Last week, there were 12 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, and the primary market remains sluggish | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

整理：饼干，RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from October 2 to October 8, 2023, there were a total of 12 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a cumulative financing of approximately $77.55 million, indicating a continued downturn in the primary market.

Notable financing projects include the Web3 restaurant loyalty application Blackbird, which completed a $24 million Series A financing led by a16z Crypto, and the Web3 social protocol Phaver, which completed a $7 million financing with participation from Polygon Ventures.

According to RootData, a total of 77 financing events occurred in September this year, accumulating approximately $505 million, marking the lowest financing amount in recent years. In September last year, the cryptocurrency sector raised $1.848 billion in 138 rounds of financing, a year-on-year decrease of 72%. In terms of sectors, the infrastructure category leads, followed by gaming and DeFi.

Previous report indicated that the financing amount in the cryptocurrency market in June this year was $520 million, already a new low in recent years.

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

I. Infrastructure

1. Privacy infrastructure provider Fairblock completes $2.5 million pre-seed financing, led by Galileo
Privacy infrastructure provider Fairblock has completed $2.5 million in pre-seed financing, led by Galileo, with participation from Lemniscap, Dilectic, Robot Ventures, GSR, Chorus One, Dorahacks, and Reverie. It is reported that Fairblock aims to make conditional decryption and pre-execution privacy a reality, where conditional decryption allows users to set conditions for the protocol to execute transactions without leaking any on-chain information before execution. (Source link)

2. Blockchain product development company Trinetix completes $10 million strategic financing
Blockchain product development company Trinetix announced that it has secured $10 million in strategic investment from the investment fund Hypra. The new funds will enable Trinetix to further expand into Latin America, enhance its operations for North American clients, and grow its presence in the Latin American market.

Trinetix primarily provides blockchain engineering solutions, smart automation services, and cloud support products for global enterprises, with clients including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and ExxonMobil. The team is currently distributed across Ukraine, the EU, and the US. (Source link)

II. CeFi

1. Cryptocurrency startup Ostium Labs raises $3.5 million, with participation from General Catalyst
Cryptocurrency startup Ostium Labs has raised $3.5 million to develop a digital goods perpetual swap protocol, with participation from General Catalyst, LocalGlobe, SIG, and Balaji Srinivasan. It aims to attract traditional commodity traders and local cryptocurrency traders by providing transparent and flexible alternatives for trading assets such as oil, Bitcoin, and forex pairs. (Source link)

2. Kraken acquires Dutch cryptocurrency broker Coin Meester BV (BCM)

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the acquisition of Dutch cryptocurrency broker BCM, aiming to strengthen Kraken's operations in the Netherlands and provide BCM's customers with access to a wide range of product offerings, market-leading liquidity, exceptional security standards, and 24/7/365 real-time customer support.

III. DeFi

1. On-chain credit risk management company Cicada Partners completes $9.7 million Pre-Seed financing, led by Choppa Capital
On-chain credit risk management company Cicada Partners has completed $9.7 million in Pre-Seed financing, led by Choppa Capital, with participation from Bitscale, Bodhi Ventures, and Shiliang Tang. The funds will be used to provide seed funding for multiple new non-custodial lending pools and to conduct research and development on new blockchain lending use cases. (Source link)

2. Solana-based cryptocurrency trading platform Convergence RFQ completes $2.5 million Pre-Seed financing
The Solana-based cryptocurrency trading platform Convergence RFQ has completed $2.5 million in Pre-Seed financing at a $30 million valuation, led by C² Ventures, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, the Israel Blockchain Association, Auros Global, and others, using the future token protocol SAFT format. Convergence RFQ is currently building its platform on Solana and plans to support Arbitrum, with a launch expected in early next month. (Source link)

3. Accumulated Finance completes private placement financing, with participation from Curve and others
The liquidity staking platform Accumulated Finance V2 has completed private placement financing, with participation from De Facto Capital, Curve Finance, and Stake DAO, with the financing amount yet to be disclosed. Accumulated Finance V2 provides incentivized liquidity staking and DeFi pools for mid to low market cap proof-of-stake protocols, managed by the ACFI token, and is expected to launch in early 2024. (Source link)

IV. Social

1. Web3 social protocol Phaver completes $7 million financing, with participation from Polygon Ventures and others
Web3 social protocol Phaver has completed $7 million in financing, with participation from Polygon Ventures, Nomad Capital, Symbolic Capital, dao5, Foresight Ventures, Alphanonce, f.actor, and Superhero Capital.

The new funds will be used to expand the team and for product development and other partnerships. Phaver aims to help users more easily join Web3 social platforms, providing a Web3 onboarding experience similar to existing social platforms. Phaver has integrated its technology or "social graph" with the decentralized social network ecosystem Lens Protocol and the Web3 social network CyberConnect. (Source link)

V. Gaming

1. GameFi platform NexGami completes $2 million seed round financing, with participation from Polygon Ventures and others
Polygon-based GameFi platform NexGami (formerly Light eSports and MetaVirus Games) announced the completion of a $2 million seed round financing at a post-money valuation of $20 million, with participation from Polygon Ventures, Fundamental Labs, and Ledger Capital. NexGami is committed to providing seamless integration solutions and enhancing the gaming experience for users within the Polygon network. (Source link)

VI. Others

1. Web3 restaurant loyalty application Blackbird completes $24 million Series A financing, led by a16z Crypto
Blackbird announced the completion of $24 million in Series A financing, led by a16z Crypto, with other investors including Amex Ventures, QED Investors, Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant, and various restaurant groups.

According to the crypto data platform RootData, Blackbird previously completed $11 million in seed round financing, co-led by Union Square Ventures, Shine Capital, and Multicoin Capital. Blackbird is a web3 platform designed for the restaurant industry, focusing on establishing direct connections between restaurants and guests through loyalty and membership services. Additionally, the company's founder, Leventhal, previously co-founded two restaurant industry startups: Eater and Resy. Eater was acquired by Vox in 2013, and Resy was acquired by American Express in 2019.(Source link)

2. AI-driven digital human service provider Prins AI completes $100 million Series B financing, led by AAB VC
AI-driven digital human service provider Prins AI has completed $100 million in Series B financing, led by AAB VC. The new funds will enhance Prins AI's financial position and support its subsequent research and development efforts. The Prins AI platform utilizes blockchain technology and smart contracts to record AI digital human training and application behaviors, employing a cryptocurrency reward mechanism to engage users in the AI digital human training program.

Previously, Prins AI completed $22 million in Series A+ financing, with specific investors yet to be disclosed. The company's Series A financing amounted to $10 million, with investors including Base 10, Kleiner Perkins, and Paradigm. (Source link)