Last week, there were a total of 21 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with a cumulative financing of approximately 137.9 million USD | Investment and Financing Weekly Report

Organizer: Cookies, RootData

According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from February 12 to February 18, 2024, there were a total of 21 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a cumulative financing amount of approximately $13.79 million.

From the perspective of track distribution, the projects that received financing were mainly distributed in the DeFi, infrastructure, and gaming sectors. Popular projects include the modular blockchain Lava Network, USDe developer Ethena Labs, AI gaming platform Ultiverse, full-chain interoperability protocol Analog, and derivatives trading protocol IntentX, among others.

In addition, the development team of Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs, announced on February 17 that it has acquired the Moonbirds development team Proof, which includes the PROOF Collective, Moonbirds, Oddities, Mythics, and Grails series NFTs. In the future, Yuga Labs will incorporate Moonbirds into its Otherside gamified virtual universe game. On the same afternoon, Pudgy Penguins officially surpassed the floor price of BAYC.

*（List of projects with financing greater than $5 million last week, data source: * Rootdata）

I. Infrastructure

1. Full-chain interoperability protocol Analog completes $16 million financing, led by Tribe Capital
The full-chain interoperability protocol Analog has completed $16 million in seed and strategic financing, with Tribe Capital leading the round, and participation from NGC Ventures, Wintermute, GSR, NEAR, Orange DAO, Mike Novogratz's alternative asset management company Samara Asset Group, Balaji Srinivasan, and others.

Victor Young, co-founder of Analog, stated that the financing was achieved through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), and after financing, Analog's fully diluted valuation reached $120 million. (Source link)

2. MPC wallet platform Fordefi completes $10 million financing, led by Electric Capital
MPC wallet platform Fordefi has completed $10 million in financing, led by Electric Capital, with participation from Paxos and Alchemy.

It is reported that the company is expanding its self-custody MPC wallet product to retail-facing platforms, such as trading platforms and fintech platforms. (Source link)

3. Web3 digital identity startup Metropolis completes $1.2 million financing, with participation from Outlier Ventures
Web3 digital identity startup Metropolis announced the completion of $1.2 million in financing, with participation from Cointelegraph Accelerator, Lamina1 Ecosystem Fund, ACS, Outlier Ventures, Protocol Labs, Primal Capital, Zephyrus Capital, Cluster Capital, EthLizards, Acacia Digital, Block Consult, IBC, and several strategic angel investors.

Additionally, details of Metropolis's upcoming token public sale will be announced soon, including community gamified airdrops, retail-focused presales, and launchpad. Further information will be released through an interactive white paper, which will include token economics, ecosystem partners, and product development roadmap. (Source link)

4. DePIN infrastructure startup DePHY completes multi-million dollar seed round financing, with participation from Paramita
DePIN infrastructure DePHY has completed multi-million dollar seed round financing, with a valuation of $40 million, with participation from Paramita, Foresight Ventures, Blockchain Builders Fund, IoTeX, FutureMoneyGroup, Waterdrip Capital, DefinanceX, PAKA, and Candaq Fintech Group. The funds raised will be used for the expansion and operation of developer communities and platform projects. (Source link)

5. USDe developer Ethena Labs completes $14 million strategic round financing, led by Dragonfly
USDe developer Ethena Labs, based on Ethereum, has completed $14 million in strategic round financing at a valuation of $300 million, with Dragonfly, Brevan Howard Digital, and BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes's family office Maelstrom co-leading the round, and participation from PayPal Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Avon Ventures, Binance Labs, Deribit, Gemini, and Kraken.

This round of financing adopted a structure of Simple Agreement for Future Equity and token warrants, bringing Ethena's valuation to $300 million and publicly launching the USDe stablecoin. (Source link)

6. Modular blockchain Lava Network completes $15 million seed round financing, co-led by Jump Capital, Hashkey Capital, and Tribe Capital
Modular blockchain infrastructure developer Lava Network has completed $15 million in seed round financing, co-led by Jump Capital, Hashkey Capital, and Tribe Capital, with participation from North Island Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Alliance DAO, Finality Capital Partners, and others. Executives from Celestia, Cosmos, StarkWare, Filecoin, and other blockchain ecosystems also participated in this round of financing. (Source link)

II. CeFi

1. Architect, a crypto startup founded by former FTX US president, completes $12 million financing, co-led by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital
Brett Harrison, former president of FTX US, announced on his social media that his founded crypto startup Architect has completed a new round of financing of $12 million, co-led by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital, with participation from CMT Digital, ParaFi Capital, A Capital, Twelve Below, and others. Additionally, Brett Harrison stated that Architect's total financing amount has reached $17 million. It is reported that Architect aims to create a trading platform that is easier for institutional and large investors. (Source link)

III. DeFi

1. Hydro Protocol announces completion of new round of financing, with participation from Injective
The liquid staking protocol Hydro Protocol announced on platform X that it has completed a new round of financing, with participation from Injective, Vessel Capital, Moonhill Capital, SkyVision Capital, Exnetwork Capital, Quantstamp, BlackDragon, Trinito, verse2, PAKA, coinseeker.co, CSP DAO, ODIG, DoraHacks, and a quality angel investment team. The financing amount has not been disclosed.

It is reported that Hydro Protocol is a native LSD+LSDfi protocol built on Injective, which went live on the mainnet on January 31, 2024, and currently has a TVL of over $100 million. (Source link)

2. Derivatives trading protocol IntentX announces completion of $1.8 million strategic round financing
The intent-based derivatives trading protocol IntentX announced the completion of $1.8 million in strategic round financing, led by Selini Capital, with participation from Orbs, Mantle Ecofund, Mirana, Kronos Research, and Manifold Trading.

It is reported that IntentX is a full-chain OTC derivatives market that provides trading for over 180 perpetual currency pairs, aiming to solve the inefficiencies in decentralized derivatives. Previously, it announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed round financing led by Magnus Capital in November 2023. (Source link)

IV. NFT

1. NFT collateral lending platform MetaStreet completes $25 million financing, with participation from Andrew Kang
NFT collateral lending platform MetaStreet announced on social media the completion of $25 million in financing, with participation from Andrew Kang, dingaling, GMoney, MrBlock, DCF God, Sisyphus, Spencer, FreeLunchCapital, Jae Chung, GoodAlexander, and others.

Additionally, MetaStreet announced the launch of ASCEND, aimed at facilitating entry into the illiquid credit market. The platform focuses on expanding on-chain debt scale, aiming to unlock untapped opportunities for NFTs and other illiquid assets. MetaStreet is introducing Liquid Credit Tokens, which can provide scalable capital markets for on-chain illiquid assets. (Source link)

V. Gaming

1. AI gaming platform Ultiverse completes $4 million strategic round financing, led by IDG Capital
The AI-driven Web3 gaming platform Ultiverse has completed $4 million in strategic round financing, led by IDG Capital, with participation from Animoca Brands, Polygon Ventures, MorningStar Ventures, Taiko, ZetaChain, Manta Network, DWF Ventures, and Jacob KO (partner at Superscrypt). (Source link)

2. Chain game studio Overworld completes $10 million seed round financing, led by Hashed
Chain game studio Overworld has completed $10 million in seed round financing, co-led by Hashed, The Spartan Group, Sanctor Capital, and Galaxy Interactive, with participation from HashKey, Big Brain Holdings, and Foresight Ventures. The funds raised will be directly used for game creation, and Overworld is currently recruiting multiple roles in the studio.

Overworld is developing its first game, temporarily named Overworld, which is a free action role-playing game in anime style running on Xterio. (Source link)

3. Chain game and NFT analysis platform Helika completes $8 million Series A financing, with participation from Pantera
Web3 gaming and NFT analysis platform Helika has completed $8 million in Series A financing, with participation from Pantera, Animoca Brands, Diagram, and Sfermion. The funds raised will be used to help Helika advance its AI-driven product and service suite.

Helika focuses on comprehensive analysis of in-game, on-chain, and social media data, helping brands understand their communities, increase user numbers and engagement, and drive overall growth through data. (Source link)

VI. Others

1. Web3 verification protocol Witness completes $3.5 million seed round financing, led by Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures
Web3 verification protocol Witness has completed $3.5 million in seed round financing, led by Haun Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. The funds raised will be used to develop a verification protocol to address gas fees and scalability issues in the crypto space, with team members primarily from Paradigm, Google, and Facebook. (Source link)