August 14, 2024
Rhinestone, a startup focused on developing modular smart accounts infrastructure, has raised $5 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by crypto-focused investment firm 1kx, with additional support from CoinFund, Lattice, Heartcore, Circle Ventures, Alchemy Ventures, zkSync, and Cyber. Angel investors from Biconomy, WalletConnect, WorldCoin, Lit Protocol, and Pimlico also participated.
Project | Latest Raise | Latest Raise Date | Stage | Total Raise | Lead Investor | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhinestone | $5M | August 14, 2024 | Seed Round | $5.42M | 1kx | Wallet, EVM |
This seed funding brings Rhinestone’s total raised to $5.42 million. Rhinestone’s infrastructure supports smart accounts, which are digital wallets governed by smart contracts instead of private keys. These programmable platforms enable direct activities within a user’s account, unlike traditional wallets like Metamask, Rainbow, and Coinbase Wallet.
Modular smart accounts are part of the broader “account abstraction” concept introduced in Ethereum Improvement Proposal 4337, which enhances wallet capabilities with features like multi-party transaction signing, fee subsidies, and two-factor authentication.
With the new funding, Rhinestone plans to expand its team, further develop its smart account infrastructure, and grow its developer incentive program.
About Rhinestone
Rhinestone is developing a platform to transform smart accounts into an open innovation ecosystem. Their mission is to enable developers to create powerful on-chain products that are user-owned, trustless, and positive-sum, without compromising user experience. The Rhinestone Protocol acts as an interoperability layer between accounts, modules, and users, allowing for portable, secure, and extensible smart accounts. This infrastructure supports modular account abstraction, enabling developers to build and monetize smart account modules, while users can discover and install these modules to enhance their digital wallets.
Website: https://www.rhinestone.wtf/
About Investor
Investor: 1kx
1kx is an early-stage investment firm that focuses on the growth of ecosystems within the cryptocurrency sector. They specialize in helping founders bootstrap token networks by providing hands-on advisory services for the creation, design, and iteration of token models. With a strong emphasis on community building, 1kx aims to support the best and brightest ideas in the Web3 space, fostering economic sustainability and innovation. The firm is dedicated to exploring the art and science of network building, striving to bring the best possible version of a decentralized future to life.
Location: Amsterdam
Website: https://1kx.network/
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