This article was co-written by Josh Kessler from Sommelier Finance.

A few days ago, I wrote The Two Paths for DeFi: Decentralized Brokers vs. Protocols.

We are at the dawn of Morpho's next chapter, and what better way to start it than with an upgraded brand identity fit for the future?

We’re excited to announce that Ambient Finance (previously known as CrocSwap) has raised $6.5M in a seed round at $80M network valuation led by Blocktower with participation from Jane Street, Circle, Tensai Capital, Naval Ravikant, Yunt Capital, Susa Ventures, Quantstamp, and Hypotenuse Labs, along with angel investors Julian Koh, llllvvuu, Dogetoshi, afkbyte, Jai Prasad, Don Ho, and others.

At Jia, one of our main value propositions is creating a financial community where entrepreneurs participate as owners, not just customers. This commitment is based on our core belief that ownership enhances the behavior of small business entrepreneurs within a community, encouraging loyalty.

Welcome to our third edition of Behind The Brand, a weekly newsletter featuring leaders at startups and VCs to highlight their unique perspectives on design, brand, and marketing for founders, operators, and investors across the early stages. At Slope, our goal is to build category defining creative for exceptional companies, and we believe brand is applicable to everyone in different ways depending on your role, stage, or industry.

DeFi is still in its infancy and faces a major fork in the road.

Brett Harrison, Architect Financial Technologies Founder & CEO, talks to Bloomberg Markets about the spot Bitcoin ETF launched by Fidelity and how companies are adopting artificial intelligence.

A growing number of brands, particularly in beauty, are including loyal customers in the product development process and offering ways for fans to directly benefit from their growth.