Crypto startups secure $201.4 million in funding: Futureverse and RISC Zero lead the way -TGN

Last week venture capital and investment firms invested $201.4 million in crypto projects, with a metaverse startup Future fresh And RISC Zero receiving the largest fundraisers.

Eleven companies have recently announced funding rounds, with two notable increases. Metaverse startup Futureverse raised an impressive $54 million from its Series A funding round, led by 10T Holdings and Ripple Labs.

At the same time, RISC Zero, a provider of zero-knowledge-proof tools for developers, raised $40 million in a Series A round.

Futureverse has a clear mission: to empower developers and users by providing a collaborative ecosystem that consolidates 11 metaverse infrastructure and content companies.

Futureverse plans to use the funds from the funding round to enhance its extensive technology, including the Futureverse Platform and The Root Network, its blockchain.

Aside from RISC Zero, the funding round included five other companies in the infrastructure sector: Cosmic Wire, Manta Network, Echooo Wallet, Side Protocol, and Over Protocol.

Rising interest in infrastructure financing: Venture capitalists invest $210 million in June alone

Infrastructure financing is on the rise and venture capitalists (VCs) are showing increasing interest in this sector.

In June alone, the infrastructure sector received more than $210 million in funding in 26 funding rounds, and this trend has continued in recent weeks.

Last week, Seattle-based developer Risk zero secured $40 million in Series A funding, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from key investors such as Bain Capital Crypto, Galaxy Digital, IOSG and RockawayX. Risc Zero, directed by CEO Brian Retford, aims to improve accessibility and efficiency for ZK-powered applications across a variety of computing environments.

Cosmic thread, a technology company for Web3 and blockchain solutions, has successfully raised $30 million in its Series A seed round from prominent investors including the Solana Foundation and Polygon. This funding marks Cosmic Wire as the first-ever cross-chain-funded Web3 company.

Manta Network, an ambitious project, raised an impressive $25 million in Series A funding led by renowned investors Polychain and Qiming Venture Partners. Notable lenders such as AllianceDao, SevenX Ventures and CoinFund contributed to the project’s momentum.

Superblock, a major player in the development of Over protocolsecured $8 million in funding from leading companies and venture capitalists in South Korea, including SK, Netmarble, DSC, E&Investment, Schmidt, SpringCamp and NaverZ.

In addition, Side Labs, the company behind the cross-blockchain liquidity network Side protocol, successfully raised $1.5 million in funding through a SAFT round. The company’s token valuation reached $30 million, with participation from investors such as Hashkey Capital, KR1, Continue Capital, Symbolic Capital, Informal Systems, Dora Ventures, Charles Lu, Harry Halpin, Eric Chen, Mirza Uddin, Siddhartha Dutta and Vincent Niu, as stated by the company’s co-founder Shane Qiu.

Crypto fundraising peaks in February 2023, but declines in June; Overall growth trend prevails

Crypto fundraising peaked in February 2023, raising $947 million from 123 rounds of funding. Since then, however, fundraising activities have steadily declined.

In June, venture capital funding in the crypto space reached an all-time low, securing $520.1 million over 84 funding rounds, down 23.11% from May.

Still, the overall trend for 2023 points to growth. Positive developments, such as prominent players such as BlackRock, VanEck, WisdomTree and Fidelity filing for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Ripple’s legal victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission, have improved sentiment in the sector.

$201.4 million was raised in just one week, demonstrating the continued positive momentum in the crypto space.