The OKX Jumpstart Mining will commence at 6:00 am UTC on May 13, 2024. TON holders can stake TON to mine NOT tokens in return.

Seeds Labs, the developer of the Web3 game Bladerite, has announced today that it has raised $12 million in a seed funding round. Avalanche's Blizzard Fund, Solana Foundation, Krust, Hashkey Capital, UOB Ventures, Signum Capital, IVC, and Emoote participated in the fundraise.

Founded in 2021, Seeds Labs is a developer focused on high-quality games and game infrastructure, with a core team boasting an average of over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry. Its flagship product, the globally multi-platform interconnected melee battle royale Web3 game Bladerite, was released this month and landed in the Apple and Google app stores, with support from the Solana Ecosystem.

Shrapnel, the first-person extraction shooter built on Avalanche blockchain assets, has introduced a new feature that allows players to purchase its SHRAP token using a credit or debit card. This eliminates the need for players to be familiar with cryptocurrency exchanges in order to acquire the token. The integration with Halliday's crypto payments platform enables direct in-game purchases of SHRAP through providers like MoonPay or Stripe.

Lagrange Labs announced $13.2M seed round, led by Founders Fund, with participation from Archetype Ventures, 1kx, Maven11, Fenbushi Capital, Volt Capital, CMT Digital, Mantle Ecosystem Fund and various angels.

Lagrange specializes in zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs – a way for computers to mathematically verify certain kinds of data. Zero-knowledge proofs, a type of cryptography, have wide applications to blockchains and have become a popular component of layer-2 "rollup" chains, which are used to make networks like Ethereum faster and cheaper for end-users.

Ethereum scaling solution ZKM has raised $5 million in an early-stage funding round as it prepares to launch its Bitcoin-based Layer 2 network. 

ZKM secured the investment in a Pre-Series A funding round led by OKX Ventures, with participation from Amber, Metis Foundation, Crypto.com and other firms, ZKM said Monday in a statement.

ZKM is a zero-knowledge proof-based network that aims to unify blockchains, creating a settlement layer on Ethereum. As part of those efforts, ZKM is developing a network of special transaction processors called “entangled rollups,” starting with its soon-to-be-launched Layer 2 that the project says is built on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Crypto traders have placed $8 million in bets on former first lady Michelle Obama's chances of winning the 2024 U.S. presidential election, according to decentralized prediction platform Polymarket. Despite Obama's office stating that she will not be running for president, she is considered a top-three pick with a 4% chance of success. In comparison, declared candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has garnered $6.7 million in bets but is facing fading chances among regular voters.

Grayscale has withdrawn its application for an Ethereum futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the SEC. The application faced multiple delays since it was first filed in September 2023. Analysts speculate that Grayscale may have withdrawn the application to set up another legal showdown with the SEC or to re-file an amended application.

Ambient, a Solana -based decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) focused on collecting environmental data, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round. 

Borderless Capital led the round, with Solana Ventures, Parami Investors, Sonic Boom Ventures, Primal Capital and others participating, Ambient said Tuesday.

Ambient started raising for the round in February and closed it in April, co-founder and CEO Luca Franchi told The Block. The round was structured as a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants, Franchi said, declining to comment on the valuation.

Lava Foundation, a newly formed non-profit for the development of the modular blockchain network Lava, has raised $11 million in a funding round ahead of the network's mainnet launch and token airdrop.

Investors in the round included Animoca Brands, Gate.io Ventures, CoinGecko Ventures, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Ash Crypto, CryptoLark, and media outlets Crypto Times Japan, Le Journal Du Coin and The Rollup, among other investors, Lava Foundation said Tuesday.

This is the first time the foundation is being publicly introduced, Amir Aaronson, head of the foundation, told The Block. The funding round was realized via a simple agreement for future tokens or SAFT, Aaronson said, declining to comment on the valuation.

Fantasy Top, a game on the Ethereum scaling network Blast, has paid out $1.25 million worth of Ethereum to top influencers in the form of NFT trading cards. Players create lineups of their favorite Twitter influencers and earn rewards based on their social engagement. The top earners for the first week were content creator Jenn Duong, meme coin trader Ansem, and Blast founder Pacman.