The cryptocurrency sector is witnessing a steady revival with startups securing substantial investments in funding rounds during December. One of the notable instances includes Foresight Ventures, which announced a $10 million accelerator focused on AI, Bitcoin Ordinals, and direct-to-consumer protocols. Additionally, GBA Capital, based in Hong Kong, has pledged a significant $10 billion towards a Web3 fund.
In a major development in Asia's blockchain sector, Line Next, a South Korean NFT developer, has successfully raised $140 million. This funding, led by Crescendo Equity Partners backed by Peter Thiel, represents the largest blockchain funding series in Asia. The last quarter of 2023 saw an 81% increase in total deal value, reaching $3.83 billion, as reported by Messari. Noteworthy investments in the past quarter include Blockaid’s $33 million, Ritual’s $25 million, Drift’s $23.5 million, Blast’s $20 million, and Privy’s $18 million.
Bitcoin-focused startup Lolli raised $8 million in a Series B funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, announced on December 14. The round saw participation from previous investors like Serena Ventures and new investors such as Sfermion and Ulta Beauty’s Prisma Ventures. Lolli, known for offering Bitcoin and cashback rewards at over 25,000 stores, plans to use this funding to broaden its rewards services to other sectors, including payment service providers.
NodeKit, a tech startup, has raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed round to develop its shared sorter on the Avalanche Subnet, which aims to facilitate decentralized aggregation. This round was led by Borderless Capital and saw participation from notable investors including Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund and Polygon Ventures. NodeKit’s SEQ is set to enhance the performance and interoperability of rollups in a decentralized network.
In another significant development, HTX Ventures (formerly Huobi's venture capital arm) invested in two new companies in December, although the investment amounts were undisclosed. The companies include Academic Labs, an AI and Web3 tech education platform, and Cumulus CryptoStorage System (CESS), a blockchain-powered decentralized storage and CDN system. CESS announced it secured a total of $8 million in investment from various sources, including HTX Ventures. These investments are directed towards product development and expanding project reach.
Lastly, the Interchain Foundation (ICF) has allocated a substantial $26.4 million for its 2024 grant program. This funding is dedicated to the development and maintenance of the Interchain Stack, a decentralized blockchain ecosystem. The ICF, which supports the Cosmos network, plans to invest in various projects, including the Cosmos SDK's composability expansion and security audits for the inter-chain stack, enhancing the entire ecosystem.
