Ulvetanna is an Enterprise Grade Zero-Knowledge Proof Acceleration Platform supporting web3 technologies.
Fractional is an NFT platform that unlocks liquidity, reduces entry costs, and allows for synergy with other DeFi primitives. The platform is building a permissionless and decentralized NFT Fractionalization platform to enable greater ownership of the world’s most sought after NFTs. Fractional was founded by Andy Chorlian.
Magic Eden operates as a community-focused decentralized exchange platform that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptographic assets, specifically non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on the Solana blockchain. The company emphasizes its commitment to fostering a strong community by engaging users directly and serving their interests. A notable initiative is the distribution of Magic Tickets to over 30,000 users, which grants access to MagicDAO, a Discord-based decentralized autonomous organization. Through MagicDAO, the platform promotes interconnectivity among users and offers various social programs and rewards, reinforcing its dedication to community involvement and support for digital creators in the NFT space.
Dework is a web3-based project management platform designed to enhance collaboration in decentralized environments. It allows users to manage tasks, attract contributor applicants, and integrate with platforms like Discord to boost contributor reputation. The platform enables organizations to create bounties for contributors, facilitating payments using their own DAO tokens. By providing tools for building web3 profiles and managing project-related activities, Dework supports the seamless operation of decentralized autonomous organizations and fosters a more engaged contributor community.
Lightspark is a developer of a crypto payment platform focused on enhancing the capabilities and utility of Bitcoin. The company aims to create an enterprise-ready infrastructure for open payments that can operate at scale on the internet. Its platform facilitates the acceptance of digital payments while allowing users to receive fiat currency immediately in exchange. By leveraging the lightning network, Lightspark enables businesses and developers to transform existing solutions and innovate new financial systems, services, and processes that are accessible to a broader audience.
LootRush is a Web3 videogame platform that focuses on creating accessibility in the play-to-earn gaming space. It operates an NFT rental service that aims to eliminate financial barriers for players. By allowing users to rent non-fungible tokens (NFTs), LootRush enables individuals to engage with exclusive digital assets and participate in various games without needing a significant upfront investment. This model provides an affordable pathway for gamers to start playing, earning rewards, and enjoying the advantages of blockchain gaming.
Argent Labs Limited, established in 2017 and based in London, develops a digital wallet specifically for cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications. The Argent application serves as a user-friendly platform that allows individuals to trade digital assets, manage funds, and engage with the token economy securely. It provides features akin to traditional banking, enabling users to earn interest, invest, borrow, store, and send assets without relying on conventional banks. The platform also facilitates access to decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized applications (Dapps), promoting a seamless experience in the burgeoning digital financial landscape. By leveraging blockchain technology, Argent aims to enhance security and efficiency in financial transactions.
Fractal is a blockchain marketplace platform focused on in-game assets and virtual worlds, allowing users to find, purchase, and sell gaming NFTs. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Solana, United States, Fractal provides a digital arcade that enhances the gaming experience while enabling developers to transition in-game assets to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This shift facilitates real ownership for players and introduces new levels of programmability and interoperability within games. Through its platform, Fractal aims to revolutionize how gamers interact with and own digital assets.
Blur aims to solve these problems and move the NFT space toward becoming institutional-grade while increasing decentralization.
Ribbon Finance creates structured products that deliver sustainable yield using financial engineering for DeFi. The company allows investors to profit when the price of ETH goes above.
Developer of a secure decentralized infrastructure platform designed for scaling Ethereum. The company helps to enhance and enshrine fair access to public goods on the internet through the development of open-source software to produce a public benefit and operate responsibly and sustainably, enabling businesses to use zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the validity of every state update.
Magic Eden operates as a community-focused decentralized exchange platform that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptographic assets, specifically non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on the Solana blockchain. The company emphasizes its commitment to fostering a strong community by engaging users directly and serving their interests. A notable initiative is the distribution of Magic Tickets to over 30,000 users, which grants access to MagicDAO, a Discord-based decentralized autonomous organization. Through MagicDAO, the platform promotes interconnectivity among users and offers various social programs and rewards, reinforcing its dedication to community involvement and support for digital creators in the NFT space.
Gauntlet builds a blockchain simulation and testing platform for financial systems. The company's blockchain simulation and the testing platform run a series of simulations to test the client's protocol or smart contract and gain intuition on how design choices affect behavior, thereby helping financial institutions by providing transparency and greatly reduces the cost of experimentation so that teams can rapidly design, launch, and scale new decentralized systems.
Gauntlet was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Developer of a crypto wallet designed for decentralized finance (Defi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The company's platform works across multiple cryptocurrencies and blockchain platforms, which are based on transparent and secure digital ledger technology, enabling users a safe and easy to store, buy, send, receive, swap tokens, and collect NFTs on their platform.
FTX Trading LTD is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange founded in 2017 and based in San Francisco, California. The platform caters to both professional traders and novices, offering features such as futures trading, leveraged tokens, and an over-the-counter portal. It supports a variety of financial products, including quarterly and perpetual futures for major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and binance coin, as well as various altcoin and midcap indices. FTX was co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, with initial backing from Alameda Research, which provided significant liquidity from the outset. The exchange aims to enhance the cryptocurrency trading experience and facilitate institutional adoption within the sector.
Rain is a regulated cryptocurrency exchange based in the Middle East, providing a platform for buying, selling, and trading various digital currencies. The company operates within the framework of local regulations, ensuring compliance and security for its users. As a digital currency service provider, Rain aims to facilitate access to the growing cryptocurrency market, catering to both individual and institutional clients. Through its services, Rain supports the adoption of digital assets in the region, contributing to the overall development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
OpenSea operates as a peer-to-peer marketplace specializing in crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As the largest platform of its kind, OpenSea enables users to buy and sell a wide range of digital assets, including gaming items and virtual goods, all backed by blockchain technology. The marketplace employs smart contracts to facilitate secure transactions, enhancing user trust and safety. OpenSea plays a significant role in the burgeoning Web3 economy, supporting the growth of decentralized applications and digital assets. It also features an investment arm, OpenSea Ventures, which focuses on fostering innovation among new founders in the blockchain space.
The AZTEC protocol uses cutting-edge zero-knowledge proofs to enable private transactions on Ethereum. This enables the logic of transactions to be validated, whilst keeping the values encrypted.
MoonPay is a financial technology company that specializes in creating payment infrastructure for the cryptocurrency sector. It offers a suite of products designed to facilitate the conversion between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, using various payment methods such as debit and credit cards, local bank transfers, and digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Operating in over 160 countries, MoonPay is recognized for its non-custodial payment system, which connects cryptocurrency exchange platforms with users, ensuring a streamlined transaction experience. The company is trusted by more than 250 leading wallets, websites, and applications to process payments and mitigate fraud, making it a key player in the crypto payments landscape.
BetDEX is a decentralized sports betting protocol that operates on a blockchain-based platform, allowing users to place bets on various sports using cryptocurrency. The protocol is designed to provide high speeds and low transaction costs while eliminating counterparty risk, ensuring a secure betting experience. As a permissionless platform, BetDEX enables developers to create their own applications on top of its infrastructure, fostering innovation in the sports betting space. By granting users control over their betting activities and allowing them to set their own prices, BetDEX offers a unique approach to engaging with sports and prediction markets.
Initial Coin Offering in 2021
Osmosis is a decentralized peer-to-peer blockchain that people can use to create liquidity and trade IBC enabled tokens. The Osmosis blockchain is made up of free, public, and open-source software. - Osmosis is a first-of-its-kind automated market maker (AMM) that marks a foundational shift in how liquidity providers can benefit from Interchain DeFi.
Parallel is a developer of a sci-fi card game platform that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform allows users to engage in NFT-based gaming, enabling them to purchase, collect, and showcase original 3D art of characters, digital collectible cards, and artifacts. By participating in these activities, users can diversify their cryptocurrency holdings and earn digital currency while playing games. Through its focus on digital blockchain collectibles, Parallel offers a unique opportunity for users to combine gaming with investment in the growing market of digital assets.
Private Equity Round in 2021
Genesis Digital Assets is one of the world's largest and most experienced Bitcoin mining companies. Since 2013, the founders of the company have built over 20 industrial-scale mining farms, brought over 300,000 miners online, and mined over $1 billion in Bitcoin.
Euler XYZ Limited, incorporated in 2020 and based in London, United Kingdom, specializes in developing a lending protocol on the Ethereum blockchain. This non-custodial protocol facilitates the lending and borrowing of a wide range of cryptocurrency assets, allowing users to engage in decentralized finance activities without relinquishing control of their assets.
Fractional is an NFT platform that unlocks liquidity, reduces entry costs, and allows for synergy with other DeFi primitives. The platform is building a permissionless and decentralized NFT Fractionalization platform to enable greater ownership of the world’s most sought after NFTs. Fractional was founded by Andy Chorlian.
Thesis, Inc. is a cryptocurrency venture studio that specializes in developing and funding decentralized products and protocols. Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, California, the company aims to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and real-world purchases while facilitating the use of private data on public blockchains. One of its notable developments is the tBTC protocol, which operates on the Keep network. Through its initiatives, Thesis seeks to empower individuals by creating innovative solutions within the cryptocurrency and decentralized technology sectors.
FTX Trading LTD is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange founded in 2017 and based in San Francisco, California. The platform caters to both professional traders and novices, offering features such as futures trading, leveraged tokens, and an over-the-counter portal. It supports a variety of financial products, including quarterly and perpetual futures for major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and binance coin, as well as various altcoin and midcap indices. FTX was co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, with initial backing from Alameda Research, which provided significant liquidity from the outset. The exchange aims to enhance the cryptocurrency trading experience and facilitate institutional adoption within the sector.
dYdX Trading Inc. operates a cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform that focuses on derivatives for crypto assets, utilizing the Ethereum blockchain and the 0x protocol. Founded in 2017 and based in San Francisco, the platform enables users to engage in peer-to-peer short selling, long positions, and options trading on ERC20 tokens. It also allows for fully collateralized loans, providing essential funding for short sellers. Users can earn interest on their deposits or take out loans for a nominal fee, as well as trade on margin with customizable leverage. dYdX aims to create an open financial system that grants access to powerful financial tools for individuals worldwide.
Operator of a social networking application designed to create, claim, and showcase digital collectibles. The company's platform facilitates creators to upload and showcase their NFTs, and digital and crypto arts using an account, enabling creators to monetize their art.
Uniswap is a decentralized protocol that facilitates automated liquidity provision on the Ethereum blockchain. By utilizing a simple mathematical formula, Uniswap ensures continuous liquidity for a wide range of users and applications. The platform enables developers, liquidity providers, and traders to engage in a financial marketplace that promotes accessibility and openness. Through its user-friendly interface, Uniswap employs smart contracts to facilitate secure, decentralized token exchanges, allowing users to trade without intermediaries. This innovative approach defines asset prices based on the liquidity of the staked assets, making it a vital player in the decentralized finance ecosystem.
Initial Coin Offering in 2021
Lido is a provider of liquid staking solutions for staked assets and Ethereum. The platform lets users stake their assets for daily staking rewards. Users can stake any amount of tokens - no minimum. It issues synthetic native tokens for every Ethereum staked via its protocol, thereby enabling users to stake Ethereum and receive an asset of equal value which can be used in various DeFi applications to earn yield.
Gitcoin is a platform founded in 2017, based in Boulder, Colorado, that enables open source developers to monetize their work effectively. It allows developers proficient in various programming languages, including Python, Rust, Ruby, JavaScript, Solidity, HTML, and CSS, to receive compensation when their contributions are utilized. Built on the Ethereum network, Gitcoin employs smart contracts to align incentives among participants in the ecosystem, facilitating value creation without reliance on traditional legal mechanisms. The platform fosters collaboration between developers, repo maintainers, and financiers, emphasizing the importance of community in enhancing the success of open source projects. By integrating the local tech community's #givefirst ethos with financial incentives, Gitcoin aims to advance the development of open source software and strengthen community ties.
StarkWare Industries Ltd, founded in 2017 and based in Netanya, Israel, specializes in developing software and hardware for generating and verifying computational integrity proofs. The company has created STARK, a zero-knowledge proof protocol that enhances scalability and privacy in blockchain applications. This technology allows for increased transaction throughput and enables off-chain computation while ensuring that sensitive underlying data remains confidential. StarkWare's solutions are designed to improve the efficiency, security, and overall user experience of blockchain systems, making them a key player in the field of cryptographic proof platforms.
Zora operates as a crypto-driven marketplace.
Opyn is building an insurance marketplace to protect cryptocurrency users against system risks in Decentralized Finance.
Synthetix is a decentralized synthetic asset issuance protocol operating on the Ethereum blockchain, designed for derivatives trading within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Based in Sydney, Australia, the platform enables the creation of on-chain synthetic assets and digital tokens. Synthetix offers various products, including the Synthetix Network Token (SNX), which serves as collateral for synthetic assets like sUSD and sEUR. Additionally, it provides Mintr, a decentralized application for SNX holders, and Swappr, a tool facilitating conversions between SNX and Ethereum. The platform aims to address the challenges of volatility in cryptocurrencies by allowing users to gain exposure to real-world currencies, commodities, and indices through synthetic assets, thereby ensuring liquidity and enabling peer-to-contract trading. Founded in 2018, Synthetix promotes an open and transparent ecosystem, leveraging smart contracts to enhance trading efficiency and accessibility.
Nebulous, Inc. is a company focused on developing blockchain hardware and software for the decentralized internet. Founded in 2014 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, it operates Sia, a decentralized cloud storage platform that creates a marketplace for data storage by connecting users in need of file storage with hosts offering underutilized hard drive capacity. Utilizing blockchain technology, Sia enhances security and cost-effectiveness, enabling transactions through smart contracts without the need for intermediaries. In addition to Sia, Nebulous offers Skynet, a decentralized content delivery network and file-sharing platform designed for developers, and SiaStream, which provides affordable storage solutions for media files, facilitating quick streaming. Through these initiatives, Nebulous aims to deliver a robust and economical alternative to traditional cloud storage providers.
Sia is the leading decentralized cloud storage platform. No signups, no servers, no trusted third parties. Sia leverages blockchain technology to create a data storage marketplace that is more robust and more affordable than traditional cloud storage providers.
Gauntlet builds a blockchain simulation and testing platform for financial systems. The company's blockchain simulation and the testing platform run a series of simulations to test the client's protocol or smart contract and gain intuition on how design choices affect behavior, thereby helping financial institutions by providing transparency and greatly reduces the cost of experimentation so that teams can rapidly design, launch, and scale new decentralized systems.
Gauntlet was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Uniswap is a decentralized protocol that facilitates automated liquidity provision on the Ethereum blockchain. By utilizing a simple mathematical formula, Uniswap ensures continuous liquidity for a wide range of users and applications. The platform enables developers, liquidity providers, and traders to engage in a financial marketplace that promotes accessibility and openness. Through its user-friendly interface, Uniswap employs smart contracts to facilitate secure, decentralized token exchanges, allowing users to trade without intermediaries. This innovative approach defines asset prices based on the liquidity of the staked assets, making it a vital player in the decentralized finance ecosystem.
Uniswap is a decentralized protocol that facilitates automated liquidity provision on the Ethereum blockchain. By utilizing a simple mathematical formula, Uniswap ensures continuous liquidity for a wide range of users and applications. The platform enables developers, liquidity providers, and traders to engage in a financial marketplace that promotes accessibility and openness. Through its user-friendly interface, Uniswap employs smart contracts to facilitate secure, decentralized token exchanges, allowing users to trade without intermediaries. This innovative approach defines asset prices based on the liquidity of the staked assets, making it a vital player in the decentralized finance ecosystem.
Reflexer Labs, founded in 2020 and based in the USA, is a decentralized finance project focused on reducing volatility in the financial ecosystem. The company develops a low-volatility collateral designed to create a stable foundation for decentralized finance. Its innovative product employs a volatility-dampened synthetic instrument that utilizes control theory within smart contracts. This technology allows for the automatic adjustment of collateral supply in response to market conditions, maintaining a similar chart pattern to underlying assets while exhibiting lower volatility. By doing so, Reflexer aims to help businesses minimize the risk of investment losses, contributing to a more secure and stable decentralized finance environment.
Keep Network, founded in 2017 and headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands, specializes in blockchain technology that bridges public blockchains and private data. The company offers an off-chain container that allows users to store private information securely on public blockchains while maintaining privacy. Its technology employs a privacy layer for Ethereum, utilizing secure multiparty computation to distribute data across multiple locations. This innovative approach features decentralized signing, supports the creation of cryptocurrency wallets, and enables the sale of digital goods, providing users with a robust solution for private file storage through blockchain encryption.
Diem is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on developing a global currency and financial infrastructure. Founded in 2019, Diem aims to empower individuals worldwide by creating a simple and accessible global currency. The organization works to evolve and scale its network while managing a reserve to support its currency. In addition to its financial objectives, Diem is committed to social impact, running a grant-making program that promotes financial inclusion efforts globally. To achieve its mission, Diem collaborates with the global community and partners with policymakers to address the challenges of financial access and promote economic empowerment.
Argent Labs Limited, established in 2017 and based in London, develops a digital wallet specifically for cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications. The Argent application serves as a user-friendly platform that allows individuals to trade digital assets, manage funds, and engage with the token economy securely. It provides features akin to traditional banking, enabling users to earn interest, invest, borrow, store, and send assets without relying on conventional banks. The platform also facilitates access to decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized applications (Dapps), promoting a seamless experience in the burgeoning digital financial landscape. By leveraging blockchain technology, Argent aims to enhance security and efficiency in financial transactions.
Developer of a secure decentralized infrastructure platform designed for scaling Ethereum. The company helps to enhance and enshrine fair access to public goods on the internet through the development of open-source software to produce a public benefit and operate responsibly and sustainably, enabling businesses to use zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the validity of every state update.
Flashbots
Seed Round in 2020
Flashbots is a research and development company that focuses on miners and searchers for transparent and efficient MEV extraction. The company is working on mitigating the negative externalities of current MEV extraction techniques and avoiding the existential risks MEV could cause to state-rich blockchains like Ethereum. Their primary focus is to enable a permissionless, transparent, and fair ecosystem for MEV extraction.
Compound Labs, Inc. is a company that designs and develops a decentralized finance protocol on the Ethereum blockchain, aimed at creating efficient money markets. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, the firm offers an open-source software platform that enables individuals, businesses, and developers to engage in borrowing and lending activities. The protocol features a web interface that dynamically adjusts interest rates based on the supply and demand of various assets, ensuring liquid and transparent financial transactions. With a significant user base and numerous applications integrating its technology, Compound serves as a foundation for innovative financial applications, promoting a more open and accessible financial system.
Compound Labs, Inc. is a company that designs and develops a decentralized finance protocol on the Ethereum blockchain, aimed at creating efficient money markets. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, the firm offers an open-source software platform that enables individuals, businesses, and developers to engage in borrowing and lending activities. The protocol features a web interface that dynamically adjusts interest rates based on the supply and demand of various assets, ensuring liquid and transparent financial transactions. With a significant user base and numerous applications integrating its technology, Compound serves as a foundation for innovative financial applications, promoting a more open and accessible financial system.
O(1) Labs is a software development company working on Mina Protocol, a tiny, portable blockchain. The company uses cryptography and cryptocurrency to build computing systems that put people back in control of their digital lives. It addresses one of the fundamental challenges in cryptocurrency by creating the first succinct blockchain that enables decentralization at scale. O(1) Labs was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California by Evan Shapiro and Izaak Meckler.
Numerai, founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, operates as a unique hedge fund that leverages a global network of data scientists. The firm invites these data scientists to contribute by creating predictive models, which are incentivized through the use of its own cryptocurrency. Numerai employs a long/short investment strategy in the public equity markets, aiming to capitalize on the collective intelligence of its contributors. This innovative approach combines finance and data science, allowing for collaboration while maintaining the anonymity of participants.
Tendermint brings simplicity, security, and speed to the world’s blockchains.
Veil, Inc. is a San Francisco-based company that operates a peer-to-peer trading platform for prediction markets and derivatives on the Augur protocol. Established in 2018, Veil allows users to bet on a variety of prediction markets and trade various crypto assets, facilitating speculation on a wide range of global assets. The platform employs open protocols to enable trading of derivatives, such as bitcoin futures and gas price futures, leveraging blockchain technology to provide users with access to innovative financial markets.
Coinbase, Inc. is an online platform that enables merchants, consumers, and traders to buy, sell, and store digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Founded in 2012 and based in San Francisco, California, Coinbase provides various products and services, such as a user-friendly website for transactions, digital wallets, and merchant payment processing tools. The platform allows users to connect their bank accounts to facilitate the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Coinbase Ventures serves as the company's investment arm, focusing on early-stage startups in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. With a mission to create an open financial system for the world, Coinbase has positioned itself as a significant player in the digital currency market.
Cosmos is a versatile project focused on creating a network of distributed ledgers aimed at addressing persistent challenges within the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. It provides a container-first monitoring system that operates independently of specific infrastructures or operating systems, allowing users to connect all containers in their data centers to a unified dashboard. This dual functionality not only enhances monitoring capabilities but also facilitates better integration and communication among various blockchain networks, fostering a more interconnected ecosystem.
StarkWare Industries Ltd, founded in 2017 and based in Netanya, Israel, specializes in developing software and hardware for generating and verifying computational integrity proofs. The company has created STARK, a zero-knowledge proof protocol that enhances scalability and privacy in blockchain applications. This technology allows for increased transaction throughput and enables off-chain computation while ensuring that sensitive underlying data remains confidential. StarkWare's solutions are designed to improve the efficiency, security, and overall user experience of blockchain systems, making them a key player in the field of cryptographic proof platforms.
Spacemesh is a company based in North Pole, Alaska, that has developed a blockmesh operating system aimed at creating a decentralized and secure platform for running smart contracts on a global scale. This system operates using a novel consensus protocol that eliminates the need for traditional proof-of-work mechanisms, promoting a more equitable and incentive-compatible environment. Spacemesh enables individuals worldwide to participate in its network by running the software on their personal computers, fostering a highly decentralized peer-to-peer blockchain computer. As a free and open-source platform, Spacemesh aspires to establish itself as a fundamental Internet protocol for blockchain computation.
Spacemesh is a company based in North Pole, Alaska, that has developed a blockmesh operating system aimed at creating a decentralized and secure platform for running smart contracts on a global scale. This system operates using a novel consensus protocol that eliminates the need for traditional proof-of-work mechanisms, promoting a more equitable and incentive-compatible environment. Spacemesh enables individuals worldwide to participate in its network by running the software on their personal computers, fostering a highly decentralized peer-to-peer blockchain computer. As a free and open-source platform, Spacemesh aspires to establish itself as a fundamental Internet protocol for blockchain computation.