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Stripe buys Bridge, Bluesky bags $15m

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5 hours ago

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Bridge, a stablecoin startup founded not even three years ago, announced a deal this week that would cause most crypto entrepreneurs to salivate.

Stripe, the San Francisco-based payment processing company, agreed to buy Bridge for $1.1 billion.

The transaction likely has crypto entrepreneurs wondering when their own ventures will be ripe enough to attract a big-name buyer. Until then, early-stage companies will have to continue courting venture capitalists to extend their runways.

Here are the latest startups doing just that, according to data from Crypto Fundraising collected between Oct. 20 and Oct. 26:

Bluesky, $15 million

  • Bluesky completed a Series A funding round.
  • The decentralized social media platform raised $15 million from lead investors like Blockchain Capital.

Variational, $10.3 million

  • Variational is a peer-to-peer trading protocol that is created for perpetual and generalized derivatives.
  • The firm has raised $10.3 million in a seed round led by investors like Bain Capital Crypto and Peak XV Partners.

Validation Cloud, $10 million

  • Validation Cloud is a web3 infrastructure platform that focuses on scalable and compliant infrastructure for enterprises.
  • The firm raised $10 million from True Global Ventures.
  • Validation Cloud has raised a total of $15.8 million so far.

Crypto VC funding rounds < $10 million

  • Web3 mobile gaming platform Party Icons raised $9 million.
  • Digital investment marketplace STOKR raised $7.98 million from Fulgur Ventures.
  • Karpatkey, which provides DAO Treasury services, raised $7 million.
  • Full-stack decentralized platform Azura raised $6.9 million in a seed round.
  • Non-custodial crypto trading platform Shuttle Labs raised $6 million from CMCC Global.
  • Crypto exchange Hata raised $4.2 million in a seed round led by Castle Island Ventures and Nic Carter.
  • Hana Network raised $4 million from investors like Binance Labs, Sushi, Orange DAO, etc.
  • Decentralized borrowing platform Fluid Protocol raises $3.9 million in a seed round.
  • Moonwalk Fitness has raised $3.4 million from lead investors like Hack VC.
  • Borderless has raised $3.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Amity Ventures.
  • Opti Games Studio raised $2 million with L1 Digital as the lead investor.
  • NFT marketplace Ordzaar raised $2 million from lead investors like LongHash Ventures.
  • Decentralized infrastructure platform Craftt raised $2 million in a seed round.
  • Decentralized exchange BulbaSwap raised $1.3 million from lead investors like Foresight Ventures.
  • Skyfire raised $1 million from Coinbase Ventures and a16z crypto.

Check out our last week’s column from here.





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Bitcoin Core

Does Jack Dorsey Influence Bitcoin?

Published

2 days ago

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October 25, 2024

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Follow Vivek on X.

I recently stumbled upon a fantastic report from 1A1z on “Funding Bitcoin.” I was surprised to learn that Jack Dorsey funds over 60% of Bitcoin Core’s development via different organizations: over $5 million annually, out of a total of only $8.4 million in funding. Wild, right? For a $1.2 trillion asset, I expected way more diverse support.

Now, you might be worried that that concentration risks him having too much sway. If he turned against Core’s principles, his funding leverage could be a real concern.

But does Dorsey’s power really extend to controlling Bitcoin itself? Nope, no way. Bitcoin’s decentralisation means no single entity can dictate terms, not even the chief donor of the main Bitcoin implementation.

Here’s the key difference: Bitcoin Core versus the Bitcoin network. Core adds useful features, but people choose what nodes to run. If Core went rogue, people would just reject its changes or use different software.

So Dorsey can’t force changes to Bitcoin. His influence has hard limits, even if he decides to dictate to developers what to work on or what to push. Nodes hold the real power over Bitcoin’s evolution. (You can read more about Bitcoin Core’s governance here: Who Controls Bitcoin Core? by Jameson Lopp.)

Still, I think there should be more donors and organisations funding Bitcoin Core or other implementations. Many crypto companies benefit and earn millions in monthly profits, depending on Bitcoin’s success, but surprisingly, they don’t contribute anything. Ideally, people should also fund different implementations of Bitcoin in addition to Bitcoin Core.

Bitcoin will only thrive through decentralization. We’ve got to apply that ethos to funding Core, too. Dorsey’s funding concentration challenges it, while spreading the donor base protects Bitcoin’s antifragility.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.



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Praxis takes home $525m, Blockstream follows suit with $210m

Published

7 days ago

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October 19, 2024

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Praxis and Blockstream grabbed headlines this week, each with six-figure fundraising rounds, per the latest data.

Crypto VC funding has seen a noticeable spike over the last seven days compared to last week, when Ithaca led the pack with a $20 million raise. However, this week, as Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $68,000 level, crypto.news analyzed and collected data from data from Oct. 13 to Oct. 19.

Here are the firms that topped the list, according to Crypto Fundraising.

Praxis, $525 million

  • Praxis is the first network state, which is building an online community of people with similar national consciousness.
  • The firm leads the week’s crypto VC funding with $525 million raised.
  • The primary investors in the fundraising include Gem Digital, Arch, Manifold, etc.

Blockstream, $210 million

  • Blockstream is building a crypto-financial infrastructure based on Bitcoin.
  • The company has raised $210 million from lead investor Fulgur Ventures.
  • Blockstream’s crypto VC funding stands at $621 million in total.

Azra Games, $42.7 million

  • Azra Games is a gaming studio that focuses on creating immersive-role playing games.
  • In a Series A led by Pantera, the company raised $42.7 million.

Yellow Card Financial, $33 million

  • Yellow Card Financial is a pan-African crypto exchange.
  • The exchange raised $33 million in a Series C led by Blockchain Capital.
  • Yellow Card Financial has raised a total of $89.5 million so far.

Towns, $25.5 million

  • Towns is a web3 group chat protocol that allows communities to build blockchain-based gatherings.
  • The firm has raised $25.5 million in a Series A by a16z Crypto, Benchmark and Framework.

Bitnomial, $25 million

  • Bitnomial is a crypto exchange based in the U.S. that offers futures and options trading for cryptocurrencies.
  • The exchange raised $25 million from Ripple via a Series C funding round.
  • Bitnomial has raised $36.6 million so far.

ZkPass, $12.5 million

  • The identity verification solution has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round, with a round valuation of $100 million.
  • ZkPass has raised $15 million till date.

Opacity Network, $12 million

  • Opacity Network is a zero-knowledge proof protocol that aids in enabling verification without disclosing any details.
  • The firm has raised $12 million in a seed funding round.

Solv Protocol, $11 million

  • Solv Protocol provides investors with access to crypto investments via a trustless fund infrastructure.
  • The company raised $11 million in a strategic round with a round valuation of $200 million.

Mento Labs, $10 million

  • Mento Labs is a platform that creates and operates multi-currency stable assets.
  • The firm has raised $10 million on Oct. 16.

Crypto VC funding rounds < $10 million

  • Predicate: The decentralized network raised $7 million.
  • ZeroBase: The ZK proof generation platform raised $5 million from investors like Binance Labs, Lightspeed Action, etc.
  • Drop Protocol: Drop Protocol raised $4 million in a seed funding round.
  • Plasma: The zero-fee payment platform raised $3.5 million.
  • Pell Network: Pell Network raised $3 million in a pre-seed round.
  • Blockcast: The content delivery network raised $2.85 million in a seed funding round.
  • The Arena: The Arena raised $2 million in a pre-seed round.
  • Hyve DA: The data availability network raised $1.85 million in a pre-seed round.
  • Surge: Surge raised $1.8 million in a pre-seed round from investors like Gerstenbrot Capital, CoinGecko, etc.
  • Hermetica: The DeFi platform raised $1.7 million in a seed round.
  • Lombard: Lombard raised $1 million from Binance Labs.
  • World of Dypians, CCData, Bracket Labs and Marketnode raised undisclosed amounts this week.

Check out our last week’s column from here.





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Bitlayer closes $9m extended series A round led by Polychain Capital

Published

3 weeks ago

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October 9, 2024

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Bitlayer, a Layer 2 platform on Bitcoin, has raised $9 million in its extended Series A funding round, bringing the total raised during the funding round to $25 million.

The Bitcoin (BTC) L2 network announced that venture capital firm Polychain Capital led the extended round, with asset manager Franklin Templeton, which co-led the first phase, returning to co-lead.

Bitlayer Labs highlighted the funding round as a key step ahead of the anticipated launch of Bitlayer V2. This version introduces a Bitcoin-native rollup leveraging OpVM, protecting state transitions through validity proofs and fraud proofs.

Commenting on the technology, co-founder Kevin He said:

“It empowers Bitcoin to seamlessly integrate into any programmable blockchain environment in a trustless manner, which will catalyze rapid development and widespread adoption of a decentralized application ecosystem based on Bitcoin’s substantial liquidity.”

Advancing Bitcoin’s L2 ecosystem

The latest investment follows Bitlayer’s $5 million seed round closed in March 2024 and the $11 million Series A round in July. Since launching its mainnet V1 on April 15, Bitlayer has gained traction, and the latest funding reinforces investor confidence in the platform.

Growth metrics for Bitlayer include the deployment of more than 280 decentralized applications across infrastructure, developer tools, decentralized finance, wallets, non-fungible tokens, and gaming. Real-world assets and the metaverse are also seeing notable activity on the network.

Key partnerships have emerged with platforms like Ankr, Polyhedra, Particle Network, and Babylon. Bitlayer Labs has also teamed up with blockchain security auditor Hacken and cloud computing provider AWS Cloud.

SCB Limited, Selini Capital, and G-20 Group were among the backers in the extended round. The July fundraising received investment from Framework Ventures, Franklin Templeton, ABCDE, and OKX Ventures, among others.



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