Crypto Fundraising weekly
Dates: 14 – 20, Apr 2024

This week's biggest funding round

Puffer Finance raised $18M in a Series A funding round from Brevan Howard Digital*, Electric Capital*, Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Mechanism Capital, Lightspeed Faction, ConsenSys, Animoca Brands, GSR Markets LTD, Lemniscap, Sandeep Nailwal, Yaoqi Jia.

Puffer Finance is a decentralized protocol that enables anti-slashing and at-home staking on Ethereum by utilizing a low bond requirement and introducing Secure-Signer, a remote-signing tool that prevents slashable offenses. Puffer aims to diversify the validator set and reduce centralization in Ethereum's proof-of-stake network while addressing the challenges faced by solo validators. It provides a permissionless staking pool and tools to enhance the safety and viability of at-home staking.

Pre-seed and Seed investment rounds

Thruster raised $7.5M in a Seed funding round from Pantera Capital*, OKX Ventures (ex OKEx Blockdream Ventures), Mirana Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Dewhales Capital, Manifold, Caladan, Arche Fund (Coin98 Ventures), Rarestone Capital, MrBlock, Santiago R. Santos, dingaling, MoonCat2878, Christianeth, Hype.eth.

Thruster is Blast's native decentralized exchange (DEX) designed to enhance the trading experience by integrating Blast native yields, custom liquidity solutions, and a user-friendly interface. It provides a comprehensive solution for token development, offering fair launch mechanics, liquidity tools for developers, and supporting yield tooling and social analytics for users.

MerlinStarter raised undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round from Amber Group, ArkStream Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Mapleblock Capital, Cryptogram Venture (CGV), Side Door Ventures, Comma3 Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, Web3Port Labs, LK Venture, Basics Capital, Waterdrip Capital, SatoshiLab, NxGen, Saxon, HerculesDAO, DCI capital (Dutch Crypto Investors), Kangaroo Capital, Titans Ventures, ZC Capital.

Rebase is an AR Adventure and M2E App powered by Geo-Technology that aims to bring NFTs into the real world by gamifying the NFT minting experience into a treasure hunt. Through geolocation technology and augmented reality (AR), users physically move around to locate and track down NFTs, which they can mint and collect only when spotted through their AR lens. This innovative approach fosters social interaction, decentralization, community engagement, and active participation through its "Find to Earn" mechanism.

Runes DEX raised $2M in a Seed funding round from Kenetic, Mechanism Capital, Auros Global, Future Fund, Boosty Labs, Pascal Gauthier, 0xMaki, Art On Internet (AOI).

Runes DEX is an automated market maker (AMM) platform specifically designed for trading Runes on the Bitcoin network. It offers a unique market model that merges finance with digital culture, providing users with seamless trading experiences while pioneering the integration of meme-based tokens through features like the "Meme Casino." Through Runes DEX, users can engage in effortless trading within the vast Runes ecosystem and explore diverse offerings such as the Runes Forge for creating and deploying meme tokens, Lightning for mastering trades at high speeds, Meme City for staking, and Genesis Runes as the inaugural meme coin.

Nebra raised $4.5M in a Seed funding round from Nascent*, Bankless Ventures*, Tim Beiko, Nick White, Sandy Peng, Haichen Shen, Kartik Talwar.

Nebra is an organization focused on Blockchain and zero-knowledge proof research, aiming to democratize zero-knowledge proof technology to reduce proof settlement costs on Ethereum and other blockchains. By developing the first proof aggregation service on Ethereum, Nebra utilizes Universal ZK-ZK Proof Aggregation construction to aggregate Zero-Knowledge Proofs for diverse applications, including privacy-preserving identities, storage proofs, ZKML, and zkEVM proofs.

Zeko raised $3M in a Pre-seed funding round from UOB Venture Management*, Signum Capital*, YBB Foundation*, Autonomy Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Genesis Block Ventures Capital (GBV), Tenzor Capital, 3Commas Capital, AVID3, NxGen, SkyVision Capital, Presto Labs.

Zeko is a decentralized, zero-knowledge, cross-chain scaling protocol built on the Mina blockchain. It is tailored for developers working in finance, AI, gaming, and internet services. The protocol focuses on enhancing privacy and scalability through advanced cryptographic methods, making it a powerful tool for developing secure and efficient applications across various industries.

Ord.io raised $2M in a Pre-seed funding round from Bitcoin Frontier Fund*, Sora Ventures*, Eden Block, Arca Fund, LongHash Ventures, Daxos Capital, Portal Ventures, UTXO Management, Rubik Ventures, AntAlpha, Kommune, Edessa Capital, Petrock Capital, PG Capital, Re7 Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Udi Wertheimer, Zeneca, Anthony Cheng.

The platform lets users search, browse and interact with Ordinals inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain and intends to use the fresh capital to expand support for the upcoming Runes protocol, a new fungible token standard for Bitcoin launching at the halving.

Aark Digital raised $6M in a Seed funding round from Hashkey Capital, Arrington Capital, Cypher Capital, Morningstar Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), Metavest Capital, ArkGrow.

Aark Digital is a decentralized exchange (DEX) for professional traders that offers Leveraged LP and leverage trading of Super Long Tail Assets. It introduces features such as Single-sided LP and Leveraged LP, allowing liquidity providers to earn leveraged returns while minimizing directional risk. Aark Digital utilizes a new AMM architecture called PMM, which reflects real-world liquidity from top centralized exchanges, enhancing liquidity and enabling arbitrage opportunities for a wide range of asset pairs.Decentralized exchange on Arbitrum

Sending Network raised $7.5M in a Seed funding round from Nomad Capital, Symbolic Capital (ex Hyperedge Capital), Web3com Ventures, Galxe (ex Project Galaxy), SWC Global, Balaji Srinivasan, Gabby Dizon.

Sending.Network (SDN) is an open, secure web3 communication infrastructure enabling users to chat, trade and socialize seamlessly within and across applications. It provides customized and easy-to-install chatting solutions for Web3 Gaming, Wallets and general Dapp developers.

Inference Labs raised $2.3M in a Pre-seed funding round from Mechanism Capital*, Digital Asset Capital Management (DACM)*, Delphi Ventures*, Big Brain Holdings, Bitscale Capital, Edessa Capital, ID Theory, Mozaik Capital, Newman Capital, Seed Club Ventures, Momentum 6 (M6), Skynet Trading, Sandeep Nailwal, Santiago R. Santos, DeFiDad, Richard Dai.

Inference Labs focuses on developing state-of-the-art AI technologies, including applications for both the Web2 and Web3 spaces. Their approach is notable for leveraging open-source communities and cutting-edge methodologies like reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) to enhance AI's capabilities. The platform aims to decentralize AI development, reducing reliance on monolithic, resource-heavy models by advocating for more distributed and accessible AI solutions.

Aligned Layer raised $2.6M in a Seed funding round from Lemniscap*, Bankless Ventures, Paper Ventures, Starkware, O(1)Labs, Sreeram Kannan, Daniel Lubarov.

Aligned Layer is a universal verification layer designed for Ethereum, enhancing its capabilities for zero-knowledge SNARK proofs. Developed on EigenLayer, Aligned Layer aims to make Ethereum a more efficient and cost-effective platform for SNARK verification by leveraging restaking and proof aggregation. This initiative supports various zero-knowledge technology developments, aiming to expand Ethereum's utility and support the future of trustless applications with enhanced security and verifiability.

Other investment rounds

TeleportDAO raised $7.1M in a Public sale  funding round from .

TeleportDAO is a trustless and secure infrastructure that enables cross-chain interoperability by providing an infrastructure for developers to build cross-chain applications. It allows users to transfer data such as contract calls and assets like tokens and NFTs between blockchains in a trustless manner, without relying on third parties. TeleportDAO is a light client bridge that adjusts to different blockchains with different consensus mechanisms and speeds.

Skynet Trading raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Seier Capital, Edessa Capital.

Skynet Trading is an algorithmic trading and investment firm specializing in the digital assets market. Leveraging advanced algorithms and market insights, Skynet Trading aims to optimize trading strategies and maximize returns for its clients in the fast-paced world of digital assets.

Lambda Finance raised $1.8M in a Angel  funding round from Michael Egorov, Hashcow Group, AladdinDAO, The A-Team, MrBlock, Threshold Network, DLC link.

Lambda Finance is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that provides a Bitcoin-based USD stablecoin solution, allowing Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi opportunities while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin's long-term potential. With Lambda Finance, users can mint BTCUSD stablecoins using their Bitcoin holdings and redeem them at any time at a 1:1 ratio, leveraging their BTC as collateral for accessing the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Superlogic raised $7.6M in a Strategic  funding round from American Express Ventures (Amex), Sangha Capital, 10SQ Capital (TenSquared), Nima Capital, ACTAI Ventures, Chainlink.

Superlogic is a loyalty platform leveraging blockchain and AI technologies. It offers enterprise-grade solutions tailored for businesses, seamlessly integrating with existing CRM and loyalty management systems. Superlogic drives customer engagement and loyalty through innovative features and interoperable protocols.

Centrifuge raised $15M in a Series A  funding round from Greenfield Capital*, ParaFi Capital*, Arrington Capital, Bloccelerate, Borderless Capital, Circle Ventures, Edessa Capital, Gnosis DAO, IOSG Ventures, Re7 Capital, Scytale Digital, Skynet Trading, The Spartan Group, Modular Capital, ProtoCap, Stake Capital, TRGC, Wintermute, Stefan George, Lyuben Belov.

The untapped multi-trillion dollar market of real-world assets (RWA) is now entering Decentralized Finance (DeFi) through Centrifuge: the first protocol to connect DeFi to the real-world.

Merlin Chain raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from The Spartan Group*, Hailstone Labs*, Amber Group, Presto Labs, IOBC Capital.

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution integrating ZK-Rollup, decentralized oracle network, and BTC fraud proof modules, committed to scaling Bitcoin and making it fun. Developed by Bitmap Tech, Merlin Chain supports native Bitcoin assets and protocols, contributing to the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem. It offers various applications, including DEX iZUMi Finance, Bridge Meson Polyhedra Network, Bitmap Game, Bitmap War, and BRC-420 native DeFi apps like Mineral.

Usual Labs raised $7M in a Strategic  funding round from IOSG Ventures*, Kraken Ventures*, Psalion VC, Hypersphere, LBANK Labs, Mantle Network, GSR Markets LTD, Public Works, Breed VC, Starkware, Flowdesk, Kima Ventures, AVID3, TRGC, X ventures, Bing Ventures, Jordi Alexander, DCF God, Spencer Noon, Rand Hindi, Sebastien Couture.

Usual Labs is a startup building out the USD0 stablecoin ecosystem. USD0 is a stablecoin backed by real-world assets.

Plena Finance raised $5M in a  funding round from ConsenSys, Big Brain Holdings, Dewhales Capital, Normie Capital, FounderHeads VC, Galxe (ex Project Galaxy), CSP DAO, Decubate, Genesis Block Ventures Capital (GBV), DCI capital (Dutch Crypto Investors), DEC Ventures, Poolz Finance, Gains Associates, Ivan on Tech, Mando, BoxMining, Ash Crypto.

Plena Finance is a crypto superApp focused on making cryptocurrencies accessible to everyday users with a key emphasis on security and usability. It features innovative technologies like Account Abstraction, providing full self-custody of digital assets, and introduces automated purchasing and crypto portfolios for a user-friendly and secure experience in the cryptocurrency landscape.

Fantasy top raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Alliance DAO (ex DeFi Alliance), Manifold, Fabric Ventures, Ryan Selkis, Santiago R. Santos, Casey K. Caruso, Bharat Krymo, Bryan Pellegrino, Gmoney, OSF.

Fantasy top is a SocialFi Trading Card Game (TCG) where players compete to earn ETH, BLAST, and FAN points by leveraging the performance of their favorite influencers' Twitter activity. Through trading cards featuring crypto Twitter influencers, players engage in an online game that enables them to monetize their social capital and research expertise within the cryptocurrency community.

CVEX (Crypto Valley Exchange) raised $7M in a  funding round from Fabric Ventures*, SALT fund*, Amdax, Wave Digital Assets, FunFair Ventures, Seier Capital, FiveT Fintech (ex Avaloq Ventures), Saxon.

CVEX is a decentralized derivatives exchange (DDEX) that redefines futures and options trading in decentralized finance. Powered by the CVEX Protocol, it merges traditional finance practices with decentralized principles, offering a complete trading experience with safety, transparency, and ease of access. Featuring portfolio risk management through an on-chain Value-at-Risk (VaR) model, automated clearance bots for stability, and transparent collateral using USDC, CVEX sets a new standard for DeFi derivatives trading with efficient capital utilization and risk mitigation techniques.

Homium raised $10M in a Series A  funding round from Sorenson Impact Group*, Blizzard*.

Homium is a real estate equity mortgage lender and securitization platform that has launched its first home equity loans on Avalanche. These loans, currently available in Colorado, involve homeowners committing a portion of their home's price appreciation, offering investors tokenized assets tracking the appreciation of a pool of shared appreciation home loans. Homium aims to unlock trapped home equity, address housing affordability, and offer institutional investors a new asset class with uncorrelated, inflation-protected returns.

GEODNET raised $2M in a  funding round from CoinFund, Pantera Capital, VanEck, Santiago R. Santos.

GEODNET is a decentralized network that combines real-world Earth observation with blockchain technology, aiming to gather geospatial data from space weather stations worldwide and provide secure and trusted data products. Participants contribute to the network by installing geodetic-grade GNSS antennas on their roofs and are rewarded with GEOD tokens for their contributions.

Saakuru Labs raised $2.4M in a  funding round from BasedVC Fund*, Arcthecommunity (ARC)*, Kyber Ventures, PG Capital, Wizards Capital, Decubate, OIG Capital (Oracles Investment Group), BCW Group, Steady Stack, W3GG, Calib3r, Rarible, Worlds Beyond (PlayGround), IBC Group.

Saakuru is a consumer-centric Layer 2 (L2) Protocol that leverages the OP Stack and delegate model to eradicate transaction fees for users, ensuring a frictionless experience for applications built on top of it. With the Saakuru Developer Suite, developers can embed complex digital products into Web3 in just one day, offering cost-efficient and seamless connectivity from Web2 to Web3.

AVALON raised $10M in a  funding round from BITKRAFT Ventures*, Hashed*, Coinbase Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Delphi Digital, Spirit DAO, Sanctor Capital, DEXT Force Ventures, Follow[the]Seed, LVT Capital, Andromeda Capital, Focus Labs, Momentum 6 (M6), The Spartan Group, MH Ventures, Contango Digital Assets, PG Capital, GuildFi, BreederDAO, Liquid X Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Altcoin Sherpa, dingaling, EllioTrades, Grail eth, Virtual Bacon, cr0ss eth, Cygaar, FaZe Banks, Ash Crypto.

Avalon is an interoperable digital universe tied together through technologies such as game engines and blockchain technology empowers gamers, creators, anyone to build worlds.

* fund, that lead investment round