The cryptocurrency industry continues to attract an increasing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by 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.
Bitcoin Staking Protocol Babylon Raises $70 Million
The team behind the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon closed a $70 million funding round.
The round was led by Paradigm with participation from Polychain Capital, Bullish, HashKey Capital, HTX Ventures, ViaBTC Capital, IOSG, and other investors.
Babylon enables users to stake BTC in systems using the Proof-of-Stake mechanism and earn income from it. The protocol is also designed to enhance the security of other blockchains.
Turkish Fintech Colendi Raises $65 Million at $700 Million Valuation
Turkish digital banking startup Colendi closed a Series B funding round of $65 million. This was reported by the Investment Office of the President of Turkey.
The funds were provided by Citi Ventures, Migros Ticaret AS, Sepil Ventures, Re-Pie Asset Management, Finberg, and Hedef Holding.
Colendi co-founder and CEO Bülent Tekmen spoke about plans for dual listing in Istanbul and London, as well as conducting an IPO by 2026.
In March, the startup initiated a new funding round aiming to raise $150 million by the end of 2024. The new investments are expected to increase Colendi’s valuation to $1 billion.
In Turkey, the fintech startup has 17 million users. Colendi aims to expand its audience to 1 billion people, targeting rapidly growing markets such as Indonesia and Pakistan.
AI Startup Chainge Raises $13 Million
Chainge, a startup developing an AI-based cross-chain trading solution, closed a $13 million funding round.
? Chainge has secured $13Million in investment from GEM Digital & Alpha Token Capital to supercharge our AI-Trading Protocol’s Expansion!
This leap is poised to drive sustained growth, bringing cutting-edge AI-driven solutions to a global audience
? https://t.co/PXDtO1np1H pic.twitter.com/CTKk30I90l
— Chainge ? (@FinanceChainge) May 27, 2024
The investments were provided by GEM Digital Limited and Alpha Token Capital.
The company’s goal is to break down barriers in the digital asset space and make cross-chain trading safe and accessible for everyone.
According to a press release, Chainge’s cumulative trading volume exceeds $1 billion. The solution already supports 55 networks.
ZKP Solution Team Cysic Raises $12 Million
Cysic, a firm developing a zero-knowledge proof technology solution, closed a pre-Series A funding round of $12 million.
We are thrilled to announce Pre-A fundraising round of $12 million, led by @HashKey_Capital and @OKX_Ventures. This funding round was also marked by participation from prominent investors, including @ABCDELabs, @BitDigital_BTBT,@CoinSwitch, @IDG_Blockchain, Matrix Partners,… pic.twitter.com/NaXwpgUbbQ
— Cysic (@cysic_xyz) May 24, 2024
The round was led by HashKey Capital and OKX Ventures with participation from ABCDE, Bit Digital, Coinswitch, IDG, Matrix Partners, Polychain, SNZ Holding, and Web3.com Ventures.
The funds will be directed towards strengthening the company’s global expansion plans, hiring new employees, and simplifying hardware production.
Founded in August 2022, Cysic aims to enable real-time zero-knowledge proof generation.
Web3 Startup Neynar Raises $11 Million from Coinbase
Neynar, a company providing developers with tools to create decentralized social networks, closed a Series A funding round of $11 million. This was reported by Fortune Crypto.
The round was led by Haun Ventures with participation from a16z, Coinbase Ventures, and Union Square Ventures.
According to the publication, most developers using Neynar’s services today are building applications on Farcaster. However, the startup plans to expand to create projects based on any social protocols.
Tokenization Platform Fortunafi Raises $9.5 Million at $48 Million Valuation
The RWA tokenization platform closed strategic and seed funding rounds totaling $9.51 million. The startup’s valuation reached $48 million, writes The Block.
The investments were provided by Shima Capital, Manifold, and others. The strategic funding round of $3.16 million closed in December 2023, and the seed round of $6.35 million closed back in October 2021.
The company intends to launch five new tokenized assets based on shares of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and online broker Robinhood, a Bitcoin ETF, a securities index (a mix of SPDR, S&P 500, ETF Trust, Invesco QQQ Trust), and the Hilbert Capital fund.
Fortunafi also introduced the Reservoir protocol and the stablecoin rUSD for DeFi platforms. Their launch is scheduled for June 2024.
KelpDAO Platform Raises $9 Million
The liquid restaking platform KelpDAO closed a private funding round of $9 million.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve raised $9 million in private sale.
This round was led by SCB Limited and @LaserDigital_, who collectively invested $3.5 million.
30+ reputed funds, notable angel investors and key community voices also joined in.https://t.co/OUZ6pFfiJ2
— Kelp DAO (@KelpDAO) May 22, 2024
The round was led by SCB Limited and Laser Digital with participation from Bankless Ventures, Hypersphere Ventures, Draper Dragon, DACM, Cypher Capital, GSR, HTX Ventures, DWF Ventures, and other investors.
During the funding round, KelpDAO also sold its KELP tokens, which have yet to be issued.
The funds will be directed towards launching restaking on the Bitcoin, Solana, and BNB blockchains.
Also on ForkLog:
- AI project Scale AI raised $1 billion at a $13.8 billion valuation.
- DeSoc platform Farcaster secured $150 million.
- UXLINK raised $5 million from SevenX Ventures, INCE Capital, and HashKey Capital.