Praxis $525M, Blockstream $210M: Crypto VC Funding Surge

Praxis and Blockstream made waves this week, each securing substantial funding rounds in the six-figure range, according to the latest figures.

Recent data indicates a significant increase in crypto VC investments over the past week, particularly when compared to last week, where Ithaca led with a $20 million raise. With Bitcoin (BTC) bouncing back to the $68,000 mark, crypto.news analyzed fundraising data spanning from October 13 to October 19.

Here are the prominent firms that topped the rankings, as per Crypto Fundraising.

Praxis, $525 million

• Praxis is pioneering the first network state, aimed at fostering an online community with a shared sense of national identity.
• The firm leads the week in crypto VC funding with an impressive $525 million raised.
• Key investors in this round include Gem Digital, Arch, Manifold, and others.

Blockstream, $210 million

• Blockstream is focused on establishing a crypto-financial infrastructure centered around Bitcoin.
• The company has successfully raised $210 million with Fulgur Ventures as the lead investor.
• Blockstream’s cumulative crypto VC funding now totals $621 million.

Blockstream has closed a $210M convertible note financing round led by @FulgurVentures, driving our mission to bring Bitcoin into global finance.

This capital accelerates layer-2 development, expands mining ahead of the next Bitcoin cycle, and grows one of the world’s largest… pic.twitter.com/gi1ov0LCYU

— Blockstream (@Blockstream) October 15, 2024

Azra Games, $42.7 million

• Azra Games is a gaming studio dedicated to crafting immersive role-playing experiences.
• In a Series A round spearheaded by Pantera, the company secured $42.7 million.

Yellow Card Financial, $33 million

• Yellow Card Financial functions as a pan-African cryptocurrency exchange.
• The platform raised $33 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital.
• Yellow Card Financial’s total funding has reached $89.5 million to date.

Big news at Yellow Card!

We’ve raised US $33M in our Series C funding, led by @blockchaincap, bringing our total equity to $85M! This transformative investment supports our expansion throughout Africa, improving our API and Widget products for seamless global payments. pic.twitter.com/w42CSo23aG

— Yellow Card App (@yellowcard_app) October 16, 2024

Towns, $25.5 million

• Towns is a web3 group chat protocol designed to facilitate blockchain-based community gatherings.
• The company has secured $25.5 million in a Series A round led by a16z Crypto, Benchmark, and Framework.

Bitnomial, $25 million

• Bitnomial is a U.S.-based crypto exchange providing futures and options trading for cryptocurrencies.
• The exchange raised $25 million from Ripple during its Series C funding round.
• To this point, Bitnomial has accumulated $36.6 million in total funding.

Bitnomial is excited to announce the upcoming launch of perpetual futures on our CFTC-regulated Bitnomial Exchange. We will also be introducing @Botanical, a platform for all investors to trade perpetual futures, traditional futures, and options.

Read more here:… pic.twitter.com/oagZNhIAxh

— Bitnomial (@Bitnomial) October 15, 2024

ZkPass, $12.5 million

• This identity verification solution has successfully raised $12.5 million in a Series A round, achieving a valuation of $100 million.
• Overall, ZkPass has garnered $15 million to date.

We’re excited to share that zkPass has secured $12.5M in a Series A funding round! This brings our total funding to $15M and will expedite zkTLS development across Web3 ecosystems.

Shipping is more crucial than storytelling.

1/10 pic.twitter.com/RHeYeyxJIx

— zkPass (@zkPass) October 17, 2024

Opacity Network, $12 million

• Opacity Network utilizes a zero-knowledge proof protocol to facilitate verification without revealing any details.
• The firm has raised $12 million during a seed funding round.

Solv Protocol, $11 million

• Solv Protocol offers investors access to crypto investments through a trustless fund structure.
• The company raised $11 million in a strategic funding round, achieving a valuation of $200 million.

Announcing $25M in total funding to support the mass adoption of Bitcoin staking, powered by our newly launched Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL).

pic.twitter.com/OOooj6g7Cr

— Solv Protocol (@SolvProtocol) October 14, 2024

Mento Labs, $10 million

• Mento Labs specializes in creating and operating multi-currency stable assets.
• The firm successfully raised $10 million on October 16.

@MentoLabs proudly announces a $10M raise!

In the midst of growth and milestones, we’re introducing a roadmap for stablecoins to unveil new decentralized local currency stablecoins across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. pic.twitter.com/CvMGLeMseA

— Mento Labs (@MentoLabs) October 16, 2024

Crypto VC funding rounds < $10 million

• Predicate: The decentralized network secured $7 million.
• ZeroBase: The ZK proof generation platform raised $5 million from investors such as Binance Labs and Lightspeed Action.
• Drop Protocol: Drop Protocol garnered $4 million in a seed 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 secured $2.85 million in a seed 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 secured $1.8 million in a pre-seed round with investments from Gerstenbrot Capital and CoinGecko.
• Hermetica: The DeFi platform raised $1.7 million in a seed round.
• Lombard: Lombard secured $1 million from Binance Labs.
• World of Dypians, CCData, Bracket Labs, and Marketnode raised undisclosed amounts during the week.

To read our previous week’s column, click here.