Last week, there were a total of 25 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with a financing amount of approximately 265 million USD | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organizer: Biscuit, RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from December 18 to December 24, 2023, there were a total of 25 publicly announced investment and financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a total financing amount of approximately $26.59 million.

From the perspective of track distribution, the projects that received financing are mainly concentrated in the infrastructure and CeFi tracks. Notable projects include data center infrastructure Akron Energy, which completed $110 million in financing led by Bluesky Capital Management. Web3 infrastructure web3mine completed $6 million in seed round financing, led by 1kx.

In addition, game developer Nexon announced the launch of a $100 million Web3 fund to support its blockchain game ecosystem MapleStory Universe and related IP. This funding will be used to support developers in building SDKs and creating a sandbox platform for players and creators to develop blockchain games.

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

1. Infrastructure

1. Layer2 network Frame completes a new round of financing and will launch its mainnet and native token FRAME in January
Layer2 network Frame announced on platform X that it has completed a new round of financing, with participation from Electric Capital, 9gag founder Ray Chan, Luca Netz, and former Sushiswap CEO 0xMaki, though the specific amount has not been disclosed.

Frame launched its testnet in November this year, with its mainnet and native token FRAME expected to launch on January 31, 2024. In addition to the latest investment, Frame also announced an airdrop for active NFT traders on the Ethereum chain over the past two years. (Source link)

2. DID market aggregator GoDID completes a new round of financing with a valuation of $30 million, led by NGC
DID market aggregator GoDID completed a new round of financing with a valuation of $30 million, led by NGC.

It is reported that GoDID is a market aggregator focused on all categories of DID, with core functions including bulk search, registration, trading, and management of DIDs. The GoDID sub-platform bdid.io focuses on the BTC ecosystem, and its token BDID has been launched on Bounce and started trading on Uniswap. (Source link)

3. Decentralized internet proxy network Wynd Network completes $3.5 million seed round financing, led by Polychain Capital and Tribe Capital
Decentralized internet proxy network Wynd Network recently announced the completion of $3.5 million in seed round financing, led by Polychain Capital and Tribe Capital, with participation from Bitscale, Big Brain, Advisors Anonymous, Typhon V, and Mozaik.

The company's first product, Grass, is a decentralized web crawler network designed to help companies and non-profits train artificial intelligence. Wynd Network's CTO Chris Nguyen stated that Grass will produce datasets traceable to their origins, allowing people to be fairly compensated for their contributions to the web. (Source link)

4. Blockchain technology company Fyde Treasury announces completion of $3.2 million seed round financing, led by OP Crypto Ventures
Led by former NASA scientists, blockchain technology company Fyde Treasury announced it has completed $3.2 million in seed round financing, with OP Crypto Ventures leading the round and notable funds and angel investors such as Arrington Capital, BigBrain Holdings, and Merit Circle participating.

Fyde Treasury conducts stress testing and optimization through a simulation engine. The system uses heuristic and random agent-based modeling to model token design and create consistent incentive structures among blockchain companies, decentralized computers, and token holders. (Source link)

5. Web3 cloud computing platform 4EVERLAND completes $2 million financing, with participation from Arweave and others
Web3 cloud computing platform 4EVERLAND completed $2 million in financing, with participation from Arweave, WaterDrip Capital, Bing Ventures, Forward Research, Web3.com Ventures, Arweave SCP Ventures, GTS Ventures, Hillstone, and others.

4EVERLAND is a blockchain technology-driven Web3.0 infrastructure that integrates various DePIN protocols, providing developers with convenient, efficient, and low-cost storage, networking, and computing capabilities. It aims to help developers smoothly transition from Web2.0 to Web3.0 and build a user-friendly Web3.0 cloud computing platform.

It is reported that prior to this round of financing, 4EVERLAND had already received grant funding support from ecosystems such as Polygon, Protocol Labs, Dfinity, and Arweave. 4EVERLAND had previously completed $1.5 million in seed round financing, with participation from Bixin Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, FBG Capital, Mint Ventures, and Random Capital.

6. Web3 infrastructure web3mine completes $6 million seed round financing, led by 1kx
Web3 infrastructure web3mine announced the completion of $6 million in seed round financing, led by 1kx, with PL Ventures and several angel investors participating.

It is reported that web3mine aims to enable the world to collectively coordinate capital and hardware to build open, high-performance, and resilient computing infrastructure for everyone. The liquid staking solution provided for the Filecoin network is the first among many solutions: the team is expanding its service offerings to serve other web3 utility networks. (Source link)

2. CeFi

1. Web3 financial services platform Fiat Republic completes $7 million seed round financing, with participation from Kraken Ventures
Web3 financial services platform Fiat Republic completed $7 million in seed round financing, with participation from Kraken Ventures, Fabric Ventures, Arca, Inovo.vc, Pretiosum Ventures, and existing investors Speedinvest, Credo Ventures, and Seedcamp. The new funds will be used for its development and expansion, as well as strategic hiring and strengthening banking partnerships. (Source link)

2. Web3 tax service company Tres Finance completes $11 million Series A financing, led by Lightspeed Faction
Web3 tax startup Tres Finance completed $11 million in Series A financing, led by Lightspeed's new fund Faction, with participation from New Form, Boldstart Ventures, Cyber Fund, and Ambush Capital. This round of financing brings Tres's total funding to $18.6 million.

It is reported that Tres provides accounting, auditing, reporting, and other financial services for Web3 companies. Tres raised $7.6 million in seed funding in September 2022, led by Boldstart Ventures and Alchemy Ventures. (Source link)

3. Swiss blockchain micropayment startup Centi completes seed round financing
Swiss blockchain micropayment startup Centi announced the completion of seed round financing, led by Archblock and Bloomhaus Ventures, with specific amounts not disclosed. It is reported that Centi primarily uses blockchain technology to address the inefficiencies and lack of financial inclusion in micropayments while providing innovative payment solutions based on stablecoin technology. In March this year, the company announced the launch of the Centi Swiss Franc stablecoin, pegged to the Swiss Franc and backed by Swiss banks at a 1:1 ratio. (Source link)

4. Data center infrastructure Akron Energy completes $110 million financing, led by Bluesky Capital Management
Data center infrastructure company Akron Energy completed $110 million in financing, led by Bluesky Capital Management, with participation from Kestrel 0x1, Nural Capital, and Florence Capital.

Akron Energy CEO Josh Payne stated that the new funds will be used to expand the company's business, with $80 million allocated to acquire an additional 200 megawatts of capacity for new data centers in Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas. Payne also mentioned that the company's U.S. data center portfolio is primarily occupied by institutional-grade Bitcoin mining companies. (Source link)

5. Bitcoin mining company Stronghold reaches a $15 million private placement agreement with investors
According to official news, Stronghold has reached a $15 million private placement agreement with an institutional investor. The company sold 2.3 million shares of Class A common stock and equivalent securities at a price of $6.71 per share. The company also issued warrants to the buyer to purchase a total of 2,300,000 shares of Class A common stock, with an initial exercise price of $7.00 per share (adjustable), which cannot be exercised within six months of issuance.

Before deducting issuance costs, the total amount raised from the private placement was $15.4 million. The funds will be used to enhance the growth and efficiency of the company's mining fleet, accelerate its carbon capture program, improve its working capital situation, and for general corporate purposes. (Source link)

3. DeFi

1. Rio Development announces completion of seed round financing, with participation from Polychain Capital and others
The development team of the liquidity re-staking network Rio Network announced the completion of seed round financing, with participation from Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Breyer Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, and others, though the financing amount has not been disclosed. It is reported that Rio is a network for issuing Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT), with its first product being re-staked Ethereum (reETH). (Source link)

2. TON ecosystem Launchpad platform TonUP completes private placement financing, with participation from MEXC Venture and others
TON ecosystem Launchpad platform TonUP completed private placement financing, with participation from Antalpha, MEXC Venture, Waterdrip Capital, New Tribe Capital, nxgen capital, MixMarvel DAO Venture, y2z Venture, and individual investors from the industry. The funds raised will be used to support product development and multi-party market expansion. (Source link)

4. NFT

1. NFT platform Moove Protocol completes seed round financing led by Morningstar Ventures
NFT platform Moove Protocol, jointly launched by Two3 Labs and CowCow, announced the completion of seed round financing, led by Morningstar Ventures, with participation from ZBS Capital, Alpha Protocol Ventures, Let's Go Ventures, NXGen, Antiga Capital, and notable angel investor Vijay Pravin Maharajan (bitsCrunch). (Source link)

5. Gaming

1. DMM Group's Web3 subsidiary DM2C Studio completes $2.3 million financing, led by Galaxy Interactive
Japanese entertainment giant DMM Group's Web3 subsidiary DM2C Studio announced the completion of $2.3 million in financing through the issuance of convertible bonds, led by Galaxy Interactive, with participation from Shima Capital, Bitfinex, MARBLEX, SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD., Planetarium Labs, Mask Network, and DeFimans Co., Ltd. This is DM2C Studio's first round of financing, aimed at establishing strategic partnerships for comprehensive global expansion. DM2C Studio also released the white paper for its Web3 project "Seamoon Protocol" on its website today.

It is reported that DM2C Studio was established in January 2023, with the goal of developing DMM's Web3 business, including blockchain games and NFT projects. In June this year, DM2C Studio launched the web3 project "Seamoon Protocol," utilizing its token to provide new entertainment experiences in the digital space. The project plans to launch its proprietary blockchain "DM2 Verse" on Oasys Layer2, introduce its "DM2P" token, and provide initiatives such as blockchain games. (Source link)

2. Game developer Nexon announces the launch of a $100 million Web3 fund to support its blockchain game ecosystem MapleStory Universe
Game developer Nexon announced the launch of a $100 million Web3 fund to support its blockchain game ecosystem MapleStory Universe and related IP. This funding will be used to support developers in building SDKs and creating a sandbox platform for players and creators to develop blockchain games. (Source link)

6. Social Entertainment

1. Decentralized social network Formless announces completion of over $2.2 million Pre-Seed round financing, with participation from a16z and others
Decentralized social network Formless announced the completion of over $2.2 million in Pre-Seed round financing, with participation from a16z crypto, Contango Digital Assets, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Beacon Accelerator, WAGMIventures, MH Ventures, Knights Capital, and others. This funding will drive our commitment to advancing the development of the Share protocol.

According to the crypto data platform RootData, Formless is a decentralized network and digital space that empowers individuals to connect, create, collaborate, and share in a multi-person digital economy, focusing on developing decentralized media applications Share Protocol. Share is a digital content distribution engine that uses peer-to-peer, pay-per-access microtransactions for decentralized distribution on the blockchain. (Source link)

2. Web3 fan platform Medallion completes $13.7 million Series A financing, led by Dragonfly and Lightspeed Faction
Web3 fan platform Medallion announced the completion of $13.7 million in Series A financing, co-led by Dragonfly and Lightspeed Faction. The platform provides exclusive digital hubs for artists to promote album releases, tour dates, and merchandise, while selling digital collectibles and sharing exclusive content to deepen connections with fans.
To date, Medallion has raised a total of $22 million in funding. (Source link)

7. Others

1. HTX Ventures announces investment in Web3 education platform Academic Labs
HTX Ventures announced that it has completed an investment in the Web3 education platform Academic Labs. This investment will enable Academic Labs to provide more onboarding opportunities for new Web3 users and stimulate educational engagement among native users through its token and NFT system.

It is reported that Academic Labs is a platform that applies AI and Web3 technology to enhance the educational experience. This investment will enable Academic Labs to provide more onboarding opportunities for new Web3 users and stimulate educational engagement among native users through its unique token and NFT system. Academic Labs is launching three innovative non-fungible tokens (NFTs): Learner NFT, Achievement NFT, and Educator NFT. (Source link)

2. Web3 growth marketing service company Addressable completes $6 million financing, led by Bitkraft Ventures
Web3 growth marketing service company Addressable announced the completion of $6 million in a new round of financing, led by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Karatage, Viola Ventures, Fabric Ventures, Mensch Capital Partners, NorthIsland Ventures, and others. According to the crypto asset data platform RootData, the company's total financing amount has reached $13.5 million to date. (Source link)