Institutional Bulletin: IoTeX Secures $50 Million, 0G Labs Raises $35 Million

The cryptocurrency industry continues to attract an increasing number of institutional players. This is evident from new investments in infrastructure and the growing attention companies are paying to Bitcoin as an asset class. ForkLog reviews the most significant events of recent weeks.

IoTeX’s DePIN Platform Secures $50 Million

The modular DePIN platform IoTeX has raised $50 million from SNZ Capital, Foresight Ventures, Borderless Capital, Amber Group, FutureMoneyGroup, Metrics Ventures, EV3, Waterdrip Capital, and other investors.

$50M investment into IoTeX’s DePIN ecosystem.

Funding from @snzholding, @ForesightVen, @borderless_cap, @ambergroup_io, @fmgroupxyz, @MetricsVentures, @EV3ventures, @waterdripfund, @SummerEverest & others.

The $50M will be injected into long-term staked $IOTX, our DePINsurf… pic.twitter.com/ucbPrbJ5cL

— IoTeX (@iotex_io) April 2, 2024

The funds will be used to accelerate the growth and adoption of DePIN.

0G Labs Raises $35 Million for Modular Blockchain Development

The startup behind the development of a modular blockchain, 0G Labs, has closed a pre-seed funding round of $35 million.

We are so excited to announce our pre-seed fundraise completion: https://t.co/EPxayZDjzP

At @0G_labs, we are building the first modular AI chain, and it has been our delight from day 1 to build the fastest programmable data availability solution for high-performance DApps. ?

— 0G Labs (@0G_labs) March 26, 2024

Investments were provided by Hack VC, OKX Ventures, GSR, Animoca Brands, Arca, NGC Ventures, DWF Labs, Foresight Ventures, gumi Cryptos Capital, and Dispersion Capital.

The company’s valuation has not been disclosed.

0G Labs is developing a modular blockchain focused on decentralized applications utilizing artificial intelligence. According to The Block, the team aims to make it 50,000 times faster and 100 times cheaper than competitors. The mainnet launch is planned for July 2024.

Gunzilla Games Secures $30 Million for Game Development

The company behind the game Off the Grid, Gunzilla Games, has announced securing $30 million, with $10 million from a strategic funding round.

We are thrilled to announce that Gunzilla Games has secured $30M in funding! This round was co-led by @CoinFund_io & @avax, with incredible support from @Morningstar_vc & @_rcapital_.

This funding accelerates the creation of @playoffthegrid and our innovative @gunbygunz… pic.twitter.com/mQL1TgMIbd

— Gunzilla Games (@GunzillaGames) March 26, 2024

The round was led by CoinFund and Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund, with participation from Republic Capital and Morningstar Ventures. The remaining funds were raised through equity sales.

The funds will be directed towards the development and release of Off the Grid, a free-to-play blockchain battle royale game for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.

Web3 Startup XION Raises $25 Million

The infrastructure Web3 firm XION has raised $25 million from Animoca Brands, Laser Digital, Multicoin, Arrington Capital, Draper Dragon, Sfermion, GoldenTree, and other investors.

XION has raised an additional $25M to continue making crypto accessible to everyone, everywhere. pic.twitter.com/JkEIiuEkzA

— Burnt (XION)? (@burnt_xion) April 1, 2024

In December 2023, XION developers launched a testnet focused on “generalized abstraction,” an infrastructure solution aimed at simplifying user interaction with Web3.

The technology does not require the direct use of accounts, signatures, and other typical processes associated with crypto assets. Users can engage with the network using Web 2.0 methods like email and Passkey technology. 

Ellipsis Labs Secures $20 Million from Paradigm

The team behind the decentralized exchange (DEX) Phoenix, Ellipsis Labs, has closed a Series A funding round of $20 million.

1/ We’re excited to announce our $20M Series A led by @paradigm, to further our mission of building a sustainable DeFi ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/ahtWEZWX8H

— Ellipsis Labs (@ellipsis_labs) April 4, 2024

The round was led by Paradigm with participation from Electric Capital, Robot Ventures, Anagram Crypto, and angel investors, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

According to DefiLlama, Phoenix ranks eighth among Solana-based DEXs with a TVL of $14.2 million. In the past 24 hours, the exchange’s trading volume reached $286 million.

Crypto Casino MyPrize Raises $13 Million at $140 Million Valuation

The cryptocurrency online casino MyPrize has closed two funding rounds totaling $13 million, with the project’s valuation reaching $140 million, reports The Block.

MyPrize co-founder Zak Brukh stated that the company closed its first funding round of $5 million in October 2023, followed by a second round of $8 million in March 2024.

The rounds were led by Dragonfly and Boxcars Ventures, with participation from a16z Scout, Mechanism Capital, Arrington Capital, Breed VC, JST Capital, 2 Punks Capital, and other investors.

MyPrize is a gaming Web3 startup supporting streaming and allowing users to play together. It is currently in early access, with a full launch planned for the second quarter of 2024.

Also on ForkLog:

• Investment in crypto startups increased by 38%.
• Amazon invests $2.75 billion in Anthropic.
• Media: Farcaster developer valued at $1 billion.