Crypto Fundraising weekly
Dates: 18 – 24, Feb 2024

This week's biggest funding round

Riot raised $559M in a funding round from .

Riot is a Texas-based Bitcoin mining and colocation company, leading the industry with North America's largest Bitcoin mining facility. By emphasizing the convergence of money and energy, Riot Blockchain contributes to the growth of Bitcoin's value and drives advancements in energy grids and power generation capacity.

Pre-seed and Seed investment rounds

NodeShift raised $3.2M in a Seed funding round from Inovo VC*, Notion Capital, 10x Founders, Kestrel 0x1, Epic Games.

NodeShift is a decentralized cloud computing platform that simplifies the development and hosting of secure applications across the decentralized cloud. By aggregating various independent data centers and decentralized solutions like Akash, Filecoin, and ThreeFold, NodeShift provides affordable, private, and resilient cloud services with a user-friendly interface, catering to both newcomers and experienced users in the cloud ecosystem.

Honeypot Finance raised undisclosed amount in a Pre-seed funding round from AC Capital*, DEXT Force Ventures*.

Honeypot Finance is constructing a community-driven DeFi Hub featuring a unique AMM model, incorporating a community-led launchpad (Dreampad) and DEX (HenloDex) to address liquidity utilization issues in DeFi. The platform employs innovative models like Fair Token Offering (FTO) for transparent token launches and Batch-A2MM for an award-winning decentralized exchange supporting long tail assets with post-launch security features.

Januar raised $1.6M in a Seed funding round from CMT Digital, Third Prime, Skyfall Ventures, Michael Gronager.

Januar is a financial infrastructure provider for crypto businesses, offering European payment gateways for innovative EU crypto companies. Through its payment account solutions, Januar facilitates the acceptance of payments and sending of payouts while ensuring compliance and stable business operations for crypto businesses in the European market.

Clave raised $1.6M in a Pre-seed funding round from Matter Labs*, LambdaClass, Safe (ex Gnosis Safe), Mirana Ventures, Sandy Peng, Anurag Arjun.

Clave is a non-custodial smart wallet integrated with biometric authentication, simplifying blockchain account creation. Utilizing hardware security modules in mobile devices, Clave ensures 100% noncustodial access with features like account abstraction, sponsored transactions, and a guardian system for enhanced security.

ZeroLend raised $3M in a Seed funding round from Blockchain Founders Fund, Momentum 6 (M6), Morningstar Ventures, NxGen, Banter Capital, Newman Capital, dV/dT Capital, Transform Capital, Cypher Capital, Bison Fund, Ozaru Ventures, iAngels Capital, Krypital Group, Genblock Capital, ViaBTC Capital, Genesis Block Ventures Capital (GBV), Asteroid Capital, MrBlock, Ajeet Khurana, Vijay Pravin Maharajan, Danish Chaudhry.

ZeroLend is a decentralized lending protocol within the zkSync ecosystem, offering transparent and secure borrowing and lending of digital assets. It features the $ONEZ stablecoin capturing native yield, a governance system ($ZERO), gas-less transactions with Account Abstraction, and plans for supporting Real-World Assets and a Privacy Layer using zkStack.

INIT Capital raised $3M in a Seed funding round from Electric Capital, Mirana Ventures, Arthur Hayes, Maelstrom, Robot Ventures, Nomad Capital, Tangent Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Selini Capital, Lightspeed Faction.

INIT Capital is a platform focused on democratizing liquidity access, catering not only to DeFi users but also to protocols through innovative 'Liquidity Hooks.' Serving as a foundational liquidity layer for DApps, INIT enables seamless integration for protocols, allowing them to source liquidity efficiently and foster diverse use cases, ultimately resolving challenges related to liquidity fragmentation and sustainability in the DeFi landscape.

Inco raised $4.5M in a Seed funding round from 1kx*, Circle Ventures, Robot Ventures, Alliance DAO (ex DeFi Alliance), Portal Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Symbolic Capital (ex Hyperedge Capital), Big Brain Holdings, P2 Ventures (Polygon Ventures), Matter Labs, Daedalus, GSR Markets LTD.

Inco is a modular Layer-1 blockchain using fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) to provide confidential computing, enhancing on-chain privacy and scalability for developers and users in the Ethereum ecosystem. With a focus on democratizing access to liquidity and fostering Web3 adoption, Inco offers a seamless, privacy-focused experience for creating innovative decentralized applications (dApps) across various sectors, including gaming, DeFi, payments, governance, and identity.

Chainway Labs (Citrea) raised $2.7M in a Seed funding round from Galaxy Digital*, Delphi Ventures, Eric Wall, Anurag Arjun, Igor Barinov, James Parillo, Velvet Milkman.

Chainway Labs is a blockchain infrastructure company focused on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Zero Knowledge technology. Chainway Labs built Citrea, Bitcoin's First ZK Rollup. Citrea is the first rollup that leverages zero-knowledge technology to enhance Bitcoin blockspace, enabling the development of various applications on the Bitcoin network without modifying its consensus rules. As a Type 2 zkEVM, Citrea processes zkEVM transaction batches, providing a succinct zero-knowledge proof for easy verification on Bitcoin, supporting light nodes and featuring a universal trust-minimized two-way peg mechanism.

Crystal Fun raised $5M in a Seed funding round from KuCoin Ventures, Actoz Soft, Waterdrip Capital, Comma3 Ventures, Stratified Capital, Cypher9 Ventures, Aelf Blockchain, W Labs DAO (Watermelon Labs), Masverse.

Crystal Fun is a Web3 gaming ecosystem and studio with a mission to revolutionize the gaming industry. The project is backed by a highly experienced team with a notable track record in the gaming industry, and it features an impressive portfolio of games, including OUTER, Endless War, STARFALL2312, and Survivor, set to launch successively on the Crystal Fun platform.

Nest Wallet raised $3.6M in a Seed funding round from Inception Capital (ex OP Crypto), Orange DAO, Ascensive Assets, SnackClub, gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC), INCE Capital, Steve Chen, Kevin Lin, Gabby Dizon, Sebastien Borget, Kun Gao, Patrick Lee, Jamie Lin, NaniXBT.

Nest Wallet is a secure crypto browser extension built with two-factor authentication (2FA) for transaction security. Powered by Gnosis Safe, it enables multi-wallet management, allowing users to oversee individual Ethereum addresses, hardware wallets, and Gnosis Safe wallets under a single Nest Wallet account. With a seamless cross-device experience, passkeys for advanced security, and integration with Safes, EOAs, and hardware wallets, Nest Wallet offers a future-proof solution for confident navigation in the crypto world.

Meso raised $9.5M in a Seed funding round from Solana Ventures*, Ribbit Capital*, Canonical Crypto, 6th Man Ventures (6MV), Chris Kalani, Bill Ready, Archie Puri.

Meso is a fintech platform designed to bridge the gap between traditional banking systems and cryptocurrency applications. It offers frictionless integration through its SDKs, enabling seamless on and off-ramps for users. With a focus on scalability, security, and user experience, Meso allows for quick transfers and transactions, ensuring privacy and data protection.

Beoble raised $5M in a Seed funding round from Hashkey Capital, Samsung Next, Digital Currency Group (DCG), DWF Labs, Laser Digital, Blockchain Founders Fund, Cypher Capital, Crypto Banter, Morningstar Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, NxGen.

Beoble is a Web3 messaging and social platform that facilitates secure wallet-to-wallet communication, emphasizing end-to-end encryption and decentralized connectivity. The platform introduces the Communication Delivery Graph (CDG) to ensure privacy in both content and delivery path, enhancing user data control. Beoble adopts a community-owned model, rewarding users with points for interactions and promoting equitable revenue distribution among chatroom members.

LoongCity raised $2M in a Seed funding round from MAZARINE SEA*.

LoongCity is a Chinese steampunk-themed metaverse is the first original IP PFP project, featuring Autopunk and traditional Chinese elements, with each PFP serving as an entry ticket to the imaginative world of Dragon City. It's ERC404 improvement protocol project that introduces the ERC1321 protocol, addressing the rarity determination issue of ERC404 for NFTs by incorporating on-chain oracles.

Silencio raised $1M in a Pre-seed funding round from Borderless Capital*, Moonrock Capital, Master Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, NxGen.

Silencio is a community-powered network addressing noise pollution by incentivizing users to provide hyper-local noise data through a free application. Positioned as the largest citizen science project globally, Silencio allows users to share their surrounding sound levels, earn rewards, and monetize their data, contributing to more accurate noise mapping for industries like real estate, hospitality, well-being, insurance, government, and academia, ultimately aiming to combat noise pollution and enhance global quality of life.

Other investment rounds

OX FUN raised $4M in a  funding round from Foresight Ventures*, Double Peak Group, Emchain, Genblock Capital.

OX FUN is a decentralized perpetual contract trading platform that utilizes OX as collateral and employs the OX&MILK dual-token model. Offering up to 200% yield through OX Farming, the platform features massive liquidity, competitive leaderboards, and allows users to trade USD-denominated markets with OX collateral, earning rewards and participating in FUN competitions.

Flare raised $35M in a Private  funding round from Kenetic, Aves Lair.

Flare is a Layer-1 blockchain focused on providing data as a public good. It supports smart contract protocols, particularly pricing oracles, for developers to access diverse data for applications like DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and more. Flare is EVM-compatible, offers familiar tools, and has multiple networks for testing and development.

EigenLayer raised $100M in a  funding round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto)*.

EigenLayer is a protocol built on Ethereum that introduces restaking, a new primitive in cryptoeconomic security. This primitive enables the rehypothetication of $ETH on the consensus layer. Users that stake $ETH can opt-in to EigenLayer smart contracts to restake their $ETH and extend cryptoeconomic security to additional applications on the network. Part of EigenLayer’s potential lies in its ability to aggregate and extend cryptoeconomic security through restaking and to validate new applications being built on top of Ethereum.

Helius raised $9.5M in a Series A  funding round from Foundation Capital*, Reciprocal Ventures, 6th Man Ventures (6MV), Chapter One, Propel VC.

Helius provides Solana RPCs (Remote Procedure Calls) powered by top-tier hardware, offering reliable and optimized performance for applications. With global coverage, dedicated nodes, Geyser plugins, and excellent 24/7 developer support, Helius ensures a seamless experience for users, including advanced options for traders, bot developers, and exchanges.

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

Renzo is an Ethereum restaking protocol based on EigenLayer. It simplifies the complexities of restaking on EigenLayer, offering users a more accessible and liquid way to engage with the process. Renzo allows users to deposit ether and, in the future, liquid staking tokens (LSTs), in exchange for ezETH, a liquid restaking token (LRT) usable in DeFi applications. The protocol, which recently launched its beta mainnet, aims to support more blockchains and expand its services to Layer 2 networks and other Layer 1 networks.

Singularity (ex Portal Gate) raised $2.2M in a  funding round from gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC)*, Laser Digital, Eureka Partners, Apollo Capital, Digital Asset Capital Management (DACM), Gandel Invest.

BSingularity is an institutional-grade DeFi access layer providing commercial confidentiality for on-chain transactions. It enables users to transact within a permissioned environment, ensuring compliance through KYB/KYC processes, wallet address obfuscation, and support for various non-custodial wallets, while leveraging advanced zero-knowledge technology for privacy and liquidity integration with major DeFi protocols.

Superfluid raised $5.1M in a  funding round from Fabric Ventures*, Multicoin Capital, IOSG Ventures, Circle Ventures, Safe (ex Gnosis Safe), WAGMI Ventures, Eterna Capital, Veris Ventures, Skyland Ventures, Hyperithm, THE LAO, Kartik Talwar, Sten Tamkivi, Taavet Hinrikus, Bernie, Alex Van de Sande.

Superfluid is an asset streaming and distribution protocol, empowering DAOs and crypto-native businesses by introducing Super Tokens, a novel extension to the ERC-20 standard. It facilitates dynamic, programmable, and gas-efficient token transfers in real-time, supporting features like Money Streaming for continuous token flow and Distributions for scalable one-to-many fund transfers.

Monkey Tilt raised $21M in a  funding round from Polychain Capital, Hack VC, Paper Ventures, Folius Ventures, Accomplice Blockchain, PokerGO.

Monkey Tilt is an online gambling platform that merges cryptocurrencies with gaming, allowing players to earn real money by predicting whether selected players will surpass or fall short of their statistical predictions.

Matr1x FIRE raised undisclosed amount in a Strategic  funding round from Animoca Brands*.

Matr1x is a mobile competitive first-person shooter (FPS) game, and also the first game in the Matr1x platform. Developed by Matr1x game studio.

Prom raised undisclosed amount in a Strategic  funding round from DWF Labs*.

Prom is the central hub for GameFi, providing access to various services like an NFT marketplace, decentralized rental and mortgage solutions, a launchpad, and DEX. Using non-custodial smart-contract-based wallets, Prom ensures security and accessibility, allowing players, investors, guilds, and games to benefit from its diverse features.

GameCentric raised $1.5M in a Angel  funding round from Bilal Merchant*.

GameCentric is a gaming platform that caters to players of all levels and interests, offering a diverse range of games across genres for both casual and competitive gamers. GameCentric plans to transition into a Web3 platform by 2025, integrating cryptocurrencies and providing compelling propositions for brands, gamers, and tournament organizers.

Jade98 ARdinals raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from Normie Capital, x21 Digital, DCI capital (Dutch Crypto Investors), SeedThrift Ventures, Green Arrow Ventures, Samara Asset Group, Kaso2ka Ventures, NewTribe Capital, CSP DAO, Three M Capital, Rarestone Compass, Unicorn Ventures.

Jade98 ARdinals is a project leveraging the ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain to create a collection of 9998 digital jade gemstones, each embodying rarity, interactivity, and future potential. With features like augmented reality functionality and a community-driven approach, Jade98 ARdinals offers not only collectibles but also income potential for owners, creating a unique engagement opportunity and a pathway to future earnings in the world of decentralized finance.

Degen raised $1.5M in a Angel  funding round from 1confirmation*.

Degen is an ERC-20 token on Base, introduced through a January 2024 launch and an airdrop to the Degen channel community on Farcaster. The token is designed to be distributed among builders, content creators, and users within the Base and Farcaster ecosystem, fostering a community dedicated to shaping a more promising future for the internet.

AltLayer raised $14.4M in a Strategic  funding round from Polychain Capital*, Hack VC*.

AltLayer is an open and decentralized protocol for developers to launch application-tailored rollups. The protocol offers a no-code Rollups-as-a-Service dashboard built atop its core network, Beacon Layer, that allows customized rollups with fraud/zk proofs at speed.

Tornado Blast raised undisclosed amount in a Strategic  funding round from Syndicate, OzDAO, Normie Capital, X ventures, ATKA, 3AC (3 Asians Capital), Underground, Nftperp, Creed Alpha, Morningstar Ventures, Punk DAO, Metadrop, Fantasy top, vopa fnf, Flowdesk, Fisher8 Capital, AlfaDAO.

Tornado Blast is an advanced Telegram bot tailored for the Blast L2, providing seamless ERC-20 trading experiences with features like wallet creation, token sniping, diverse trading options, and copy trading. The project is community-centric, offering revenue-sharing through a 1% trading tax, $TRNDO rewards, and a referral program, aligning with its commitment to empowering and rewarding active community participation.

* fund, that lead investment round