Last week, there were a total of 13 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, raising approximately 69 million dollars | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organized by: Cookies, RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from October 16 to October 22, 2023, there were a total of 11 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a total financing amount of approximately 69 million USD.

From the perspective of track distribution, the projects that received financing are mainly concentrated in the DeFi track, with popular projects including the decentralized derivatives protocol SynFutures completing a 22 million USD Series B financing led by Pantera Capital. The DeFi protocol Elixir Protocol completed a 7.5 million USD Series A financing led by Hack VC.

In addition, there were 2 merger and acquisition events last week: the financial market infrastructure technology company Securrency was acquired by the deposit trust and clearing company DTCC Digital Assets. The one-stop digital asset management platform HeightZero was acquired by the custody service provider BitGo.

*（List of projects that completed financing last week, data source: * Rootdata）

I. Infrastructure

1. Hardware crypto wallet Ryder completes 1.2 million USD financing, with participation from SBX Capital and others
The hardware crypto wallet startup Ryder has completed 1.2 million USD in financing, with participation from Oak Grove Ventures, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Trust Machines' Muneeb Ali, and SBX Capital. Ryder also launched its flagship product Ryder One, which supports the innovative TapSafe recovery feature to replace mnemonic phrases.

2. Financial market infrastructure technology company Securrency acquired by DTCC

On October 19, DTCC announced the acquisition of financial market infrastructure technology company Securrency, with former CEO Nadine Chakar joining DTCC as Global Head of Digital Assets and Managing Director. DTCC is a post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, automating, centralizing, and standardizing financial transaction processing across 20 locations worldwide through its subsidiaries.

3. One-stop digital asset management platform HeightZero acquired by BitGo

On October 17, BitGo announced the acquisition of one-stop digital asset management platform HeightZero. It is reported that HeightZero is a one-stop digital asset management platform suitable for financial advisors and investment funds interested in investing in digital assets for their clients.

4. Blockchain technology solution Chintai completes new round of financing, led by Block.one

The one-stop capital market modernization solution Chintai has completed a new round of financing, led by Block.one. The amount of financing has not been disclosed. Chintai is regulated and licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and its product suite includes dynamic security token issuance, high-performance secondary trading, and automated compliance infrastructure for regulated digital assets, aiming to bridge the gap between enterprises and compliant blockchain technology through its Blockchain Platform as a Service (BPaaS) model.

II. CeFi

1. Cryptocurrency management platform Beluga completes 4 million USD seed round financing, led by Fin Capital
Cryptocurrency management platform Beluga announced the completion of a 4 million USD seed round financing, led by Fin Capital, with participation from Anagram, UDHC, Dispersion Capital, Aptos Labs, 2 Punks Capital, Borderless Capital, Kyber Capital, 186 Ventures, W11 Capital, Rubik Ventures, and others. Angel investors include Litecoin founder Charlie Lee, former Coinbase Chief Risk and Legal Officer Mike Lempres, Kraken Ventures head Brandon Gath, former MoonPay CTO Akash Garg, and others.

Beluga stated that its software tool suite allows users to manage their cryptocurrency portfolios, and its management team consists of crypto veterans from Silicon Valley and companies like Robinhood Crypto, dYdX, CoinDesk, and Coupa Software. (Source link)

III. DeFi

1. DeFi protocol Elixir Protocol completes 7.5 million USD Series A financing, led by Hack VC
The DeFi protocol Elixir Protocol has completed 7.5 million USD in Series A financing at a valuation of 100 million USD, with Hack VC leading the round and participation from NGC Ventures, AngelList Ventures, Bloccelerate, and others.

According to data from the crypto platform RootData, Elixir Protocol announced the completion of a 2.1 million USD seed round financing earlier this year, with participation from FalconX, Commonwealth, OP Crypto, ChapterOne, and Bitmex founder Arthur Hayes.

2. Decentralized derivatives protocol SynFutures completes 22 million USD Series B financing, led by Pantera Capital
The decentralized derivatives protocol SynFutures has completed 22 million USD in Series B financing, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Susquehanna International Group and HashKey Capital.

At the same time, SynFutures also released the V3 version of its platform, with the mainnet scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023. The upgraded V3 platform features the fully on-chain Oyster Automated Market Maker (Oyster AMM). SynFutures claims that the Oyster AMM combines order book and AMM models to improve trading efficiency by concentrating liquidity in DeFi. (Source link)

IV. Tools

1. Solana ecosystem multi-signature management tool Squads completes 5.7 million USD strategic financing, led by Placeholder VC
The developer of the Solana ecosystem multi-signature management tool Squads Labs announced the completion of 5.7 million USD in strategic financing, led by Placeholder VC, with participation from Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures, Jump Crypto, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder, and Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz, among others. (Source link)

2. Web3 file management application Fileverse completes 1.5 million USD pre-seed financing, led by Gnosis Chain and Factor
The Web3 workspace and file management application Fileverse has completed 1.5 million USD in pre-seed financing, led by Gnosis Chain and venture capital firm Factor. Cryptocurrency wallet provider Safe, social media privacy solution Mask Network, decentralized file storage Arweave Ecosystem and its ecosystem incubator Forward Research, Web3 credential network Galxe, former Coinbase Balaji Srinivasan, and other angel investors also participated in this round of investment.

Fileverse provides decentralized file management and collaboration services, aiming to offer an alternative to centralized providers like Google or Notion by allowing users to have better control over their personal data. (Source link)

3. Crypto data company Coin Metrics completes 6.7 million USD new financing through equity sale
Crypto data company Coin Metrics announced the completion of 6.7 million USD in new financing. According to emails, the funds come from a new investor who wishes to remain anonymous, and the funds were obtained through the sale of equity as well as a class of assets that includes options, warrants, and other rights to purchase other securities.

According to the crypto data platform RootData, Coin Metrics provides network and market data, indices, and network risk solutions for institutions investing in cryptocurrencies. The company last raised funds in April 2022 during its Series C round, raising 35 million USD.

Coin Metrics was founded in 2017, and its board includes venture capitalists Nic Carter and Matthew Walsh of Castle Island Ventures, Goldman Sachs Managing Director Mathew McDermott, and Katey Neate, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Assets at BNY Mellon. (Source link)

V. Gaming

1. Gaming platform Forge completes 11 million USD seed round financing, led by Makers Fund, Bitkraft Ventures, and Animoca Brands
The gaming platform Forge has completed 11 million USD in seed round financing, led by Makers Fund, Bitkraft Ventures, and Animoca Brands, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital, and Adaverse. The financing will be used to build a platform that connects and rewards gamers for their achievements. Forge is described as a gaming platform that allows players to aggregate their gaming lives and achievements into their profiles and earn rewards based on their participation.

Existing investors in Forge also include strategic investors such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund, as well as angel investors including gaming industry leaders like Riot Games founder, Twitch founder, TSM founder, Kabam founder, and YouTube founder Steve Chen. (Source link)

2. Virtual property strategy game Upland completes 7 million USD Series A extension financing, led by EOS Network Ventures
The digital property trading platform Upland has completed 8 million USD in Series A extension financing, led by EOS Network Ventures, marking the fund's first investment in a crypto game. The new funds will be used to develop more features, allowing players to purchase digital locations on real-world maps. Upland also plans to enhance its marketing strategy, enable third-party developer tools, and launch Ethereum tokens linked to current in-game utility tokens.

According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Upland completed 18 million USD in Series A financing at a valuation of 300 million USD in 2021, led by Animoca Brands. (Source link)

VI. Others

1. MyShell announces completion of 5.6 million USD angel round financing to build a decentralized AI-native application platform
AI creation workshop MyShell has completed 5.6 million USD in seed round financing, led by INCE Capital, with participation from Folius Ventures, Hashkey Capital, SevenX Ventures, TSVC, OP Crypto, and others. Binance Labs also announced MyShell's entry into the sixth incubation program.

It is reported that these funds will primarily be used to develop proprietary AI models and build a robust creation workshop for AI-native applications, gradually forming a thriving creator ecosystem on the blockchain.