Fundraising weekly – Bridge, Variational, Bluesky, STOKR

Dates: 21 October 2024 – 27 October 2024. This week’s notable funding rounds according to Coinfactiva.com’s research:

Record-Breaking Deal: Bridge Secures $1.1B from Stripe

Bridge, a stablecoin-driven payments platform, has raised a record-breaking $1.1 billion in funding. With seamless APIs, Bridge allows companies to incorporate stablecoins into their financial systems. This technology streamlines cross-border payments, reduces transaction costs, and enhances global treasury management.

Notable Seed Rounds: BulbaSwap, Moonwalk Fitness, Borderless, Variational

1. BulbaSwap: The decentralized exchange (DEX) BulbaSwap received $1.3 million in seed funding. This platform enables secure token swaps, liquidity pools, and rewards for DeFi users.
2. Moonwalk Fitness: Moonwalk Fitness raised $3.4 million, offering a gamified fitness app that rewards users with tokens for physical activities. These tokens can be redeemed within the platform, making fitness more engaging.
3. Borderless: With $3.3 million in pre-seed funding, Borderless provides a stablecoin liquidity network across 50+ countries. The platform supports low-cost transfers and simplifies global financial operations for businesses.
4. Variational: This trading protocol secured $10.3 million to expand Omni, its peer-to-peer app for leveraged contract trading. Omni sources liquidity from various platforms, ensuring deep liquidity and fair trading for retail users.

Blockchain Innovations: Fluid Protocol, Craftt, Shuttle Labs

1. Fluid Protocol: Backed by $3.9 million, Fluid Protocol provides an over-collateralized borrowing platform within the Fuel ecosystem, allowing users to borrow stablecoins without interest.
2. Craftt: This decentralized infrastructure platform raised $2 million. Craftt focuses on providing universal benefits and financial security for freelancers, gig workers, and digital nomads.
3. Genius by Shuttle Labs: Genius raised $6 million to offer a decentralized trading experience, where users retain private key control and enjoy a broad range of trading options without third-party risks.

Expanding Exchange Options: Hata and Azura

1. Hata: Hata, a global cryptocurrency exchange, raised $4.2 million, offering users a secure, user-friendly platform to trade crypto and fiat currencies.
2. Azura: With $6.9 million in seed funding, Azura provides a decentralized trading app with multi-chain capabilities, supporting advanced trading features like limit orders and MEV-resistant execution.

Emerging Platforms and Protocols

1. Echo Protocol: This decentralized BTC liquidity network raised an undisclosed amount to enable Bitcoin interoperability across the DeFi ecosystem.
2. Ordzaar: An NFT marketplace focused on Bitcoin Ordinals, Ordzaar raised $2 million to simplify NFT trading on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Strategic Investments: STOKR, BlueMove, Hana Network, Skyfire

1. STOKR: With an $8 million investment, STOKR provides a digital marketplace for tokenized securities, enabling SMEs to raise capital through security tokens.
2. BlueMove: This NFT marketplace built for Aptos and Sui ecosystems raised an undisclosed amount, aiming to boost community engagement through staking rewards and trading incentives.
3. Hana Network: Raising $4 million, Hana Network offers a blockchain-based platform for DeFi and social finance, promoting Web4 technology.
4. Skyfire: With $1 million, Skyfire supports the AI economy by enabling AI agents to autonomously pay for and monetize services in a decentralized setting.

Large Series A Rounds and Web3 Infrastructure: Bluesky, Validation Cloud, Party Icons

1. Bluesky: With a $15 million Series A, Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform focused on user-owned data and federated social networking.
2. Validation Cloud: Securing $10 million, Validation Cloud offers scalable Web3 infrastructure, supporting enterprises entering the blockchain space with reliable node and staking services.
3. Party Icons: This Web3 gaming platform raised $9 million, combining social games with fast-paced extraction shooters to capture both casual and competitive gamers.