Last week, there were a total of 16 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with the total financing amount remaining stable | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organizer: Biscuit, RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from September 18 to September 24, 2023, there were a total of 16 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a total financing amount of approximately $184.65 million. The number of financing rounds slightly decreased, but the total amount remained stable.

From the perspective of sector distribution, this week, social and tools & data were the hot financing sectors, completing 3 and 5 financing rounds respectively, including Web3 social application Orb, decentralized hackathon platform BeWater, and crypto data analysis platform CoinScan.

In addition, a16z Crypto disclosed 3 financing rounds last week, including a $25 million seed round for the crypto white-label infrastructure Bastion, a $3.6 million seed round for the decentralized information market protocol Freatic, and a $33 million financing round for the Web3 game studio Proof of Play, co-led with Greenoaks.

*（List of some projects that completed financing last week, data source: * Rootdata）

I. Infrastructure

1. Intent-based crypto infrastructure company Essential completes $5.15 million seed round financing, led by Maven11
Intent-centered crypto infrastructure company Essential has completed a $5.15 million seed round financing, led by Maven11, with participation from Robot Ventures, Karatage, Batuhan Dasgin, Skip, James Prestwich, Brandon Curtis, and Eclipse founder Neel Somani.

It is reported that Essential aims to reshape the cryptocurrency trading supply chain to reduce the value extraction of what it describes as "rent-seeking intermediaries," thereby benefiting users. (Source link)

2. Decentralized information market protocol Freatic completes $3.6 million seed round financing, led by a16z Crypto
Decentralized information market protocol Freatic has completed a $3.6 million seed round financing, led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Anagram, Archetype, Not3Lau Capital, Robot Ventures, and Arweave. Angel investors include Stefano Bernardi, Meltem Demirors, Stephane Gosselin, Jutta Steiner, and MacLane Wilkison.

It is reported that the company is building a decentralized protocol that combines the power of blockchain cryptography and game theory to accelerate the flow of real-world information about different markets. (Source link)

3. Crypto payment company Mesh completes $22 million Series A financing, led by Money Forward
Crypto asset management and payment company Mesh (formerly Front Finance) has completed a $22 million Series A financing, led by Money Forward, with investors including Galaxy, Samsung Next, Streamlined Ventures, SNR.VC, Hike VC, Heitner Group, Valon Capital, Florida Funders, Altair Capital, Network VC, and several angel investors. Mesh will use the newly raised funds to further develop its deposit, payment, and spending tools and support its product launch operations. To date, Mesh has raised a total of $32 million.

Mesh participated in the Startup Battlefield 200 competition at TC Disrupt 2023 and was founded in 2020 by Bam Azizi and Adam Israel. Before founding Mesh, Azizi founded the cybersecurity and identity company NoPassword, which was acquired by LogMeIn in 2019. Adam Israel previously served as managing director at HSBC. Mesh supports in-app asset transfers across exchanges and wallets, as well as peer-to-peer payments in cryptocurrency. (Source link)

4. Indian fiat on-ramp solution Onramp.money receives strategic investment from Algorand Ventures
The Algorand Foundation announced on its official website that Algorand Ventures has made a strategic investment in Onramp.money to support its global Web3 ecosystem.

Onramp.money is a provider of fiat on-ramp solutions in India and has recently expanded its services to multiple jurisdictions worldwide, including Vietnam, the UAE, Turkey, and Mexico. The platform's transaction volume and user engagement have been growing at an average rate of 100-200% per month. (Source link)

II. CeFi

1. Crypto startup Bastion completes $25 million financing, led by a16z crypto
Crypto startup Bastion has completed a $25 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto, with participation from Laser Digital Ventures (a subsidiary of Nomura Group), Robot Ventures, Not Boring Capital, and others. It is reported that Bastion provides services such as cryptocurrency custody. (Source link)

2. Digital asset startup Fuze completes $14 million seed round financing, led by Further Ventures
Middle Eastern digital asset startup Fuze announced it has completed a $14 million seed round financing, led by venture capital firm Further Ventures, with participation from early-stage venture firm Liberty City Ventures based in New York.

Fuze was founded in December 2022 and joined Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem Hub71 this year. Fuze enables banks, fintech companies, or enterprises to offer regulated digital asset products to customers through local applications, with its white-label solution handling complex blockchain and regulatory overhead, allowing businesses to offer digital assets such as stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, CBDCs, and tokenized assets at any time. (Source link)

III. DeFi

1. Hybrid on-chain exchange GRVT raises $7.1 million at a $39 million valuation
Hybrid on-chain exchange GRVT has raised $7.1 million in pre-seed and seed round financing at a $39 million valuation. The seed round raised $5 million, co-led by Matrix Partners and Delphi Digital, with participation from Susquehanna Investment Group, CMS Holdings, Hack VC, and Matter Labs. The pre-seed round raised $2.1 million, with investors including 500 Startups and Folius Ventures.

Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of GRVT, stated that this round of financing began in August this year and added that the pre-seed round was completed in October 2022. Both rounds of financing are equity financing with token warrants. (Source link)

2. Blockchain technology company Jiritsu completes $10.2 million financing and launches asset tokenization platform Tomei RWA
Blockchain company Jiritsu, focused on verifiable computing, has raised a total of $10.2 million in two rounds of financing, led by gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, LLLP, Republic Capital, and other investors.

Jiritsu also launched its asset tokenization platform Tomei RWA. Jiritsu stated, "The platform uses zero-knowledge proofs to achieve secure and compliant asset onboarding while providing fine-grained, permissioned data access."

The company plans to use the new funds to "accelerate the development and adoption of the UVC platform and Tomei RWA." Jiritsu was founded in 2020 and developed technologies such as Unlimited Verifiable Computing (UVC), aimed at providing an easy-to-program approach applicable to any workflow and generating workflow proofs. (Source link)

IV. Social

1. Web3 creator community Afterparty completes $5 million financing, led by Blockchange Ventures
Web3 creator community Afterparty has completed $5 million financing, led by Blockchange Ventures, with participation from Acrew Capital, Act One Ventures, Tamarack Global, Wilson Sonsini, and Vinny Lingham. The funds raised will be used for product development and business expansion. (Source link)

2. Web3 social application Orb based on Lens Protocol completes $2.3 million financing, with participation from Superscrypt and others
Web3 social application Orb, based on Lens Protocol, has completed $2.3 million in financing, with participation from Superscrypt, Founders, Inc., Foresight Ventures, Aave Companies, and Lens Protocol founder Stani Kulechov, as well as Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.

Orb co-founder Kimmo Siren stated that this round began in March and ended in May, and there was no lead investor. The plan is to develop a new on-chain social experience that combines commerce, content, and communication, and to expand the current team of fewer than 10 people by primarily hiring mobile developers and designers. (Source link)

3. Decentralized hackathon platform BeWater completes $1 million angel round financing, co-led by ABCDE and OKX Ventures
Decentralized hackathon platform and global open-source developer organization BeWater announced the completion of $1 million in angel round financing. This round was co-led by ABCDE and OKX Ventures, with follow-on investments from ScalingX, Galaxy Mercury Asia, Contentos, and individual investors including Blake Gao.

It is reported that BeWater.xyz provides standardized event services, including hackathons, emphasizing that a hackathon can be initiated in just 10 minutes without permission. In just 3 months since its launch, it has collaborated with major ecosystems such as zkSync, Celestia, Polyhedra, Taiko, Aleo, Solana, NEO, and Sei to host over 20 hackathons, with a prize pool exceeding $2 million.

V. Tools & Data

1. Blockchain data visualization company Bubblemaps completes $3.2 million seed round financing, led by INCE Capital
Blockchain data visualization company Bubblemaps has completed $3.2 million in seed round financing, led by INCE Capital, with participation from Stake Capital, Momentum 6, Lbank, V3ntures, Nicolas Bacca from Ledger, Dyma Budorin from Hacken, and French entrepreneur Owen 'Hasheur' Simonin.

Bubblemaps plans to use the funds to expand its team and accelerate growth, particularly by hiring more developers and enhancing the company's marketing efforts on social media platforms. (Source link)

2. Fashion metaverse data analytics provider Geeiq completes £6.6 million (approximately $8.2 million) Series A financing, led by YFM Equity Partners
Geeiq, a metaverse data analytics service provider focused on fashion, announced the completion of £6.6 million (approximately $8.2 million) in Series A financing, led by YFM Equity Partners, with participation from GFR Fund and FOV Ventures.

It is reported that Geeiq primarily provides metaverse market data analytics services for brands, while also helping businesses obtain customized data analytics capabilities on metaverse platforms such as Roblox, Zepeto, Decentraland, and Fortnite. Its current clients include fashion brands like Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger. (Source link)

3. Blockchain medical data exchange platform Briya completes $11.5 million Series A financing, led by Team8
Blockchain-based medical data exchange platform Briya announced the completion of $11.5 million in Series A financing, led by Team8, with participation from Insight Partners, Amiti Ventures, Innocare Health Investments, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation. Briya's total financing has reached $17 million.

It is reported that Briya's scalable blockchain-driven system can standardize all forms of electronic health records, enabling life sciences organizations to streamline access to and exchange of real-time anonymous medical data. Briya was one of the 10 startups selected for the 2022 Intel Ignite accelerator program and participated in the Health Engine accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley. (Source link)

4. Crypto data analysis platform CoinScan completes $6.3 million financing, with participation from Tectona and others
Crypto analysis platform CoinScan has completed $6.3 million in financing, with participation from Shalom Meckenzie, the largest individual shareholder of sports betting company DraftKings (DKNG), Mor Weizer, CEO of gaming software development company Playtech (PTEC), and digital company Tectona listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

CoinScan aims to provide cryptocurrency users with data that helps reduce losses caused by vulnerabilities, hacks, and scams. (Source link)

5. MoonPay announces acquisition of NFT ownership verification tool ethpass
Web3 payment infrastructure company MoonPay announced the acquisition of the NFT ownership verification tool ethpass, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. It is reported that ethpass will be integrated into MoonPay's products and services to facilitate seamless interactions of digital assets within wallets. (Source link)

VI. Gaming

1. Blockchain game company Proof of Play completes $33 million financing, co-led by Greenoaks and a16z
Blockchain game startup Proof of Play, founded by FarmVille co-founder Amitt Mahajan, has completed $33 million in financing, co-led by Greenoaks and a16z, with participation from Balaji Srinivasan, Twitch founders Justin Kan and Emmett Shear, Mercury, Firebase, Zynga, and Alchemy. (Source link)