Which early projects are top crypto venture capital firms betting on recently? | 7.1-7.31

Organizer: Cookies, Chain Catcher

In this article, Chain Catcher will introduce early projects recently backed by leading crypto venture capital firms (July 1-31), including basic information, official websites, related reports, etc., to help readers further understand potential projects for the future.

1. Mona

On July 1, the Web3 metaverse platform Mona completed a $14.6 million Series A funding round, with participation from OpenSea Ventures and others.

Mona is a Web3 metaverse and world-building platform built by creators for creators. The platform does not sell virtual land or tokens. It does not charge creators any upfront fees and aims to provide tools, systems, and protocols for building an open metaverse.

Currently, users can design virtual worlds on the Mona platform using 3D tools (such as Blender, Rhino, or Gravity Sketch) and then import them into Unity templates, supporting uploads of files up to 180MB. Creators can test their designs directly in the browser before publishing.

Future product features of Mona include multiplayer games in the metaverse, artist royalties, Web3 interaction builders, support for virtual reality and augmented reality, token-controlled access, and more.

The CEO of Mona sees it as a way to build an economy for artists and collectors, allowing them to meaningfully participate in a shared digital world. Mona will open to creators in October, with over 3,000 users building virtual worlds in its metaverse.

Official website: http://monaverse.com/

Related reading: 《Mona raises $14.6M for metaverse platform for creators》

2. Magic Square

On July 1, the multi-chain crypto app store Magic Square completed a $3 million seed funding round, led by Binance Labs and Republic.

Magic Square is a Web3 solution that makes it easier for everyone to use cryptocurrencies. Users can discover and experience various dapps, CeFi and DeFi, NFTs, games, and more within Magic Square. Magic Square aims to build a complete ecosystem for developers and users by providing a suite of products, including Magic Store, MagicID, Magic Community, and Magic Affiliates, allowing them to experience different worlds on the blockchain.

The Magic Store community reviews, ranks, and prioritizes applications through a DAO mechanism, with clear revenue metrics and SQR token rewards to incentivize participation from validators, creators, and users. Users can access all community-reviewed content with a single click using MagicID (decentralized ID). Project owners only pay when visitors convert based on their desired criteria.

Beta testers of Magic Square will receive airdrops worth $250,000, bounty programs, giveaways, and a one-year premium membership.

Official website: https://magicsquare.io/

Related reading: 《Binance Labs Leads $3 Million Seed Funding for Magic Square》

3. AltLayer

On July 1, the Ethereum scaling project AltLayer completed a $7.2 million seed funding round, led by Polychain Capital and Jump Crypto.

AltLayer is a highly scalable application-specific execution layer system that derives security from underlying L1/L2. AltLayer also improves existing rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism by decentralizing the sequencers (nodes that execute transactions); additionally, it is designed for a multi-chain and multi-VM world, supporting both EVM and WASM.

AltLayer consists of multiple execution layers similar to optimistic rollups (called Flash Layers), featuring a novel innovation that allows them to be used on a one-time basis, thus optimizing network resources significantly. Specifically, AltLayer utilizes flash-layering technology divided into 10 layers, enabling the network to achieve 20,000 TPS, allowing users to experience near-instant completion times and ultra-low gas fees.

AltLayer's initial focus is on gaming, NFTs, and the metaverse. A key innovation brought by AltLayer to expand the NFT minting solution space is the idea of a one-time execution layer (Flash Layer), which allows for one-click deployment, multi-chain support, complete liquidity, and most importantly, eliminates gas wars.

Official website: https://altlayer.io/

Related reading: 《Ethereum scaling project AltLayer raises $7.2 million in seed funding》

4. DeepNFTValue

On July 9, the NFT valuation platform DeepNFTValue completed a $4 million seed funding round, with participation from 1Confirmation and others.

DeepNFTValue is a crypto startup that estimates NFT values using machine learning technology, providing a "fair value estimate" for NFTs that buyers can use to compare with sale prices. The project aims to effectively assess NFTs, provide investment advice, and predict price trends while also effectively showcasing historical NFT price-related data categorized by certain attributes.

Currently, DeepNFTValue provides estimated values for CryptoPunks and plans to expand to cover Bored Ape, Azuki, and other NFT collections. DeepNFTValue also plans to use part of the seed funding for GPU hardware to train the most complex machine learning models using deep learning methods.

Official website: https://deepnftvalue.com/

Related reading: 《DeepNFTValue raises $4 million to expand beyond pricing CryptoPunks》

5. LI.FI

On July 11, the cross-chain infrastructure protocol LI.FI completed a $5.5 million funding round, led by 1kx, with participation from Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and others.

LI.FI is a cross-chain bridging aggregation protocol that connects to DEX aggregators to support the exchange of crypto assets between any two public chains. In short, LI.FI acts like a bridge for 1inch & Paraswap, transferring funds from one chain to another by selecting the optimal path of the bridge.

For example, AAVE on Polygon -> DAI on Polygon using Paraswap -> DAI on Avalanche using NXTP -> SPELL on Avalanche using Paraswap.

LI.FI selects cross-chain bridges based on qualitative and quantitative factors, as well as manual and automated grading. Qualitative factors include trust assumptions and attack vectors. Quantitative factors, such as speed, fees, gas costs, and reliability, can be measured. LI.FI's algorithm adjusts its decisions based on these factors and typically operates according to a default priority model (i.e., security > speed > cost).

Additionally, LI.FI provides easy-to-use SDK modules for yield aggregation protocols or other dapps, facilitating the integration of their smart contracts for the fastest and most reliable cross-chain fund transfers. LI.FI also allows users to whitelist and blacklist certain cross-chain bridges or set priority models.

Official website: https://li.fi/

Related reading: 《Cross-Chain Infrastructure Protocol LI.FI Raises $5.5M》

6. Quadrata

On July 12, the Web3 identity network Quadrata completed a $7.5 million seed funding round, led by Dragonfly Capital.
Quadrata Passport synchronizes secure identity, compliance, and reputation data across multiple blockchains. The passport provides users with a unique decentralized identity (DID) and offers compliance infrastructure for decentralized applications, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. Quadrata also collaborates with credit scoring giant TransUnion to create on-chain reputation scores.

Quadrata Passport is issued as an ERC1155-based NFT. DApps integrated with Quadrata can check the following attributes of the passport: passport information, multiple user wallets, the user's AML risk score, and the passport's issuing region.

Quadrata's roadmap includes launching the passport product, expanding to more blockchains, decentralizing the network, and adding more types of identifiers, such as accredited investor identities.

Official website: https://quadrata.com/

Related reading: 《Dragonfly Capital Leads $7.5M Round for Quadrata's Identity Passport》

7. ZKX

On July 14, the StarkNet ecosystem derivatives protocol ZKX completed a $4.5 million funding round, with participation from StarkWare, Alameda, Amber Group, and others.

Founded in 2021, ZKX is a derivatives protocol based on StarkNet and supported by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The protocol aims to provide a better trading experience through gamification and its unique governance structure, targeting to expand ZKX's influence in emerging markets.

ZKX simplifies complex trading strategies into simple perpetual contracts, enhancing the user trading experience through gamified trading leaderboards, decentralized order books, and unique liquidity governance. Features of the ZKX protocol include DAO support, decentralized limit order books (DLOB), volatility incentive strategies, liquidity mining, and L2 scaling.

According to ZKX's roadmap, the next steps include launching White Paper V1, community incentive programs, testnet launch, token issuance, governance and staking, mainnet launch, and possibly issuing tokens in Q3 2022.

Official website: https://zkx.fi/

Related reading: 《ZKX nets $4.5 million in funding from Alameda, StarkWare and others》

8. Hang

On July 14, the NFT membership platform Hang completed a $16 million Series A funding round, led by Paradigm.

Hang is a Web3-based service platform that connects brands with members, allowing brand managers to set membership rules, add benefits and rewards, and connect to third-party services. Hang's slogan is to redefine membership systems and unlock benefits for brand communities. Hang supports brands in using NFTs to incentivize customers and provides a new way to offset acquisition costs and increase the value of their existing user base by leveraging the unique advantages of NFT technology to change their relationships with customers.

Specifically, Hang supports the easy construction of no-code contracts on any chain and provides an easy-to-use site builder that scales with traffic, seamlessly integrating with brand websites, crypto wallets, and third-party exchanges to offer exclusive experiences to members through a native and third-party integrated ecosystem.

Hang has already partnered with Budweiser, Pinkberry, Bleacher Report, and Superfly (the company behind the Outside Lands and Bonnaroo music festivals).

Official website: https://www.hang.xyz/

Related reading: 《Paradigm Leads $16M Funding Round for Hang》

9. Hologram

On July 15, the virtual character development platform Hologram announced the completion of a $6.5 million seed funding round, led by Polychain Capital.

Hologram is a platform that utilizes NFTs to develop virtual characters, allowing users to use NFT images or characters as avatars in social media app calls, aiming to provide utility for NFTs. The company supports both 2D and 3D avatars, generating revenue through partnerships with various NFT and avatar manufacturers.

Leveraging the latest developments in machine learning, 3D, and web3, Hologram enables any online community to create, own, and engage with immersive virtual characters, merchandise, and experiences at scale. Users can connect with others, create content, and build their brands on any video or gaming platform, such as Zoom, Twitch, VR chat, and hundreds of others as their digital characters.

Specifically, Hologram has created a Chrome extension that allows users to view the avatars owned in their crypto wallets, then turn one of those avatars into what the company calls a "hologram." The hologram brings the image to life in the form of an animated avatar, synchronizing the character's mouth movements with the user's speech.

Official website: https://www.hologram.xyz/

Related reading: 《Hologram raises $6.5M for blockchain-based avatars that you can use in video calls》

10. Sunscreen

On July 18, the Web3 privacy startup Sunscreen completed a $4.65 million seed funding round, led by Polychain Capital.

Sunscreen aims to enhance the privacy potential of Web3 using Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology, which allows individuals to perform computations on encrypted data without decrypting it. Financial institutions can also use FHE to slice and segment transaction data to detect potential fraud while providing more standardized privacy support for customers.

The company has developed a compiler that makes it easier for engineers to build FHE programs and has announced the launch of a grant program to fund developers, scholars, and researchers using FHE.

In the future, Sunscreen will focus on integrating with complementary zero-knowledge proof libraries and decentralized storage solutions.

Official website: https://sunscreen.tech/

Related reading: 《Sunscreen raises $4.65m to build the privacy engine of the new web》

11. DSCVR

On July 25, the Web3 social network DSCVR completed a $9 million seed funding round, led by Polychain Capital.

DSCVR is a social content aggregation platform built on the Dfinity network, aiming to be a decentralized version of Reddit. DSCVR has created social tokens and service tokens to enhance the user experience of centralized social media.

DSCVR's governance model allows users to make product decisions to guide the platform's direction, gaining Upvotes through collecting votes on posts, comments, and portals managed and created by users. These rights will be represented by social tokens, which users earn by posting valuable content and badges. Additionally, users can fund the platform, support its development, and earn service tokens. These token holders will focus on creating economic value for the platform itself. Service tokens account for 50% of governance decisions.

All data on DSCVR is stored on the Dfinity blockchain, similar to traditional relational database models, with returned data being computed views. In the future, DSCVR will use Social Fabric to open up the product model. Social Fabric will allow users to become part of the DSCVR ecosystem and build independent and autonomous social networks.

Official website: https://dscvr.one/

Related reading: 《The race to build a social media platform on the blockchain》

12. Trustless Media

On July 27, Trustless Media completed a $3.25 million seed funding round, led by Alameda Research.

Trustless Media is a Web3 content creator platform aimed at building an NFT community-owned media company. Trustless Media helps users mint shows as NFTs to distribute to audiences, allowing holders to access threshold content and participate in show production through on-chain voting. Trustless Media's initial NFT release will focus on game theory and trust experiments to build its governance community.

Trustless Media plans to expand its community beyond the initial 1,000 NFT community members through network expansion. At the end of Coinage Season 1, it will launch to the public with the "Caucus NFT," which has 9,000 NFTs, allowing the community to collaboratively create Season 2. There will also be a "Subscriber NFT," which has no maximum supply and can be minted for free (excluding transaction fees).

In the future, Trustless Media plans to expand its Web3 shows into other popular digital media fields beyond crypto, such as food or travel.

Official website: https://www.trustless.media/

Related reading: 《Alameda Research Leads $3.25M Seed Round for Trustless Media》

13. Coinfeeds

On July 28, the Web3 information aggregation platform Coinfeeds raised $2 million in seed funding, with participation from FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others.

Coinfeeds is an application that aggregates metrics and insights from different social networks, helping businesses, investors, and web3 natives make more effective data-driven decisions. The platform utilizes natural language processing to monitor and generate insights from key web3 community social channels like Twitter, Discord, and Telegram to track sentiment, mentions, followers, and messages. This data is also used to create custom social graphs for each cryptocurrency or NFT project to identify key opinion leaders and track which projects investors and influencers are posting about the most.

Currently, Coinfeeds offers free and premium APIs for institutional and professional users. All users can access Twitter mentions and followers, Discord and Telegram information, as well as price and market cap changes, but sentiment-based insights are a premium feature available only for limited free trial access. Additionally, Coinfeeds has partnered with several major crypto projects like Near and Graph to build social monitoring for their communities.

Official website: https://www.daolens.com/

Related reading: 《Coinfeeds Raises $2M Seed Raise and Launches Web3 Community Monitoring App》

14. Quasar Finance

On July 28, the DeFi investment platform Quasar Finance completed a $6 million funding round, with participation from Polychain Capital and others.

Quasar Finance is an application chain based on Cosmos, designed to facilitate investments in the multi-chain space. Users can easily create and utilize asset containers independent of Vaults using IBC technology, enabling cross-chain value capture within and outside the Cosmos ecosystem.

Quasar's treasury will earn dividend income from users' unilateral staking, automatic delegation, and other activities. Funds in the treasury support flash loan functionality to guide liquidity or invest in promising emerging projects.

Additionally, users can lock $QSR, fork, or create strategies to earn income. All vaults will be independently managed, allowing users to deploy DAOs and control their funds according to their wishes. In Quasar's roadmap, cross-chain accounts will be introduced in Q3, along with community-built governance strategies. The mainnet will launch in Q4, along with the $QSR asset-backed program.

Official website: https://www.quasar.fi/

Related reading: 《Polychain and Blockchain Capital Lead $6 million raise for Fair, Simple and Transparent DeFi on Cosmos》