Last Week’s Crypto
Investment Highlights
Links to the recipient website, investment
announcement, and token info are provided via hyperlinks on the Recipient Name,
$ Raised, and Token columns respectively.
| Recipient | $ Raised | Lead Investors | Description | Token |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doodles | $54,000,000 | 776 | Doodles are a collection of 10,000 NFTs | Various |
| Portofino Technologies | $50,000,000 | Valar Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Coatue | Digital asset high frequency trading platform | |
| Ownera | $20,000,000 | J.P. Morgan, LRC Group | Institutional-grade blockchain for digital assets | |
| Goldsky | $20,000,000 | Felicis, Dragonfly Capital | Provides real-time access to data stored on blockchains and lets you transform, enhance, and integrate that data with real-time streams to meet your custom needs | |
| Magna | $15,000,000 | Tiger Global, Tusk Venture Partners | Fast and compliant token distribution platform | |
| Reku | $11,000,000 | AC Ventures | Indonesia Crypto Asset Marketplace | |
| Thirdwave Labs | $7,000,000 | Framework Ventures | Blockchain discovery engine for gaming | |
| Satschel | $5,200,000 | Brand Foundry Ventures | Web3-powered automated compliance for financial firms | |
| Arpeggi Labs | $5,100,000 | a16z crypto | Web3 music creation platform built on the ARP protocol technology | |
| Forward | $5,000,000 | RPVAF-1 | DeFi with a decentralized derivative exchange, and lending and borrowing pools | FORW |
| Sender Wallet | $4,500,000 | Pantera Capital | Non-custodial wallet built on NEAR | |
| Infinity Exchange | $4,200,000 | GSR, SIG, CMS, C-Squared, Flow Traders | DeFi that specifically targets institutional investors | Various |
| Sherlock | $4,000,000 | Archetype | Audits backed by smart contract coverage | SHER, Stake USDC |
| MetaFi | $3,000,000 | OKX Blockdream Ventures, Magnus Capital, Mintable Go Fund, Athena Ventures | Metaverse for financial trading and community collaboration | METAFI |
| Total Invested | $208,000,000 |
Doodles are a collection of 10,000 colorful NFTs. Its $54 million round was led by 776, the fund of Redditt’s cofounder Alexis Ohanian. Acrew Capital, FTX Ventures and 10T Holdings also participated in the round. A drop is scheduled for October with a timeline that can been seen here.
Forward is a DeFi offering decentralized derivative exchange (DDEX) and lending & borrowing pools (LBPs). When trading on DDEX, users can lever up to 5x. Alternatively, users can earn yield by lending major tokens like BTC to LBPs. These two services rely on each other because DDEX requires deep liquidity pools, and LBPs require borrowing demand. Positions are kept by NFT membership cards.
FORW tokens can be staked in NFT membership cards to increase a user’s tier, which lead to benefits such as higher lending APRs, lower trading fees, and voting rights. You can follow Forward’s Twitter page if you are interested in participating in their upcoming airdrop.
Infinity Exchange (“Infinity”) is a non-custodial interest rate protocol created by a team of Wall Street financial engineers. Infinity calls itself “DeFi 2.0” and it specifically targets long term institutional users with it’s efficient interest rate pricing, robust risk management, and its ability to use complex assets as collateral. While a variety of tokens will be usable on the protocol, estimated LTV data is still subject to change.
MetaFi is a financial metaverse where users can trade tokens, NFTs, tokenized stocks, commodities, and bonds, and communicate with other traders. MetaFi’s token is METAFI, a deflationary token with governance power in MetaFi DAO. Users trade in MetaFi, the resulting fees go to the MetaFi DAO, and MEFAFI holders determine how the fees will be used (buy back and burn METAFI, stake METAFI, or bolster the liquidity provision).
Sherlock is an audit marketplace and smart contract coverage protocol that seeks to protect DeFi users from smart contract exploits. The Sherlock ecosystem includes protocol customers, stakers, and Watsons (security experts). Protocol customers come to Sherlock for audits by Watsons and for optional coverage, in which Sherlock pays to make customers whole if a covered protocol is exploited. Stakers deposit USDC in return for premiums from protocol customers (though the principal is at risk if there is a covered exploit), interest from yield strategies, and Sherlocks governance token, SHER.
Institutional Investors in Crypto
Northzone raised €1 billion to invest in seed through growth stage tech businesses. The global investor’s portfolio is in a range of tech verticals that include crypto and web3.
MicroStrategy is the largest corporate buyer of BTC. It signaled to the SEC that it plans to sell up to $500 million in stock at some future date, and the proceeds may go towards buying more BTC.
Two Sigma Ventures is raising $400 million across 2 funds, Two Sigma Ventures IV for early-stage startups, and Two Sigma Ventures Opportunity Fund II for growth stage companies. The VCs portfolio covers a number of tech markets including web3.
Disclaimer: The content presented is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, legal, or professional advice. The content is provided ‘as is’ without any representations or warranties, express or implied.