This week, there were 28 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, and market sentiment is stabilizing | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organizer: Xiangxiang Xi, ChainCatcher

According to incomplete statistics from ChainCatcher, during the period from February 27 to March 5, 2023, there were a total of 28 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a cumulative financing amount of approximately $179.7 million. The number of financing events and the total amount have declined compared to the previous two weeks, indicating a stabilization of market sentiment.

From the distribution of sectors, infrastructure, DeFi, and gaming were the popular tracks this week. There were a total of 6 infrastructure projects with cumulative financing of approximately $59.3 million; 6 DeFi projects with cumulative financing of approximately $30.7 million; and 2 gaming projects with cumulative financing of approximately $16 million.

In terms of financing rounds and scales, early-stage projects accounted for the majority, with 16 financing rounds ranging from $1 million to $10 million, and 6 rounds classified as seed financing. The three projects with the largest financing amounts were the decentralized mobile network service provider REALLY ($18 million), high-speed wireless network service provider Andrena ($15 million), and the metaverse gaming platform Avalon ($13 million).

(This week's projects with financing amounts between $10 million and $100 million, data source: Rootdata)

1. Infrastructure

1. Decentralized cloud platform Impossible Cloud completes $7 million financing, led by HV Capital and 1kx

According to The Block, the decentralized cloud platform Impossible Cloud has completed a $7 million seed round financing, led by HV Capital and 1kx, with participation from Protocol Labs, TS Ventures, and Very Early Ventures. The founding team of Impossible Cloud includes Wawrzinek, founder of the gaming studio Goodgame Studios, former Airbnb executive Kaul, and Daniel Baker, co-founder and CTO of the open-source platform D2iQ. Impossible Cloud aims to provide decentralized cloud services for B-end users in Web3. (Source link)

2. MPC wallet Portal completes $5.3 million financing, with participation from Haun Ventures and others

MPC wallet Portal announced the completion of $5.3 million in financing, with participation from Slow Ventures, Haun Ventures, Acrew Capital, Chapter One, and others.

Portal provides an MPC wallet and Dapp store, making it a product that supports more Web3 applications. It is reported that Portal's CEO Raj Parekh previously led Visa's global crypto products division. (Source link)

3. Decentralized mobile network service provider REALLY completes $18 million seed round financing, led by Polychain

Decentralized mobile network service provider REALLY announced the completion of $18 million in seed round financing, led by Polychain, with participation from Floodgate founding partner Mike Maples Jr. and other strategic partners, marking the largest telecom seed round financing in U.S. history.

It is reported that REALLY will launch a new phone service powered by decentralized mobile networks (DeWi). (Source link)

4. Conflux receives $10 million investment from DWF Labs

According to The Block, DWF Labs invested $10 million in Conflux by purchasing CFX tokens from the project team and foundation reserves. This round of financing will be used for technological research and development as well as expanding the user base. Conflux plans to further expand its ecosystem around Hong Kong's new Web3 policies through this financing.

According to RootData, last September, Conflux received strategic investment from DWF Labs, with the specific amount undisclosed. (Source link)

2. DeFi

1. DeFi strategy protocol Ammalgam announces completion of $750,000 Pre-seed round financing

DeFi strategy protocol Ammalgam announced the completion of $750,000 in Pre-seed round financing in the third quarter of 2022, with participation from Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, Compound founder Robert Leshner, Anton, Sergej, Mikhail, Tarun Chitra, Santiago R Santos, Bodhi Ventures, BootNode, Marin Ventures, Kevin Zhou, Factor, Zeal Capital, and others.

It is reported that Ammalgam aims to unlock more DeFi functionalities by merging lending and trading into a single protocol. This combination constitutes a source of yield while improving capital efficiency and unlocking unlimited strategies for market makers. (Source link)

2. Decentralized asset management platform Hashnote completes $5 million financing, with investment from Cumberland Labs

Decentralized asset management platform Hashnote received $5 million in investment support from the Web3 incubator Cumberland Labs. Based in Chicago, Cumberland will become the first market maker on Hashnote.

It is reported that Cumberland Labs is an independent entity based in Singapore, not a subsidiary of Cumberland, but works closely with companies like DRW. (Source link)

3. Fixed-rate DeFi platform developer Term Labs completes $2.5 million seed round financing, led by Electric Capital

According to CoinDesk, Term Labs, the developer of the fixed-rate DeFi platform Term Finance, completed $2.5 million in seed round financing, led by Electric Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures, MEXC Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Robot Ventures, and others.

It is reported that Term Finance plans to launch at the end of March, and the newly raised funds will be used to build the Term Finance protocol. (Source link)

4. Non-custodial liquid staking platform Ether.Fi completes $5.3 million financing, led by Chapter One and others

Non-custodial liquid staking platform Ether.Fi completed $5.3 million in financing, led by North Island Ventures, Chapter One, and Node Capital, with participation from BitMex founder Arthur Hayes.

It is reported that Ether.Fi allows users to maintain control over their keys while delegating Ethereum validator operations to node operators. Each validator generated by its protocol will be represented as an NFT, which can be split once the liquid fund pool and protocol fund management smart contracts are implemented.

The Ether.Fi team stated that their goal is to stake 100,000 ETH by mid-2023. The protocol is set to launch on March 4 at ETHDenver. (Coindesk)

5. Decentralized exchange Mangrove completes $7.4 million Series A financing, led by Cumberland and Greenfield Capital

Decentralized exchange Mangrove completed $7.4 million in Series A financing, led by Cumberland and Greenfield Capital, with participation from CMT and Gumi Crypto Capital.

It is reported that Mangrove aims to establish its order book-based decentralized exchange by providing liquidity through its "quote-as-code" approach. Mangrove will first launch on Polygon and then expand to multiple Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains. Mangrove completed $2.7 million in seed round financing in 2021, with participation from Wintermute Ventures and QCP. (The Block)

6. Decentralized exchange DigiFT completes $10.5 million Pre-A round financing, led by Shengda Group

DigiFT, a decentralized digital asset exchange focused on asset-backed tokens (STO), announced the successful completion of $10.5 million in Pre-A round financing. This round was led by Shengda Group, with participation from HashKey Capital, Hash Global, Xin Enterprise Pte. Ltd., and Beituo Capital.

It is reported that DigiFT was founded in 2020 by Zhang Zhihao, former CEO of Greater China at China Merchants Bank, and former vice presidents of Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank in China. Its management team has extensive experience in traditional financial institutions and fintech. DigiFT's vision is to integrate the advantages of centralized and decentralized finance and is currently the only decentralized exchange to enter the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) fintech regulatory sandbox.

DigiFT provides compliant decentralized financial solutions on the Ethereum public chain, deploying automated market maker (AMM) mechanisms to facilitate secondary market trading liquidity for security tokens backed by financial assets such as bonds and equities. (Source link)

3. Gaming

1. Metaverse gaming platform Avalon completes $13 million financing, led by Bitkraft Ventures and Hashed

Metaverse gaming platform Avalon Corp completed $13 million in financing, led by Bitkraft Ventures, Hashed, Delphi Digital, and Mechanism Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Yield Guild Games, Merit Circle, Avocado Guild, and Morning Star Ventures.

It is reported that Avalon Corp, headquartered in Florida, aims to build an interoperable digital world through game engines and blockchain technology, addressing issues such as real-time interaction and scalability. (Source link)

2. GameFi platform BEBO LAB completes $2.3 million financing, set to open BEBO NFT minting on March 17

Social + GameFi platform BEBO LAB announced that it has obtained $2.3 million in financing from Hash9 Fund and ACF Fund, which will be used to launch the BEBO NFT project and develop the BEBO Social + GameFi platform. Additionally, BEBO NFT is expected to open for minting on March 17.

It is reported that BEBO LAB aims to enhance the social interactivity of gaming, and the team has received funding support from institutions in Silicon Valley and Singapore, with team members from Tencent, Apple, and Riot Inc. (LOL). (Source link)

4. NFT

1. NFT financial protocol Insrt completes $2.2 million financing, led by Hashkey Capital and Infinite Capital

According to The Block, NFT financial protocol Insrt Finance developer Insrt Labs has completed $2.2 million in Pre-Seed round financing, led by Hashkey Capital and Infinite Capital, with participation from Sky9 Capital, Caballeros Capital, and Hamzah Khan, head of DeFi at Polygon.

Lauris Zvirbulis, co-founder and CEO of Insrt Labs, stated that the funding was achieved through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT). Insrt Finance is currently built on Ethereum and plans to support other blockchains in the future. Insrt plans to launch omnichain ShardVaults in the next two months and hopes to collaborate with Polygon. The Insrt token is expected to launch in the third quarter of this year. (The Block)

2. Near ecosystem NFT platform Few and Far completes $10.5 million financing, led by Pantera Capital

Near ecosystem NFT platform Few and Far completed $10.5 million in financing, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Cypher Capital, Huobi Ventures, Hypersphere, Metaweb, Mantis Partners, K5 Global, and others.

It is reported that this round of financing will help Few and Far expand the platform's capabilities and enhance user experience. (Source link)

3. SMS-based NFT transfer protocol Redeem raises $2.5 million Pre-seed round financing, led by Kenetic

SMS-based NFT communication layer Redeem has raised Pre-seed round financing, led by Kenetic, with participation from VC3 DAO, CMT Digital, and Flyover Capital.

It is reported that Redeem was founded by Toby Rush, a former Alibaba executive and founder of the biometric startup EyeVerify, aiming to provide infrastructure that allows users to access web3 using only their phone numbers, serving as a connection layer protocol unrelated to blockchain technology. (The Block)

4. Read2N completes Seed+ round financing and is selected for Zonff Partners Aceleap Web3 startup accelerator

Read2N has been selected for the Zonff Partners Aceleap Web3 startup accelerator and completed Seed+ round financing, led by existing shareholder Initiate Capital, with follow-on investments from WAGMi Ventures, H3C Capital, and several well-known authors.

It is reported that Read2N is a Web3 content distribution and asset trading platform with daily trading volumes exceeding $100,000. It aims to create a decentralized content translation and dissemination community based on blockchain and ChatGPT technology, driven by X2E and trading, helping every literary work choosing Web3 distribution to spread to every corner of the world at an unprecedented speed.

5. NFT certification protocol Wakweli completes $1.1 million seed round financing

NFT certification protocol Wakweli announced the completion of $1.1 million in seed round financing, with participation from blockchain investment firms Summit, Funfair Ventures, and a group of angel investors.

It is reported that Wakweli aims to increase trust in Web3 with the support of the community and partners, using its "Proof-of-Democracy" (PoD) consensus algorithm to detect the authenticity of NFTs, enabling the NFT market, buyers, and creators to benefit from the provability of NFTs and other tokenized assets. (Source link)

5. Social Entertainment

1. Web3 content creation platform REPUBLIK completes $3.7 million seed round financing

According to CryptoSlate, Web3 content creation platform REPUBLIK has completed $3.7 million in seed round financing, raising its valuation to $75 million, with unknown participating institutions.

It is reported that REPUBLIK was launched in November 2022, and its alpha version has registered over 85,000 users. REPUBLIK allows content creators to connect with their audience on the platform and utilize built-in smart contracts to handle monetization processes, enabling content creators to create, connect, and be rewarded. (Original link)

2. Web3 entertainment company Orange Comet completes approximately $7 million in equity financing

According to CoinDesk, Web3 startup Orange Comet, focused on NFT and entertainment industry metaverse experiences, has completed approximately $7 million in equity financing and plans to launch a larger financing round later this year.

It is reported that Orange Comet was co-founded in 2021 by television and film producer Dave Broome, NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, and musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Past partners include actor Anthony Hopkins, NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, and the TV series "The Walking Dead." (Source link)

3. Health application Gosleep based on Arbitrum completes $2 million financing, led by Foresight Ventures

Health lifestyle application Gosleep, based on Arbitrum, announced the completion of $2 million in financing, led by Foresight Ventures, with participation from CCC Capital, Amber Group, SevenX Ventures, KuCoin Ventures, and Gate Labs.

It is reported that Gosleep aims to incentivize players to pursue a healthy lifestyle by providing personalized sleep suggestions based on sleep patterns, helping players gradually develop healthy sleep habits. (Source link)

6. CeFi

1. Options trading platform Greeks.live reaches Pre-A round investment agreement with Deribit, BIT, and others

Options trading platform Greeks.live tweeted that it has reached an agreement with major investors in the Pre-A round, gaining support from Deribit, BIT, NGC, Conomico, and others, and will continue to develop its platform and products.

It is reported that Greeks.live was designed by a group of experienced crypto options traders, initially aimed at better managing their own options portfolios. The platform hopes to provide all crypto options traders with more convenient tools to meet more complex requirements. (Source link)

7. Tools

1. Web3 gaming and NFT analytics platform Helika completes $4 million financing, led by Diagram Ventures

Web3 gaming and NFT analytics platform Helika completed $4 million in financing, led by Diagram Ventures, with follow-on investments from Distributed Capital, Sfermion, Big Brain Holdings, Builder Capital, and Sparkle Ventures.

It is reported that Helika provides real-time analytics and attracts new users for game studios and popular NFT series. Helika focuses on comprehensive analysis of Web2, in-game, on-chain, and social media data, helping top Web3 brands like Yuga Labs and Treasure understand their communities, increase user acquisition and engagement, and drive overall growth through data-driven approaches. (Source link)

2. Crypto payment project FLUUS completes $600,000 Pre-Seed round financing

Crypto payment project FLUUS announced the completion of $600,000 in Pre-Seed round financing, with participation from FHS Capital, Encryptus.io, and several angel investors.

It is reported that FLUUS is about to release a beta version, aiming to help more consumers access Web3 services such as token staking and swapping. (Source link)