Last week, there were a total of 18 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market | Financing Weekly Report
The focus is mainly on NFT games and exchanges.According to ChainCatcher statistics, from January 18 to 23, the blockchain industry experienced a total of 18 investment and financing events, mainly focused on NFT games and exchanges. Among the investment institutions, Genesis Block Ventures (GBV) made the most moves, investing in four projects. Additionally, Alameda Research, Distributed Capital, Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Binance, and others were also active.
1. Offline travel app Maps.me raises $50 million in seed funding, led by Alameda Research
On January 18, offline travel app Maps.me announced that it had raised $50 million in seed funding, led by Alameda Research, with participation from CMS Holdings, Genesis Block Ventures, and Sino Global Capital among others. The funds will be used to develop a multi-currency wallet for Maps.me and to launch a DeFi ecosystem on this offline mobile map platform.
The Maps.me app allows users to access route planning maps, travel guides, hotel bookings, and maps offline, targeting travelers without mobile signal reception or prepaid phone plans. One of the tokens supported by the Maps.me wallet is USDC, created based on the Solana wallet, enabling instant payments, especially suitable for travelers heading to remote areas lacking payment infrastructure.
2. Infinite Fleet publisher Exordium raises $1 million led by Tether, plans public financing
On January 18, blockchain-based space adventure game "Infinite Fleet" publisher Exordium is conducting a token-based STO financing for certain European countries, issuing through the token issuance platform Blockstream AMP, with an issuance price of $0.5 for the EXOeu token.
Stablecoin issuance platform Tether International Limited is the lead investor in this round, having invested $1 million. Additionally, the official announcement stated that this financing is conducted through the digital market STOKR.
3. Polkadot oracle project completes $500,000 seed funding
On January 19, the Polkadot oracle project HazelWord announced the completion of $500,000 in seed funding. It is reported that HazelWord's oracle provides an event-based asset collateral data prediction service and a fact verification-based data correction mechanism, addressing the fundamental issue of trusted data sources on the blockchain through factual endorsement.
4. Interstellar Alliance receives nearly 10 million yuan in strategic investment from Distributed Capital
On January 19, distributed storage service provider Interstellar Alliance announced the completion of nearly 10 million yuan in strategic financing, with Distributed Capital as the investor, and Jiecang Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction. Interstellar Alliance is positioned as a comprehensive service provider for distributed storage, focusing on the research, development, and sales of Filecoin mining chips and hardware and software solutions, as well as distributed storage services for traditional clients.
Previously, in January 2020, Interstellar Alliance received several million in angel investment from Consensus Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and certain investors in the industry, and completed nearly 100 million yuan in Series A financing in December, with investors including the Fuzhou High-tech Zone Industrial Fund.
5. Blockchain media Wu Says Blockchain completes several million yuan in Series A investment
On January 19, blockchain industry media Wu Says Blockchain announced that it had received several million yuan in Series A investment, without disclosing the specific amount or investors.
6. Estonian digital currency exchange CoinMetro raises $3 million
On January 20, Estonian digital currency exchange CoinMetro raised €2.5 million (approximately $3 million) through tokenized bond issuance, with funds intended for product development and company growth, as the company aims to achieve breakeven this month.
CoinMetro's revenue grew 20 times in 2020, and the company's revenue in January this year set a record, increasing 63 times compared to the same period last year. In 2020, they launched an investment platform where companies can raise funds, providing retail investors worldwide with significant investment opportunities.
7. Asset-backed trading protocol Saddle completes $4.3 million financing, launches Bitcoin-backed stablecoin liquidity pool
On January 20, Saddle, an automated market maker tool designed for price-pegged crypto assets, launched its first liquidity pool based on Bitcoin-backed stablecoins and announced the completion of $4.3 million in financing, led by Framework Ventures, Polychain Capital, and Electric Capital.
Saddle is a subsidiary spun off from Thesis, which is the investment firm behind projects like tBTC, Keep, and Fold. Saddle stated that current automated market maker (AMM) tools are not very efficient and have significant slippage, but Saddle will address this issue through Synthetix's virtual synthetic assets (Virtual Synth), enabling large low-slippage trades between supported assets.
8. Cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute completes $20 million Series B financing, led by Lightspeed
On January 20, market maker and proprietary trader Wintermute Trading announced the completion of $20 million in Series B financing, led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Avon Ventures, an affiliate of Fidelity Investments' parent company FMR LLC, and all existing investors, including Blockchain.com Ventures.
Lightspeed partner Jeremy Liew will join the Wintermute board, and Wintermute plans to expand its derivatives business. Founded in 2017, Wintermute offers over 500 spot trading pairs, liquidity for dYdX perpetual swaps, and some crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) from 21Shares. In addition to centralized exchanges and OTC, Wintermute also focuses on the emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
9. Binance announces investment in Chinese gaming ecosystem platform Seascape Network
On January 21, Binance announced its investment in Seascape Network, a gaming ecosystem platform based on Substrate from China, which will build games on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to further develop its ecosystem.
Seascape Network is a decentralized gaming ecosystem centered around gamified DeFi protocols and NFT digital assets, aiming to create a one-stop solution for gamers and NFT investors and to establish an incentivized gaming ecosystem. In September last year, Seascape Network received investments from multiple institutions, including LD Capital, Digital Renaissance Foundation, Torchlight VC, and Du Capital.
10. Insurance startup Nayms completes $2 million seed funding, with participation from Coinbase Ventures
On November 21, UK-based insurtech startup Nayms announced the completion of £1.5 million (approximately $2 million) in seed funding, led by XBTO, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Maven11, Insurtech Gateway, and others. Nayms plans to fully launch in late 2021 and conduct Series A financing in the first quarter of 2022.
Nayms CEO Dan Roberts stated that Nayms will provide brokers with tradable, transparent, and traceable insurance contracts for digital asset risk categories. Nayms applies insurance technology to the digital asset space and was previously part of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) sandbox project.
11. Decentralized art ecosystem ArtGee Network completes angel round financing
On January 21, the decentralized art ecosystem ArtGee Network announced that it had completed angel round financing, with investors including Digital Renaissance Foundation, Conflux Tech, and IMO Venture, although the financing amount was not disclosed. ArtGee Network stated that they are a decentralized art ecosystem focused on digital art transactions, curation, auctions, and investments (NFTs), circulating the most valuable digital artworks globally and serving as a paradise for digital art collectors.
12. Tokenized securities platform iSTOX announces expansion of Series A financing, with participation from Japan Development Bank, Japan Investment Corporation, and others
On January 22, tokenized securities platform iSTOX announced the expansion of its Series A financing, with investors including Japan Development Bank, Japan Investment Corporation (JIC-VGI), Japan Juroku Bank, Mobile Internet Capital, and existing investors like Singapore Exchange SGX also participating, bringing the total amount of Series A financing to $50 million.
It is reported that iSTOX is positioned as a pan-Asian digital asset provider, and the platform has begun operations, offering users investment opportunities in real estate funds, hedge funds, bonds, and other securities, and has obtained licenses for digital asset issuance, custody, and trading from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
13. Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin completes $38 million financing
On January 22, Brazilian Bitcoin exchange Mercado Bitcoin announced the completion of 200 million Brazilian reais (approximately $38 million) in financing and revealed its international expansion plans. This financing was led by local private equity firm GP Investimentos and early-stage venture capital firm Parallax Ventures, with several other parties participating, most of which are from the local market. Mercado Bitcoin CEO Reinaldo Rabelo stated that the exchange plans to enter the Chilean, Mexican, and Argentine markets.
14. GBV announces investments in Paralink Network, Guardians, SuperFarm
From January 20 to 22, Genesis Block Ventures (GBV) announced investments in three projects: Paralink Network, Guardians, and SuperFarm.
SuperFarm is an NFT mining platform that allows any token community to leverage the power of NFT farming to drive community engagement and token demand. The platform's token, SUPER, will primarily be used for governance, fee payments, and staking. Those who choose to stake it will be able to earn passive income from platform fees and exclusive NFT rewards from the platform's premium partners.
ChainGuardians is an NFT mining game aimed at creating a blockchain network that aligns with a superhero gaming ecosystem, combining traditional gaming concepts with blockchain technology to achieve a player-driven economy. Assets in the game are all crypto collectibles, including weapons, equipment, and guardian characters, and it introduces an NFT mining mechanism through proof of stake (PoS), allowing users to earn CGC tokens through mining.
ParaLink Network is a multi-chain oracle protocol designed to collect, verify, and aggregate real-world datasets and input them into smart contracts on Ethereum and Polkadot. Its incentive token, PARA, is primarily used for on-chain coordination and governance.
15. WikiChain Foundation completes $15 million financing, led by AEX exchange
On January 23, the underlying public chain WikiChain announced the completion of $15 million in financing, with AEX exchange leading the round with $3 million. This portion of the funds will mainly be used to develop the DeFi ecosystem on WikiChain, supporting and incubating high-quality DeFi projects while providing sufficient liquidity to existing DeFi projects.
Currently, the DeFi ecosystem on WikiChain includes the decentralized exchange Wayki-DEX, synthetic asset issuance and trading protocol Wayki-X, and collateral lending and stablecoin issuance protocol Wayki-CDP. Meanwhile, WikiChain has launched a campaign for 21 supernodes to gradually achieve decentralized governance.
16. UAE crypto startup ZelaaPayAE set to complete $25 million financing
On January 24, UAE fintech cryptocurrency startup ZelaaPayAE announced it is set to complete $25 million in financing to establish a blockchain ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates.
According to reports, the company aims to promote cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure throughout the Gulf region through a broad ecosystem, including point-of-sale terminals across the UAE, facilitating the use of cryptocurrencies, creating a decentralized real estate platform that provides liquidity and assets, and offering debit cards that can be used globally to spend cryptocurrency assets.
