Last week, there were a total of 25 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with a cumulative financing of approximately 183 million USD | Investment and Financing Weekly Report
Cryptocurrency yield protocol developer Avant has completed a $6.5 million seed round financing, with participation from Superlayer; Web3 game studio Qooverse has completed a pre-seed round financing, led by Paper Ventures; Bleap has completed a $2.3 million pre-seed round financing, led by Ethereal Ventures.Organizer: Luan Peng, RootData
According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from November 25 to December 1, 2024, there were a total of 25 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a cumulative financing of approximately $183 million.
From the perspective of track distribution, the projects that received financing are mainly distributed in the infrastructure and DeFi tracks. Popular projects include the modular L1 network U2U Network, the stablecoin issuance protocol usdx.money, the prediction market BRKT.gg, and the privacy-first social protocol Rarimo.
In addition, blockchain payment company Partior completed a $80 million Series B financing, with Deutsche Bank joining as a new investor. This round of financing was initially launched in July 2024, with investors including Peak XV Partners, JPMorgan, Jump Trading Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Temasek, and Valor Capital Group.
*（List of projects with financing greater than $5 million last week, data source: * Rootdata）
1. Infrastructure
Modular L1 Network U2U Network Completes $13.8 Million Financing, JDI Ventures and Others Participate
The modular L1 network U2U Network has completed $13.8 million in financing, with participation from KuCoin Ventures, Chain Capital, IDG Blockchain, Cointelegraph, V3V, JDI Ventures, Tesseract, IBG, Blockhive, Maxx Capital, UB Ventures, and others. The funds raised will support the continued development of U2U Network's Subnet technology.
U2U Network is a Layer-1 blockchain that uses DAG technology and is EVM compatible. The innovative subnet technology of U2U Network allows developers to create scalable and flexible subnets, making it an ideal platform for efficient DePIN development. U2U Network is composed of 100 early contributors from Ethereum, Google, and Infina.
Chloe Phung, co-founder and co-CEO of U2U Network, stated that it is about to go public.
DePIN+AI Project PinGo Based on TON Chain Receives Investment from UFLY Labs
According to official news, the first DePIN+AI project based on the TON chain, PinGo, has successfully received investment from UFLY Labs, with the specific amount not disclosed. This round of financing will help PinGo accelerate the development of its dedicated DePIN blockchain network, driving the next wave of decentralized innovation. By combining cutting-edge technology with real-world applications, PinGo aims to bring more possibilities to the decentralized ecosystem.
Earlier, PinGo launched an airdrop subscription activity on Gate Web3 Startup, attracting 56,271 participants and raising a total of 19,589,740 GT, with a subscription progress of 538,623.59%.
As the first AI + DePIN project based on the TON network, PinGo aims to redefine the way computing resources, datasets, and artificial intelligence are accessed.
UFLY Labs is the ecological fund of UXLINK, focusing on investing in innovative projects with cutting-edge technologies or products, leveraging UXLINK's strong community and ecosystem to stay at the forefront of technological innovation and real user feedback.
AI blockchain platform Talus Network has completed $6 million in financing, with a valuation of $150 million, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Foresight Ventures, Animoca, Geek Cartel, Echo, and angel investors including Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Sentient core contributor and Symbolic Capital co-founder Kenzi Wang, 0G Labs CEO Michael Heinrich, Allora Labs CEO Nick Emmons, and Nuffle Labs co-founder Atlan Tutar. Talus's total financing amount has now reached $9 million.
This funding will help further develop the Talus ecosystem, including Protochain, Nexus framework, and the "AI dating experience" application.
According to RootData, Talus Network is a blockchain platform focused on decentralized artificial intelligence. The network leverages the powerful capabilities of Move, emphasizing security, speed, and enhanced developer experience. Talus Network creates a future where technology empowers users in a fair and accessible way by cultivating a diverse ecosystem of intelligent agents for decentralized applications.
Crypto Payment Company Request Finance Acquires Pay.so and Launches Crypto/Fiat Payment Solutions
Crypto payment company Request Finance announced the acquisition of the regulated Lithuanian VASP company Pay.so and the launch of crypto/fiat payment solutions.
This acquisition enables Request Finance to provide a fully compliant one-stop payment solution that connects cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, simplifying global transactions for businesses of all sizes.
It is reported that Pay.so operates under one of the most powerful and reliable regulatory frameworks for companies providing digital asset services. Pay.so has grown tenfold in just nine months, solidifying its position as a major partner for large companies adopting digital currencies. Pay.so is one of the companies with the broadest currency coverage in the market, having provided fiat payments in various currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CHF, SGD, NZD, THB, HKD, IDR, CAD, INR, AED, KRW, JPY, MYR, and PHP, to Request Finance's clients for months.
Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that Request Finance is an integrated financial solution for Web3 enterprises, helping crypto project teams, DAOs, and their accountants streamline their corporate crypto payments and financial reporting.
BNB Chain ecosystem re-staking infrastructure Kernel announced that it has raised a total of $10 million in multiple rounds of financing, with investors including Binance Labs, SCB Limited, Laser Digital, Bankless Ventures, Hypersphere, Draper Dragon, DACM, CYPHER, ArkStream Capital, HTX Ventures, Avid VC, GSR, Cluster Capital, Longhash Ventures, Via BTC, Side Door Ventures, NOIA, and DWF Labs.
Kernel includes three DeFi products: the cross-chain re-staking infrastructure Kernel on BNB Chain (mainnet launching soon), the liquidity re-staking protocol Kelp on Ethereum, and the RWA tokenization yield protocol Gain. Kernel stated that the KERNEL token will unify the governance and incentive mechanisms of Kelp, Kernel, and Gain, rewarding early supporters and promoting the development of the ecosystem.
2. DeFi
Stablecoin issuance protocol usdx.money has completed $45 million in financing, bringing the project's valuation to $275 million after this round. NGC, BAI Capital, Generative Ventures, UOB Venture Management, and others participated, with some investors contributing through warrants. Existing supporters of the project include Dragonfly Capital and Jeneration Capital.
usdx.money aims to build the next generation of stablecoin infrastructure, with USDX as its first stablecoin product. After the financing is completed, usdx.money will further accelerate its ecological layout, promoting the application of stablecoins USDX and sUSDX in various fields.
Solana-Based Investment Platform Margarita Finance Completes $1 Million Pre-Seed Financing
According to official news, Margarita Finance announced the completion of $1 million in Pre-Seed financing, with participation from Tomahawk.VC, Outrun Ventures, G-20 Group, and N&V Capital. In addition, Margarita Finance also received funding from the Solana Foundation.
Margarita Finance is an investment platform built on the Solana blockchain, bringing Wall Street-style structured products into the cryptocurrency world, providing returns through customizable "yield boosters." Users can choose their crypto assets, lock-up periods, and target returns, with the platform using options strategies to generate returns.
DeFi derivatives protocol Cega announced that it has been acquired by a "leading platform," with the name of the acquirer and the acquisition amount not disclosed.
The company stated that it will discontinue its product suite by the end of the year, and Cega's platform will no longer accept deposits, urging users to begin withdrawals as the protocol's products will cease operations by the end of this year. Cega stated on the X platform: "Cega's original vision was to create the next evolution of DeFi derivatives.
Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by a leading platform, which will continue to drive this vision. Our team is proud to have been the first to introduce exotic options to DeFi, processing 500 million transactions and securely safeguarding user funds over three years."
Binance Labs Announces Investment in Astherus
Binance Labs announced an investment in the multi-asset liquidity hub Astherus, which aims to address inefficiencies in DeFi by focusing on maximizing the real yield of assets, providing sustainable and substantial returns while enhancing the utility and liquidity of digital assets within the ecosystem.
Astherus plans to launch AstherusLayer, a Layer-1 blockchain dedicated to DeFi, which will support multi-asset staking and utilize BNB as gas fees.
Astherus will use the newly acquired funds to accelerate product development, launch innovative yield products, and optimize user experience, aiming to expand yield strategies and simplify DeFi interaction processes.
Crypto yield protocol developer Avant has completed $6.5 million in seed round financing, with a post-investment valuation of $25 million, with participation from Superlayer, Avalaunch, GoGoPool, Daybreak Digital, and Linda Kreitzman. Founder Rhett Shipp stated that Avant was established in June of this year, having started informal discussions with investors in May, but officially began fundraising in October and concluded earlier this month.
Avant has issued a "stable value" token called avUSD, which can be earned through staking to obtain savUSD (the yield version of avUSD). The Avant Protocol is still in its early stages, operating in "early access" mode, allowing only a selected group of whitelisted addresses to mint and stake avUSD. Shipp stated, "The whitelist will expand in the coming weeks." He also added that avUSD and savUSD are planned for full public release in December. (The Block)
Vanilla Finance Completes Pre-Seed Financing, ABCDE Labs and Others Lead
According to Bitcoin.com, Vanilla Finance announced the completion of Pre-Seed financing, led by Paper Ventures, UOB Ventures, and ABCDE Labs, with participation from HTX Ventures, Ocular, Openspace, Y2 Ventures, Signum Capital, and angel investors from projects like STEPN and Scroll.
Long tail asset liquidity platform Tren Finance announced on X that it has completed seed round financing, with participation from Contango Digital Assets, Maven Capital, Moonrock Capital, OIG Capital, Metabros, OZARU Ventures, and others.
It is reported that this round of financing will be used to build a (re)enablement protocol for DeFi.
Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that Tren Finance is a liquidity platform for crypto long tail assets. By supporting niche assets as collateral, Tren Finance aims to unlock higher capital efficiency for various crypto assets.
DeFi Project OpenTrade Completes $4 Million Seed Expansion Round Financing, Led by AlbionVC
DeFi project OpenTrade announced the completion of $4 million in seed expansion round financing to build RWA-backed loan and stablecoin yield products. This round of financing was led by AlbionVC, with participation from a16z Crypto and CMCC Global.
OpenTrade CEO David Sutter stated: Stablecoins play a key role in the crypto ecosystem, bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional finance. As the crypto ecosystem continues to mature, our technology enables fintech companies and exchanges to offer seamless integration, secure, and fast stablecoin yield products to meet high demand levels.
According to RootData, OpenTrade is built on Circle's payment and DeFi infrastructure, allowing regulated asset management companies to create on-chain lending products that can bear yields by depositing USDC or EURC into on-chain vaults with certain investment standards and target yields.
3. Gaming
Prediction Market BRKT.gg Completes $1.75 Million Seed Round Financing
According to official news, prediction market BRKT.gg announced the completion of $1.75 million in seed round financing, led by Foresight Ventures, with participation from Orange DAO, V3V Ventures, MEXC Ventures, 280Capital, Triton Liquid Fund, Movement, Silvermine Capital, and Nibiru Chain.
BRKT.gg is a decentralized prediction market powered by Movement. In less than six months, it has attracted over 300,000 users.
Web3 gaming ecosystem company N3MUS announced the completion of $800,000 in Pre-Seed financing, led by Moonbeam Foundation, with participation from Arrington Capital, Borderless Capital, Techstars, Frens Syndicate, Paka Fund, Metazero Capital, Black Dragon, and x21. The new funds will be used to advance its Web3 gaming ecosystem, focusing on user acquisition, competitive gaming, and cross-chain gaming experiences.
Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that N3MUS is a Web3 gaming ecosystem aimed at seamlessly integrating blockchain into mainstream gaming. This is achieved through its three main products, including N3MUS ID, a Web3 account abstraction wallet for game studios; N3MUS Tournaments, allowing players to participate in skill-based competitions and climb leaderboards for rewards; and a game hub for players to explore and engage in various games.
Balance Announces Key Node Sales Now Live
Web3 experience infrastructure Balance announced on X that Key Node sales are now live, with nodes sold on a first-come, first-served basis and in limited quantities.
According to RootData, Balance is a Web3 experience infrastructure built by the Epal team aimed at mass user adoption, dedicated to providing a smooth transition experience from Web2 to Web3 for users. Balance leverages its user traffic pool to bring transformation to multiple industries (especially social and gaming) by combining blockchain and AI technologies.
Balance has successfully completed two rounds of financing led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Interactive, with a total financing amount reaching $30 million, with participating institutions including Animoca Brands, K5, CLF Partners, MBK Capital, New Heights Fund, AMBER, MarbleX, and others.
Web3 Game Studio Qooverse Completes Pre-seed Financing, Led by Paper Ventures
Web3 game studio Qooverse has completed Pre-seed financing, led by Paper Ventures, with participation from Animoca Brands, Merit Circle, and notable angel investors. The specific amount has not been disclosed.
Qooverse is a Web3 game studio founded by veterans from Tencent and Goldman Sachs. Qooverse plans to conduct its TGE in early 2025 and is currently developing a mid-core and casual social gaming ecosystem, with games set to launch on Telegram and more social platforms in the future.
4. Social
Privacy-first social protocol Rarimo announced the completion of $2.5 million in Vision round financing, specifically for the founders. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Celestia co-founder Nick White, RiscZero co-founder Brian Retford, Gnosis co-founder Stefan George, Aleo co-founder Alex Pruden, Monad co-founder Keone Hon, Aztec co-founder Zac Williamson, Arnaud Schenk, Aztec co-founder and Zcash contributor Ariel Gabizon, Alpen Labs founder Liam Eagan, Polygon Zero co-founder Daniel Lubarov, and distributed lab co-founder Pavel Kravchenko are among the project founders participating.
According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Rarimo is an interoperability protocol that makes assets, identities, and dApps multi-chain, facilitating operations across different chains, allowing users to perform actions such as transferring tokens, staking tokens, and providing cross-chain proof of ownership. The project is developed by Rarify Labs.
5. Others
Bleap Completes $2.3 Million Pre-seed Financing, Led by Ethereal Ventures
"Blockchain bank account" Bleap has completed $2.3 million in Pre-seed financing, led by Ethereal Ventures, with participation from Maven11, Alliance DAO, Robot Ventures, and Credibly Neutral, as well as major executives from angel investors like Revolut, Phantom, OKX, EigenLayer, and Consensys.
The funds will be used to help develop a self-custody payment application that allows customers to spend stablecoins in the real world through an associated Mastercard debit card, ensuring no conversion or exchange fees are charged and providing up to 2% cashback on purchases. Bleap is currently testing with select EU users, with plans for a full public deployment in the first quarter of 2025, and the token is expected to launch in 2026.
According to Cryptonews, blockchain payment company Partior has completed $80 million in Series B financing, with Deutsche Bank joining as a new investor. This round of financing was initially launched in July 2024, with investors including Peak XV Partners, JPMorgan, Jump Trading Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Temasek, and Valor Capital Group.
Partior was established in 2021, supported by financial institutions such as DBS Bank and JPMorgan. The company provides real-time clearing and settlement services through its blockchain platform, aiming to solve the sequential processing issues in traditional payment systems. Patricia Sullivan, Deutsche Bank's global head of institutional cash management, stated that the bank plans to join the Partior platform as a euro and dollar settlement bank.
The funds will be used to strengthen Partior's global expansion and develop new features such as intraday foreign exchange swaps. Notably, Deutsche Bank has been increasing its involvement in the cryptocurrency space in recent years, having applied for a digital asset custody license from the German financial regulator in June 2023.
Swedish Public Company Hilbert Group Acquires Digital Asset Management Company Liberty Road Capital
According to Cointelegraph, Swedish public company Hilbert Group announced the acquisition of Liberty Road Capital (LRC), with all AUM, existing client relationships, key employees, and all intellectual property being acquired by Hilbert Group.
LRC co-founder Russell Thompson will join Hilbert Group. Thompson co-founded the traditional hedge fund The Cambridge Strategy in 2003, which at one point managed $3.5 billion in assets and was successfully sold in 2018. LRC was established in 2019 and is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, holding an investment management license issued by the local Financial Services Commission.
Under the agreement, LRC's business revenue will be split 50:50 over the next two years, with LRC committing to convert all its share of the revenue into new Class B shares of Hilbert Group. Hilbert Group CEO Niclas Sandström stated that this acquisition will significantly accelerate the company's business development and expand its trading strategy scope.
Stablecoin Issuer Schuman Financial Completes $7.36 Million Seed Round Financing, Led by RockawayX
Stablecoin issuer Schuman Financial has completed $7.36 million in seed round financing, led by RockawayX, with participation from Lightspeed Faction, Kraken Ventures, Nexo Ventures, Gnosis VC, Delta Blockchain Fund, and Bankless Ventures.
Additionally, Schuman Financial has launched a euro stablecoin EURØP that complies with MiCA standards.
Schuman Financial has become the first European company to obtain a stablecoin issuer license in France, and the company is building an ecosystem around EURØP, which includes SEPA integration, banking channels, and custodial partnerships with tier-one global banks such as Société Générale.
