According to incomplete statistics from CoinVoice, more than 25 blockchain project financing cases were announced this week (April 29-May 3). RWA market Ironlight completed $12 million in financing, which is the largest financing event this week. Other popular projects include multi-chain liquidity re-pledge agreement Bedrock, modular liquidity agreement Mitosis, cryptocurrency trading ecosystem LazyBear, etc. In the sub-sectors, the investment and financing amounts this week are concentrated in infrastructure and Web3. The following is a list of financing events this week.
Crypto voting service platform Agora completes $5 million in financing, led by Haun Ventures
Agora, a crypto voting service platform, announced the completion of a $5 million seed round of financing led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Seed Club Ventures and Consensys Ventures.
Agora hopes to create a new governance software standard for protocols to help them organize their own voting systems more efficiently. Uniswap, Optimism, and Nouns are its early customers.
STYLE Protocol, a game-focused NFT integration protocol, completes $2.5 million in seed round financing, GBV
STYLE Protocol, a game-focused NFT integration protocol, announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed round of financing, with Morningstar Ventures, Dutch Crypto Investors, GBV Capital, Protocol Labs, Alpha Ventures, and a group of founders from crypto projects participating in the investment. The protocol aims to unleash the potential of NFTs by seamlessly integrating NFTs into any game or metaverse. It can convert 2D images or NFTs into 3D assets to participate in games. It currently supports Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, and Solana blockchains.
According to RootData, a Web3 asset data platform, STYLE Protocol is a decentralized infrastructure that enables the licensing and interoperability of assets and NFTs in any virtual environment. $STYLE tokens unlock the availability of custom avatars and in-game assets in the virtual world.
Multi-signature non-custodial platform Volta completes $4.1 million seed round of financing, with Fika Ventures and others participating
Multi-signature non-custodial platform Volta announced the completion of a $4.1 million seed round of financing, with participation from Fika Ventures, Haven Ventures, Soma Capital, Dispersion Capital, and Uphonest Capital. The new funds will be used to accelerate the construction of self-custodial solutions.
TRALA LAB Completes Strategic Funding Round, Animoca Brands Joins
TRALA LAB announced that it has completed a new round of strategic financing, with Animoca Brands participating in the investment. The specific financing amount and valuation data have not been disclosed yet. TRALA LAB is a subsidiary of Joycity, a listed game company in South Korea. After receiving investment from Animoca Brands, the two parties will cooperate in the global Web3 GameFi field. It is reported that TRALA LAB plans to focus on building a long-term sustainable gaming platform and plans to connect a series of AAA-level global game IPs on zkSync.
Web3 security service provider Resonance Security completes $1.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing
Web3 comprehensive cybersecurity service provider Resonance Security has completed a $1.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Arca, Fabric VC and Blockchain Founders Fund. The new financing will be used to further accelerate expansion. According to reports, Resonance Security combines its expertise with a full range of security solutions, including smart contracts, blockchain and code audits, penetration testing, CI/CD and cloud security, artificial intelligence threat modeling, a wide range of cybersecurity product libraries, built-in cybersecurity applications, notification and guidance systems, fully supported cybersecurity concierges, cybersecurity education, etc. (Finsmes)
Modular liquidity protocol Mitosis completes $7 million financing, led by Amber Group
Modular liquidity protocol Mitosis announced that it has completed a US$7 million financing round, led by Amber Group and Foresight Ventures, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, Folius Ventures, Citizen X, GSR, Cogitent Ventures, No Limit Holdings, Digital Asset Capital Management, Pivot Global, Everstake and a group of angel investors.
Web3 content publishing platform Paragraph raises $5 million
In addition to acquiring Web3 content publishing platform Mirror, Web3 content publishing platform Paragraph also announced the completion of a $5 million financing round, with participation from Union Square Ventures (USV) and Coinbase Ventures. Paragraph founder Colin Armstrong will serve as CEO, and Mirror founder Denis Nazarov will serve as an advisor. In October 2022, Paragraph announced the completion of a $1.7 million financing round, led by Lemniscap, with participation from FTX Ventures, Binance Labs, GCR, and Seed Club Ventures. (The Block) Yesterday, Mirror was acquired by Paragraph. The Mirror team will continue to operate independently and will shift its focus to the development of "Kiosk", a Farcaster-based Web3 social application that integrates blockchain and e-commerce. The founder of Paragraph said that Mirror and Paragraph will eventually merge into a unified product suite.
Mirror's parent company receives $10 million in funding from Electric Capital
Mirror's parent company Reflective Technologies Inc. revealed that it has raised $10 million from Electric Capital, with additional support from a16z crypto, Union Square Ventures and Variant to develop a new product, Kiosk. Currently, Kiosk is still in development and looking for a founding team, and will use Farcaster to enhance blockchain-based transactions within social communities.
Cross-chain DeFi protocol EYWA completes $7 million seed round of financing, led by Curve founder
Cross-chain DeFi protocol EYWA has completed a $7 million seed round of financing, led by Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov, with participation from Fenbushi Capital, GBV Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Marshland Capital, Mulana Capital, etc. EYWA and Curve are working together to develop a trustless bridge that relies on the consensus of a reliable messaging protocol, thereby eliminating the reliance on a single bridge to move large liquidity positions.
RWA blockchain platform Balcony completes Pre-Seed round of financing
Balcony, a blockchain infrastructure company in New Jersey, USA, announced the completion of its Pre-Seed round of financing, with Avalanche Blizzard Fund participating. The specific amount and valuation information have not been disclosed. The new financing will be used to expand operations and development work. It is reported that Balcony is committed to building an RWA blockchain platform for institutions and government agencies, providing on-chain transactions and asset settlement services, which are currently mainly used in the real estate field. (Finsmes)
Popset, an on-chain social application, completes $1 million in Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Izun Partners
According to official news, the on-chain social application Popset announced the completion of a $1 million Pre-Seed round of financing, led by Izun Partners, with participation from angel investors such as PunkDAO, Michael Shaulov of Fireblocks, and Patricio Worthalter of POAP. It is reported that Popset will soon be available on iOS and Android, and the new financing will be used to advance development work and accelerate the launch of mobile applications.
Pantera Capital announces investment in TON
Pantera Capital announced its investment in TON and said: "We believe TON has the ability to promote cryptocurrency to the masses because it is widely used in the Telegram network."
The announcement stated that Pantera Capital believes that the TON network is still in its early stages and that the Telegram user base will adopt its ecosystem and new features.
Web3 game company Games for a Living completes 500 million yen financing
According to Japanese media reports, Web3 game company Games for a Living has completed 500 million yen (about 3.3 million US dollars) in financing, with investors including Supercell, the game company behind the mobile strategy game "Clash of Clans", and angel investors such as Mitch Lasky. The injection of new funds will allow Games for a Living to expand its core team and accelerate the development of its flagship game "Elemental Raiders".
Bedrock, the chain liquidity re-staking protocol, completes financing and launches Bitcoin staking service after Ethereum
Bedrock, a multi-chain liquidity re-pledge protocol, announced the completion of a round of financing aimed at accelerating the development of its liquidity re-pledge solution and driving further growth. The round was led by OKX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, and Comma3 Ventures, with participation from Waterdrip Capital, Lbank Labs, Amber Group, ArcheFund, Whale Ground, and angel investors including Babylon co-founder Fisher Yu.
Web3 game Shadow War raises $5 million, led by Momentum 6
Swedish game studio Patriots Division has completed $5 million in seed and Series A funding for its Web3 game Shadow War, with the Series A led by Momentum 6, and participation from iAngels, Cointelligence Fund, Xborg, Andromeda VC, Cogitent Ventures, and Cluster Capital. Shadow War is a 5-on-5 third-person action game set in a sci-fi future, drawing inspiration from well-known games such as Overwatch and League of Legends, focusing on the fusion of futurism, fantasy, action, and competition. Shadow War emphasizes melee combat and tactical strategy, aiming to reward skill-based players while avoiding pay-to-win elements that hinder the integrity of competition. Shadow War will use the new funds to optimize the product to enhance the user experience and continue to expand its core technology. With the goal of enhancing game features, Shadow War is committed to perfecting its product through multiple rounds of game testing with the help of a growing community, and the first phase of testing has more than 10,000 registered users. (Venture Beat)
Web3 content distribution platform Metale Protocol completes $4 million in seed round financing
According to official news, Web3 content distribution platform Metale Protocol recently announced the completion of a $2 million seed round of extended financing. As of now, its total seed round financing amount has reached $4 million. This financing was completed in the first quarter of this year, led by Aipollo Capital, Waterdrip Capital, and Ultiverse Dao, and participated by many senior entrepreneurs. The funds will be used to build a decentralized short drama content ecosystem. Metale Protocol is building a decentralized content distribution platform. It aims to build a decentralized content storage and rights confirmation protocol through blockchain, and build an application ecosystem on the network to provide decentralized paid playback, crowdfunding governance, traffic purchase, data analysis, AI creation tools and other services for the content industry. Metale Protocol can also provide highly customized smart contracts for single content, so that creators in the content industry are no longer restricted by the content review and high fees of centralized distribution platforms, and have complete autonomy and the greatest benefits. At present, Metale Protocol has 80,000 daily active users and 500,000 registered users. It is reported that Metale Protocol's application Read2N completed a US$2 million seed round of financing in March last year.
AILayer announces completion of new round of financing, with MH Ventures participating
According to official news, EVM-compatible Bitcoin L2AILayer (formerly AINNLayer2) announced the completion of a new round of financing, with MH Ventures participating, but the specific amount was not disclosed. It is reported that the two parties will work together to build a Bitcoin Layer2 solution to provide a good experience for users and developers.
Crypto Fund XYZ announces $5.1 million in financing, with Compound founder Robert Leshner participating
XYZ, a crypto fund founded by Matthew Homer, former senior director of cryptocurrency affairs at the New York Department of Financial Services, announced the completion of a $5.1 million financing round, with participation from Compound founder Robert Leshner, Multicoin managing partner Kyle Samani, and Gemini co-founders the Winklevoss brothers.
RWA market Ironlight completes $12 million financing and plans to submit registration application to the US SEC
RWA market Ironlight has completed a $12 million financing round, with individual investors with Wall Street backgrounds participating. The specific investor information has not been disclosed. Ironlight was founded by Rob McGrath and Matt Celebuski, and aims to tokenize private securities that are usually illiquid, such as real estate, natural resources, fine arts, public infrastructure, and private equity. Its goal is to become a tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market regulated by the US SEC, and will start the registration process later.
Creator economy platform Matera completes $3.6 million in financing, with participation from The Sandbox and others
Creator economy platform Matera announced the completion of $3.6 million in financing, with participation from Sidedoor Ventures, HighCass Crypto, Medusa Ventures, The Sandbox and Saxon Partners. Matera plans to develop a blockchain infrastructure, including a DeFi platform, protocol layer and L2 network. Currently, Matera supports creators on X, enabling them to raise funds and profit from their loyal fan base. Matera plans to expand its integration to other social media platforms soon.
Web3 wine marketplace Baxus completes $5 million seed round led by Multicoin Capital
Web3 wine market Baxus announced the completion of a $5 million strategic round of financing, led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Ventures, Narwhal Ventures, FJ Labs and a group of angel investors. BAXUS hopes to solve market inefficiencies by integrating the market into one application to connect buyers and sellers. The company said that by using an open Web3 payment infrastructure, costs can be reduced and transparency can be improved. Its Web3 market is built on the Solana blockchain, allowing buyers to trade using credit cards, ACH, direct wire transfers or cryptocurrencies including USDC. The beta version was launched last summer and has facilitated $8 million in transactions so far.
Blade Games Completes $2.4 Million Seed Round
Blade Games, an on-chain game studio and infrastructure provider, has raised $2.4 million in a seed round led by PTC Crypto and IOSG Ventures, with participation from Bonfire Union Ventures, Animoca Ventures, Mantle, ForesightX, Formless Capital, Public Works, Puzzle Ventures, and K300 Ventures. Developers building games using Blade Game's self-developed zk game engine can run game logic in zkVM and push state differences to the chain as zkSNARK proofs, which are then verified on L2. The zk game engine can currently process up to 12-15 frames per second, and will soon update the batch proof function. The engine currently supports all game studios developing survival, tower defense, RPG, and roguelike card building games.
Bitcoin re-staking protocol Chakra completes new round of financing, StarkWare and others participate
Chakra, a Bitcoin re-staking protocol based on zero-knowledge technology, announced the completion of a new round of financing on the X platform, with participation from StarkWare, Bixin Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Trustless Labs, etc. The specific amount and valuation information have not been disclosed yet.
According to Web3 asset data platform RootData, Chakra is a Bitcoin re-pledge protocol based on ZK proof. It uses STARK to prove the pledge event on Bitcoin and verify the proof on the second layer chain.
Bitcoin re-staking protocol Chakra completes new round of financing, StarkWare and others participate
Chakra, a Bitcoin re-staking protocol based on zero-knowledge technology, announced the completion of a new round of financing on the X platform, with participation from StarkWare, Bixin Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Trustless Labs, etc. The specific amount and valuation information have not been disclosed. Chakra allows users to pledge Bitcoin while retaining asset ownership, allowing users to participate in the consensus and governance of PoS blockchains (including Bitcoin L2), and facilitates the creation of derivatives that interact with DeFi applications.
Holograph, a full-chain NFT protocol, completes $3 million in financing, led by Mechanism Capital and others
Holograph, the LayerZero ecosystem's full-chain NFT protocol, announced the completion of a $3 million strategic financing, led by Mechanism Capital and Selini Capital, with participation from Northrock Capital, Arca, Courtside Ventures and Hartmann Capital under Hal Press. As of now, Holograph's total financing has reached $11 million. Holograph's full-chain technology allows the creation of NFT assets that can be used on multiple Ethereum-compatible chains. The new funds are intended to accelerate its expansion into the growing blockchain game market, focusing on support for Ethereum-compatible network tokens, including Optimism, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Base, Mantle, Zora and Linea.
Liquidity staking agreement MilkyWay completes $5 million in financing
MilkyWay, the Celestia ecosystem liquidity pledge protocol, has completed a $5 million seed round of financing, led by Binance Labs and Polychain Capital, with participation from Hack VC, Crypto.com Capital and LongHash Ventures. It is reported that the structure of this round of financing is a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) and token warrants from the co-leaders, and a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) from the participating investors. MilkyWay plans to launch its own tokens and airdrop them in the coming months. MilkyWay is currently running the mPoints points program. MilkyWay said in February that it would then conduct an airdrop called "Massive airdrop" or "MassDrop" to distribute at least 10% of the total supply of MILK tokens to mPoint holders. JayB Kim, co-founder and CEO of MilkyWay, said the total supply of MILK tokens will be announced later, but added that the token is expected to be launched in the late second quarter or early third quarter. Kim said MilkyWay is also building Rollup on the Initia ecosystem, which will be a fully functional Cosmos SDK chain with plans to launch a testnet as early as next month and a mainnet by the end of the second quarter.
Bitcoin Domain Name Protocol TNA Protocol Completes First Round of Funding, MH Ventures and Others Participate
TNA Protocol announced the completion of its first round of financing, with participation from MH Ventures, Cogitent Ventures and CSP DAO, etc. The specific amount of financing has not been disclosed. It is reported that TNA is a domain name protocol for Bitcoin, which aims to improve its usability and expand the range of its assets and primitives.
Swiss tokenized asset issuer Backed completes $9.5 million financing, led by Gnosis
Backed, a Swiss tokenized asset issuer, announced that it has completed a $9.5 million financing round, led by Gnosis, with participation from Exor Seeds, Cyber Fund, Mindset Ventures, Stake Capital Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, Blue Bay Capital and Nonce Classic. This round of financing will help Backed accelerate its private token issuance services and introduce more asset management companies to the blockchain.
Cryptocurrency trading platform X10 completes $6.5 million in financing, with Tioga Capital and others participating
X10, a UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform, announced the completion of a $6.5 million financing round, with participation from Tioga Capital, Semantic Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Starkware and Cyber Fund, as well as a group of angel investors. X10 will use this latest financing to build a new type of cryptocurrency exchange that combines a Revolut-like user experience with self-custody of funds, aiming to supplement DeFi native trust with a comprehensive product portfolio and enhanced speed, providing traders with a complete and efficient solution.
Web3 gaming company GFAL completes $3.2 million seed round, with participation from Supercell and others
Web3 gaming company GFAL has completed a $3.2 million seed round of financing, with participation from Supercell and MitchLasky. GFAL launched the GFAL token in the first quarter of 2023, raising $4.4 million in funds, and its token market value is currently $52 million. The GFAL team is led by Manel Sort, whose leadership members have worked at companies such as King Entertainment, Activision Blizzard, ElectronicArts, Netflix, and Digital Chocolate. GFAL has soft launched its mobile game Elemental Raiders.
Crypto trading ecosystem LazyBear completes 4 million USDT strategic financing, DWF Labs and others participate
Cryptocurrency trading ecosystem LazyBear announced the completion of a strategic financing of 4 million USDT, with participation from Gogeko Labs, DWF Labs, Shadow Labs, Salad Labs, Bees Network, REI Network, IBIT, Crypto Bullish, SYNBO Protocol, Bazaars, Sypool, Bitcoin Gbox, GemX Crypto, Wikibit, etc. It is reported that LazyBear is a cryptocurrency trading ecosystem for retail traders.
