Crypto Fundraising weekly
Dates: 18 – 24, Aug 2024

This week's biggest funding round

Story Protocol (PIP Labs) raised $80M in a Series B funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto)*, Polychain Capital, Cozomo de’ Medici, Adrian Cheng, Scott Trowbridge.

Story Protocol is a web3 technology that aims to transform storytelling by providing infrastructure for creators to build narrative universes and imaginary worlds using open source principles. It enables the creation, governance, and licensing of intellectual property on the blockchain, allowing for the development of an ecosystem of modular story components that can be remixed and combined in new and innovative ways.

Pre-seed and Seed investment rounds

Fanton raised $1M in a Seed funding round from Animoca Brands*, Delphi Digital*, Kenetic*, HashKey Group, TON Ventures, PAKA, Sign VC.

Fanton Fantasy Football is an innovative play-to-earn game on Telegram, merging fantasy football with NFTs and crypto technology. Built on the TON blockchain, it offers easy accessibility, NFT integration, free-to-play options, and various earning opportunities, aiming to captivate both casual and hardcore football fans.

Stork Network raised $4M in a Seed funding round from Lightspeed Faction*, Lattice Fund, CMS Holdings, Wintermute.

Stork Network offers a decentralized Open Data Market, enabling access to reliable and unique data for developers and protocols. It empowers users to integrate decentralized data into their applications without compromising on quality or security. Stork’s ecosystem supports various data providers, ensuring that developers can build and innovate with confidence in a decentralized environment.

TMRW raised $1.3M in a Pre-seed funding round from Maple VC*, Brad Mills.

TMRW is a social platform that enhances the Bitcoin experience by allowing users to easily send and receive Bitcoin or dollars with friends. It focuses on simplifying peer-to-peer transactions, making Bitcoin more accessible through a user-friendly interface that connects people and their digital currencies in a social environment.

SatLayer raised $8M in a Pre-seed funding round from Hack VC*, Castle Island Ventures*, Franklin Templeton, OKX Ventures (ex OKEx Blockdream Ventures), Mirana Ventures, MH Ventures, Amber Group, Big Brain Holdings, CMS Holdings.

SatLayer is a modular security layer built on Bitcoin, designed to secure decentralized applications and protocols. By leveraging Bitcoin’s robust economic collateral, SatLayer introduces Bitcoin Validated Services (BVS), offering enhanced security for the entire crypto ecosystem. It provides developers with tools to align their projects with Bitcoin’s network, ensuring decentralized and secure operations across various blockchain applications.

Arch Lending raised $5M in a Seed funding round from Morgan Creek Capital*, Castle Island Ventures*, Galaxy Digital, BitGo, Perpetual Value Partners, Kenetic, Untamed Ventures, Block0, Humla Ventures, Alumni Ventures (AVG).

Arch Lending is a financial platform that offers crypto-backed loans, allowing users to unlock liquidity from their digital assets without selling them. The platform provides secure, transparent, and flexible lending solutions tailored to the needs of crypto investors. Arch Lending focuses on simplifying the borrowing process, offering competitive interest rates, and ensuring the protection of users’ collateral.

Ark Labs raised $2.5M in a Pre-seed funding round from Tim Draper*, Draper Associates*, Fulgur Ventures, Axiom.

Ark Labs is developing a scalable Layer 2 protocol for Bitcoin, called Ark, aimed at enabling fast, low-cost, and private transactions. The platform simplifies Bitcoin payments by taking transactions off-chain, reducing fees, and allowing users to receive payments even when offline.

Ducat raised $1.3M in a Pre-seed funding round from UTXO Management*, CMS Holdings, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Revelo Intel, Marin Digital Ventures, Samara Asset Group, Bitcoin Startup Lab, Bitflow, X+ (XDeGods).

The Ducat Protocol governs the issuance and redemption of UNIT Collateralized Debt Positions (CDP) using Bitcoin-native, zero-knowledge proof circuits. The governance token, DUCAT, is designed for decentralization, providing a stablecoin solution that fuses Bitcoin’s censorship resistance with decentralized, native collateral. Ducat addresses the centralization issues in the stablecoin market by offering a Bitcoin-native, self-custodial, and permissionless smart contract system, catering to Bitcoin holders’ preferences for security and autonomy.

Reflection AI raised undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round from Cryptogram Venture (CGV), K24 Ventures, CatcherVC.

Reflection AI is a platform that enables users to explore and experiment with advanced AI tools for creating and customizing digital content. It offers a user-friendly interface to generate unique visuals, enhance images, and integrate AI capabilities into creative projects. Reflection AI focuses on democratizing access to cutting-edge technology, making it accessible for both professionals and enthusiasts.

Skyfire raised $8.5M in a Seed funding round from Circle Ventures, Ripple, Gemini Frontier Fund, Draper Associates.

Skyfire is a financial platform designed for the AI economy, enabling AI agents to autonomously discover, pay for, and monetize services, data, and infrastructure. It provides an SDK that facilitates payment automation, agent identity creation, and trusted transactions within a decentralized network.

BSX raised $4M in a Seed funding round from Blockchain Capital*, Base Ecosystem Fund, Bankless Ventures, No Limit Holdings (NLH), Cadenza, CMS Holdings, Breed VC, Maelstrom, Zach Segal.

BSX (The Bermuda Stock Exchange) is an on-chain trading platform offering perpetual futures trading. Built on decentralized blockchain infrastructure, it ensures low fees and deep liquidity for a seamless trading experience. With features like cross-margining, low gas costs, and customizable interfaces, BSX combines the efficiency of centralized exchanges with the security of decentralized ones, providing traders with a powerful and flexible trading engine.

g8keep raised $1.3M in a Pre-seed funding round from Robot Ventures, Base Ecosystem Fund, Cygaar, Sunil Srivatsa.

g8keep addresses the flaws in token launching and trading by providing a secure and transparent platform that protects users from the inherent risks of the current systems. g8keep aims to correct the vulnerabilities that leave users exposed, ensuring a safer and more reliable environment for engaging with digital assets.

YeagerAI (GenLayer) raised $7.5M in a Seed funding round from North Island Ventures (NIV)*, Node Capital, Arrington Capital, MH Ventures, WAGMI Ventures, BlockBuilders, Maelstrom, ZK Ventures.

YeagerAI is an AI research and development platform focused on creating collaborative AI agents through its Generative World-as-a-Service platform, GenWorlds. It aims to enhance human creativity and productivity by integrating advanced AI capabilities into real-world applications, prioritizing accessibility, safety, and open-source collaboration.

Corn raised $6.7M in a Seed funding round from Polychain Capital*, Binance Labs Fund, Framework Ventures, ABCDE Capital, Symbolic Capital (ex Hyperedge Capital), Relayer Capital, HTX Ventures (ex Huobi Ventures), Offchain Labs, Babylon, Stakeholder Capital (SHV), Mozaik Capital, Sandeep Nailwal, DCF God, Bryan Pellegrino, Georgios Vlachos, Bullet Labs, Sami Tannir, Udi Wertheimer, Smokey The Bera, Scott Moore.

Corn is a Ethereum layer-2 solution built on Bitcoin that enhances Bitcoin’s utility by using it for gas fees in decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems. Corn introduces BTCN, a hybrid tokenized Bitcoin backed 1:1 by native BTC, offering Bitcoin holders flexible options for using their assets in DeFi without relying on centralized intermediaries.

Sorella Labs raised $7.5M in a Seed funding round from Paradigm*, Uniswap Labs Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Robot Ventures, Nascent.

Sorella Labs is developing innovative tools to address Ethereum’s Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) problem at the application layer. MEV refers to profits extracted by validators or bots through transaction manipulation, such as front-running, sandwich attacks, and arbitrage. These practices can increase costs for DeFi users and give an unfair advantage to those with more resources. Sorella Labs aims to create solutions that reduce the negative impact of MEV on the Ethereum network.

Nexus Interactive raised $2M in a Seed funding round from Animoca Brands*, Jump Crypto*, Maven Capital*, GameFi Ventures, SkyVision Capital, Avocado Guild, Good Games Guild, RR2 Capital, OIG Capital (Oracles Investment Group), Aquanow (AQN), Enzac Research, Atesis.

Nexus Interactive is a pioneering platform in digital entertainment, integrating Web3 gaming, AI-powered user-generated content (UGC), and community-driven programs. It enables users, developers, and creators to collaborate and innovate within a unified ecosystem, powered by the $NXI token. Nexus offers tools for building virtual worlds, publishing games, and sharing value created by users, all contributing to a vibrant and scalable Web3 ecosystem.

AIshare raised $600K in a Pre-seed funding round from Coin Nest Investments, The Crypto Launchpad, Dubai Blockchain Lab, First Block Venture, ERC20 Capital.

AIshare, the all-in-one AI innovation, GPU & monetization Hub platform, set to launch on TON and Solana. AIshare revolutionizes AI development with advanced technology and rewards for contributions. The platform enables AI professionals to innovate, collaborate, and succeed by offering AI solutions, GPU resources, and a unique token-based system. AIshare addresses key industry challenges such as fragmented resources, high costs, and poor collaboration. AIshare Revenue Streams: GPU Rentals, Premium Memberships, Educational Services, Data Marketplace, AI Model Licensing, Transaction Fees

Other investment rounds

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

UXLINK is a Web3 social platform designed for mass adoption, offering users the ability to create social assets and participate in cryptocurrency trading. This innovative platform includes a range of modularized Dapps covering onboarding, social graph formation, group tools, and socialized trading.

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

Slash is a decentralized payment protocol designed to connect users and self-custodial wallets with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications through smart contracts. The platform facilitates secure and efficient cryptocurrency transactions across multiple blockchains, enabling users to manage and transact with various crypto assets seamlessly. Slash also offers innovative solutions like Slash Card for compliant crypto payments in Japan and the V-Preca SHOP for purchasing with cryptocurrencies.

Credbull raised $5.2M in a  funding round from Gnosis DAO*, Outlier Ventures, Hodl Ventures, XBTO Group, LucidBlue Ventures, Purechain Capital, CSP DAO, Nodeifi, Cogitent Ventures, Acacia Digital Holdings, Coach K.

CredBull is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that enables users to access instant credit using digital assets as collateral. It provides a seamless experience for borrowing, lending, and staking, allowing users to maximize their crypto holdings. CredBull focuses on security, transparency, and ease of use, offering an accessible solution for managing digital finance without the need for traditional banking.

Code4rena raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from Zellic.

Code4rena is a community-driven platform that organizes security audit contests for smart contract code, offering wider coverage and guaranteed payouts for participants. The platform incentivizes independent auditors to find bugs before code goes into production, creating a more efficient and diverse approach to traditional audits. The players in the arena include wardens who audit code, sponsors who create prize pools, and judges who rate the performance and findings of wardens.

Sidekick raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Binance Labs Fund.

Sidekick is a Web3 platform focused on mass adoption through user-centric products. It combines gaming and social features, enabling users to monetize, match, and play games while securely distributing in-game items. The platform also empowers partners to publish and monetize games, creating opportunities for deeper engagement within the gaming community. With a mission to leverage blockchain technology, Sidekick offers a seamless and transparent experience for users, ensuring secure transactions and broad accessibility.

GAMEE raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Pantera Capital.

GAMEE is a blockchain-powered mobile gaming platform that connects gamers, brands, and Web3 projects. It offers a range of casual games where players can earn tokens, NFTs, and other rewards. With over 75 million registered users and 9.2 billion gameplays, GAMEE is a leading force in introducing players to the Web3 ecosystem, integrating play-to-earn mechanics and partner collaborations to enhance user experience.

Starfish Technologies raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from Humans.ai.

Starfish Technologies is a blockchain engineering studio specializing in the design, implementation, security, and deployment of Solidity smart contracts on EVM-based blockchains. They provide end-to-end development services for decentralized applications (DApps) and offer consulting on Web3 trends and decentralized solutions. Their holistic and collaborative approach ensures that both the technical and business needs of projects are met, creating sustainable and secure blockchain solutions.

zkMe raised $4M in a  funding round from Multicoin Capital*, OKX Ventures (ex OKEx Blockdream Ventures), Robot Ventures.

zkMe is a decentralized Web3 network that uses zero-knowledge proofs for secure and private credential issuance and verification. Its mission is to provide infrastructure for presenting verified credentials while maintaining privacy and trust, allowing issuers, holders, and verifiers to leverage the value of identities.

DIN (ex Web3Go) raised $4M in a  funding round from 071labs (Zero Seven One Labs), Manta Network, Moonbeam Network, Maxx Capital, Ankr Network.

DIN is a decentralized network that leverages cryptography and blockchain technology to create a secure, private, and censorship-resistant platform for communication and information sharing. It provides users with tools for decentralized publishing, messaging, and collaboration, ensuring privacy and freedom from centralized control.

ETC Group raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from Bitwise.

ETC Group specializes in offering exchange-traded products (ETPs) that provide secure and regulated exposure to digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. They combine the benefits of traditional financial products with the innovation of blockchain technology, making it easier for investors to diversify their portfolios with digital assets.

Chain Debrief raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from PEXX.

Singapore-based blockchain media platform

BiFinance raised $10M in a Series A  funding round from Sunfund Fortuna Global Opportunities*, Eternal Asia Group, SDM Education, TigerBCDAO.

BiFinance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that facilitates the buying, selling, and trading of digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It offers a user-friendly interface, robust security features, and a variety of trading pairs. BiFinance aims to provide a convenient and reliable experience for both beginners and experienced traders in the crypto market.

SatsRush raised $1M in a  funding round from FundLand Capital, Oddiyana Ventures, Triple Gem Capital, OrangeDX, NeoCortexAI.

SatsRush is a gamified Web3 engagement platform built on Bitcoin’s Ordinals, BRC20, Runes, and Layer 2 networks. It offers a “Gamified-as-a-Service” (GaaS) model, enabling brands to showcase themselves through gaming experiences. The platform supports community raffles, in-game NFTs, and competitions, allowing gamers to earn rewards such as Bitcoin jackpots. SatsRush aims to drive Web3 adoption by providing tools and services for creating engaging, gamified experiences that connect brands and gamers.

Fabric Cryptography raised $33M in a Series A  funding round from Blockchain Capital*, 1kx*, Inflection, Protocol Labs, Offchain Labs, Polygon, Matter Labs, O(1)Labs, Nebra, Daniel Lubarov, Sandeep Nailwal, Sandy Peng, Uma Roy, Sreeram Kannan, Joe Andrews, Ben Fisch, Illia Polosukhin, Lyuben Belov.

Fabric Cryptography develops advanced hardware solutions specifically designed for cryptography. Their Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU) chip accelerates cryptographic operations, combining the best features of GPUs and ASICs for high performance and flexibility. Fabric’s platform empowers cryptographers and engineers to build secure, real-time systems that prioritize privacy and data protection.

Soulbound raised $4M in a  funding round from iAngels Capital, Animoca Brands, Big Brain Holdings, NGC Ventures (NEO Global Capital), Panony, Delta Blockchain Fund, David Johansson.

Soulbound is a Web3 gaming platform that integrates decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain technology to create a play-to-earn ecosystem. Players can engage in quests, earn rewards, and participate in a community-driven marketplace. Soulbound offers a seamless gaming experience where digital assets are tradable, and achievements are tokenized as NFTs, creating real value in the gaming world.

* fund, that lead investment round