October 29, 2024
Here’s your Weekly Wrap of all things crypto funding, ending October 26, 2024.
This week’s crypto funding landscape saw a total of $185.65 million raised across 29 projects, continuing the trend of strong investment in blockchain technologies. While there was a slight dip in overall funding compared to previous weeks, the funding remains robust, particularly in the DeFi, Gaming, and Layer 1 sectors.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the standout sectors and their significant projects.
Category | Organization Name | Project Description | Money Raised this Round |
AI |
|
| 11,000,000 |
Skyfire | Payments and Monetization Solution for AI Agents | 1,000,000 | |
Validation Cloud | Web3 Data and AI Leader | 10,000,000 | |
Bitcoin |
|
| 8,000,000 |
B² Network | Bitcoin Layer-2 Network | UNDISCLOSED | |
Echo Protocol | Bitcoin liquid re-staking & yield layer on MoveVM | UNDISCLOSED | |
STOKR | Digital Asset Marketplace | 8,000,000 | |
DeFi |
|
| 51,050,000 |
Alvara Protocol | On-chain asset management project | 10,000,000 | |
Azura | Full-Stack DeFi Platform | 6,900,000 | |
BulbaSwap | Central trading and liquidity marketplace on the Morph platform | 1,300,000 | |
Craftt | Decentralized Workplace Benefits Platform | 2,000,000 | |
Dinari | Real-world asset (RWA) stocks platform and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) | 9,650,000 | |
Fluid | Native Stablecoin of Fuel Network | 3,900,000 | |
Karpatkey | Provider of onchain treasury management solutions for DAOs | 7,000,000 | |
Variational | Arbitrum Derivatives Trading Protocol | 10,300,000 | |
FinTech |
|
| 4,200,000 |
Hata | Dual-licensed digital asset exchange in Asia | 4,200,000 | |
Gaming |
|
| 31,000,000 |
Chronic Games | Free-to-earn Gaming Metaverse | UNDISCLOSED | |
DMM Crypto | Diversified Japanese Crypto firm | UNDISCLOSED | |
DuckCoop | TON-based project merging gaming, social interactions, and DeFi for rewarding user experiences | UNDISCLOSED | |
Gameness | Web3 platform for esports, integrating crypto and NFT | 20,000,000 | |
Party Icons | Mobile-First Gaming Platform | 9,000,000 | |
Sparkball | Creator of Sparkball Built on Monad | 2,000,000 | |
Layer 1 |
|
| 47,000,000 |
GnosisDAO | Decentralized governance body overseeing the Gnosis Chain | 40,000,000 | |
Vixichain | L1 Blockchain solution for global economic involvement | 7,000,000 | |
Social |
|
| 22,400,000 |
Bluesky | Social Media Platform and the developer behind the AT Protocol | 15,000,000 | |
Hana Network | Hypercasual Finance platform to replace CEX’s | 4,000,000 | |
Moonwalk Fitness | Gamified Fitness App on Solana | 3,400,000 | |
UniLive | Web3 live-streaming Launchpad Platform | UNDISCLOSED | |
Trading |
|
| 6,000,000 |
Shuttle Labs (Genius) | Digital Asset Trading Exchange Platform | 6,000,000 | |
Wallets |
|
| 3,000,000 |
Blockchain Payments Platform | 3,000,000 | ||
(blank) |
|
| 2,000,000 |
Ordzaar | Ordzaar Rune SocialFi Permissionless Launchpad | 2,000,000 | |
Grand Total |
|
| 185,650,000 |
DeFi
The DeFi category led the week's funding activity, securing a total of $51 million across eight projects. The growth of DeFi platforms continues to highlight the increasing demand for decentralized financial solutions that provide alternatives to traditional financial systems, with a focus on asset management, liquidity, and decentralized exchanges.
Variational raised $10.3 million for its Arbitrum-based derivatives trading protocol. By focusing on providing decentralized derivatives markets, Variational aims to fill the gap for secure and transparent financial instruments on Arbitrum, a layer 2 solution for Ethereum. This funding underscores the growing need for advanced DeFi platforms that enable sophisticated trading strategies while maintaining decentralization.
Dinari secured $9.65 million for its real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform. The project aims to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance by providing tokenized stocks and ETFs, making it easier for users to access and trade real-world financial assets in a decentralized manner.
Fluid raised $3.9 million to develop the native stablecoin of the Fuel network. As decentralized stablecoins continue to gain traction, Fluid's focus on building a scalable and secure stablecoin that can integrate seamlessly with decentralized applications positions it as a key player in the rapidly growing DeFi sector.
These projects highlight the continuing evolution of DeFi as a sector, with a focus on asset management, trading, and providing liquidity solutions to users worldwide.
Gaming
The Gaming sector saw significant funding this week, with a focus on esports and Web3 gaming platforms. A total of $31 million was raised across three projects, highlighting the increasing interest in integrating blockchain technology with gaming experiences.
Gameness raised $20 million to develop its Web3 esports platform, which integrates crypto and NFT elements into competitive gaming. The platform aims to provide gamers with new ways to earn and interact within the ecosystem, positioning itself as a key player in the convergence of gaming and blockchain technology.
Party Icons secured $9 million for its mobile-first gaming platform, which focuses on delivering an engaging and accessible gaming experience with blockchain-based rewards. The funding reflects the growing demand for mobile and blockchain-integrated games in the gaming community.
Sparkball raised $2 million for its Web3-based sports game built on the Monad blockchain. The platform provides gamers with a new way to participate in the rapidly growing esports and gaming NFT spaces.
The Gaming sector continues to be a major focus for investors, with an increasing number of platforms integrating blockchain and NFTs into their games, further blurring the lines between traditional gaming and Web3.
Layer 1
Layer 1 projects also attracted significant funding, with $47 million raised across two projects. These projects emphasize the continued importance of foundational blockchain networks in providing decentralized infrastructure for a wide range of applications.
GnosisDAO secured $40 million for its decentralized governance body overseeing the Gnosis Chain. By focusing on decentralized governance, GnosisDAO enables a community-driven approach to decision-making, which is vital for the sustainability and security of the Gnosis Chain and its ecosystem.
Vixichain raised $7 million for its Layer 1 blockchain solution, which aims to drive global economic involvement by providing decentralized solutions that can be used across various industries. Vixichain’s funding reflects growing investor confidence in Layer 1 blockchain solutions as they continue to form the backbone of the decentralized web.
Layer 1 projects remain critical to the blockchain ecosystem, providing the infrastructure necessary for decentralized applications to thrive while ensuring security, scalability, and decentralization.
Conclusion
This week's crypto funding landscape saw a diverse spread of investments across 29 projects, collectively raising $185.65 million. Layer 1 projects led the funding with $47 million, highlighting a persistent focus on foundational blockchain solutions. Gaming followed closely, securing $31 million, while DeFi projects raised a significant $51.05 million, showcasing continued interest in decentralized finance innovations. Notably, AI projects also garnered $11 million, reflecting the growing intersection of blockchain with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. This week’s funding trends underscore sustained investor interest in both established blockchain sectors and innovative new niches, paving the way for further developments in the ecosystem.
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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