From May 19 to May 25, blockchain startups collectively raised over $258 million, with decentralized social protocol Farcaster spearheading the efforts with a $150 million Series A round.
According to Crypto Fundraising, four startups raised $179.2 million in Series A rounds, while 12 startups secured $24.1 million through undisclosed rounds. Additionally, five startups gained $21.3 million from seed rounds, two startups locked in $20 million from strategic rounds, another two raised $9 million from private rounds, and one startup gathered $5 million from a public sale round.
Here’s a detailed roundup of the week’s crypto venture capital action:
Farcaster Hits Unicorn Status with $150M Series A
Ethereum-based decentralized social media protocol Farcaster secured a substantial $150 million in a Series A funding round led by venture firm Paradigm. The round also saw significant contributions from a16z crypto, Haun Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Standard Crypto. This funding elevated Farcaster’s valuation to a staggering $1 billion, marking its entry into unicorn territory.
Co-founder Dan Romero shared that the new capital will focus on two main areas: increasing daily active users and enhancing developer tools, such as channels and direct messaging. Additionally, Farcaster plans to hire more engineers to support these initiatives.
Plume Network Raises $10M for L2 Blockchain
Plume Network, a modular Layer 2 (L2) network designed to facilitate the on-chain integration of real-world assets (RWAs), announced a successful $10 million seed funding round led by Haun Ventures. The round included participation from Galaxy Ventures, Superscrypt, A Capital, SV Angel, and Portal Ventures. Angel investors like Anthony Ramirez from Wormhole Labs and Andrew Kang from Mechanism also participated.
Plume CEO Chris Yin stated that the funds would advance the company’s mission to simplify the process of bringing assets like real estate and art onto blockchain platforms.
Blockless Secures $8M for Decentralized Infrastructure Expansion
Blockless, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project, raised $8 million across two early funding rounds. An initial $3 million pre-seed round was led by NGC Ventures, followed by a $5 million seed round co-led by M31 Capital and Frachtis. Additional investors included No Limit Holdings, MH Ventures, Interop Ventures, and Plassa Capital.
Co-founder Butian Li revealed that the funds would support the launch of a test network in the coming weeks. A main network and native BLESS token are set for release in Q3 2024.
Pencils Protocol and IVX Secure Seed Funding
Pencils Protocol, an auction platform and yield aggregator on the Scroll network, raised $2.1 million in a seed round led by OKX Ventures, Animoca Brands, and Galxe. Meanwhile, IVX secured $1.2 million in a seed round backed by Animoca Ventures and other investors. IVX is building a native options protocol on Berachain Polaris EVM, providing zero-day to expiry (0DTE) options for crypto assets, allowing users high leverage exposure without liquidation risk.
Cysic and RunesFi Announce New Funding Rounds
Cysic, a zero-knowledge (ZK) hardware acceleration company, raised $12 million in a pre-A funding round led by HashKey Capital and OKX Ventures. The funding will accelerate the generation of ZK proofs, making them faster and more cost-efficient.
RunesFi, an infrastructure hub for Bitcoin, raised $400,000 in a funding round led by Cogitent Ventures. Using the Runes Protocol, RunesFi aims to enhance Bitcoin’s decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities with features like a decentralized exchange (DEX) and infrastructure products to support efficient transactions and lower costs.
These significant funding rounds highlight the growing investor confidence in blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize various industries.
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