Last week, there were a total of 12 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, and the financing market cooled down in the first week of 2024 | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organizer: Biscuit, RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from January 1 to January 7, 2024, there were a total of 12 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a total financing amount of approximately 11.8 million USD. In the past month, the crypto market averaged 25 financing deals per week, with an average financing amount of 227 million USD. In contrast, the performance of the crypto financing market in the first week of 2024 was sluggish.

From the perspective of track distribution, the projects that received financing are mainly distributed in DePIN and Bitcoin Ecosystem. Popular projects include the Bitcoin native data availability layer Nubit, the NFT trading and inscription platform EZSwap, and the decentralized synthetic social network CharacterX.

In addition, the blockchain explorer Etherscan announced the acquisition of Solscan. Binance Labs announced an investment in Memeland's native ecosystem token MEME.

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

I. Infrastructure

1. Bitcoin native data availability layer Nubit completes angel round financing, Bounce Finance and domo participate
The Bitcoin native data availability layer Nubit has completed its angel round financing, with Bounce Finance and domo participating, but the financing amount has not been disclosed.

According to RootData, Nubit is a Bitcoin native data availability layer designed to change the way transactions are processed on the Bitcoin network. Its development team, Riema, proposed BRC-1310, a specialized Bitcoin native data availability standard that includes Bitcoin native staking, data availability sampling technology, direct data proof on the Bitcoin network, and decentralized bridges. (Source link)

2. Web3 relay network Gelato Network completes A+ round financing, led by IOSG Ventures
IOSG Ventures director Ray Xiao announced on platform X that he recently led the A+ round financing for Gelato Network, but the specific financing amount has not been disclosed.

According to RootData, Gelato Network is a Web3 automation and relay network that enables developers to automatically execute various arbitrary smart contracts across all EVM-compatible blockchains (such as Ethereum). Gelato Network previously completed a 11 million USD Series A financing on September 30, 2021, with a valuation of 125 million USD. (Source link)

3. Decentralized mixed reality infrastructure network DeMR completes strategic financing, with participation from KuCoin Labs
The decentralized mixed reality infrastructure network DeMR has completed strategic financing, with participation from KuCoin Labs, but the specific financing amount has not been disclosed. DeMR is a decentralized mixed reality (MR) infrastructure network (MR-DePIN) built on the Solana chain, leading global users into the MR world. Compass is the core NFT in DeMR, serving as a necessary identifier for contributors, who can participate in building high-precision MR maps and receive DMR token rewards.

4. Decentralized synthetic social network CharacterX completes 2.8 million USD seed round financing, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and others
The decentralized synthetic social network CharacterX has completed 2.8 million USD in seed round financing, with a company valuation of 30 million USD. This round of financing was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, INCE Capital, and Spark Digital Capital, with participation from CGV, ZC Capital, GRI, Fermion Capital, 84000LP, and others.

It is reported that CharacterX is a decentralized synthetic social network initiated by a team from Stanford University, combining AGI technology with blockchain. The team recently launched the CharacterX mobile application for Android and iOS, as well as a developer website for users to create and interact with artificial intelligence. (Source link)

III. DeFi

1. DeFi trading platform Bracket Labs completes 2 million USD seed round financing
The Panama-registered DeFi options trading platform Bracket Labs has completed 2 million USD in seed round financing and announced that its volatility market product Passages is officially launched on Arbitrum.

It is reported that this product has been in development for more than a year and has been live on the Arbitrum testnet since mid-October 2023. Passages provides users with a volatility trading platform for 2-day prediction markets with a simple design.

In addition, Bracket Labs was selected for Binance Labs' fifth incubation program and received investment from Binance Labs. (Source link)

IV. NFT

1. WISeKey subsidiary WISe.ART AG completes new round of strategic financing
Swiss cybersecurity and digital identity company WISeKey's subsidiary digital art platform WISe.ART AG announced the completion of a new round of strategic financing, with participation from the Swiss non-profit organization Hashgraph Association (THA) supporting the Hedera network, but the specific amount has not been disclosed. WISeKey founder and CEO Carlos Moreira stated that this round of financing will accelerate the development of WISe.ART V3.0 and promote the construction of trusted NFT solutions, while also aiming to expand and utilize the Hedera network and extend its distributed ledger technology (DLT) to the mainstream. (Source link)

2. NFT trading and inscription platform EZSwap completes 1 million USD second round financing, led by EOS Network Ventures
According to the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) on its official blog, the gaming NFT DEX and inscription protocol EZSwap completed 1 million USD in second round financing last month, with EOS Network Ventures leading with 500,000 USD, and IOBC Capital and Momentum Capital participating.

The EOS Network Foundation stated that this move not only enables EZSwap to expand its technical capabilities and innovate in the field but also enriches the entire EOS ecosystem through its gaming solutions and expanded cross-chain capabilities.

According to the crypto data platform RootData, EZSwap is an NFT DEX and inscription protocol that is setting new standards for trading game assets and inscription technology, providing a seamless and efficient trading environment directly integrated with games by leveraging the automated market maker (AMM) mechanism. (Source link)

3. KuCoin Labs announces strategic investment in cross-chain inscription protocol ISSP
KuCoin Labs announced a strategic investment in the cross-chain inscription protocol ISSP. ISSP is a cross-chain inscription protocol system that integrates an inscription market, utilizing the unique object model of the Sui network to benefit the inscription system. ISSP has initially launched the SUI-20 inscription standard protocol on the Sui network, using the built-in indexer of network nodes to index inscription data. (Source link)

VII. Others

1. DePIN track shared charging pile project PowerPod completes 1 million USD seed round financing, led by Waterdrip Capital
The DePIN track shared charging pile project PowerPod has recently completed 1 million USD in seed round financing, led by Waterdrip Capital, with participation from Iotex, Future Money Group, JDI Group, Future3 Campus, and Wagmi Venture.

This financing will mainly be used to strengthen hardware development and testing, validate the minimum closed loop of the business model, and build the community ecosystem. PowerPod aims to build a globally open and interconnected charging network to help accelerate the achievement of low-carbon emission goals in the global transportation sector.