationships with crypto platforms, forcing traders to revert to direct person-to-person payments for crypto transactions. For payment gateways, which charge a premium for

crypto transactions, this translates to millions of dollars in lost business. The crypto trading community, though, remains bullish.

The Crux 

[Crisp and incisive analysis on the developments that matter]

Regulatory cloud over Vitalik Buterin's $1B crypto donation

Speaking of crypto, the global community has plunged into India’s COVID relief efforts, the latest highlight being Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s donation of more than $1 billion worth of Shiba Inu coins.

But converting crypto donations into rupees will be a challenge because of the regulatory uncertainty in India over digital currencies. 

Travis Kalanick takes safe lane for cloud kitchen business

An inside view into the Uber co-founder’s new venture, CloudKitchens, which is rebranded as KitchenPlus in India. Unlike with his India strategy for the ride-hailing company, Kalanick is listening keenly to the demands of the domestic market for cloud kitchens and is unwilling to drain money with deep discounting.

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