Highlights of this issue

According to incomplete statistics from PANews, there were 8 financing events in the global blockchain from last week (12.23-12.29), with a total funding scale exceeding $51 million, a significant decrease compared to the previous week, as summarized below:

  • In the DeFi sector, 4 financing events were announced, including stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs completing $10 million in Series A financing, led by Framework Ventures;

  • The AI sector announced 3 financing events, with ChainOpera AI completing $17 million in seed round financing, led by IDG Capital, among others;

  • The consumer application sector announced 1 financing event, with the on-chain luxury watch trading market Kettle completing $4 million in financing, led by ParaFi Capital.

DeFi

Stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs completes $10 million in Series A financing, led by Framework Ventures

Bitcoin-backed stablecoin USDa issuer Avalon Labs completes $10 million in Series A financing to expand its Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. This round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from UXTO Management, Presto Labs, and Kenetic Capital. Avalon Labs is committed to transforming Bitcoin from a digital store of value into a more active financial tool, offering users services including the stablecoin USDa, Bitcoin-backed lending, yield-generating savings accounts, and credit cards. Users can obtain USDa tokens by collateralizing BTC at a fixed lending rate of 8%, and the current total locked value (TVL) of USDa has reached $700 million.

Usual completes $10 million in Series A financing, led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures

RWA stablecoin protocol Usual announces completion of $10 million in Series A financing, led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures, with support from well-known institutions including Galaxy Digital, OKX Ventures, Wintermute, Amber Group, GSR, and Fasanara Digital. Usual is committed to driving new developments in the stablecoin sector through innovative stablecoin solutions and decentralized finance (DeFi) models. This round of financing will lay a solid foundation for building a decentralized ecosystem and advancing the 'stablecoin revival' initiative.

Cross-chain DeFi protocol EYWA completes a new round of financing, with participation from Kenetic Capital.

Cross-chain DeFi protocol EYWA completes a new round of financing, led by Kenetic Capital and Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov, with support from 1inch co-founder. The specific financing amount has not been disclosed, but to date, EYWA's total financing has reached $8.5 million. Kenetic had previously invested in well-known blockchain projects such as Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, and Polkadot.

DEX platform Valhalla completes $1.5 million Pre-Seed round financing

DEX platform Valhalla announces completion of $1.5 million Pre-Seed round financing, led by Robot Ventures, with participation from Miton C, Kronos, Sumcap, Hash3, Big Brain Holdings, GSR, Wincent, and several angel investors. Valhalla is described as a decentralized exchange (DEX) platform that allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly from their wallets without relying on intermediaries. Valhalla aims to create a fully on-chain perpetual contract exchange.

AI

ChainOpera AI completes $17 million in seed round financing, led by IDG Capital, among others

ChainOpera AI completes $17 million in seed round financing, planning to develop a blockchain L1 and AI operating system for building decentralized AI agents and applications. This financing was led by Finality Capital, Road Capital, and IDG Capital, with participation from several well-known investment institutions and angel investors, including BabylonChain co-founder David Tse and EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan. ChainOpera will use these funds to create a decentralized ecosystem that supports AI co-creation and co-ownership, promoting AI innovation and data privacy protection. Its platform plans to launch flagship products and mobile applications in the coming weeks to further promote the integration of blockchain and AI.

Decentralized AI platform Nodepay completes its second round of financing, totaling $7 million

Decentralized AI platform Nodepay announces that it has completed its second round of financing, totaling $7 million. The latest round of financing includes investors such as IDG Capital, Mythos, Elevate Ventures, IBC, Optic Capital, Funders.VC, Etherscan founder Matthew Tan, and CoinHako co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu. Prior investors in Nodepay's financing include Animoca Brands, Mirana, OKX Ventures, JUMP Crypto, and Tokenbay Capital. Nodepay is described as a decentralized AI platform aimed at democratizing AI training through real-time data retrieval. By converting idle internet bandwidth into resources, Nodepay powers the next generation of AI models.

Swan Chain announces completion of $2 million in financing

Decentralized AI infrastructure project Swan Chain (formerly known as FilSwan) completes $2 million in financing, led by DWF Labs, Optimism Foundation, and Promontory Tech.

Consumer

The on-chain luxury watch trading market Kettle completes $4 million in financing, led by ParaFi Capital.

The on-chain luxury watch trading market Kettle announces completion of $4 million in financing, led by ParaFi Capital, with strategic investors including Zee Prime Capital, Kronos, Signum Capital, IOSG Ventures, and Puzzle Ventures. The funds will be used to build an RWA platform. Kettle is described as a peer-to-peer marketplace where users can trade based on the full financial value of luxury watches. Kettle claims that the watches on its platform are insurance certified and stored in the Kettle Vault in New York.

Investment institutions

Hashgraph Group obtains a fund management license in Abu Dhabi and will launch a $100 million Web3 fund.

Switzerland-based Hashgraph Group has obtained a fund management license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The license acquired by Hashgraph Ventures Manager allows it to launch a $100 million Web3 venture capital fund from ADGM.

Hashgraph Group will invest $20 million, or 20% of the fund, as seed capital. The fund will focus on investing in startups and established companies within the Hedera ecosystem. Hashgraph Group co-founder and CEO Stefan Deiss stated that the fund has received broad support and attention from co-investors, including government agencies, sovereign wealth funds, venture capital funds, family offices, and other qualified investors; the group will focus on investing in companies utilizing the Hedera network and facilitating collaboration among Web3 companies.

The fund will prioritize strategic investments in Web3 and deep technology sectors (developing artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, and quantum computing solutions). Eligible projects will have the opportunity to participate in the Hashgraph Association's startup studio program.