Crypto Fundraising weekly
Dates: 13 – 19, Oct 2024

This week's biggest funding round

Praxis raised $525M in a funding round from GEM Digital Limited, Arch Lending, Manifold, Dan Romero, Will Price, Anirudh Pai.

Praxis is a network state aiming to create a global online community with shared values, governance, and a physical city. It combines crypto infrastructure with social, economic, and institutional development to build a new societal model. By crowdfunding physical spaces and utilizing blockchain for governance, Praxis fosters decentralized governance and financial systems. It seeks to restore Western civilization while building towards the future of digital and physical collaboration.

Pre-seed and Seed investment rounds

Hyve DA raised $1.9M in a Pre-seed funding round from Lemniscap*, Paper Ventures, Frachtis, P-OPS Team.

HyveDA is a decentralized data availability network designed for high-throughput and low-latency data processing. It leverages advanced infrastructure to handle intensive data needs, supporting applications like Layer 2 scaling, DePIN, decentralized AI, and DeFi. HyveDA achieves 1 GB/s throughput and sub-second latency, making it ideal for decentralized infrastructures requiring efficient data availability and validation.

Drop Protocol raised $4M in a Seed funding round from CoinFund*, CMS Holdings, Anagram, Chorus One, Interop Ventures, Vasiliy Shapovalov, Mustafa Al-Bassam, Zaki Manian.

Drop is a decentralized platform that offers liquid staking for the interchain, allowing users to earn auto-compounded staking rewards while keeping their assets liquid. Built on Neutron and secured by Cosmos Hub, Drop provides dAssets, which can be used across DeFi applications for additional yield. The platform also supports validators and developers, enabling integration with liquid staking tokens. Users can earn and redeem Droplets for DROP tokens in the ecosystem.

Surge raised $1.8M in a Pre-seed funding round from Gerstenbrot Capital, Samara Asset Group, Coingecko, Sats Ventures, Double Peak Group, Vamient Capital, Autonomy Capital, Bobby Ong, TM Lee.

Surge is a decentralized MetaLayer built to scale Bitcoin, enabling modular rollups and dApps. It leverages Bitcoin’s security through its PoS consensus while providing a high-throughput, low-latency infrastructure. Surge aims to unlock the next-generation Bitcoin economy by facilitating seamless interoperability for decentralized applications, leveraging ZKP aggregation and Bitcoin liquidity without relying on third parties.

Hermetica raised $1.7M in a Seed funding round from UTXO Management*, Silvermine Capital, Newman Capital, CMS Holdings, Arch Network, Sats Ventures, Trust Machines, Ethos Fund, Kilowatt Capital.

Hermetica is a DeFi platform offering Bitcoin-backed, yield-bearing stablecoins. Its core product, USDh, provides up to 25% APY, allowing users to earn consistent returns from perpetual futures funding payments. Hermetica enables staking, trading, and lending within the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem while maintaining price stability without reliance on fiat. The platform is designed to provide sustainable yield opportunities and integrate Bitcoin liquidity into DeFi.

Opacity Network raised $12M in a Seed funding round from Archetype*, Breyer Capital*, a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Finality Capital, Bodhi Ventures, North Island Ventures (NIV), Escape Velocity, Ambush Capital, GD1.

Opacity is a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) protocol that enables trustless verification of information without revealing details. Through its Verified Data Network (VDN), it connects provers and verifiers for secure data sharing across web2 and web3. Leveraging zkTLS for privacy, MPC architecture for scalability, and economic security from EigenLayer, Opacity offers a high-security solution for private data sharing and verification.

Blockcast raised $2.9M in a Seed funding round from Lattice Fund*, Alliance DAO (ex DeFi Alliance), Protocol Labs, Finality Capital, Zee Prime Capital, RW3 Ventures, Anatoly Yakovenko.

Blockcast is an open, decentralized content delivery network (CDN) that leverages a unique caching architecture to reduce delivery costs and enhance content quality. It aggregates capacity from a global network of caching nodes, enabling efficient content delivery, even in remote areas. By integrating multicast technology, Blockcast supports streaming, gaming, and other high-bandwidth services, allowing broadcasters, CDNs, and ISPs to expand capacity and reach. Users and operators running Blockcast nodes can earn rewards through token incentives.

The Arena raised $2M in a Pre-seed funding round from Abstract Ventures, C² Ventures, D1 Ventures, Sarson Funds, AlphaCrypto Capital, Balaji Srinivasan.

Arena is a SocialFi platform that combines social networking with decentralized finance, allowing users to connect, engage, and monetize their interactions. It integrates blockchain technology to offer a next-gen social experience where users can earn rewards and participate in decentralized communities. The platform emphasizes both social engagement and financial empowerment through a user-centric ecosystem.

Pell Network raised $3M in a Pre-seed funding round from Halo Capital*, Mirana Ventures*, Paper Ventures*, ArkStream Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Caliber Venture Builder, Contribution Capital, Delta Blockchain Fund, D11-Labs, J17 Capital, Mantle Network, Sats Ventures, Side Door Ventures, Web3Port Labs, 071labs (Zero Seven One Labs).

Pell Network is a decentralized platform offering validated services specifically for the Bitcoin ecosystem. It focuses on enhancing the security, efficiency, and scalability of Bitcoin by providing decentralized infrastructure and services. The network integrates Bitcoin’s strengths with decentralized technologies, enabling new use cases and improved performance across various applications.

Other investment rounds

ZeroBase raised $5M in a  funding round from Binance Labs Fund, Lightspeed Faction, dao5 (daofive), IDG Blockchain, Symbolic Capital (ex Hyperedge Capital), MH Ventures, Oak Grove Ventures, 10K Ventures, Web3Port Labs, 071labs (Zero Seven One Labs), Lecca Ventures, K24 Ventures, PAKA.

ZeroBase is a decentralized platform designed to provide secure, real-time zero-knowledge (ZK) proof generation. It focuses on maintaining privacy while allowing for scalable and compliant computing across various sectors, including finance, AI, and blockchain. The platform offers solutions like zkLogin for privacy-preserving authentication, zkDarkPool for confidential trading, and zkKYC for secure identity verification. By leveraging trusted execution environments (TEE), ZeroBase ensures that sensitive data remains private without sacrificing transparency or compliance. It aims to make ZK cryptography more accessible, scalable, and efficient, enabling seamless integration across decentralized ecosystems.

Plasma raised $3.5M in a  funding round from Bitfinex*, Christian Angermayer, Anthos Capital, Karatage, Manifold, Split Capital.

Plasma is a high-throughput, zero-fee payment platform built on Bitcoin. It enables USD₮ transfers with no fees and supports over 1,000 transactions per second, leveraging Bitcoin’s security. Plasma introduces a novel Nakamoto PoS consensus mechanism and a hybrid UTXO/Account architecture, allowing developers to build and execute modular smart contracts. The platform is designed to enhance Bitcoin’s utility for payments and decentralized applications with scalable, low-latency solutions.

zkPass raised $12.5M in a Series A  funding round from dao5 (daofive), Animoca Brands, CE Innovation Capital (CEIC), L2 Iterative Ventures (L2IV), UOB Venture Management, Flow Traders, Amber Group, Leland Ventures, IOBC Capital, Signum Capital, Bing Ventures, MH Ventures, WAGMI Ventures, Taisu Ventures, Ceras Ventures, Global Coin Research (GCR).

zkPass is a composable, privacy-preserving decentralized identity verification solution for Web3, utilizing multi-party computation (MPC) and zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technologies to securely validate and verify private data without the need for data disclosure or upload. It enables users to selectively and privately validate various types of data while maintaining trust and privacy in applications such as decentralized identity passes, DeFi lending protocols, healthcare data marketplaces, and more.

Marketnode raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Euroclear.

Marketnode is a developer and operator of Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) designed to manage data, transactions, and lifecycle processes for digital assets. Utilizing Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Marketnode aims to revolutionize the issuance, transaction, and servicing of financial assets such as credit, funds, and structured products. The platform, particularly its Gateway service, provides comprehensive solutions for tokenized asset issuance, settlement, and automated servicing, targeting issuers, financial institutions, and their agents.

Lombard raised $1M in a  funding round from Binance Labs Fund.

Lombard is dedicated to unlocking Bitcoin's potential by integrating it into DeFi, building a universal standard for cross-chain, yield-bearing BTC without fragmenting liquidity. Their flagship product, LBTC, is a liquid Bitcoin backed 1:1 by BTC, allowing users to hold Bitcoin as a store of value while earning, staking, trading, and engaging with DeFi. Currently in Phase 1 on the Ethereum mainnet, Lombard aims to expand access and grow the Bitcoin restaking ecosystem.

Yellow Card Financial raised $33M in a Series C  funding round from Blockchain Capital*, Polychain Capital, Block, Winklevoss Capital, Third Prime, Castle Island Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Blockchain Coinvestors, Hutt Capital.

Yellow Card Financial is a Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange.

Mento Labs raised $10M in a  funding round from T-Capital, Hashkey Capital, Flori Ventures, No Limit Holdings (NLH), Verda Ventures, w3 fund.

Mento Labs is a decentralized platform that focuses on creating and operating multi-currency stable assets. It aims to advance financial inclusion by providing transparent, low-volatility stablecoins, particularly in emerging markets. The platform supports various stablecoins, including cUSD, cEUR, and cREAL, and integrates an automated market maker (AMM) for efficient currency swaps. Mento Labs also provides tailored solutions for partners to launch digital assets while focusing on financial stability, low fees, and accessibility.

CCData raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from CoinDesk.

CCData is a provider of institutional-grade digital asset data, indices, and market insights. The platform offers real-time and historical data across 300+ exchanges, covering 300,000 currency pairs. Their services include trade data, derivatives, order book insights, and regulated reference pricing. CCData is FCA-authorized and provides reliable benchmarks and research for financial institutions, supporting data-driven decisions in digital asset markets.

Azra Games raised $42.7M in a Series A  funding round from Pantera Capital*, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto), a16z Games, NFX.

Azra Games is a gaming studio dedicated to crafting immersive role-playing games (RPGs) that offer rich storytelling and real-time action. Led by industry veteran Mark Otero, creator of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Azra focuses on creating next-generation RPGs like Project Legends, which features a dark fantasy world with real-time combat and unique character abilities. With an emphasis on fan interaction, the Azraverse allows players to engage in quests, earn rewards, and shape the game’s evolving narrative. Azra combines innovative gameplay with community-driven experiences.

Towns raised $25.5M in a Series A  funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto), Benchmark, Framework Ventures.

Towns is a Web3 group chat protocol and app by Not There Labs that lets online communities build blockchain-based gatherings in a fully decentralized way. It offers a complete system for community builders: on-chain (Ethereum) ownership and actions, composability with smart contracts, end-to-end encryption, full decentralization and open source.

Blockstream raised $210M in a  funding round from Fulgur Ventures*.

Blockstream is the global leader in Bitcoin and timechain technology, providing Bitcoin and blockchain technology solutions for financial markets. It builds crypto-financial infrastructure based on Bitcoin.

Bitnomial raised $25M in a Series C  funding round from Ripple*.

Bitnomial is a U.S.-based regulated cryptocurrency exchange offering futures and options trading for Bitcoin and other digital assets. It provides physically settled contracts, allowing traders to receive Bitcoin at contract expiration. The platform focuses on institutional and professional traders by offering advanced risk management, regulatory compliance, and high liquidity.

Predicate raised $7M in a  funding round from 1kx*, Tribe Capital*, Figment Capital*, Reciprocal Ventures, Hashkey Capital, White Star Capital, Very Early Ventures, Cyber Fund, GSR Markets LTD, Department of XYZ, Everstake Capital, ConsenSys, Near Foundation, Calvin Liu, Rene Reinsberg, Marek Olszewski, Sandeep Nailwal, Georgios Vlachos, Waikit Lau.

Predicate is a decentralized network enabling customizable, pre-transaction rules for on-chain applications. It allows developers to create policies enforced by Operators, ensuring secure, rule-based transactions. Policies can manage AML, KYC, and anomaly detection, and are stored on Ethereum for transparency.

Solv Protocol raised $11M in a Strategic  funding round from Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital, OKX Ventures (ex OKEx Blockdream Ventures), gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC), CMT Digital, Berachain, EigenLayer, GMX, Curve Labs, Movement Labs, Ethena, Mezo, Core DAO, Binance Labs Fund, The Spartan Group, 071labs (Zero Seven One Labs).

Solv Protocol is a decentralized platform bridging liquidity across DeFi, CeFi, and TradFi, offering diverse asset classes and yield opportunities in a secure and transparent manner. It enables global institutions and retail investors to access trusted crypto investments through a trustless fund infrastructure powered by ERC-3525.

World of Dypians raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from IBC Group.

World of Dypians is a metaverse platform built on blockchain technology, offering an immersive virtual experience where users can explore, interact, and earn rewards. The platform integrates elements of DeFi and NFTs, allowing players to own assets, trade, and participate in governance. It provides various play-to-earn opportunities and supports community-driven ecosystems.

Bracket Labs raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from 071labs (Zero Seven One Labs).

Bracket Labs is a project that builds leveraged structured products on-chain with simple interfaces and innovative, adaptive pricing to vastly improve usability. Bracket Labs has launched BracketX.fi, a platform that helps traders quickly take advantage of volatility in both sideways and trending market conditions.

* fund, that lead investment round