July 27th, 2024
Weekly Venture Capital Crypto Funding Trends: A Dive into AI, Bitcoin, DeFi, and Gaming
AI, Bitcoin and Monad Projects Lead $319 Million Investment this week.
The Venture Capital (VC) cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem witnessed a total of $319 million invested across 30 projects for the week ending July 27, 2024. Artificial intelligence, Bitcoin development and the Monad Ecosystem emerged as the dominant sectors, attracting the lion's share of investor interest. This report delves into the key investment trends, highlighting notable funding rounds and their potential implications for the industry.
Category | Project | Money Raised this Round |
|---|---|---|
AI | 1,700,000 | |
60,000,000 | ||
6,000,000 | ||
5,500,000 | ||
| 5,000,000 | |
AI Total |
| 78,200,000 |
Bitcoin | 11,000,000 | |
29,000,000 | ||
| 7,500,000 | |
Bitcoin Total |
| 47,500,000 |
DeFi | undisclosed | |
2,000,000 | ||
undisclosed | ||
| 1,000,000 | |
| 2,000,000 | |
| undisclosed | |
DeFi Total |
| 5,000,000 |
Gaming | 3,000,000 | |
| undisclosed | |
Gaming Total |
| 3,000,000 |
Investment / RWA | 3,000,000 | |
| 113,000,000 | |
Investment / RWA Total |
| 116,000,000 |
NFT | 11,000,000 | |
| undisclosed | |
NFT Total |
| 11,000,000 |
Roll up | 15,000,000 | |
| undisclosed | |
Roll up Total |
| 15,000,000 |
Social | undisclosed | |
Social Total |
| undisclosed |
Staking | 8,000,000 | |
| 4,000,000 | |
Staking Total |
| 12,000,000 |
Web3 | 21,000,000 | |
6,000,000 | ||
| 1,800,000 | |
Web3 Total |
| 28,800,000 |
X-to-earn | 3,000,000 | |
X-to-earn Total |
| 3,000,000 |
Grand Total |
| 319,500,000 |
AI Secures Major Funding
AI projects collectively attracted $78.2 million in funding this week.
Notable recipients include Ceti AI, a leader in Decentralized AI Infrastructure, which raised $60 million from publicly listed BCII Enterprises. This partnership will facilitate CETI AI's expansion of its proposed global network of AI datacenters.
DAOBase, an AI-driven data and infrastructure platform specifically designed for DAOs, secured $6 million in funding from several investors. The capital raised in this round will be primarily allocated towards product development, market expansion, and global outreach.
Assister, an AI Infrastructure startup, raised $1.7m from various investors to allow it to continue to utilize the Data Provenance Protocol and offer comprehensive infrastructure for the initiation and upkeep of these community-owned SLMs.
Network3, a company specializing in web3 artificial intelligence, raised $5.5m from the likes of Borderless Capital to continue to build out its decentralized AI infrastructure that distributes tasks across a multitude of devices, thereby reducing latency and prioritizing privacy.
Redpill, a platform for decentralized AI technology, raised $5m to allow it to continue to build out its platform which operates as an unrestricted LLM router network, providing smooth integration with a variety of AI models. Users have the flexibility to customize their AI interactions based on factors such as performance, cost, or efficiency, with Redpill smartly directing to the optimal LLMs.
Bitcoin Development Gains Momentum
Bitcoin-related projects followed closely behind, with $47.5 million in funding.
Bitcoin | 47,500,000 |
|---|---|
11,000,000 | |
29,000,000 | |
7,500,000 |
Cormint, a Bitcoin mining company, raised $29m from current equity investors. The firm announced on Tuesday that it has recently reached an energized hashrate of 2 EH/s in West Texas, managing a proprietary Bitcoin mining load of 75 megawatts (MW). With the infusion of the new funds, Cormint is now fully financed to achieve a target of 130 MW and 3.5 EH/s by the fall of 2024, suggesting a fleet efficiency of around 37 J/TH.
Bitlayer Labs, a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution utilizing the BitVM paradigm, raised $11m from notable firms such as Franklin Templeton and ABCDE. These funds will be allocated to improve the platform's features, broaden its user community, and cultivate collaborations within the blockchain and DeFi landscapes.
Finally, Mezo, a Bitcoin scaling network, raised and additional $7.5 million this week from ArkStream Capital, Aquarius Fund, Flowdesk, GSR, Origin Protocol, and Mantle EcoFund. The new funds bring total funding to $30m with these funds being used to allow Mezo to continue to facilitate a more reliable and secure bridge between Bitcoin and other blockchain networks.
DeFi
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector experienced a relatively quiet week in terms of disclosed funding, with a total of $5 million invested.
LayerPixel, a DeFi solution built on TON, secured $2 million and will use the funds to expedite the development and integration of LayerPixel's DeFi solutions within the Telegram Mini App ecosystem.
Kuru, an on-chain orderbook exchange built on the Monad blockchain, was the sole disclosed recipient, securing $2m in funding lead by Electric Capital. Kuru intends to use the fresh capital to grow its team and prepare for audits ahead of a launch on the Monad testnet.
YouSUI, all-in-one DeFi platform on the Sui Network, secured $1 million in investment. The financial commitment will not only expedite YouSUI's goal of delivering a comprehensive and seamless decentralized finance (DeFi) experience, but it will also aid in its strategic transition to the Movement Blockchain.
BitFi, a CeDeFi platform, and RiskLayer, a middleware for decentralized finance (DeFi) on EigenLayer, also raised funds of an undisclosed amount.
Multipool, an on-chain order book DEX, did not disclose funding details.
Web3 / Gaming
The gaming industry showcased solid growth this week, attracting $24 million in disclosed funding.
Web3 / Gaming | 24,000,000 |
|---|---|
21,000,000 | |
3,000,000 | |
undisclosed |
NPC Labs, web3 gaming infrastructure startup, secured $21 million from Pantera Capital leading the round with investment from Makers Fund, Hashed, Collab+Currency, Sfermion, Mirana Ventures, Bitscale Capital and Mantle EcoFund. The funds will be used to develop and boost the uptake of on-chain gaming.
Panda Titan, a Metaverse blockchain gaming ecosystem, raised $3 million. The newly acquired funds will aid Panda Titan in the development of more games and applications, enhancement of game launchers, and expansion of its community and partnerships.
Pluto Studio, the creator of Catizen on the TON ecosystem, also raised for an undisclosed funding but raised from notable investors such as Binance Labs and The Open Platform (TOP).
Investment Sector / RWA
The investment sector witnessed a substantial inflow of capital, with $116 million raised this week.
Investment | 116,000,000 |
|---|---|
3,000,000 | |
113,000,000 |
Galaxy Ventures raised $113 million. This fund is dedicated to investments in early-stage firms in the realms of crypto protocols, software infrastructure, and financial applications. Galaxy Ventures plans to broaden its investments in companies that are innovating in the digital asset space.
Etherfuse, a platform for the issuance of tokenized real-world assets (RWA’s), raised $3m with this funding supporting Etherfuse in its mission to make global capital markets more efficient and accessible through blockchain technology.
NFT
Non-fungible token (NFT) projects continued to attract investor interest, with a total of $11 million raised this week.
Igloo, the parent firm of the well-known NFT brand Pudgy Penguins, secured $11m from Founders Fund. The funds aims at developing a new consumer-centric Layer 2 blockchain named Abstract.
NFTMart, a platform that allows individuals to create and own personalized NFT marketplaces, raised an undisclosed amount.
Rollups
The rollups sector experienced a moderate funding round, with $15 million invested in disclosed projects.
Caldera, recognized as the largest rollup ecosystem that aids projects in launching their own blockchains on popular stacks with a single click while ensuring continuous reliability and security, raised $15m lead by Founders Fund and participation from Dragonfly, Sequoia Capital, Arkstream Capital, Lattice, and others. The funds will be utilized to further develop its Metalayer, a consolidated rollup network that integrates with the largest rollup ecosystem, leveraging network effects to enhance efficiency, security, and scalability.
Zircuit, a ZK rollup that is fully compatible with EVM and has AI-enhanced sequencer level security, raised additional undisclosed funding from Binance Labs, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Selini, Robot Ventures, Nomad Capital, Borderless Capital for its Mainnet funding round. This fresh infusion of funds will enable Zircuit to significantly boost the growth and activity within its ecosystem, further strengthening its robust technical base and its over $2.9 billion in staked assets.
Staking
Staking projects received a total of $12 million this week.
aPriori, a liquid staking platform that operates on the Monad blockchain, raised $8 million with Pantera Capital leading the round. This brings a total o $10m in funding being raised by aPriori. The funds will be used to build on the Monad blockchain ecosystem.
Kintsu, a protocol for liquid staking that is being developed on the Monad blockchain, raised $4 million from Castle Island Ventures but saw participation from Brevan Howard Digital, CMT Digital, Spartan Group, Breed VC, CMS Holdings, and Animoca Ventures. The funds will be used to build on the Monad blockchain ecosystem.
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market continues to demonstrate resilience and growth potential, as evidenced by the robust investment activity this week. While AI, Bitcoin and the Monad ecosystem have undeniably captured the spotlight, the broader ecosystem also showcased vitality, with significant funding secured across various sectors. As the industry evolves, it is evident that innovation, identification of new projects and strategic capital allocation will be crucial determinants of success.
The substantial investments in AI and Bitcoin underscore their pivotal roles in shaping the future of the cryptocurrency landscape. These sectors are poised to drive advancements and unlock new opportunities, potentially reshaping the industry's trajectory.
However, the sustained growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem hinges on a diversified investment landscape. The funding secured by projects in DeFi, gaming, NFTs, rollups, staking, trading, and Web3 reflects the industry's broadening horizons. As these sectors mature, they are likely to contribute significantly to the overall market's development.
In conclusion, the coming months will be pivotal in determining how these investments translate into tangible advancements and shape the industry's future trajectory with the somewhat limitless applications and projects being built on the blockchain.
A central focus of investor activity in the cryptocurrency space is the evaluation of new crypto projects to invest in, particularly those with huge potential. This blog provides insight into what new ventures are benefiting from venture capital support (VC funding in crypto). These new crypto projects, funded by professional investors, can dictate the next narrative in crypto and the next big crypto movers.
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