Dates: 18 March 2024 – 24 March 2024 This week’s notable funding rounds:
Figure Technologies successfully secured $60M in Series A funding from investors such as Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, Lightspeed Faction, Distributed Global, Ribbit Capital, and CMT Digital. Figure Technologies stands out in the financial technology sector for its pioneering efforts in decentralized solutions, notably exemplified by Figure Markets. This innovative exchange, built on the Provenance blockchain, facilitates the trading of various securities and crypto assets. Employing multi-party computation (MPC) wallets, Figure Markets effectively addresses single-point-of-failure risks inherent in centralized exchanges, thereby enhancing efficiency and security within digital asset markets. Furthermore, Figure Technologies is actively engaged in revolutionizing stablecoins, aiming to introduce registered security alternatives with yield-generating capabilities.
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In a separate Seed funding round, Morph raised $20M from investors such as Dragonfly Capital, Pantera Capital, and Foresight Ventures, among others. Positioned as a Layer 2 consumer blockchain, Morph amalgamates Optimistic and ZK roll-up technologies to offer efficient scaling and security for value-driven decentralized applications (dApps). Its features, including a Decentralized Sequencer Network and Responsive Validity Proof system, are designed to ensure scalable, secure, and cost-effective Layer 2 transactions, mitigating challenges such as MEV dominance.
In a separate Seed funding round, Mystiko Network raised $18M from investors such as Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India & South East Asia), Samsung Next, and Hashkey Capital, among others. Mystiko Network serves as the foundational zero-knowledge technology layer of Web3, offering a universal ZK protocol and development kit to promote scalability, interoperability, and privacy. As the privacy infrastructure for blockchain data and applications, Mystiko facilitates confidential transactions, private asset management, and shielded business decisions across various layers and platforms. With Mystiko, individuals can safeguard their financial privacy, while developers can seamlessly integrate privacy features into their decentralized applications.
In a separate Seed funding round, Zone (formerly Appzone) raised $8.5M from investors such as Flourish Ventures, TLcom Capital, and Digital Currency Group (DCG). Zone operates as a regulated blockchain network specifically designed to streamline payments and digital currency transactions, facilitating direct institutional connections and automating settlement processes. With a primary objective of bridging traditional fiat currencies with digital currencies, Zone emphasizes financial inclusion and strives to facilitate efficient cross-border payments. Additionally, Zone provides developer support and tools aimed at fostering innovation in payment and decentralized finance solutions on its network, thereby cultivating a community of leading developers dedicated to driving the adoption of digital payments.
Rails secured $6.2M in a Seed funding round from investors including Slow Ventures, CMCC Global, Round13 Capital, and Quantstamp. Serving as a self-custodial crypto exchange, Rails optimizes trade execution through a centralized order book while ensuring transparent custody of funds via a decentralized solution on the blockchain. This distinctive approach not only enhances security but also fosters trust by providing users with full visibility into fund custody operations.
Additionally, Keyring Network secured $6M in Seed funding from investors including gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC), Greenfield Capital, and Motier Ventures. Keyring provides financial service providers with permissioning tools for compliant transactions on-chain, leveraging zero-knowledge privacy. This solution enables clients to meet regulatory requirements while unlocking secondary market liquidity with reusable compliance measures. By fostering programmable rule-based permissioning across platforms, Keyring Network enhances connectivity and facilitates seamless interactions between different financial entities, thereby addressing challenges such as centralization and data siloes.
Meanwhile, Sablier, a free-to-use protocol offering on-chain token distribution and money streaming services, secured $4.5M in Seed funding from A Capital, Fenbushi Capital, WAGMI Ventures, and others. Sablier’s unique features, including customizable distribution models and bulk stream creation, further enhance its appeal within the DeFi ecosystem.
Tensorplex Labs, in another Seed funding round, raised $3M from investors such as Canonical Crypto, Collab+Currency, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Quantstamp, and Amber Group. The startup specializes in Web3 and artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on constructing infrastructure for decentralized AI networks. By integrating decentralized AI with blockchain technology, Tensorplex Labs aims to create a versatile digital infrastructure that enhances AI potential while facilitating seamless integration with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Umoja Labs secured $2M in Seed funding from notable investors including Coinbase Ventures, 500 Startups (500 Global), Quantstamp, and Blockchain Founders Fund, among others. Umoja operates as an advanced financial platform that offers market loss protection for digital asset investments. It empowers users to hedge against exposure risks associated with fiat, crypto, and real-world assets in a cost-efficient manner. Distinguished by its inclusive approach, Umoja allows anyone to participate in or develop a risk hedging strategy, featuring high liquidity, minimal upfront costs, and low counterparty risk. Utilizing on-chain trading of perpetual futures, options, and bonds, Umoja replicates traditional hedging instruments, thereby democratizing the process of market risk minimization.
Crypto Rogue Games, a Swedish game studio, secured $1.5M in Seed funding from investors including Merit Circle, Avalanche, and CoinFund. Specializing in revolutionizing gaming through blockchain integration, Crypto Rogue Games is known for its flagship project, Crystals of Naramunz. This action RPG is set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world, drawing inspiration from popular titles like Diablo and Path of Exile. With a strong emphasis on talent, creativity, and community engagement, Crypto Rogue Games endeavors to create immersive gaming experiences that captivate players and push the boundaries of the gaming industry.
Furthermore, EarlyFans (Atticc Labs) secured $1.5M in Seed funding from Alliance DAO (formerly DeFi Alliance), SNZ Holding, and GSR Markets LTD, among others. Functioning as a SocialFi application within the Blast ecosystem, EarlyFans empowers creators to monetize their content directly, eliminating the need for advertisements or merchandise sales. It incentivizes fans who support creators and introduces $EARLY as a utility and governance token within Atticc Labs’ SocialFi ecosystem, representing a significant move towards decentralization and community involvement in shaping its trajectory.
Ooga Booga secured $1M in Seed funding from investors including Kenetic, Cypher Capital, and Rubik Ventures, among others. Operating as a decentralized exchange aggregator built on Berachain, Ooga Booga aims to assist traders in discovering the most cost-effective crypto swaps across multiple exchanges. It functions as Berachain’s native liquidity aggregator, thereby improving the efficiency and accessibility of decentralized trading on the platform.
In parallel, Rollie Finance have also made significant strides in securing funding for their respective ventures. Rollie Finance, as the native perpetual decentralized exchange (perp dex) on the Scroll Mainnet, received an undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round from Animoca Ventures, M77 Ventures, Sandy Peng, Alex Lee, and Kate Wong.
OpenStamp secured an undisclosed amount in Seed funding from investors including Animoca Ventures, KuCoin Ventures, MH Ventures, and others. Operating on the STAMP Protocol renowned for its robust security in the Bitcoin ecosystem, OpenStamp offers a comprehensive service platform. Its offerings include the Mint/Deploy service, SRC-20/SRC-721 Marketplace, Indexer, Explorer, and Launchpad. As a frontrunner in advancing the SRC ecosystem, OpenStamp aims to expand and refine its platform to foster ecosystem growth while delivering effective services to its users.
Savage, a carbon-neutral NFT platform designed for filmmakers and photographers, also secured an undisclosed amount in Seed funding from investors including Faculty Group, P2 Ventures (Polygon Ventures), Morningstar Ventures, and others. Leveraging Polygon’s proof of stake protocol, Savage sets a new standard for NFT marketplaces. With features like “Team NFTs” and Rights Managed Contracts integrated into metadata, Savage offers creators affordable minting, generous payouts, and environmental initiatives, ensuring peace of mind during content uploading.
