#whycrypto
The DeFi track announced 5 financings, among which the startup company of the institutional DeFi platform founded by Brett Harrison, former president of FTX.US, raised $5 million, with Coinbase Ventures participating in the investment;
In the blockchain gaming sector, three financings were announced, among which Web3 and social game publisher Carry1st completed the latest round of financing of US$27 million, led by BITKRAFT Ventures;
Six financings were announced in the NFT and Metaverse fields, among which Metaverse project Createra completed a $10 million Series A financing, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z);
The Infrastructure and Tools track announced 10 events, among which Web3 infrastructure provider Parfin has completed a $15 million seed round of financing, led by Framework Ventures;
Other Web3/crypto-related projects announced 12 financings, including Web3 luxury fashion platform Syky, which completed a $9.5 million Series A financing led by Seven Seven Six;
The centralized finance sector announced six funding rounds, including one in which Tabby, a buy now, pay later startup based in the Middle East and North Africa, raised $58 million, led by Sequoia Capital India and STV.
Let’s take a comprehensive look at last week’s investment and financing events.
DeFi
Architect, a new company founded by the former president of FTX.US, has completed $5 million in financing
Brett Harrison, former president of FTX.US, has raised $5 million for a new company, an institutional-oriented DeFi platform, which targets institutions engaged in decentralized financial transactions. Anthony Scaramucci, Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, SALT Fund, SV Angel, Third Kind Venture Capital and Motivate Venture Capital participated in the investment. Harrison said he plans to launch Architect's products in the second quarter, and he hopes that the software will eventually be incorporated into the platforms of Coinbase Global Inc. and Circle. He said that the funds he raised from investors will be mainly used for recruitment. Harrison served as the head of technology at Citadel Securities and was appointed to lead FTX's business in the United States in 2019. In September 2022, Brett Harrison announced his resignation as president of FTX US.
DeFi yield aggregator Autofarm completes $5 million in private placement financing
DeFi yield aggregator Autofarm announced the completion of a $5 million private placement, but did not disclose the details of the financing. This round of financing aims to integrate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies into Autofarm, enabling Autofarm to dynamically analyze real-world data, identify profit opportunities, and make autonomous decisions for the best asset allocation across multiple blockchain networks. Autofarm will also work on developing new products and features, such as automated investment strategies powered by AI/ML algorithms.
Liquidity staking agreement Diva completes $3.5 million seed round, led by A&T Capital
Diva, a decentralized liquidity staking protocol, has raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by A&T Capital, with participation from Gnosis, Bankless, OKX Ventures, Metaweb, DCV Capital, Alphemy Capital, Very Early Ventures, and Stake.vc. Other angel investors behind projects such as Metacartel, Aave, Staking Rewards, zkEVM, ZKValidator, EthGlobal, EigenLayer, Aragon, Stakely, and others have also joined. Diva will be launched in late January 2023, and its CEO Pablo Villalba said, "Diva is an ultra-light client that connects to existing Ethereum execution and consensus clients through a standard API. Diva will allow stakers to stake any amount of ETH, with no minimum, and without running any nodes. In addition, participants can set up a node with just 1 ETH."
DeFi startup Blue raises $3.2 million
Blue, a startup that provides KYC/AML solutions for DeFi protocol traders, announced the completion of a $3.2 million financing round led by Blockchange Ventures and Fenbushi Capital, with participation from DoraHacks, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Gate.io and Wave Financial. Blue will use the funds from this round of financing to complete the audit and expand the core team to bring the company's licensed DeFi solution to market in the first quarter of 2023.
DeFi protocol Elixir completes $2.1 million seed round
DeFi protocol Elixir has completed a $2.1 million seed round of financing, with participation from FalconX, Commonwealth, OP Crypto, ChapterOne, and Bitmex founder Arthur Hayes. Elixir aims to allow anyone to participate in CEX and DEX market making through DeFi protocols, and hopes to solve the censorship issues faced by market makers through a protocol. The startup expects to launch its public mainnet later this year.
DeFi startup Davos completes $500,000 pre-seed round of financing, with Polygon Ventures participating
DeFi startup Davos announced the completion of a $500,000 pre-seed round of financing, with participation from Polygon Ventures and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. Davos is building an ecosystem that includes stablecoin assets, liquidity pledges, and collateralized lending, while introducing a new stable crypto asset collateralized lending and staking solution based on the liquidity pledge token ankrMATIC. The project will launch the stable asset DAVOS to achieve cross-chain operability, and release the liquidity of pledged assets by integrating into other protocols, mining pools, and DEXs.
Chain Games
Carry1st Completes $27 Million in New Round of Financing, Led by BITKRAFT Ventures and Participated by a16z and Others
Web3 and social game publisher Carry1st has completed its latest round of financing of US$27 million, led by BITKRAFT Ventures, and participated by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), TTV Capital, Alumni Ventures, Lateral Capital, Kepple Ventures and Konvoy. The Cape Town-based mobile game publisher will use the funds to develop, license and publish new games, and expand its monetization-as-a-service product Pay1st. According to reports in January 2022, Carry1st completed a US$20 million Series A financing round, led by a16z and participated by Google's parent company.
Web3 gaming platform Intella X completes $12 million financing, with Animoca Brands and others participating
Web3 gaming platform Intella X announced the completion of a $12 million financing round, with participation from Polygon, Animoca Brands, Magic Eden, Planetarium, Big Brain Holdings, Crit Ventures, JoyCity, Pearl Abyss, XL Games, Wemix and Global Coin Research. Intella X is a Web3 gaming platform developed by South Korean gaming company Neowiz in collaboration with Polygon, which aims to eliminate high barriers to participation and improve user experience in Web3 through features such as simplified wallet creation and meta-transactions. The platform will reward contributors to its ecosystem, including game developers and users, through its native tokens, and redistribute its revenue share back to contributors through its decentralized revenue distribution protocol. The platform is scheduled to go live later in the first quarter, and the products launched will also include Intella X's proprietary Web3 wallet, decentralized exchange, NFT market, Launchpad and some games.
Neopets Metaverse raises $4 million in funding, with participation from Polygon Ventures and others
Neopets Metaverse, a metaverse game launched by the online game Neopets, has completed a $4 million financing round, with participation from Polygon Ventures, Blizzard Avalanche Ecosystem Fund, Hashkey Capital, IDG Capital and NetDragon Websoft. The funds raised will be used to further achieve growth and provide immersive gaming experience, while working with investors and the wider GameFi community. It is reported that Neopets Metaverse is a P2E, community-driven virtual pet game based on the original Neopets classic game.
NFT & Metaverse
US SEC documents show that digital collectibles platform Candy Digital's recent A1 round of financing exceeded US$38 million
Digital collectibles platform Candy Digital announced its Series A1 funding earlier this month, but did not specify the amount. Earlier media reports said that sports marketer Fanatics was selling its 60% stake in Candy Digital, but also did not include the amount. A new document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday provided some financial data.
According to the filing, Candy Digital has raised $38,449,997 from 14 investors through equity issuance, accounting for more than half of the total $68,188,480 that the company sought to raise through the sale. It is reported that Candy Digital was founded by Galaxy Digital, Gary Vaynerchuk and Fanatics in 2021 during the sports NFT boom and established a partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB). In October 2021, Candy Digital completed a $100 million Series A financing round led by Insight Partners and SoftBank, with a valuation of $1.5 billion at the time.
Metaverse project Createra completes $10 million Series A financing, led by a16z
Metaverse project Createra has completed a $10 million Series A financing, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which is committed to building a metaverse platform centered on Generation Z. It is reported that Createra is a user-generated content (UGC) metaverse engine that enables creators to create, distribute and MetaFi games. Creatora provides users with a crypto-native autonomous world with features including cross-play and instant access. In addition, everything built on land within the platform is tradable. This includes models, games, APIs, etc.
Fashion Metaverse Platform House of Blueberry Completes $6 Million in Financing, Led by Makers Fund
The fashion metaverse platform House of Blueberry has completed a $6 million financing round, led by Makers Fund, which will be used to expand its partnerships with games and other virtual worlds. It is reported that House of Blueberry was founded by Mishi McDuff in 2012 and has sold more than 20 million digital assets under its own brand on platforms such as Roblox, The Sims and Second Life.
Metaverse startup Metahood completes $3 million seed round, led by 1confirmation
Metaverse startup Metahood has completed a $3 million seed round of financing, led by 1confirmation, with participation from Volt Capital, Flamingo DAO and Neon DAO, The Sandbox co-founder Sébastien Borget, SuperRare co-founder John Crain, and others. Metahood's platform aims to provide Metaverse land buyers with more context than the general NFT market, using a map-driven interface to display available plots in relation to their surroundings, providing a broader sense of community or region, while pointing out landmarks and highlighting sales trends, nearby landowners, and more.
Jeff, a Metaverse subsidiary of South Korean payment company Danal, completes Pre-A round of financing, with Joycity and others participating
Jeff, a metaverse subsidiary of South Korean payment company Danal, has completed its Pre-A round of financing, with participation from Singapore VC Xponential Ventures and game company Joycity. The amount of financing was not disclosed. This round of financing will be used for the development and content production of Jeff World, which will be launched in the second half of 2023. It is reported that Jeff World is a user-participated metaverse platform, where users' content activities will generate rewards and consumption. It provides various experiences related to daily life, such as shopping, entertainment and leisure, in the form of an open world that allows multiple people to visit at the same time. Jeff also plans to implement functions such as metaverse concerts.
Metaverse Development Company Virtualtech Frontier Completes Seed Round of Financing, Blockchain Founders Fund Participates
Virtualtech Frontier, a metaverse developer, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round of funding from Blockchain Founders Fund. The new funds will be used to grow the team, support marketing activities and further develop their platform Mitoworld.io, which is designed to allow communities to easily create and share their own metaverses.
Infrastructure & Tools
ZK technology developer Nil raises $22 million in funding at $220 million valuation
The Nil Foundation raised $22 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital that closed late last year, valuing the foundation at $220 million, with participation from other investors including Blockchain Capital, Starkware, Mina Protocol, IOSG Ventures, and others. Founded in 2018, Nil is the developer of the Proof Market protocol, which enables layer 1 and 2 blockchains and protocols to generate zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs on demand.
Web3 infrastructure provider Parfin completes $15 million seed round led by Framework Ventures
Web3 infrastructure provider Parfin has raised $15 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures, with participation from Alexia Ventures, Valor Capital Group, and L4 Venture Builder, the investment fund of the Brazilian Stock Exchange. L4's investment is yet to be confirmed. Parfin is currently developing Parchain, a permissioned EVM-compatible blockchain that will enable regulated entities to participate in DeFi and asset tokenization. The new financing will enable Parfin to build on existing products and launch new services. Founded in 2019, Parfin started as a company planning to develop a regulated stablecoin and has now grown into an infrastructure provider that provides digital asset custody, trading, tokenization, and management tools to financial institutions in Latin America. Parfin's strategy has always been to focus on the Latin American region, and the company now has about 70 employees, more than half of whom come from the banking industry.
Zero-knowledge proof startup Ulvetanna raises $15 million in seed round
Zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) hardware company Ulvetanna has closed a $15 million seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Paradigm. Jump Crypto also participated in the round, which values the startup at $55 million, according to Ulvetanna founder and CEO Radisav Cojbasic. It will use the funds to further grow its team and invest further in the servers and hardware computer chips that power its platform.
Startup Obol Labs completes $12.5 million financing, Pantera and Archetype jointly lead the investment
Ethereum startup Obol Labs has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding, led by Pantera and Archetype, to build decentralized validator technology (DVT) on Ethereum. Led by Ethereum R&D company ConsenSys, Obol Labs has now raised a total of $19 million.
Mega Matrix Completes $10 Million Financing for the "MarsProtocol" Platform to Develop Digital Asset Staking Business
Mega Matrix (NYSE: MTMT), a NYSE-listed company, announced that it has completed $10 million in private equity financing in the past three months (including $4.4 million in October 2022), with participation from many well-known industry insiders. The financing will be used for the continued development and optimization of its PoS node deployment platform "MarsProtocol", which was launched in January. The first phase of the product supports Ethereum decentralized non-custodial node deployment services.
Hyper Oracle Completes $3 Million Seed Round
ZK oracle network Hyper Oracle announced the completion of a $3 million seed round of financing, led by dao5 and Sequoia China Seed Fund, with participation from Foresight Ventures, FutureMoney Group and others. The funds will be used for the development of the ZK middleware protocol and ZK oracle network, as well as the research of zero-knowledge proof technology. It is reported that Hyper Oracle is building the Web3 zkMiddleware protocol and zkOracle network, using mathematics as consensus. Hyper Oracle is developing new indexing and automation protocols with the zkWASM virtual machine to address the challenges of security, decentralization, computational integrity and performance of blockchain middleware.
Web3 security infrastructure Trusta Labs completes over $3 million in seed round financing, with HashKey and others participating
Web3 security infrastructure Trusta Labs announced the completion of a seed round of financing of over $3 million, led by SevenX Ventures and Vision Plus Capital, with participation from HashKey Capital, Redpoint China Ventures, GGV Capital and SNZ Holding. The funds raised will be used for new product development, promoting the absorption and conversion of new users, and retaining and operating valuable users. It is reported that Trusta Labs focuses on Web3 security infrastructure. It was established in October 2022 and won the Gitcoin Open Data Hackathon championship the following month. Trusta Labs' first product, TrustScan, is now online and can be used to detect witch attack risks and user behavior analysis.
Web3 cross-chain infrastructure FilSwan completes $3 million financing, led by Binance Labs and SNZ
Web3 cross-chain infrastructure FilSwan announced the completion of a $3 million SAFT round of financing, led by Binance Labs and SNZ Holdings, and followed by Waterdrip Capital, FBG Capital, Protocol Labs, Unicorn Hunter Ventures, Chain Capital, LD Capital, Cabin VC, Betterverse Dao, and DAO Kondr VC. In addition, the team received financial support from the Filecoin Foundation and Chainlink. The funds raised this time will support FilSwan's product development and user acquisition. It is reported that FilSwan is committed to integrating data, computing, bandwidth, and payments into a suite to provide a comprehensive solution for Web3 projects. FilSwan's first cross-chain product, multichain.storage, has been launched on the Polygon mainnet, is integrating BNB Chain, and plans to integrate Aptos and Sui.
Decentralized database WeaveDB completes $900,000 Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Permanent Ventures
WeaveDB, a decentralized database based on smart contracts, announced the completion of a $900,000 Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Permanent Ventures, with participation from IOSG Ventures, Mask Network, Arweave, Hansa, Next Web Capital, CMTD, Formless Capital, and Gitcoin co-founder Scott Moore. WeaveDB brings a Web2-like user experience to Web3 users and developers through a NoSQL DB similar to the document database Firestore on smart contracts. Users do not need to log in with a crypto wallet or pay gas fees. Developers can use WeaveDB to build a decentralized Twitter and a new GitHub.
Koinos Group, the developer of the public chain Koinos, has completed a $500,000 financing round, led by Blockchain Founders Fund
Koinos Group, the developer of the public chain Koinos, has completed a $500,000 seed round of financing, led by Blockchain Founders Fund and participated by Splinterlands. This round of financing will be used to help developers develop Koinos Pro, a subscription product for dApps.
other
Web3 social platform Plai Labs completes $32 million seed round of financing, led by a16z Crypto and others
Web3 social platform Plai Labs announced the completion of a $32 million seed round of financing, led by a16z Games and a16z Crypto. Plai Labs aims to use the funds to grow its team and hire developers to build a decentralized social platform that combines Web3 and artificial intelligence. It is reported that Plai Labs is led by several former executives of the game studio Jam City and the traditional social platform Myspace, aiming to lower the entry barrier for new Web3 users through entertainment, social participation and digital ownership.
Web3 fashion platform Syky completes $9.5 million Series A financing, led by Seven Seven Six
Web3 luxury fashion platform Syky has completed a $9.5 million Series A funding round led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from Brevan Howard Digital, Leadout Capital, First Light Capital Group, and Polygon Ventures. The new funds will be used to build the Syky team, integrate designers into the community, and develop products and technologies. Syky will also issue an NFT membership pass, The Keystone, on January 20, which will give holders exclusive access to connect and collaborate with other creators on the platform, and be able to participate in online and offline fashion events.
Crurated, a blockchain-based membership wine community, raises $7.2 million
Crated, a membership-based wine community using blockchain technology, announced the completion of a $7.2 million financing to further innovate the blockchain-based wine community and expand the market. It is reported that Crurated was launched in 2021 and is a membership-based wine community that aims to connect connoisseurs with world-class producers and prove transactions through blockchain and NFT.
Japanese Web3 startup HashPort completes approximately $7 million in financing
Japanese Web3 startup HashPort announced that it has completed the first phase of its C round of financing of 900 million yen (about 7 million US dollars) through a third-party allotment. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Edge Capital Partners under the University of Tokyo participated in the investment. The funds will be used to strengthen corporate consulting business, the combination of Japanese IP and NFT business, and strengthen the group's internal control system. It is reported that HashPort Group has been committed to the research and development of blockchain technology since 2018, including blockchain-related consulting and system solutions HashPort, NFT project HashPalette, and financial infrastructure HashBank.
Mask Network receives $5 million strategic investment from DWF Labs
Web3 global digital asset management company DWF Labs recently announced that it has made a strategic investment in Mask Network by purchasing $5 million worth of MASK tokens, and the two parties will also cooperate at the same time. The investment will be used for the long-term construction and support of decentralized social networks and the Mask Network ecosystem, making Web3 easier to use.
Web3 ownership sharing platform pieFi completes $4.6 million seed round led by Kickstart Seed Fund
Web3 ownership sharing platform pieFi has completed a $4.6 million seed round of financing, led by Kickstart Seed Fund and participated by venture capital firms such as Origin Ventures. pieFi also announced the launch of the Upside.coop ownership sharing platform, which aims to help companies establish ownership-based loyalty and retention programs with their customers and fans, and then build a community with an "owner" mentality. pieFi stated in its white paper that its solution can provide Web3 companies with a more compliant "cooperation" method to share ownership with the community. Its solution not only supports Web3 projects, but can also be expanded to traditional companies in the future.
Web3 credential protocol Gateway raises $4.2 million, led by Reciprocal Ventures
Web3 credential protocol Gateway has completed a $4.2 million seed round led by Reciprocal Ventures, with participation from 6th Man Ventures, Spartan Group, Figment and other companies. Angel investors including Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal and Messari's Ryan Selkis also participated in this round of financing. It was revealed that Gateway began fundraising at the beginning of last year and ended in the second quarter, but chose to announce it now due to the crypto crash of the previous year. Gateway was founded by Rahman and Sanket Jain in 2021 to carry out decentralized credential issuance and maintenance. Since its inception, it has issued more than 500,000 credentials, most of which (more than 300,000) have been minted as NFTs.
Web3 sleep monitoring app Sleepagotchi completes $3.5 million seed round, 1kx and others participate
Web3 sleep monitoring and Sleep-to-Earn mobile app Sleepagotchi announced the completion of a $3.5 million seed round of financing, with participation from 6th Man Ventures, Collaborative+Currency, Shima Capital, 1kx, DeFi Alliance, Sfermion, Emoote, LCA Game Guild, etc. Angel investors include Duolingo Vice President of Product Cem Kansu, Santiago R.Santos, and Mona founder Justin Melillo. According to reports, Sleepagotchi rewards users who achieve continuous sleep goals with digital collectibles, using game-like interactive and social elements to help users improve their sleeping habits. In November 2022, Sleepagotchi launched a closed beta and is now available on the iOS App Store. Development of the Android version is underway.
South Korean Web3 accelerator Nonce Classic completes approximately $3.4 million in Pre-A round of financing, led by SV Investment
South Korean Web3 accelerator Nonce Classic has completed a Pre-A round of financing of 4.2 billion won (about 3.4 million US dollars), led by SV Investment and participated by KB Investment and others.
Crypto financial knowledge platform Beurzbyte completes £2.2 million Pre-seed round of financing
Crypto financial knowledge platform Beurzbyte announced the completion of a £2.2 million pre-seed round of financing, with a group of angel investors participating. Beurzbyte hopes to bridge the "knowledge gap" between Wall Street and the general public. Its target users are beginners who have just entered the financial market. In addition to the basics of cryptocurrency trading tools, it also provides financial knowledge services in the fields of stocks, bonds, collectibles, etc.
Crypto content platform Collective Shift completes $1.5 million financing at a valuation of $15 million, with RNR Capital participating
Crypto content platform Collective Shift announced that it has completed a $1.5 million financing at a valuation of $15 million, with participation from San Francisco venture capital RNR Capital, backed by JPMorgan Chase, and Melbourne Smorgon Family Office. Collective Shift mainly provides crypto education services. The company recently signed an agreement with the Australian Open to provide Web3 training services to fans. They also plan to use the new funds to explore NFT projects and establish more partnerships with traditional companies.
Web3 enterprise chat tool developer Protico completes Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from Darwin Venture and others
Protico, a developer of Web3 enterprise chat tools, announced the completion of its Pre-Seed round of financing. The specific amount has not been disclosed. Darwin Venture, NFT market Lootex co-founder David Tseng, former Binance executive Allen Chen, and cross-chain cryptocurrency wallet Blocto co-founder Hsuan Lee participated in the investment. Protico's chat widget "Web3 Lobby" and the accompanying Chrome extension application allow users to seamlessly integrate the Web3 social layer and communication layer into their own applications in seconds and allow users to use encrypted wallets to access the universal chat interface.
Centralized Finance
Tabby, a buy now, pay later startup, raises $58 million at a $660 million valuation, with PayPal Ventures participating
Tabby, a buy now, pay later startup based in the Middle East and North Africa, has raised $58 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital India and STV at a valuation of $660 million. PayPal Ventures, the venture capital arm of PayPal, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Endeavour Catalyst participated in the round. The funds will be used to expand Tabby’s product line into a wide range of consumer financial services and support the company’s growing business, which now includes Egypt. Since its launch in 2019, the fintech company has raised more than $410 million in equity and debt.
Multi-chain wallet Cypher completes $4.3 million financing led by Y Combinator
Multi-chain Web3 wallet Cypher announced that it has completed a $4.3 million financing led by Y Combinator. The transaction was completed in June 2022, and OrangeDAO, Samsung Next and former CTO of Coinbase Balaji Srinivasan also participated. Cypher participated in the winter batch of Y Combinator last year. In addition to the wallet function, Cypher has also launched a payment card that allows users to use their stored cryptocurrencies. The company plans to use the funds for further research and development, product development, and seek possible partnerships with banking institutions.
Blockchain-based debt provider Obligate completes $4 million seed extension round, with Circle Ventures and others participating
Blockchain-based debt provider Obligate (formerly FQX) announced the completion of a $4 million seed extension round of financing, with participation from Circle Ventures and Blockchange Ventures. Together with the initial fundraising at the end of 2021, Obligate's total seed round financing has now exceeded $8.5 million. The funds will help the company expand its debt platform, which will be launched on the Polygon blockchain next month. According to reports, Switzerland-based Obligate supports companies to issue on-chain bonds and commercial paper to obtain funds from investors in a regulated decentralized finance (DeFi) environment. Issuers must pass KYC verification before creating a bond program that suits their liquidity needs. Liquidity will be denominated in stablecoins such as USDC, but can be quickly converted into US dollars.
Fintech company Kwara completes $3 million seed round of financing
Kenyan fintech company Kwara has raised $3 million in seed funding and signed a digital solutions distribution agreement with an organization representing Kenyan cooperatives. Existing investors participating in the startup's seed round include DOB Equity, Globivest and Willard Ahdritz. As previously reported by PANews, Kwara completed a $4 million seed round led by venture capital firm Breega in December 2021. The latest round of financing brings Kwara's total raised through seed round financing to $7 million.
Cross-chain encrypted payment platform SphereOne completes $2.5 million financing, led by Distributed Global
SphereOne, a cross-chain crypto payment platform, announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$2.5 million, led by Distributed Global, with participation from Newark Venture Partners, Zero Knowledge, angel investor Leore Avidar, and Eric Feldman of Bolt.com. SphereOne helps users process purchases using any cryptocurrency on any blockchain, helping merchants increase conversion rates and retain customers. The platform prioritizes the immediacy and functionality of transactions, with features including one-click checkout, cryptocurrency exchange, and more.
Digital asset investment bank BitOoda completes first phase of Series A financing
Digital asset investment bank BitOoda announced the completion of its first phase of Series A financing, led by RWE Energy Transition Investments, with the specific amount not disclosed. The funds raised will be used to enable BitOoda to accelerate the expansion of innovative and compliant capital market solutions for institutional clients, including investment banking, customized structured products, spot and derivatives brokerage, research and consulting services. The company also plans to further expand its industry-leading regulatory posture and expand its team to seek opportunities around high-performance computing, tokenization and zero-knowledge infrastructure commoditization. Previously, BitOoda completed a $7 million seed round of financing in 2019.
Institutional Funds
Courtside Ventures launches $100 million new fund to invest in blockchain games
Courtside Ventures announced that its third early-stage venture capital fund Fund III has raised $100 million. The new fund will focus on sports, collectibles and games. The fund's LPs include several NBA teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets and listed companies such as Dicks Sporting Goods, WPP and Dream11. NBA star O'Neal has also invested. Kai Bond, partner of Courtside Ventures, said that the new fund will also invest in blockchain games because Web3 will bring new distribution forms and monetization solutions to the game market.
Web3 developer platform Thirdweb founder launches $100 million Flight Story Fund
Steven Bartlett, one of Europe's most influential young entrepreneurs and founder of Web3 developer platform Thirdweb, has just launched a new $100 million (€92 million) fund to support the next generation of European unicorns that innovate in high-growth and high-impact markets. It will make personal investments of $1 million to $10 million in high-growth companies in six categories: blockchain, biotechnology, health and wellness, business, technology, and space. Previously, Steven founded social media company Social Chain and innovative marketing and consulting company Flight Story.
SSV DAO launches $5,000 ecosystem fund to improve decentralized infrastructure
SSV DAO, the decentralized organization behind Ethereum's staking infrastructure ssv.network, has launched a $50 million fund led by SSV and Digital Currency Group DCG to help improve the decentralized validator technology (DVT) infrastructure, which refers to a technology development that allows Ethereum proof-of-stake validators to run on multiple nodes at the same time. As previously reported, SSV DAO allocated a $10 million grant to Ethereum staking projects in July 2022 to build DVT projects using the SSV protocol.