Lưu trữ cho từ khóa: Startup

Bitcoin

Bitcoin-focused protocol Surge nabs $1.8m to bring Move-based rollups

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Bitcoin protocol Surge has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to solve the network’s scalability issues.

As the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem keeps facing unresolved scalability challenges, startups keep searching for a solution that would open doors for billions worth of dollars in liquidity from the decentralized finance space.

Surge, a Bitcoin-centric protocol developed to unlock the BTCfi economy, has bagged $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to unlock the cryptocurrency’s “full potential as a global currency and a base layer for innovation,” per a press release shared with crypto.news.

Supported by firms like Autonomy, Gerstenbrot Capital, and Double Peak Group, as well as angel investors including CoinGecko co-founders Bobby Ong and TM Lee, Surge wants to address the limitations of previous scalability solutions like SegWit and Taproot.

The startup’s approach, called the MetaLayer, utilizes Bitcoin’s security model “without requiring soft or hard forks,” incorporating cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs and Inter-Blockchain Communication, the press release reads.

Surge to bring Move-based rollups to Bitcoin

To achieve its goal, Surge has teamed up with Movement Labs so that it could bring liquidity to Move-based decentralized finance, enabling developers to interoperate between the Bitcoin and Move ecosystems. Surge co-founder Yash Belavadi says the funding would help the startup provide “scaling infrastructure so teams can focus on specific use-cases like defi, micropayments, gaming, or non-financial applications.”

With the funding, Surge is set to launch its testnet soon, although specific timelines remain undisclosed.

The push for defi on the Bitcoin network has surged following a research report from Pantera Capital, a crypto venture capital firm, which projected that the Bitcoin-based defi ecosystem could draw in hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity via web3 protocols, indicating that its sector might achieve a market share similar to that of Ethereum.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Crypto VC funding: Celestia, Infinex, Pencils Protocol score backing

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In this week’s venture capital update, more than $253 million flowed into the crypto startup world, although the bulk of that funding went to the blockchain network Celestia Foundation.

Crypto.news perused social media and tapped the latest data from Crypto Fundraising to determine that over a dozen companies raised capital between Sept. 22 and Sept. 28.

Celestia Foundation, $100 million

The Liechtenstein-based non-profit organization, known for building Celestia (TIA), raised $100 million from major crypto-focused venture capital firms, led by Bain Capital Crypto.

Infinex, $65.29 million

Infinex, a decentralized exchange, secured $65.29 million via a non-fungible token, or NFT, sale. Framework Ventures, Solana Ventures, Wintermute, Eden Block, Moonrock Capital and Bankless VC each participated in the effort.

Pencils Protocol, $30 million

Pencils Protocol, an auction platform and yield aggregator on Scroll, raised an additional $30 million. DePIN X, Taisu Ventures, Black GM Capital and Bing Ventures are among its strategic investors.

Initia, $14 million

Initia clinched $14 million in a Series A round. Tomasz Tunguz and Spencer Farrar from Theory VC led the effort. Delphi Ventures and Hack VC also participate.d.

Mawari Network, $10.8 million

TK

Mind Network, $10 million

Mind Network raised $10 million in a pre-A funding round. Investors in the effort included Animoca Brands, Arkstream Capital, Cogitent VC, MH Ventures, Moonhill Capital, SwissBorg, IBC Group, Master VC, and others.

Darkbright, $6 million

Bitkraft Ventures led an oversubscribed $6 million seed round for Darkbright, the web3 studio behind the Smolbound role-playing game.

Daylight, $6 million

Union Square Ventures and 1kx Network co-led a $6-million seed funding round in crypto platform Daylight. The startup is known for its transaction recommendation API.

Gunzilla Games, $6 million

Delphi Ventures invested in Gunzilla Games, its largest gaming investment to date. Gunzilla’s GUNZ blockchain is a key component of the studio’s upcoming Web3 game, “Off The Grid.”

AminoChain, $5 million

AminoChain, a decentralized biobank and Layer 2 network, remained relatively quiet over the past two years. That is, until, a16z crypto led a $5 million seed funding round for the startup. This brought total funding to $7 million. The deal marks a16z’s first investment in DeSci, or decentralized science.

Funding rounds < $5 million

  • Eigenpie: The restaking SubDAO designed to maximize earning potential for liquid staking token holders raised $4 million.
  • Meshmap: The open and decentralized platform received $4 million from a16z, Colosseum, Lattice, Escape Velocity, GSR and other institutions.
  • Meridian: ParaFi Capital, Borderless Capital, Amber Group, Saison Capital, Interop Ventures, and Oak Grove Ventures pooled $4 million for the Hong Kong-based decentralized liquidity marketplace.
  • Helixlabs: The startup nabbed $2 million in a pre-seed funding round from Tribe Capital, EMURGO Ventures, Taureon Capital, LD Capital, and Double Peak Group. Its valuation hovers at around $40 million.
  • EarthFast: Nascent led a $1.4 million pre-seed funding round; The General Partnership also participated alongside Kain Warwick, Roneil Rumburg, Bodhi Ventures

For last week’s column, click here.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Crypto VC funding: The Open Network raises $30M, Drift Protocol brings in $25M

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The Open Network and Drift Protocol emerged as the top two firms with the highest funds raised in the last seven days.

Per a report by Galaxy, 2024 has been a good year for the fundraising industry, as there has been a steady uptick in the funds raised. As of July 1, founders are reporting an active fundraising environment.

Even though there was a drop in deal count from 603 in the first quarter to 577 in the second, capital invested paints a different picture with a rise to $3.2 billion in Q2 from Q1’s $2.5 billion.

Data shows a 28% increase in capital invested quarter over quarter. When it comes to geographical location, United States-headquartered companies accounted for more than 40% of all deals in Q2.

The United Kingdom followed suit with 10%, and Singapore enjoyed 8.7% of all deals.

As for the most recent crypto VC funding rounds, crypto.news compiled the latest announcements from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 using data obtained from Crypto Fundraising. Let’s look at the companies that grabbed headlines with million dollar-plus rounds.

The Open Network, $30 million

  • TON is a layer-1 blockchain that was originally developed as the Telegram Open Network.
  • Now known as The Open Network (TON), it raised $30 million this week and over $54 million since its inception in 2018.
  • Bitget and Foresight Ventures contributed to the latest fundraising effort.

Drift Protocol, $25 million

  • Drift Protocol is a Solana-based DEX that offers spot trading, swaps and perpetual futures.
  • It closed a $25-million Series B funding round led by Multicoin Capital.
  • The firm has raised over $52.3 million so far.

Helius, $21.75 million

  • Helius is a provider of RPC Nodes, APIs, webhooks and developer tooling.
  • Lead investors of the $21.75 million include HAUN, Founders Fund, Foundation Capital, 6MV, Chapter One and Spearhead.
  • Helius has raised a total of $34.35 million so far.

Hemi Labs, $15 million

  • Hemi Labs is a layer 2 protocol focusing on security and interoperability across Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
  • The firm raised $15 million from investors including Binance Labs, Breyer Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Crypto.com, etc.

Pipe Network, $10 million

  • Pipe Network, is an incentivized internet infrastructure, clinched $10 million from Multicoin Capital.

Yellow Network, $10 million

  • Yellow is a blockchain product and infrastructure company.
  • Investors like Consensys, GSR, Global, Gate.io Labs, ZBS Capital and others contributed toward the startup’s $10 million fundraising round.

Additional funding rounds under $10 million

  • TrueX: The non-custodial, stablecoin-native exchange officially launched with $9 million in funds courtesy of RRE Ventures, Paxosm Accomplice, Hack VC, Solana Foundation and Aptos.
  • Fermah: CSX, Lemniscap, Bankless Ventures and LONGHASH Ventures are among the backers of a $5.2-million round
  • Vana: Coinbase Ventures, Manifold, GSR, DeFiance Capital and Auros participated in a $5-million fundraising effort.
  • Cudis: The startup collected $5 million from Draper Associates, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital, Penrose, Block Patch, Trinito and other investors.

For last week’s column, click here.

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Theo Crypto News

DeFi

Trump teases launch date for crypto project to ‘leave outdated banks behind’

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Former President Donald J. Trump is teasing the launch date of his sons’ new crypto project dubbed “World Liberty Financial.”

Donald Trump is teasing the upcoming launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto project his family has been promoting over the past few weeks.

In a video posted on his X account on Sept. 12, Trump called on his followers to join him for a live Twitter Spaces event on Sept. 16, where he plans to officially unveil World Liberty Financial.

“We are embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind.”

Donald J. Trump

The teaser follows growing speculation about the Trump family’s involvement in the crypto space. In early August, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump hinted at upcoming crypto-related developments, with both suggesting that the family had significant plans to enter the market.

These hints were later confirmed, when reports surfaced saying that the Trump-backed venture will likely be built on Aave, a decentralized finance platform, and Ethereum’s blockchain. The project will reportedly focus on creating a “credit account system” while driving the adoption of stablecoins.

Security has been highlighted as a primary concern for World Liberty Financial, as the team behind the project is working with top-tier security experts, including PeckShield, Zokyo, and BlockSecTeam, to ensure the platform’s safety. According to an alleged official Telegram channel, the project’s code has been “thoroughly reviewed” by industry leaders to prevent security vulnerabilities.

The timing of the announcement also coincides with an incident earlier in September when Lara and Tiffany Trump’s X accounts were hacked, posting about a token purportedly associated with World Liberty Financial.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Pantera Capital-backed Vega Protocol shuts down layer-1 chain

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Vega Protocol is shutting down its blockchain, with validators set to maintain the network temporarily to allow users to withdraw funds before a full cessation by late October.

Trading-focused blockchain Vega (VEGA) is winding down its operations after an on-chain governance vote passed with near-unanimous support, directing the project’s resources toward core software development.

The decision to retire the Vega chain, which supported decentralized trading, marks the end of the community’s support for the blockchain and its native VEGA token. In a blog announcement on Sept. 12, the team behind Vega Protocol said that trading on the network has already ceased, and the chain is now entering a “ramp down” period. Following the news, the price of VEGA plunged 14% down to $0.06203.

“Our understanding from the validators is that the Vega chain will remain operational until at least Oct. 27 to allow users plenty of time to withdraw their assets.”

Vega Protocol

The Vega Protocol team further added that a final vote is underway to determine the settlement prices for suspended markets and allocate approximately $28,000 in unused insurance funds to validators to “ensure the network operates for the agreed ramp down period.” The vote, which closes on Sept. 13, will finalize the market settlement at the last recorded prices when trading was suspended.

The team also warned that any assets left on-chain after operations cease could become irretrievable, as the protocol requires two-thirds of validators to authorize withdrawals from the network’s bridge.

Vega Protocol launched its network in 2023, following the vision outlined in its 2018 whitepaper, which detailed an application-specific blockchain built on the Tendermint proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In 2019, the team raised $5 million in a seed round led by Pantera Capital, followed by a $43 million community token sale on CoinList in 2021.

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Theo Crypto News

Bitcoin

Alan Howard’s son secures $25m for crypto venture fund

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Daniel Howard and Bhavin Vaid have launched Halo Capital, a $25 million venture fund focused on early-stage crypto projects across the digital asset ecosystem.

Daniel Howard, son of British hedge-fund billionaire Alan Howard, and colleague Bhavin Vaid have raised $25 million for Halo Capital, a new venture-capital fund focused on early-stage projects in the digital-asset sector, Bloomberg has learned.

While both Howard and Vaid declined to disclose Halo’s investors and partners due to privacy concerns, Howard acknowledged that his family background plays a role but stressed that Halo’s unique approach is key to attracting investors.

The New York-based fund will invest across the digital ecosystem, the report says, adding that the scope of interests includes Bitcoin-centric products as well as decentralized artificial intelligence.

“Our ability to take a differentiated approach, and a research and data-driven one, is going to be vital.”

Bhavin Vaid, Halo Capital co-founder

Halo focuses on distinctive approach

Halo has already invested in several projects, including Bima Labs, the developer of the Bitcoin-backed stablecoin USBD, and Andrena, a wireless internet provider focused on developing a protocol for decentralized physical infrastructure networks to provide broadband. The fund also recruited 20 partners to advise it and its portfolio companies.

Emphasizing the need for a research-driven approach, Vaid noted that “a lot of the existing funds in the space are potentially just biased, based on other investments they might have made over the past three to five years.”

Alan Howard, already a prominent crypto backer, helped establish Brevan Howard’s crypto arm, BH Digital, in 2021. In mid-July, crypto.news reported that Brevan Howard Asset Management’s crypto fund saw a 20% gain in the first half of 2024, driven by increased institutional interest amid rising crypto prices.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Data warehouse Space and Time secures $20m in Series A funding

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Data warehouse developer Space and Time Labs has raised $20 million in Series A funding to accelerate development at the intersection of AI and blockchain.

Los Angeles-based developer Space and Time Labs has secured $20 million in Series A funding to accelerate its efforts to merge artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Per an Aug. 27 press release shared with crypto.news, the round was led by a group of investors including Framework Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Arrington Capital, and Hivemind Capital. Other investors such as DCG, F-Prime Capital, OKX Ventures, and Circle Ventures also participated in the funding.

The funds are said to be used to accelerate “engineering and product development and to enhance ecosystem and community growth.” The latest investment brings Space and Time Labs’ total funding to $50 million, building on a previous $20 million strategic investment led by Microsoft’s M12 Ventures in 2022.

Space and Time Labs allocates $50 million to boost smart contracts

Space and Time Labs co-founder Nate Holiday emphasized the company’s mission to make smart contracts more intelligent and expand their use cases, saying the startup is committed to “empowering the community to own their future in an AI-powered world by providing the tools they need to build next-gen applications at the intersection of AI and blockchain.”

In 2023, Space and Time partnered with Chainlink to utilize the project’s oracles network, enabling web3 games to facilitate more sophisticated on-chain rewards. Additionally, the startup has formed partnerships with NVIDIA, AWS, Polygon, and Avalanche, among others, as highlighted on its official website.

The latest funding round bolsters Space and Time Labs’ goal to simplify web3 data ecosystems, aligning with co-founder Nate Holiday’s vision of a future where “business logic, automation, and verification is all done through smart contracts.”

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Story Protocol maker secures $80m to transfer IP rights onto blockchain

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PIP Labs, the core contributor to layer-1 network Story Protocol, has raised $80 million to build an ecosystem where creators can “grow their IP in the age of AI.”

Programmable IP Labs, the mastermind behind the blockchain startup Story Protocol, has attracted $80 million in a series B funding round, bringing the total value raised to $140 million.

PIP Labs wants to tokenize the “multi-trillion-dollar asset class of intellectual property” as more than “200 teams, totaling more than 20 million addressable IPs, are already building on Story across various sectors.”

In an X announcement on Aug. 21, the firm said the funding was led by a16z crypto and participated in by Polychain Capital, Hashed, and Foresight Ventures, among others. According to reports, Story’s valuation soared to $2.25 billion following the latest funding.

“We hope for a future in which AI systems and creative people can happily co-exist. For this to work, creators need a modern way to ensure they get compensated for their work.”

a16z crypto in a press release

Story set to launch mainnet in Q4 2024

Although still in development, the funding is expected to assist PIP Labs in ensuring a smooth launch of Story Protocol’s mainnet, which is anticipated later this year. It remains unclear, though, if the startup plans to introduce a governance token for project management.

Founded in 2022, Story uses tokenization and a universal licensing agreement to onramp IP to the blockchain. Per the project’s official website, Story wants to bridge real-world assets to smart contracts by leveraging the Programmable IP License, a “license agreement template” that bridges real-world IP with its on-chain tokenization, the firm says. With the template, PIP Labs wants to provide a backstop to the on-chain asset, allowing it to onramp intellectual property to the blockchain.

In 2023, Story raised $25 million in a series A round backed by a16z crypto, Insignia Ventures Partners, DeFi Alliance, LLC, Foresight Ventures Investments, and Endeavor Group Holdings, among others, per data from Crunchbase.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Crypto VC funding: Chaos Labs tops our roundup with $55m series A

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This week saw over $130 million raised across various crypto VC funding rounds.

Here’s a breakdown of the activity from Monday, Aug. 12 through Saturday, Aug. 17:

Chaos Labs, $55 million

On-chain risk management company Chaos Labs raised $55 million in a series A round.

Haun Ventures led the effort. Lightspeed Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, and Wintermute also participated.

According to the team behind Chaos Labs, the project has tripled its customer base over the past year, with over 20 protocols, including Aave (AAVE) and GMX (GMX), relying on its technology. 

To date, the platform has $860 billion in cumulative trading volume and $25 billion in loans. The team said it will use the new funding to improve real-time, contextualized risk management for DeFi protocols.

Sahara AI, $43 million

Sahara AI, a decentralized AI blockchain platform, grabbed headlines by securing $43 million in funding co-led by Binance Labs, Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital.

An array of notable investors also contributed, including Samsung, Sequoia Capital, and Matrix Partners.

Since its founding in April 2023, Sahara AI has grown rapidly, partnering with over 35 tech giants including Microsoft and Amazon.

The company aims to disrupt the centralized AI landscape by creating a more “equitable” decentralized ecosystem. 

As such, the funding will further their mission to ensure fair compensation for contributors, protect data sovereignty, and promote inclusivity across all stages of AI development.

Sling Money, $15 million

Fintech startup Sling Money collected $15 million in a series A round, per a report from Axios.

Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Slow Ventures led the initiative following a $5-million seed round.

The Sling Money platform uses stablecoin technology to enable money transfers across more than 50 countries in Europe and Africa.

Users of the platform can send money instantly, whether to others, between their own accounts, or even to non-Sling users.

Transfers are conducted using Pax Dollar, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Essential, $11 million

Essential, the company behind the first declarative blockchain, also had a share of this week’s VC funding pie.

The company secured $11 million in a series A round led by Archetype.

Other participants in the round included IOSG, Spartan, and Mirana, alongside a host of founders and angel investors from the web3 space. 

According to Essential, the funding will help accelerate the development of its blockchain, which is intended to reframe interactions in terms of outcomes rather than instructions.

Other notable crypto VC fundraising

Coinduit, a B2B cross-border payments platform, clinched $6 million in a seed extension round led by Helios Digital Ventures.

The capital injection will support the platform’s expansion into Africa, where it aims to help tackle the region’s cross-border payment challenges.

On its part, Ion Protocol raked in an extra $4.8 million after previously raising $2.2 million in another fundraising round. The fresh capital was provided by Gumi Capital, Cryptos, and more than 90 other investors. 

It now brings the total amount raised by the liquidity protocol, which specializes in staked and restaked assets, to $7 million.

According to an Aug. 12 post on X, the company will use the funds to develop Nucleus, a native yield primitive meant to address the monetization challenges faced by Ethereum (ETH) rollups.

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Theo Crypto News