Securitize raises $47M in strategic funding led by BlackRock

Crypto firms Aptos Labs, Paxos and Circle also took part in the funding that bodes well for the future of real-world asset tokenization.

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PLUME token jumps 20% as YZi Labs invests in Plume Network

Plume jumped 20% after YZi Labs announced an investment in Plume Network The price of PLUME reached $0.18, not far from its all-time high of $0.21. Plume has raised funds from Brevan Howard, Haun Ventures and Galaxy. Plume Network’s native token PLUME soared 20% as YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, announced its investment in the […]

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RedotPay raises $40m to accelerate crypto payments

RedotPay announced it secured $40 million in Series A round led by Lightspeed, with HSG, Galaxy Ventures, and others joining. The crypo fintech, launched in 2023, plans to use the funds to accelerate the adoption of crypto payment solutions. RedotPay, a crypto payment platform looking to bridge web3 and traditional finance, announced the completion of […]

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Standard Chartered raises $36m for crypto custody platform

Standard Chartered's crypto custody subsidiary, Zodia Custody, has raised $36 million in a series A funding round led by SBI Holdings. Standard Chartered remains the majority shareholder in the firm. (Read More)

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Sequoia Capital, Paradigm among VCs facing "tricky" FTX investor lawsuit

It’s a “tricky case,” as it is unknown what obligation these firms actually had to “completely separate investors,” suggests a crypto lawyer.

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Binance Labs Leads GoPlus Security Funding Round

<p class="MsoNormal">Binance Labs, the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/a/accelerator/" target="_blank" id="0d56ced6-bc8f-406e-84e8-1908a36753ae_1" class="terms__main-term">accelerator</a> and the venture capital division of <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/binance/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Binance</a>, informed on Thursday that it has led the private round II for GoPlus Security, a Web3 security infrastructure provider. The value of the investment has not been disclosed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">According to the press release, GoPlus Security's solutions cover 13 major blockchains, offering multidimensional risk detection capabilities. It aims to broaden the Web3 environment security, focusing on tokens, NFTs, dApps and smart contracts. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Resources obtained through the private round II will allow GoPlus Security to develop its security data services and recruit industry professionals. In addition, the startup wants to launch a security marketplace. The service is scheduled to go live at the end of this year.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"Security is foundational to the ever-growing Web3 ecosystem and community. By supporting consumer-facing solutions like Goplus Security, we hope to see how security services to end users can evolve and prosper," Yi He, the Co-Founder of Binance and Head of <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/binance-labs/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Binance Labs</a>, commented.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Binance LabsBuilds a Global Portfolio</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Binance Labs project started in 2018 and has provided funding to over 100 cryptocurrency projects to date. The venture capital arm of Binance has recently <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-labs-raises-500m-to-fund-crypto-web3-projects/" target="_blank" rel="follow">secured $500 million</a> in investment funds from institutional investors, such as Whampoa Group, DTS Global Partners and Breyer Capital.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The incubator is actively using the funding raised to support more projects, especially in the Web3 industry. In September, it boosted its strategic investment in <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/binance-labs-increases-strategic-investment-in-aptos-labs/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Aptos Labs</a>, a technology-driven <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/b/blockchain/" target="_blank" id="be18ed01-45fc-4044-b447-06802a10dbcd_1" class="terms__secondary-term">blockchain</a> firm focused on user security. In October, Binance Labs led the pre-seed funding round for <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-labs-invest-in-ancilla-leading-pre-seed-founding-round/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Ancilla, Inc.</a>, an automated treat detection in the blockchain space solution.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The company's latest investment is <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/binance-labs-invest-in-ngrave-crypto-wallet-producer/" target="_blank" rel="follow">NGRAVE</a>, a secure hardware cryptocurrency wallet maker. NGRAVE ZERO is the only crypto wallet that has obtained the highest possible certification of security, EAL7.</p> This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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Crypto Market Maker Keyrock Closes $72m Funding

<p class="MsoNormal">Keyrock, a crypto market maker company, has successfully closed the Series B <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/funding-round/">funding round</a> led by popular digital assets investors, including SIX Fintech Ventures, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/r/ripple/" target="_blank" id="69c159c1-0a72-45f9-87ed-8e779d2cf839_1" class="terms__main-term">Ripple</a> and Middlegame Venture.</p><p class="MsoNormal">According to the announcement published on 30 November 2022, the digital market company funded in 2017 will use the raised capital to develop its infrastructure further and obtain regulatory licensing across the United States, Europe and Singapore. </p><p class="MsoNormal">“In the last five years, we have focused strongly on doing things with a long-term perspective and haven’t taken any shortcuts. Due to this focus, we now have a highly robust foundation. The new round of funding allows us to expand on that and dramatically accelerate executing our vision to provide liquidity solutions for all digital assets. By doubling down on our focus on clients and scalability, we will be looking to expand into new markets with targeted services,” Kevin de Patoul, the CEO of Keyrock, commented.</p><p class="MsoNormal">After more than five years since its inception, Keyrock has become a liquidity partner for almost 100 trading venues globally. During 2021, the company was able to cover 200 new unique markets, increasing its overall trading volumes threefold, while the overall market contracted by 50%.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Due to the dynamic growth and rising volumes, Keyrock has doubled its staff in 2022 and is currently hiring +100 people. According to the press release, the number should double again in 2023, despite the prolonged ‘cryptocurrency winter’ and its destructive impact on the industry.</p><p>Increased Crypto Funding Activity</p><p class="MsoNormal">During the month of November, Finance Magnates informed about several cryptocurrency projects funding and investments. For example, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/crypto-exchange-coinmetro-plans-europe-and-us-expansion-raises-7m/">Coinmetro</a>, an Estonian-headquartered digital currency exchange, raised EUR 7 million (almost $7 million) during the latest interim funding round from three business angels and over 100 existing shareholders.</p><p class="MsoNormal">A few days later, the London-based <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/crypto-firm-archax-aims-scale-up-amid-285m-series-a-funding-round/">Archax</a>, an institutional digital asset platform, closed its Series A <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/f/funding-round/" target="_blank" id="d08fbe2e-fff7-405c-9466-eaaa94820467_3" class="terms__secondary-term">funding round</a>, raising $28.5 million. The proceeds will be used to scale up the product and service development.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Binance Labs, the accelerator and the venture capital division of Binance, also became a crypto investor in November. According to the press release, the company is leading the upcoming Series A financing round of <a href="https://financemagnates1-my.sharepoint.com/personal/damianc_financemagnates_com/Documents/UZUPE%C5%81NIONA%20ANKIETA.docx?web=1">NGRAVE</a>, a hardware cryptocurrency wallet maker.</p> This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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Digital Assets Outfit Archax Raises $28M in Series A Funding Round

FCA-approved Archax Exchanges raises $28M in Series A (Read More)

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Crypto Exchange Coinmetro Plans Europe and US Expansion, Raises $7m

<p class="MsoNormal">Coinmetro, an Estonian-headquartered digital currency <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/exchange/" target="_blank" id="b5da6e64-2afe-421d-9b81-16404b7d59d6_1" class="terms__main-term">exchange</a>, raised EUR 7 million (almost $7 million) during the latest interim <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/funding/" target="_blank">funding round</a> from over 100 existing shareholders and three business angels, the company stated Monday. </p><p class="MsoNormal">According to the press release, the successfully finished interim funding round occurs before the Series A round, which should start at the beginning of 2023. The current company's valuation raised to EUR 180 million marks a meaningful increase from EUR 60 million achieved a year ago.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Coinmetro wants to use the raised capital to expand its current operations in the United States, United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Additionally, the crypto exchange is currently preparing its own passive income tools, which are designed to protect wealth in times of high-interest rates and even higher inflation.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"Our success to date has been founded on our community-first approach to business, and coming up with ingenious ways to provide smart, simple and transparent tools that give our users the functionality they want. This <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/f/funding-round/" target="_blank" id="d08fbe2e-fff7-405c-9466-eaaa94820467_3" class="terms__secondary-term">funding round</a> will be the catalyst to further innovation and will also help us bring on board new customers who are realizing why others have already made the switch," Kevin Murcko, the CEO of Coinmetro, said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Coinmetro is currently licensed in Estonia and registered in the US with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In the move to broaden its presence in the UK, the company is currently in the process of applying for local authorization.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Further Volatility Ahead</p><p class="MsoNormal">The cryptocurrency market in 2022 found itself under the intense pressure of risk aversion. Falling stocks and a more expensive dollar have caused major assets to lose more than 50% year-to-date, including Bitcoin (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/btc/" target="_blank">BTC</a>) and Ethereum (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/eth/" target="_blank">ETH</a>). </p><p class="MsoNormal">Although Coinmetro expects these adverse conditions, alongside heightened volatility, will persist in the following months, it sees growth opportunities "for those that understand the market dynamics." Nevertheless, the current market is difficult and <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/why-the-wild-west-crypto-market-faces-and-needs-regulation/">countless people have lost their savings in the recent period.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">"We have no shortage of ideas and are looking forward to making them real for our growing community over the months and years to come. This latest funding round gives us the financial clout to do just that. It's a testament to our vision that we have succeeded in doing so during a bear market," Murcko added.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bitcoin is currently worth almost $21,000, while in January, traders paid more than $43,000 to buy one BTC.</p> This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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Braavos Raises $10M to Build Easy-to-Use Wallets on StarkNet

StarkNet-based Web3 wallet, Braavos has tapped $10m in a new financing round (Read More)

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Binance Labs Invest in Ancilla, Leading Pre-seed Founding Round

<p> Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, the world’s largest <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency-exchange/" target="_blank" id="601e2e5f-0c28-4253-9ad4-5e6b251ba2fa_1" class="terms__main-term">cryptocurrency exchange</a> by trading volume, <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/blog/ecosystem/binance-labs-leads-preseed-funding-round-for-ancilla-inc-to-support-innovations-in-web3-security-6533709342019977415">announced</a> on Tuesday that it led the pre-seed funding round for Ancilla, Inc. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ancilla was founded in 2022 and offers real-time and automated threat detection in the blockchain space and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products for better fraud prevention. The startup’s platform collects off-chain and on-chain data to monitor the protocol 24/7 and generate security alerts using machine learning technology.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The press release published by <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/binance-labs/" target="_blank">Binance Labs</a> did not disclose the invested sum but only revealed that the venture capital arm of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange led the initial funding. In June, Binance Labs secured $500 million in investment funds to support Web3 projects. Ancilla, which offers innovation in Web3 security, joined the ranks of startups that could receive support from this pool.</p><p class="MsoNormal">“We are still in the early years of the Web3 industry. To facilitate wider adoption of Web3 technology, prioritizing security and user protection are paramount. At Binance Labs, we are on the continued lookout for projects that offer innovative security solutions. Founders of these projects understand the importance of building a safe and sustainable ecosystem for users, and we are ready to support them,” Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs, said in a statement.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Received funds will help Ancilla build a bigger team, accelerate the development of the threat detection platform and widen the range of current use cases within the Web3 industry. The key offering of the project includes smart contract audits, malicious activity detection, fraud and hack prevention.</p><p class="MsoNormal">$500m to Fund Web3 Projects</p><p class="MsoNormal">As mentioned above, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-labs-raises-500m-to-fund-crypto-web3-projects/">Binance Las secured $500 million in investment funds</a> a few months ago. DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital and Whampoa Group were the global institutional investors contributing to the fund. </p><p class="MsoNormal">“In a Web3 environment, the connection between values, people and economies is essential, and if these three elements come together to build an ecosystem, that will accelerate the mass adoption of the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/b/blockchain/" target="_blank" id="be18ed01-45fc-4044-b447-06802a10dbcd_2" class="terms__secondary-term">blockchain</a> technology and crypto,” Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, explained in June. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Binance Labs is regularly supporting perspective crypto and Web3 companies; in June, it participated in <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/binance-labs-invests-in-community-gaming/">Community Gaming’s</a>, a major esports competition platform, $16 million Series A investment round. A month earlier, it supported <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/binance-labs-makes-investment-in-aptos-labs/">Aptos Labs</a>, a Layer 1 blockchain.</p> This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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Sovryn secures $5.4M in latest funding round led by General Catalyst

Sovryn, a Bitcoin-based DeFi protocol, has today announced that it secured $5.4 million in its latest funding round led by General Catalyst. The funds will be directed towards expanding Sovryn’s global financial operating system for providing individual self-sovereignty and financial autonomy to people around the world.

Besides General Catalyst, the other investors who participated in the funding round include Collider Ventures, Bering Waters, Bollinger Investment Group, and Balaji Srinivasan.

The funding round came ahead of the public launch of Sovryn’s Zero protocol, which is a highly innovative lending product.

Zero will allow users to take out loans at 0% interest using bitcoin (BTC) holdings as collateral. The loans will also have no repayment or maturity dates. Users will decide when to pay them back if ever they want to repay.

The waitlist for access to the Zero protocol is already open.

Sovryn’S funding round that attracted traditional investors highlights the rapidly growing appetite from traditional investors to get involved in Bitcoin and decentralized finance (DeFi) despite the recent dramatic downturn of the crypto market. The funding round demonstrated the confidence that investors have in the crypto space in general.

According to General Catalyst managing director Kyle Doherty:

“We believe the team at Sovryn has the technical ability and community to build products that will actually fulfil the promise of DeFi by bringing it to the dominant network, Bitcoin. We are philosophically aligned with the goals of the Bitcoin and Sovryn networks to empower people, promote individual freedom, and achieve broader financial inclusion.” 

The funding round was voted for and approved through a community governance vote on the Sovryn platform in a proposal named ‘The Sovryn Improvement Proposal (SIP).’ The governance style adopted by Sovryn is referred to as Bitocracy within the protocols ecosystem and it is geared towards ensuring that no entity makes major decisions or changes on the system independently.

In March 2021, investors including Anthony Pompliano, AscendEX, Gate.io, DeFi Technologies, Cadenza (a BitMEX-affiliated venture fund), Collider Ventures, Blockware Solutions, Monday Capital and Greenfield One participated in another Sovryn funding round.

Sovryn is a leading Bitcoin-based fully community-owned and governed DeFi platform. Being built on Bitcoin, the protocol uses BTC as its primary token. It was launched a little over a year ago.

Sovryn delivers decentralized and autonomous finance at scale to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and the rest of the smart contract world for individuals and projects who want to access finances without being at the mercy of governments and intermediaries.

Sovryn offers a selection of financial services including sport and margin trading, liquidity pools, and borrowing and lending. It has so far seen a total of $1,552,421,305 spot traded, $112,131,176 margin traded, and $322 million borrowed and lent on the platform.

The post Sovryn secures $5.4M in latest funding round led by General Catalyst appeared first on Invezz.

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Neo-Banking Crypto Startup Juno Raises $18M in Series A Funding Round

The India’s neobank is seeking to use the funds towards accelerating its growth and launching more products. (Read More)

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DeFiance Capital Seeking $100M in Funding to Invest in Liquid Tokens

Crypto Venture Capital firm, DeFiance Capital is in the process of raising as much as $100 million as it looks to invest in “Liquid Tokens.” (Read More)

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Nigerian Blockchain Firm Bitmama Closes $2 Million Pre-Seed Funding Round

Bitmama said the founding round will enable it to open up the continent to more investment and financial opportunities accessible to users. (Read More)

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DeFi Platform Forward Raises $5M in Seed Funding

Some of Thailand's largest banks, KasikornBank and Bank of Ayudhya have supported Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform Forward with $5 million in seed capital through their venture capital platforms (Read More)

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Animoca Brands raises $110 million in strategic funding round

Blockchain gaming and venture capital giant Animoca Brands (OTCMKTS:AMOCF) today confirmed sealing a $110 million strategic funding round as it seeks to advance the open metaverse, the company revealed via a press release.

The raise, which saw the company valued as at the previous round, came in the form of convertible notes of a 3-year maturity and can be converted at any time at the discretion of the note holder. However, the conversion is subject to set conditions applicable before the maturity date.

According to today’s announcement, the investment was led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek, Asia’s leading alternative asset manager Boyu Capital and global venture capital firm GGV Capital. Existing investors included Mirae Asset and True Global Ventures. 

In a comment on the entry of these new investors, Animoca Brand’s co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu said:

“Animoca Brands has grown significantly as a company in the last year, and our new investors will contribute strategic advice and perspective as we build the world’s leading company furthering digital property rights in the Web3 industry.”

The company will use the capital injection to push further with its strategic acquisitions agenda, direct more money towards investments and product development as well as secure intellectual property licenses.

Overall, the firm will look to leverage the funding to boost its footprint in the open metaverse, including via projects that advance the digital property rights of online consumers. 

Animoca Brands’ place as a leading blockchain game developer, venture capital investor, and digital entertainment provider has seen it invest in platforms such as Opensea, Yield Guild Games, and Axie Infinity and Dapper Labs. 

Some of its major subsidiaries include The Sandbox, Grease Monkey Games and Eden Games.?

In August, the company and sports NFT ecosystem Lympo announced a partnership with Play Magnus Group in a collaboration aimed at developing a blockchain-based chess game Anichess.

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Rusk Media Raises $9.5m for Blockchain-Based UGC Gaming

Indian-based digital entertainment startup Rusk Media has pulled the sum of $9.5 million in a Series A extension funding round for developing UGC-based blockchain gaming platform. (Read More)

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Coherent Secures $4.5M in Seed Round For API Products

Blockchain data startup owned by a former platform engineer at Coinbase, Coherent announced on Thursday that it has secured $4.5 million in a seed round (Read More)

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Crypto Data Provider Kaiko Raises $53 Million in Series B Funding

Kaiko, a cryptocurrency data provider, said on Tuesday that it had raised $53 million in a Series B funding round. According to the press release, the round was led by Eight Roads, whose participation included Revaia and existing investors like Alven, Point9, Anthemis, and Underscore.

A spokesperson for Kaiko declined to disclose exact figures but said the series B deal tripled the company’s valuation from June 2021. “What was challenging, in all honesty, was the due diligence and closing process because we were really, really under scrutiny. They went into many, many details to make sure that there was barely any risk in the investment,” Ambre Soubiran, Kaiko’s Chief Executive Officer, commented during an interview with Bloomberg.

Providing market data, pricing services, indices, and industry research to clients and partners like Deutsche Boerse, ICE Global Network, Messari, and Paxos, Kaiko serves institutional investors and businesses. Pascal Gauthier founded the company in 2014 before being acquired by Soubiran, a former HSBC banker now CEO of crypto hardware firm Ledger.

“Building the narrative around the series B pitch was not the hardest part. The hardest part was getting the whole thing across the finish line in the middle of a minus 80 percent downturn,” Soubiran noted. According to Soubiran, Kaiko has benefited from the crypto meltdown as customers want to know why prices are falling. During the current crisis, she noted a sharp increase in leads for new clients.

Eight Roads’ Alston Zecha, who handled the fund’s investment in Kaiko, said the crypto industry has matured over the past seven years since he first presented an overview of the industry to colleagues and senior executives at Fidelity International.

"When you speak to most VCs, yes, they are potentially slowing down their pace of deployment, but they're not saying 'no' for really promising companies. The phrase that VCs use is the bar is higher,” Zecha pointed out.

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