As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence, I find myself constantly amazed by the dynamic pace at which Web3 startups are evolving. With over $5.4 billion raised in just three quarters of 2024, it’s clear that investors see immense potential in these projects.

2024 saw Web3 venture capital investments exceed $5.4 billion during the initial three quarters, as per data from Crunchbase’s Web3 tracker. In the previous quarter, a staggering $1.4 billion was invested into blockchain-centric businesses.

More and more investors are turning their attention towards emerging markets that blend blockchain technology with artificial intelligence. Furthermore, initiatives concentrating on decentralized blockchain systems have been attracting a significant amount of financial investment in recent times.

Notable fundings from October involve Glow’s successful $30 million capital raise for their project on creating a decentralized solar power network, and the Nillion Network securing a $25 million funding round to progress their initiative toward enhancing a decentralized privacy infrastructure.

VC Roundup: Web3 funding hits $5.4B in 2024

2025 sees venture capital firms preparing aggressively, unveiling new funds targeting Web3 technologies. Recently, Gate Ventures and Boon Ventures teamed up with Movement Labs to establish a $20 million fund specifically for startups in the Web3 sector. Meanwhile, Dragonfly Capital is currently aiming to gather $500 million for its fourth cryptocurrency investment fund.

In this latest installment of CryptoMoon’s Venture Capital Roundup, we highlight several companies that successfully secured funding towards the end of October.

Binance Labs invests in gamified fitness app Moonwalk

In a recent development, Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of the popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has put money into Moonwalk Fitness, a novel application designed to help people lead healthier lives by incorporating game elements and monetary rewards. The exact sum invested was not disclosed.

The app offers gamified fitness challenges where users can earn rewards by meeting daily step goals. Users stake USD Coin (USDC), Solana (SOL), or Bonk (BONK) and must reach their crew’s step target or keep pace with the leader’s best performance, risking a portion of their stake if they fall short. Moonwalk Fitness is built on the Solana blockchain. The funding will accelerate the product development of its iOS and Android app.

Craftt raises $2M for decentralized benefits

Platform Craftt, constructed upon a decentralized framework for employee benefits, recently sealed a $2 million investment in its seed round, which was primarily spearheaded by Superscrypt and DCG. Additionally, several other angel investors joined in the funding process.

The goal is to extend advantages such as healthcare and financial assistance to all, similar to what full-time employees receive. Craftt does this by giving freelancers, consultants, and creators access to resources that were previously limited to traditional employment. This is made possible through network economics and trustworthy “self-sovereign” credentials. In doing so, Craftt facilitates global transactions and ensures universal benefits for independent professionals worldwide. The raised funds will speed up the creation of Craftt’s decentralized system and initiatives aimed at fostering a strong community.

Borderless.xyz secures $3M pre-seed for stablecoin payment network

Under the leadership of Amity Ventures, Borderless.xyz, a pioneer in global payments infrastructure, has secured $3 million during its preliminary funding round. Their mission is to establish a cutting-edge international stablecoin payment network, leveraging their Global Transfer Protocol (GTP) to connect stablecoins and real-world assets with local currencies across over fifty countries and twenty-three different currencies.

The network seeks to provide real-time, low-cost settlements for cross-border transactions, payouts, collections, on-ramps, and off-ramps. The funding will accelerate the development of Borderless.xyz’s infrastructure.

Vixichain raises $7M to bridge TradFi with blockchain compliance-focused infrastructure

The blockchain platform Vixichain has collected $7 million in a private investment round. This money is being used to enhance research and development, create strategic partnerships with financial organizations, and launch their development network (DevNet) and main network. The goal is to meet the regulatory requirements of traditional finance when it comes to public blockchains.

Vixichain recruits banks as network verifiers, offering them transaction fees as motivation. This encourages their involvement. Additionally, the platform offers a “non-fungible stable token,” known as NUSD, which links Vixichain’s private network to the wider Web3 environment, as it is a token backed by fiat currency.

karpatkey secures $7M to expand treasury solutions for DAOs, financial institutions

Karpatkey, a platform for managing treasuries on the blockchain for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and financial institutions, has successfully secured $7 million in funding, with backing from more than 40 angel investors and venture capital firms. Notable backers include AppWorks Ventures and Wintermute Ventures. Additionally, prominent figures within the crypto industry, like Consensys’s Joe Lubin, have participated in this round.

Expanding its horizons in treasury management services, karpatkey will leverage this investment to work with additional Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and forge traditional finance alliances. Founded in 2020 as Gnosis’s treasury manager, karpatkey now manages a staggering $1.8 billion in assets and offers diverse services ranging from risk management to mergers and acquisitions support.

Axal secures $2.5M pre-seed to build agents network for Web3 tasks

Based in New York, the Web3 automation startup known as Axal has secured $2.5 million during a pre-seed funding round. The lead investor was CMT Digital, with further investment from Escape Velocity, Blockchain Builders Fund, Artichoke Capital, and other contributors. Founded by Ashlan Ahmed, who holds a degree in computer science from Harvard, Axal leverages self-governing software agents to simplify intricate on-chain procedures for cryptocurrency businesses.

Axal’s debut product, known as Axal Autopilot, is scheduled to be released in November. This innovative tool aims to help traders manage on-chain operations more efficiently, striving to become the equivalent of ChatGPT for tasks, automating an extensive variety of Web3 duties.

Variational raises $10.3M seed funding for P2P trading for crypto derivatives

In simple terms, the peer-to-peer trading platform called Variational, which allows for customizable crypto derivatives, has secured $10.3 million in its seed funding round. This round was jointly led by Bain Capital Crypto and Sequoia Capital, with contributions from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and additional investors.

This system streamlines the process of both buying and selling financial instruments, as well as settling transactions directly on blockchain, using fast-response pricing systems, pools for liquidation, and mechanisms for setting funding rates. It facilitates trades in contracts such as perpetuals, futures, and options.

As a researcher delving into the realm of decentralized finance, I’m excited to share insights about Variational’s pioneering project, Omni. Omni is essentially a retail platform that facilitates permissionless perpetual trading, offering leveraged positions across various time series, such as new tokens, baskets, and volatility products. At the moment, Omni is being thoroughly tested on Arbitrum Sepolia, with plans to expand its availability to Arbitrum One upon mainnet deployment.

VC Roundup: Borderless eyes token buyback, commodity hardware models for DePIN funding

2024-11-01 19:54