TDeFi | TradeDog Token Growth Studio’s Post

Crypto startup fundraises (12 found, totaling $67.2 million) of the past week, by sector: DEX Vessel is a ZK powered DEX evolving into a comprehensive Layer 3 DeFi network. Vessel raised on August 8th a $10 million Seed from Sequoia Capital, Avalanche Foundation, Algorand Foundation, IMO Ventures, and others. DePIN Andrena WiFi is behind the DAWN Extension, allowing users to participate in the DAWN Network by validating bandwidth through proof-of-bandwidth. On August 7th, Andrena raised an $18 million Series A+ led by Dragonfly and followed by CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, ParaFi, and 6th Man Ventures. Liquid Restaking Solayer Labs is a restaking network on Solana that allows users to restake their SOL to secure both the Solana blockchain and dApps. Solayer raised on August 7th a Private round led by Binance Labs. Payments Payman is the first platform enabling AI to pay humans for tasks it needs completed. It raised on August 6th a Pre-Seed round of $3 million from Visa, Coinbase Ventures, Boost VC, The Spartan Group, and others. DeFi Ion Protocol allows users to earn with staked and restaked assets by lending and borrowing without price-based liquidation risk. Ion raised $4.8 million on August 12th led by gumi Cryptos Capital and followed by Portal Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Finality Capital Partners, Manifold, Robot Ventures, and others. Find the rest of the companies inside this week's Genesis issue: https://lnkd.in/dVDThTHv

🚀 CRYPTO STARTUPS WILL CONTINUE TO RAISE MONEY DESPITE LOW LIQUIDITY 🚀 I recently stumbled upon an article I had bookmarked on Cointelegraph last year, and it's packed with exciting information. The article predicts the upcoming startup trends for 2024. 📌Here's a quick summary: 1. Bubblemaps: Secured an impressive $3.2 million in funding to propel its mission of becoming the Google Analytics of Web3. They've also formed crucial partnerships with major platforms. 2. CoinScan: Raised a significant $6.3 million, offering transparent insights into coin prices. It aims to position itself as a robust alternative to CoinMarketCap in the crypto space. 3. Hinkal Protocol: Successfully raised $4.1 million to enhance privacy in decentralized finance. 4. Mythic Protocol: Secured a substantial $6.5 million to launch a collaborative entertainment platform. 💰 It's undoubtedly an exciting time for these startups, but the question remains – is this indicative of a broader trend? What are your thoughts on this, guys? #web3 #trends #startups #fundraising

🕘 Expecting A16z to today announce the 25 cutting-edge startups that will be accepted into it's UK accelerator program. 🚀 The 25 startups will all focus on crypto and Web3 and be based in London throughout the program. ❔ 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯? According to general partner, Sriram Krishnan, the city holds the potential to lead the Web3 revolution. ❔ 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘣3? It seems Andreessen Horowitz, and Krishnan, is passionate about the power of decentralization and AI which this technology can facilitate. Looking forward to seeing how the participants can pave the way in technological innovation. #a16z #crypto #web3 #innovation

Hey! Last week, these web3 startups raised capital, listed by sector. The entire collection of fundraised companies we've found throughout the year can be found on our website, the Fundraises section: Liquid (Re)Staking Protocol YieldNest is a platform that enhances Ethereum's economic security by providing higher yields through liquid restaking of ETH. It offers a next-gen DeFi solution that allows users to earn increased returns on their Ethereum holdings. YieldNest raised on April 15th a $5.2 million Private round from Faculty Group, Backed, Loi Luu, Winthorpe, C2tP, Michael Egorov, Steven Kokinos, 0xPims, Allen Day, Martin Krung, and others. BounceBit is a platform that introduces a BTC Restaking chain, aiming to enhance Bitcoin yield opportunities through a unique dual-token staking system. It combines DeFi and CeFi strategies to generate yields both on-chain and off-chain, maintaining full EVM compatibility to integrate DeFi liquidity with the Bitcoin ecosystem. The project raised on April 11th a Private round led by Binance Labs. AI Sortium is an AI-powered platform that assists in creating and modifying professional 3D assets like textures, items, skins, levels, and characters. It integrates seamlessly into various 3D software, game engines, and UGC platforms, allowing creators to maintain control over their content. Sortium raised on April 11th a Seed round of $4 million led by Signum Capital and followed by ARK Investment Management, IDG Blockchain, IVC, Polygon Ventures, and 188 S Group AG. Gaming Avalon is an AI-powered universe where players can explore expansive MMO worlds and the tactical depth of tabletop RPGs. It features player-created stories and worlds, integrated to evolve continuously. Avalon raised on April 15th a Private $10 million round led by Bitkraft VC and Hashed, and followed by Coinbase Ventures, Spartan Capital, Foresight Ventures, LiquidX, Momentum 6, Sancor Capital, Spirit DAO, Circus, and many others. Social Platform Tomo is an all-in-one Web3 social wallet that transforms users' online presence into a universal hub for genuine, spam-free interactions and financial incentives. Users can earn Tomo Points by actively participating. The project raised on April 10th a $3.5 million Seed round led by Polychain and followed by ConsenSys, Symbolic Capital, OKX Ventures, Nomad Capital, Story Protocol, Dao5, KuCoin Ventures, and HTX Ventures. ...and more in the sectors of Infrastructure, Analytics, DEX, and RWA. For the full rundown, see the latest issue of our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ddDuYmaN

Last week, #Web3 and #Crypto companies raised $146.2M in funding. Which projects received how much investment? Here are the details 👇 UXLINK, a #Singapore-based provider of a #Web3 social infrastructure, raised over $5M in Seed+ funding round. The round was led by SevenX, INCE Capital and HashKey Capital. Zest Protocol, on-chain lending protocol, has raised $3.5M in Seed funding round. The round was led by Draper Associates. ChainML, Web3 #AI platform, has raised $6.2M in Seed+ funding round. The round was led by Hack VC, with participation from Foresight Ventures, Inception Capital, HTX Ventures, and others. Polymarket has raised $45M in Series B round. The round was led by Founders Fund, with participation from 1confirmation, ParaFi Capital, Vitalik Buterin, Dragonfly Capital. Zeta Markets | $Z is Coming 🔥 #Solana DEX, has raised $5M in SAFT round. The round was led by Electric Capital, with participation from DACM , Airtree, Selini Capital, and others. Hylé has raised $3.4M in Pre-Seed & Seed funding round. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from Cherry Ventures, First Capital, Fabric Ventures, and others. Cross The Ages, a crypto trading card #game, has raised $3.5M in Private funding round. The round was led by Animoca Brands, with participation from Polygon, UBISOFT Ventures . Humanity Protocol, human-centric #blockchain, has raised $30M in Seed funding round. The round was led by Kingsway Capital, with participation from Animoca Brands, Blockchain.com, Shima Capital. Shogun, intent-centric #DeFi protocol, has raised $6.9M in Seed funding round. The round was led by Polychain Capital and dao5, with participation from Arrington Capital, Maelstrom, Build-a-Bera, and others. #Raven, crypto proprietary trading firm, has raised $2.7M in Seed funding round. The round was led by #HackVC, with participation from Winturmute Ventures. Param Labs Inc has raised $7M in Private funding round. The round was led by Animoca Brands, with participation from Delphi Digital, Mechanism Capital, Merit Circle, and others. Chainstack 🛠️💙, web3 infrastructure provider, has raised $6M in Strategic round, dwith participation from BI Ven Capital, Sygnum, Azimut Group, and others. peaq, a deep-tech company, has raised $20M in #CoinList sale. Focus Tree, web3 focus app, has raised $2M in Seed funding round. The round was led by Sfermion, with participation from Volt Capital, Psalion, Typhon Ventures, Foreseight Ventures.

Inside a16z’s Crypto Startup Accelerator, a16z equips crypto startups with funding, education, and resources to redefine the industry. - 🚀 Provides $500,000 in funding, 10 weeks of tuition, and access to a16z's resources. - 🧑💻 Cohort includes 25 startups with diverse backgrounds, mostly in crypto. - 🎓 Offers lectures and workshops on startup challenges and crypto-specific issues. - 🌐 Emphasizes practical applications like token design and cryptographic techniques. - 🌟 Features successful crypto founders and a16z personnel as speakers. - 🏆 Demo day allows founders to pitch projects to potential investors. - 📈 a16z believes in crypto's potential to drive internet innovation. #crypto #startups #innovation - 📅 Program held in London, focusing on both general and crypto-specific problems. - 📚 Reading materials include books by Peter Thiel, Ben Horowitz, and Chris Dixon. - 🎯 Aims to showcase crypto's utility beyond speculation and scams. - 🤝 Connects founders with a16z's extensive network for hiring and investment opportunities. - 💼 a16z has raised over $7.5 billion for crypto investments. - 🔍 Focuses on practical crypto applications in sectors like medical research and AI data licensing. - 🎤 Demo day features presentations to major VC firms and potential investors. https://lnkd.in/gFrKgkEp

Startups that raise the most $$$ are not the ones that end up having the most users... Don’t believe me? 👇 This simple and intriguing statement was the basis of our last event, Blockchain Developers Pt. 2. We wanted to recreate the crypto market in a real-life environment, making it possible to test our assumption that the companies that raise the most money are not automatically those with the most users. We decided to create a startup simulation game. The goal was to recreate the first four years of a startup, from inception to Series A fundraising. The objective for founders was to acquire the most users to support their startup through the four years. 👇 ⏰ Time: 1st Year: 30 minutes 2nd Year: 20 minutes 3rd Year: 20 minutes 4th Year: 20 minutes 👨💻 Roles: 1. Founders - Teams of 1-3 2. Investors - Teams of 1-5 3. Users - Solo Here’s how it worked: 1. Founders had to create a startup in the first year and then pitch it to investors and users throughout the rest of the game. Investments gave founders perks, making it easier to acquire new users. 2. Investors had one ticket per year to distribute to startups. These tickets were tied to benefits that the founders would get in the next tier, making it easier for their startup to get new users. 3. Users were the ultimate decision-makers. They had three votes per tier that they could choose to give to one startup or three different ones. They could vote from the second round onward. The incredible thing was, we had seven startups, six of which ended up being real teams with real products/services. We also had real users and investors among the "played" ones. Big thanks to all the impressive people that participated. YOU ARE THE REAL OG's. What did we find out? Quite interesting stuff—our thesis was not completely wrong. The ONLY startup that was not able to get a VC ticket ended up outplaying everyone when it came to user votes. They won with 27 votes throughout the three voting stages. (Winners in the picture) Intriguing? Yes. And now what? No idea. On to the next event. Looking for engineering positions in the Web3 space? Make sure to follow Jobited and check out our website. 🚀🙏 #events #startups #raising #solidity #rust #golang

Last week saw several intriguing fundraising deals across the crypto and tech sectors 🚀 Indicating strong investor confidence in innovative platforms focused on financial inclusion, AI, and blockchain technology 👇 🔹 Kem, 13 Aug. Strategic Round, $3М Investor: Tether.io This move underscores Tether’s aim to enhance financial inclusion, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region with a substantial crypto economy. With on-chain transactions valued at nearly $390 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, the MENA region represents 7.2% of global crypto transactions, making it a critical area for growth. 🔹 Essential, 13 Aug. Series A, $11M Lead investor: Archetype Other investors: IOSG Ventures, the Spartan Group, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Maven 11, Big Brain Holdings. The Series A round brings Essential's total funding to $16.15M, having raised $5.15M in seed funding September 2023. 🔹 Sahara AI, 5 Mar, and 14 Aug. Series A, $43M Lead investors: Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, and Polychain Capital. Other investors: Sequoia Capital, Samsung NEXT, Foresight Ventures, SCB 10X, Mirana Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Canonical Crypto, Dispersion Capital, dao5, GeekCartel, Nomad Capital, tangent, Matrix Partners. The company intends to use the funds to expand its global team, enhance the performance of its platform and grow its developer ecosystem. 🔹 Chaos Labs, 15 Aug. Series A, $55M Lead investor: Haun Ventures Other investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, Slow Ventures, The Spartan Group, Galaxy, Wintermute, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, PayPal Ventures, F-Prime Capital. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate new product development and scale its risk management platform.

'Market volatility and hype cycles can hurt crypto startups as well.' I was recently featured in a Cointelegraph article discussing the impact of the markets on the survival of crypto startups 🎯 “If teams can understand the lessons of history and prioritize achieving product-market fit over succumbing to the allure of hype, this will pave the way for more resilient and innovative ventures in the crypto industry.” “Crypto startups should draw on the historical experiences of Web2 companies, which faced the formidable challenge of launching innovative technologies while attempting to achieve product-market fit.” https://lnkd.in/eBmbRia4