Author | Wu Talks Blockchain
According to statistics from RootData, there were a total of 76 publicly announced investment projects by crypto VC in July, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous month (88 projects in June 2023) and a decrease of 47% compared to the same period last year (143 projects in July 2022). Note: Since not all financing is announced in the same month, the above statistics may increase in the future. The industry-level classification is as follows:
In the various tracks of the crypto market in July, the financing proportion of infrastructure projects was about 32%, DeFi about 12%, CeFi about 7%, and NFT/GameFi about 17%.
The total financing amount in July was 550 million US dollars, an increase of 8% compared to the previous month (510 million US dollars in June 2023), and a decrease of 63% compared to the same period last year (1.49 billion US dollars in July 2022). Here are the rounds of financing exceeding 15 million US dollars:
Ethereum infrastructure service Flashbots completed a Series B financing of 60 million US dollars with a valuation of 1 billion US dollars. This financing will be used for the development of the Suave platform. Flashbots submitted a filing to the SEC on July 21, notifying the agency that it has raised a total of 30.4 million US dollars.
Metaverse startup Futureverse completed a Series A financing of 54 million US dollars, led by 10T Holdings, with participation from Ripple Labs and others, with the valuation not yet disclosed. Futureverse began merging with eight companies at the end of 2022, and three more companies joined later, forming a total of 11 different companies from the fields of blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual universe, and gaming. The company’s most famous products are FLUF World (NFT series, with each NFT being a cartoon bunny with unique characteristics) and the AI League series.
Web3 infrastructure company RISC Zero completed a Series A financing of 40 million US dollars, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Galaxy Digital, IOSG, and others. RISC Zero aims to help developers develop zero-knowledge proof software and will soon launch the Bonsai computing platform, allowing developers to integrate zero-knowledge proofs into their applications and chains. Previously, RISC Zero raised 12 million US dollars in seed funding.
Animoca Brands established a strategic partnership with Web3 application startup Hi and announced an investment of 30 million US dollars in Hi, although the final terms have not been agreed upon. Animoca will also use Hi’s human identity verification tool to provide developers with what they call a “unique human identity verification mechanism”.
Web3 and blockchain solution Cosmic Wire completed a seed round financing of 30 million US dollars, led by the Solana Foundation and Polygon. Cosmic Wire is committed to helping users gain control over data and online interactions, and this round of financing will mainly be used for application development.
Manta Network developer p0x labs has raised $25 million at a valuation of $500 million, with lead investment from Polychain Capital and Sequoia Capital China. The funds will be used to expand Manta Network’s ZK Layer 1 blockchain for compliant on-chain privacy, specifically Manta LianGuaicific and Manta Atlantic. Manta Network has also launched a testnet for its Layer 2 solution, Manta LianGuaicific, with the aim of developing ZK-based applications within its modular ZK ecosystem.
Music collectible platform Sound has announced a $20 million funding round led by a16z. The platform aims to fix the music streaming economy by allowing global artists to earn money from their music. It has already generated over $5.5 million in revenue for a select group of creators. The funding round also included participation from LianGuailm Tree Crew, Sound Ventures, and others.
Blockchain technology startup Cymbal has raised $18.5 million in funding, with participation from First Round Capital, Solana Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others. Cymbal is building a readable Ethereum blockchain explorer that allows users to view and search billions of events and activities stored on the chain. Currently, Cymbal supports analytics and processing of Ethereum blockchain data, with plans to expand to the Solana blockchain in the future.
Thai cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub has agreed to sell a 9.22% stake to local gaming publisher Asphere Innovations for $17.8 million, to expand its digital asset services in Thailand. As of last year, over 6.2 million people in Thailand owned cryptocurrencies. Bitkub, founded in 2018, holds an operating license issued by the Thai Ministry of Finance, but the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced tightened regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges.
Binance Labs has committed to investing $15 million in Web3 game platform and publisher Xterio. Xterio plans to use the funds to further develop games and technologies, including the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and the launch of tokens. Xterio provides a free game platform and GameFi-as-a-service product to help partners create third-party games.
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