Last week, there were a total of 22 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with infrastructure accounting for about 40% | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

整理：饼干，RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from December 4 to December 10, 2023, there were a total of 22 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a total financing amount of approximately $265.4 million. Among these, the infrastructure category accounted for 9 events, approximately 40%.

From the distribution of tracks, the projects that received financing were mainly concentrated in infrastructure, accounting for about 40% of the total financing. Notable projects include the Bitcoin staking project Babylon, which completed $18 million in financing, led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC; the Bitcoin Layer 2 project MAP protocol received strategic investments from Waterdrip Capital and DWF Labs. OKX Ventures invested in Animoca Brands' NFT project Mocaverse and the NFT game metaverse co-creation platform StarryNift.

*（List of projects with financing greater than $5 million last week, data source: * Rootdata）

I. Infrastructure

1. Ethereum scaling startup Versatus completes $2.3 million seed round financing, with participation from NGC Ventures and others
Ethereum scaling startup Versatus Labs (formerly VRRB Labs) announced the completion of a $2.3 million seed round financing at a valuation of $50 million, with participation from NGC Ventures, Republic Crypto, and Hyperithm.

It is reported that the company completed a $1.4 million seed round financing in February this year, bringing the total financing to $3.7 million. Versatus is currently building a "stateless Rollup" named LASR. LASR is currently in the Alpha stage and is expected to launch on the Ethereum testnet in the first week of January next year, with plans to go live on the mainnet in mid-March. (Source link)

2. ZK infrastructure platform Sindri completes $5 million seed round financing, led by CoinFund
The zero-knowledge infrastructure platform Sindri has completed a $5 million seed financing led by CoinFund. Sindri will use the funds to expand its team, grow its developer network, and build a comprehensive zero-knowledge developer stack. Sindri allows developers to verify data through zero-knowledge proofs and use it for research use cases and blockchain applications.

It is reported that Sindri raised $2 million in pre-seed financing in June 2022. (Source link)

3. Bitcoin staking project Babylon completes $18 million financing, led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC
The Bitcoin staking project Babylon has completed $18 million in Series A financing, led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC. Framework Ventures, Polygon Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, OKX Ventures, Finality Capital, Breyer Capital, and Symbolic Capital also participated.

Babylon stated that the project's goal is to "build a decentralized world protected by Bitcoin" by converting the total existing 21 million BTC into decentralized staking assets. Currently, nearly 19.6 million Bitcoins are in circulation. (Source link)

4. Modular account abstraction project Rhinestone completes Pre-Seed round financing, with participation from 1kx and Safe
The modular account abstraction project Rhinestone announced the completion of its Pre-Seed round financing, with participation from 1kx, Safe, Lattice, Heartcore, Calvin Lui (Chief Strategy Officer of EigenLayer), Georgios Vlachos (co-founder of Axelar), and Waikit Lau (Lau Ventures). Rhinestone did not disclose the specific financing amount.

Rhinestone is building a platform to create a secure ecosystem for smart account modules and to enable permissionless wallet innovations. Previously, Rhinestone was selected as one of the 18 projects in the Ethereum Foundation's ERC-4337 account abstraction funding round. (Source link)

5. Ethereum L2 Rollup project Ten completes $7.5 million financing, with participation from DWF Labs
The Ethereum Layer 2 Rollup project Ten (formerly Obscuro) has completed $7.5 million in financing, with participation from Republic Capital, KuCoin Labs, R3, Big Brain Holdings, Magnus Capital, Builder Capital, DWF Labs, Pragma Ventures, GTS Ventures, and others.

According to the crypto asset data platform RootData, Obscuro is a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum that brings privacy and scalability. Obscuro is incubated by the well-known enterprise blockchain company R3. (Source link)

6. Pyth developer announces completion of strategic financing, with participation from Wintermute Ventures
The oracle solution Pyth developer Pyth Data Association announced the completion of strategic financing, with participation from Castle Island Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Wintermute Ventures, Borderless Capital, CMT Digital, Bodhi Ventures, Distributed Global, and Delphi Digital.

Michael Cahill, CEO of Pyth developer Duoro Labs and board member of Pyth Data Association, stated that the new partners have all received PYTH tokens. (Source link)

7. Carv receives strategic investment led by HashKey Capital
The self-sovereign identity (SSI) oracle and data-sharing protocol Carv announced that it received strategic investment from HashKey Capital and a large global technology company earlier this year.

It is reported that CARV was established at the end of 2021, aiming to empower users with data ownership and to profit fairly from using their data in a privacy-preserving manner. With the introduction of Data to Earn, users can gain value through the CARV protocol in two forms: passive income from historical data and active income from brand contributions and participation. CARV's products include intent-driven, composable self-sovereign identity (SSI) oracles and the incentivized data-sharing platform CARV Protocol, as well as the AI-driven super app CARV Play.

According to the crypto data platform RootData, in November 2022, Carv completed $4 million in financing, led by Vertex Ventures, a subsidiary of Temasek. (Source link)

8. Bitcoin Layer 2 project MAP protocol announces strategic investment from DWF Labs
The Bitcoin Layer 2 project MAP protocol announced that it received strategic investments from Waterdrip Capital and DWF Labs. The MAP protocol was established in 2019 and is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution for peer-to-peer cross-chain interoperability.

The MAP protocol allows assets and users from other public chains to interact seamlessly with the Bitcoin network by leveraging Bitcoin's security mechanisms. This not only enhances network security but also enables BRC20 cross-chain capabilities. (Source link)

9. ZK infrastructure platform Sindri completes $5 million seed round financing, led by CoinFund
The zero-knowledge infrastructure platform Sindri has completed a $5 million seed financing led by CoinFund. Sindri will use the funds to expand its team, grow its developer network, and build a comprehensive zero-knowledge developer stack. Sindri allows developers to verify data through zero-knowledge proofs and use it for research use cases and blockchain applications.

It is reported that Sindri raised $2 million in pre-seed financing in June 2022. (Source link)

II. CeFi

1. Bitcoin financial services company Swan completes $165 million financing, plans to raise another $150 million next year
Bitcoin financial services company Swan announced that it completed $165 million in equity financing in 2023, of which $125 million is for private equity and venture capital, and $40 million will be used to expand into Bitcoin-backed lending and other institutional products. Swan founder Klippsten stated that Swan plans to raise another $150 million in 2024 to fund its expansion.

Through its lending products, Swan users can deposit Bitcoin as collateral and obtain approximately 50% dollar-denominated loans at "low double-digit" interest rates. Swan will find creditors to lend the funds, charge an initiation fee, and earn a spread based on its borrowing and lending rates. Swan founder Klippsten stated that this lending product will be launched in the coming weeks, with $20 million in funds to be deployed. (Source link)

2. Digital asset brokerage firm Nonco completes $10 million financing, led by Valor Capital and Hack VC
According to CoinDesk, digital asset brokerage firm Nonco has completed $10 million in seed round financing, led by Valor Capital Group and Hack VC, with participation from Morgan Creek Digital, CMCC, Lvna Capital, Theta Capital, Bullish, Bastion Trading, and Libra Capital Ventures.

It is reported that the company was spun off from the Americas division of the Hong Kong digital asset platform OSL, OSL Digital Limited, and is composed of the same team. OSL retains a minority stake in the new company. Since its launch in April, the company has achieved a trading volume of $6 billion in the Americas region. (Source link)

III. DeFi

1. DeFi protocol Jellyverse completes $2 million seed round financing
The DeFi protocol Jellyverse development team Jelly Labs AG and Fintonomy LTD announced the completion of $2 million in seed round financing from private investors.

Jellyverse is a decentralized financial services platform built on the EVM-compatible Layer2 network DeFiMetaChain, with products including JLY, Jellyswap, Jellystake, JellyBond, and jUSD. (Source link)

2. Stablecoin lending protocol Curvance completes $3.6 million seed round financing, with participation from Offchain Labs
The stablecoin lending protocol Curvance announced the completion of $3.6 million in seed round financing, with investors including Offchain Labs, Wormhole, and prominent angel investors such as Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, as well as core contributors from Scroll, Mantle, Eigenlayer, GMX, Curve Finance, Convex Finance, Balancer, Aura Finance, and Pendle Finance. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) such as Frax Finance also participated in this round of financing.

Curvance aims to optimize user returns while maximizing capital efficiency through peer-to-peer lending. (Source link)

3. BNB Chain ecosystem liquidity market THENA completes $600,000 financing, with participation from Orbs Network
According to official news, the BNB Chain ecosystem liquidity market THENA has received a strategic investment of $600,000 from Orbs Network.

THENA stated that this investment recognizes THENA's vision and potential, perfectly aligning with its goal of collaborating with like-minded builders and innovators. THENA's product innovation will change the DEX landscape on the BNB chain. (Source link)

IV. NFT

1. Animoca Brands' NFT project Mocaverse completes $11.88 million new round of financing, with participation from OKX Ventures
Animoca Brands' NFT series Mocaverse announced that it has completed $11.88 million in its second round of financing, with participation from Block1, OKX Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Polygon Ventures, Dapper Labs, and others.

So far, Mocaverse's total financing has reached $31.88 million, and the new funds will be used to promote Mocaverse's digital identity and points system for Web3 games, culture, and entertainment. (Source link)

2. OKX Ventures announces investment in NFT game metaverse co-creation platform StarryNift
OKX Ventures announced a strategic investment in StarryNift. StarryNift is a co-creation platform that integrates gaming, social, and entertainment, and its incubated Code Green NFT and Citizenship DID series have already built a community of 150,000 cardholders, having previously received venture capital from several institutions including SIG, Binance Labs, DFG, and Leland Ventures. (Source link)

V. Gaming

1. Gaming startup Gacha Monsters completes $3 million seed round financing, led by Animoca Brands
Japanese entertainment and gaming startup Gacha Monsters has completed $3 million in seed round financing, led by Animoca Brands, with participation from Infinity Ventures Crypto, FBG, and Big Time Games.

It is reported that the company is led by Jia Shen, a game developer who has developed games such as Pokémon Medallion, Battle Cats, and the international version of Disney Tsum Tsum. Gacha Monsters' first self-developed game is Poglin, which aims to launch the alpha version of the Poglin game in the first quarter of 2024. The company plans to build Poglin into a multimedia IP covering anime, games, Web3, and physical merchandise. (Source link)

2. Blockchain game developer Endless Clouds completes $2.5 million new round of financing, with participation from Animoca Brands, YGG, and others
Blockchain game developer Endless Clouds has completed $2.5 million in a new round of financing, with participation from Animoca Brands, Sky Mavis, YGG, Faze Clan, Immutable, Pudgy Penguins, Pixelmon, Pixels Online, Pixel Vault, and founders and executives from various companies, as well as a group of angel investors. The new funds will be used for Endless Clouds to continue developing Ethereum-based mobile MMORPG games Treeverse and Capsule Heroes, as well as game IP-related content. (Source link)

3. Web3 game publishing platform Elixir Games announces acquisition of game developer LitLab Games
Web3 game publishing platform Elixir Games announced the acquisition of game developer LitLab Games, the publisher of the game CyberTitans. (Source link)

VI. Social Entertainment

1. Web3 streaming protocol Sona completes $6.9 million seed round financing, with participation from Polychain Capital
According to TechCrunch, the Web3 streaming protocol Sona has completed $6.9 million in seed round financing, with participation from Polychain Capital, Haun Ventures, and Rogue Capital.

Sona provides artists with token-based streaming content, music auctions, governance rewards, and other services using DeFi-based modules, and distributes the revenue from music auctions to artists and platform parties in a certain proportion. Currently, the platform has over 5 million tracks and is expected to expand to 16 million tracks next year. (Source link)

VII. Others

1. Decentralized agricultural financing protocol LandX completes $5 million financing and will launch on the 15th of this month
Decentralized agricultural financing protocol LandX announced that it has oversubscribed $915,000 in private round financing, bringing its total financing to over $5 million. Additionally, the LandX platform will officially launch on December 15 and will open for token public offerings.

It is reported that LandX will bring agricultural asset and tokenized farmland into the decentralized finance ecosystem, providing farmers with upfront funding in exchange for a certain percentage of their future harvests, with financing backed by the underlying farmland, offering investors the potential opportunity to obtain sustainable returns supported by tangible assets. (Source link)

2. Crypto trading opportunity radar Candlestick completes $1.2 million Pre-seed round financing

Crypto trading opportunity radar Candlestick has completed $1.2 million in Pre-seed round financing, with participation from Alliance DAO, BOOST VC, Wagmi Ventures, OrangeDAO, Spencer Noon, Matthew Tan, Niu Fengxuan, Leo Cheng, Sherman Lee, and Ben Middleton. (Source link)

3. Crypto data platform Shadow completes $9 million seed round financing, led by Paradigm
Crypto data platform Shadow has completed $9 million in seed round financing, led by Paradigm, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Electric Capital, the Ethereum Foundation, Uniswap, and Flashbots.

The company's first product allows anyone to enhance any contract through custom events and view features to obtain the accurate data they need," and is currently open for public demonstration. Shadow uses what is called "shadow forks" to provide a private execution environment, aiming to reflect the state of public blockchains in real-time. (Source link)