Yueqi Yang

For years, Coinbase dominated the U.S. market as the go-to place for buying and selling bitcoin. Now the crypto exchange is trying to forge a new identity as the backbone of an entire financial system, using its Base blockchain, which it launched last year.

After a two-year drought of initial public offerings, venture capitalists are finding new ways to return cash to shareholders, we wrote last week. Crypto investors have a few other tools to get capital back to their investors, or limited partners. But they also are facing more hurdles these days.

Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market that has taken off as a place for people to bet on the U.S. election, on Taylor Swift’s engagement prospects and on who will win the Super Bowl, is in talks to raise more than $50 million in new capital, according to people familiar with the matter.

Two years ago, a behind-the-scenes giant in U.S. financial markets went live with one of Wall Street’s biggest and most ambitious blockchain initiatives.

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results.

Investing giant Fidelity Investments is laying the groundwork to launch a money market fund that may trade on a blockchain in the future. It’s the latest effort by a big traditional money manager to explore using the technology to speed up financial transactions and widen the audience for its products.

For years, many crypto and fintech startups viewed hiring staffers to ensure their businesses followed the rules as an afterthought. Hires to oversee compliance with financial regulations aren’t a flashy sign of growth like software engineers or big-name product hires.

Crypto fans have argued for years that blockchain technology could speed up global payments and make them cheaper. Now payments giant Stripe is making a more than $1 billion bet on that finally becoming a reality—and the crypto industry is rejoicing.

Arjun Sethi, a co-founder of venture capital firm Tribe Capital, is expected to be named co-CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, working alongside its existing CEO, Dave Ripley, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Cryptocurrencies and related equities broadly rallied on Wednesday, after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election and Republicans took control of the Senate.Bitcoin hit all time high, jumping more than 8% to $75,450. Coinbase shares rose 33%, bringing the crypto exchange’s market capitalization to $64 billion. Robinhood shares surged 20%.Trump has vowed to end the current