Last week, there were a total of 29 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

According to incomplete statistics from ChainCatcher, between April 5 and April 11, there were a total of 29 public financing events in the blockchain industry, mainly focused on sectors such as DeFi, Polkadot, and NFTs. Among them, investment institutions Block Dream Fund, X21, and GBV were the most active.

1. DeFi

1. Vietnam DeFi team Coin98 Finance receives $4 million investment from Alameda Research
On April 6, Alameda Research invested $4 million in the Vietnamese DeFi team Coin98 Finance. This transaction highlights the growth of DeFi across Asia, a region that has lagged behind major areas like the US and Europe over the past year.

Coin98 Finance is a DeFi team based in Vietnam that is building a suite of DeFi products tailored for the Vietnamese market. Its venture arm, Coin98 Ventures, operates the largest cryptocurrency fund in the country and co-manages the Solana ecosystem fund with the Solana Foundation.

2. Cross-chain bridge ChainSwap completes $3 million strategic financing, with participation from Alameda and others

On April 7, cross-chain bridge ChainSwap announced the completion of $3 million in strategic financing, with participants including Alameda Research, Block Dream Fund under OKEx, NGC Ventures, Spark Digital Capital, and CMS Holdings. ChainSwap stated that it will issue tokens in the coming weeks and will also airdrop to ChainSwap bridge users and holders of the AntiMatter token MATTER, with specific airdrop details to be released later.

ChainSwap, launched by the cross-chain perpetual derivatives protocol AntiMatter, allows project teams to swap their tokens across Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Huobi Eco Chain.

3. Community governance DeFi protocol Kianite completes $1.5 million private round financing

On April 7, the community governance DeFi protocol Kianite completed a $1.5 million private round financing. Investors include Spark Digital Capital, X21 Digital, Block Dream Fund, Magnus Capital, and Oasis Capital.

Kianite is a DeFi ecosystem with community participation in governance. Its suite of protocol products includes the tokenized index protocol Batch, the liquidity protocol Fluid, and the interest rate generation protocol Rates.

4. Interoperable DeFi collection Equilibrium completes $2.5 million Series A financing, with participation from DFG and others

On April 8, the Polkadot DeFi project Equilibrium completed $2.5 million in Series A financing, with investors including KR1, Signum Capital, Hypersphere, Block Dream Fund, Genesis Block Ventures, CMS Holdings, AU21 Capital, FBG Capital, and LD Capital.

Equilibrium is an all-in-one interoperable DeFi collection, the first cross-chain digital asset market that combines credit lending, synthetic asset generation, and trading.

5. Decentralized lending platform Loda completes $3 million financing, with participation from Framework, Mechanism, and others

On April 11, decentralized lending platform Loda announced the completion of $3 million in seed round financing, with investors including Mechanism Capital, Dao Ventures, PNYX, One Block, and X21 Digital.

The Loda team stated that in addition to providing consumer loans at the lowest interest rates in Australia, it can also offer fixed deposits for crypto users, deploying their assets into savings accounts for high-yield passive returns. Additionally, Loda plans to launch in the coming weeks.

6. Decentralized derivatives trading protocol Deri Protocol announces investment from LD Capital and others
On April 11, decentralized derivatives trading protocol Deri Protocol announced five investors, namely LD Capital, FBG Capital, Bixin Ventures, Lotus Capital, and Black Range.

Deri Protocol is a new DeFi financial derivatives trading protocol aimed at helping people trade derivatives on the blockchain. Essentially, the Deri protocol provides a decentralized way for people to trade risk exposure accurately and efficiently.

2. Polkadot

1. Layer0 privacy network protocol project Evanesco in the Polkadot ecosystem launches financing, with participation from multiple institutions

On April 7, the Layer0 privacy network protocol project Evanesco in the Polkadot ecosystem officially launched its financing, with deep participation from Block Dream Fund, BlockArk, Gate.io Labs, LD Capital, NGC Ventures, Spark Digital Capital, and ZB Capital.

Evanesco (abbreviated as EVA) is a Layer0 privacy network protocol in the Polkadot ecosystem. EVA will build a unique financial privacy platform for Web3 based on Layer0 network infrastructure and the Bulletproof privacy computing framework. EVA will integrate the issuance, management, transfer, and cross-chain interoperability of privacy assets, while providing privacy liquidity to wallets, exchanges, and aggregated trading services, sharing external chain and privacy ecosystem liquidity through cross-chain gateways to empower multi-ecosystem DeFi.

2. Polkadot privacy computing platform zCloak Network completes $1.3 million seed round financing, led by IOSG and Hypersphere

On April 9, the Polkadot ecosystem privacy computing platform zCloak Network (formerly Starks Network) completed $1.3 million in seed round financing, led by IOSG Ventures and Hypersphere Ventures, with participation from KR1, DFG, Advanced Blockchain AG, PAKA Fund, and the Digital Renaissance Foundation.

The zCloak Network project was launched in 2020 and utilizes its original "sovereign data" and "self-proof computing" technologies to complete data analysis and computation without sending personal data externally, thereby eliminating the pain points of personal data privacy leakage in the era of big data and cloud computing.

3. Polkadot multi-chain smart contract platform ParaState completes $5 million strategic financing

On April 9, the Polkadot multi-chain smart contract platform ParaState announced the completion of $5 million in strategic financing led by KNS Group, with participation from Alameda Research, Genesis Block Ventures, Gate.io Labs, Polkastarter, DAO Maker, and DuckDAO.

ParaState stated that this round of financing will be used to expand R&D investments and incubate DeFi projects. ParaState is a multi-chain smart contract platform that connects applications and developer ecosystems between Polkadot, Substrate, Ethereum, and other chains that aim to provide Ethereum compatibility.

4. Polkadot domain service provider PolkaDomain completes $400,000 strategic financing, with participation from Spark Digital Capital, NGC, and others

On April 10, PolkaDomain completed $400,000 in strategic financing, with investors including NGC Ventures, Spark Digital Capital, LinkPAD, and MetaConstant. After this round of financing, PolkaDomain will establish a DNS NFT and domain market on Polkadot.

Additionally, PolkaDomain recently announced that it will issue its token $NAME in April and will soon disclose details about the airdrop and IDO.

3. NFT

1. NFT platform Mintable completes seed round financing, with participation from CRC Capital and others

On April 6, NFT creation and trading platform Mintable completed its seed round financing, with investors including entrepreneur Koh Boon Hwee's blockchain investment firm CRC Capital, Time Ventures, DeFi Alliance, and Lunex Ventures. Mintable has not disclosed the specific amount of financing.

Koh Boon Hwee is the executive director of the private equity fund Credence Capital Fund II (Cayman) Ltd and has served as chairman of several companies, including DBS Bank, Singapore Airlines, and Singapore Telecommunications. In early March, Mintable announced an investment from billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

2. NFT platform Refinable completes $3 million financing, with participation from Binance and famous YouTuber MrBeast

On April 8, the NFT platform Refinable on Binance Smart Chain completed $3 million in financing, with participation from Binance and famous YouTuber MrBeast. MrBeast has over 10 million followers on Twitter and more than 55 million subscribers on YouTube, with total views exceeding 9 billion.

Refinable is an integrated NFT platform on Binance Smart Chain, providing creators, NFT buyers, and sellers with low-cost minting and trading opportunities. Refinable will conduct a public token sale soon and will then launch its mainnet.

3. NFT blockchain technology provider Arkane Network completes €1.55 million seed round financing

On April 9, NFT blockchain technology provider Arkane Network announced the completion of €1.55 million in seed round financing. This financing was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with other participants including DM-BB David Majert, Palentine Ventures (Blockrocket), and imec.istart Fund.

Arkane was founded in 2018 with the aim of solving the complexity of blockchain technology and preparing it for mainstream applications. Currently, Arkane has provided NFT services for projects and blockchain games such as CoinStats, NFTBank, Atari, Bondly Finance, The Sandbox, and Aavegotchi.

4. Other

1. Privacy protection project Suterusu receives strategic investment from Fundamental Labs, plans to expand Layer 2 privacy network

On April 5, privacy protection project Suterusu announced it received strategic financing from Fundamental Labs, which will assist Suterusu in expanding its Layer 2 privacy payment network to more public chains and ecosystems.

Suterusu is a privacy protection project with advantages including its original zero-knowledge proof protocol ZK-conSNARK, which is safer without "trusted setup," optimizes ZKP size, proves faster, supports smart contracts, and has been deployed on both Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum.

2. Ecosystem developer TON Labs completes $6 million financing to support Free TON

On April 6, TON Labs completed $6 million in financing to support the Free TON blockchain. This round of investment was led by Runa Capital and RTP Global. Dmitry Chikhachev, a partner at Runa Capital, stated that TON Labs is the only blockchain company to receive funding directly from their firm.

TON Labs is the core infrastructure and ecosystem developer for the Telegram Open Network. Its secure and accessible TON.Dev and TON.Space environments provide TON full node implementations, a universal toolchain, cutting-edge SDKs, and novel ways for users to interact with fintech services. Previously, Free TON merged with Dune Network in February, and both parties stated that this move would support broader adoption of blockchain technology and decentralized governance.

3. Crypto accounting platform Cryptio raises $1.2 million in seed funding

On April 6, crypto accounting platform Cryptio raised $1.2 million in seed funding led by Draper Associates. ConsenSys Ventures, Outlier Ventures, and Aave founder Stani Kulechov also participated in this round of financing.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Paris, Cryptio provides an accounting platform to help businesses with tax reporting and other activities. This fundraising aims to expand its enterprise accounting solutions for digital assets.

4. EpiK Protocol completes $3 million strategic round financing

On April 6, decentralized knowledge graph storage project EpiK Protocol announced the completion of $3 million in strategic round financing, with investments from Jackdaw Capital, FBG, SuperChain Capital, ChinaNet Technology, Nebulas, and Crypto Venture Capital.

EpiK Protocol is a decentralized, co-built, shared, and beneficial secure and trustworthy knowledge graph collaboration platform, currently having built an ecosystem of over 20,000 nodes of distributed storage miners; over a hundred domain experts and more than 30,000 bounty hunters participating in the knowledge ecosystem. According to the project roadmap, the mainnet will be launched in Q2 2021.

5. Fintech company Plaid completes $425 million Series D financing, valued at $13.4 billion

On April 7, fintech company Plaid announced the completion of $425 million in Series D financing, led by Altimeter Capital, with participation from Silver Lake, Ribbit Capital, and existing investors, resulting in a post-money valuation of approximately $13.4 billion. The Plaid team stated that these funds will be used to develop its platform, invest in infrastructure, payment capabilities, and global expansion.

In January last year, Visa planned to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion, but the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit regarding the acquisition, leading Plaid to decide to terminate the $5.3 billion acquisition plan by Visa and continue operating as an independent company.

6. Blockchain sports platform Chiliz receives strategic investment from high-frequency trading firm Jump Trading
On April 7, Chicago-based high-frequency trading firm Jump Trading LLC announced a strategic partnership and investment in blockchain sports platform Chiliz, with the specific amount undisclosed. It has been reported that since early 2021, Jump Trading has been providing market-making for Chiliz's tokens.
Chiliz aims to build a technology platform and provide utility for sports fans who hold tokens through its consumer-facing Socios.com mobile application. "According to Chiliz's 2021 global expansion plan, it will increase its existing business in Europe and is committed to launching more fan tokens in the UK, Asia, and South America.

7. Standardized mining platform BitFuFu receives strategic investment from Bitmain
On April 7, standardized mining platform BitFuFu received strategic investment from Bitmain. This round of financing will be used for further optimization of BitFuFu's supply chain.

It is reported that BitFuFu launched on December 15 last year and established a strategic partnership with Bitmain on February 22 this year. It has now initiated a joint login with Bitmain, allowing Bitmain accounts to log in directly to BitFuFu. BitFuFu's official website shows that it has launched a user feedback activity. Existing users can enjoy up to 2% cashback on transactions, while new users can receive a free computing power package.

8. The9 raises $143.8 million through ADS and warrants for blockchain layout

On April 8, internet company The9 announced that it has completed a share and equity sale agreement signed with Maxim Group LLC on March 31 this year, raising a total of $143.8 million through the issuance of American Depositary Shares (ADS) and warrants. The9 stated, "The funds raised from this issuance will be used for the company's layout and development in the blockchain industry. Future new initiatives and progress in the digital currency and blockchain industry will be announced in a timely manner."

Previously, The9 disclosed in its 2020 annual report submitted to the U.S. SEC at the end of March that it plans to spend over $100 million in 2021 to purchase Bitcoin and Filecoin mining machines.

9. New York Digital Investment Group NYDIG raises $100 million, with participation from Starr Insurance and others

On April 8, New York Digital Investment Group NYDIG raised $100 million, with strategic partners including insurance companies Starr Insurance and Liberty Mutual Insurance participating. NYDIG manages nearly $6 billion in assets, and Morgan Stanley recently announced a partnership with it.

Previously, NYDIG announced in March that it had completed $200 million in financing, with investors including Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, American International Group, Soros Fund Management, and FS Investments.

10. Blockchain data analysis service provider Chainalysis completes $100 million Series D financing

On April 8, blockchain data analysis service provider Chainalysis completed $100 million in Series D financing, led by Paradigm, with participation from Time Ventures (the investment firm of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff), Ribbit Capital, and Addition. The company is currently valued at $2 billion.

Founded in 2014, Chainalysis provides data analysis tools for blockchain transactions to optimize performance, ensure compliance, and eliminate fraud, with clients including Barclays Bank, Square, and government agencies.

11. Decentralized climate data network dClimate completes $3.5 million seed round financing, led by CoinFund

On April 9, decentralized climate data network dClimate announced the completion of $3.5 million in seed round financing, led by CoinFund, with participation from Multicoin Capital and Republic Labs. The founding team of dClimate raised this round of financing by selling its native governance tokens, and the funds will be used to hire developers and expand the network's data sources by attracting more participants to the market.

dClimate is the first transparent, decentralized climate data marketplace, where climate data, forecasts, and models are standardized, monetized, and distributed.

12. Qulian Technology completes hundreds of millions in Series C financing

On April 9, Hangzhou Qulian Technology Co., Ltd. announced the completion of hundreds of millions in Series C financing, led by E Fund, with follow-on investment from the Yin Hongjia-led Yinhong Fund.

Qulian Technology is a company focused on the research and development of underlying blockchain technology. On August 31, 2016, Qulian Technology raised 17.5 million yuan in Pre-A round financing from Junbao Communication, Zhejiang University Network New, and Xinya Data. In December 2017, it received 40 million yuan in A round investment, and in 2018, it raised 1.5 billion yuan in B round financing, of which the wholly-owned subsidiary of the listed company Xinhuhongbao invested about 1.23 billion yuan.

13. Crowny, a platform aimed at connecting users and brands, completes seed round financing, with participation from Dao Maker and others

On April 9, Crowny, a blockchain platform aimed at connecting users and brands, announced the completion of seed round financing, with the investment amount undisclosed, and participants including Dao Maker, Rarestone Capital, AU21 Capital, and LD Capital.

Crowny encourages users to engage with brands and projects they are interested in through loyalty points, discounts, and rewards, thereby finding audiences for brands while protecting user privacy. According to the official website, Crowny will first issue its tokens on Ethereum and will conduct a Strong Holder Offering (SHO) on the DAO Maker platform, after which the tokens will be migrated to Solana.

14. Blockchain ride-hailing platform MVL completes $1,500 B round financing, led by Central

On April 9, Singapore blockchain ride-hailing startup MVL (Mass Vehicle Ledger) announced the completion of $1,500 in B round financing, with existing investor Central leading the round and Trive Ventures participating.

MVL is the first private ride-hailing platform operated by blockchain technology, where drivers not only do not have to pay commissions but can also earn points when providing evaluations and driving records, which can be exchanged for virtual currency with cash value. This reward system also benefits drivers using other private ride-hailing platforms.