Author: WuBlockchain

According to RootData’s statistics, there were a total of 76 publicly funded rounds in the crypto VC space in July, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous month (June 2023 had 88 projects) and a 47% decrease compared to the same period last year (July 2022 had 143 projects). Note: Since not all financings are announced in the same month, the above numbers may increase in the future. The distribution of financing in different sectors in the cryptocurrency market in July is as follows:

Among the crypto market segments in July, infrastructure projects accounted for approximately 32% of the total financing. DeFi projects accounted for approximately 12%. CeFi (Centralized Finance) projects accounted for approximately 7%. NFT/GameFi (Non-Fungible Tokens/Game Finance) projects accounted for approximately 17%.

The total amount of financing in July was 550 million USD, which increased by 8% compared to the previous month (June 2023 had 510 million USD) but decreased by 63% compared to the same period last year (July 2022 had 1.49 billion USD). Among the financing rounds that exceeded 15 million USD, the following were notable:

Ethereum infrastructure service provider Flashbots raised 60 million USD in Series B funding at a valuation of 1 billion USD. The funding will be used to develop the Suave platform. Flashbots also notified the SEC on July 21 that it had raised 30.4 million USD, meeting the required total amount.

Metaverse startup Futureverse completed a 54 million USD Series A funding round with 10T Holdings leading the investment and Ripple Labs among the participants. The valuation was not disclosed. Futureverse was formed through the merger of eight companies at the end of 2022, followed by three more companies joining, resulting in a total of 11 different companies from blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual universe, and gaming fields coming together. The company is most known for its products FLUF World (an NFT series, each representing a unique cartoon rabbit) and AI League series.

Web3 infrastructure company RISC Zero raised 40 million USD in Series A funding, led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Galaxy Digital, IOSG, and others. RISC Zero aims to help developers build zero-knowledge proof software and is soon launching the Bonsai computing platform, allowing developers to integrate zero-knowledge proofs into their applications and chains. Prior to this round, RISC Zero had raised 12 million USD in a seed funding round.

Animoca Brands and Web3 application startup Hi established a strategic partnership, with Animoca investing 30 million USD in Hi. However, the final terms were not yet agreed upon. Animoca will also utilize Hi’s human identity verification tool to offer what they call a “unique human authentication mechanism” to developers.

Web3 and blockchain solution provider Cosmic Wire raised 30 million USD in a seed funding round, led by the Solana Foundation and Polygon. Cosmic Wire aims to empower users with control over data and online interactions, and the funding will primarily be used for application development.

Manta Network developer p0x labs raised 25 million USD at a valuation of 500 million USD, with Polychain Capital and Insignia Ventures leading the investment. The funds will be used to expand the ZK Layer 1 blockchains of Manta Pacific and Manta Atlantic to achieve compliant on-chain privacy. Manta Network also launched the testnet of its Layer 2 solution, Manta Pacific, to develop ZK-based applications in its modular ZK ecosystem.

Music collectible platform Sound announced a 20 million USD funding round led by A16z. The platform aims to fix the music streaming economy and allows global artists to earn from their music. It has already generated over 5.5 million USD in revenue for selected creators. Companies like Palm Tree Crew and Sound Ventures also participated in this funding round.

Blockchain technology startup Cymbal announced the completion of an 18.5 million USD funding round with participation from First Round Capital, Solana Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others. Cymbal is building a user-friendly Ethereum blockchain explorer that enables users to view billions of events and activities stored on the chain. Currently, Cymbal supports the analysis and processing of Ethereum blockchain data and plans to expand to the Solana blockchain in the future.

Thailand-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub agreed to sell 9.22% of its shares to local game publisher Asphere Innovations for 17.8 million USD to expand its digital asset services in Thailand. As of last year, Thailand had over 6.2 million cryptocurrency users. Bitkub, founded in 2018, holds an operating license from the Thai Ministry of Finance, but the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced tightened regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges.

Binance Labs committed to investing 15 million USD in the Web3 gaming platform and publisher Xterio. Xterio plans to use the funding to further develop games and technologies, including AI integration and token launches. Xterio provides a free gaming platform and GameFi as a service product to help partners create third-party games.

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