According to incomplete statistics from CoinVoice, more than 21 blockchain project financing cases were announced this week (October 14-18). There were 8 financings of tens of millions of dollars this week, including the announcement by crypto venture capital company Paradigm that it would invest $20 million in its spin-off Ithaca, which was the largest financing event this week. Other popular projects include privacy-preserving data verification protocol zkPass, Celo network decentralized EVM platform Mento, Bitcoin's scalable payment and financial infrastructure Plasma, etc. Among the investment and financing segments, the infrastructure field was relatively hot this week. The following is a list of financing events this week.

Drop Protocol Completes $4 Million Seed Round, Led by CoinFund

Liquidity staking protocol Drop Protocol announced the completion of a $4 million seed round of financing, led by CoinFund, with participation from CMS Holdings, Anagram, Interop Ventures, Cosmostation, as well as angel investors such as Lido DAO co-founder Vasiliy Shapovalov, Celestia Labs co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam, and Abacus Labs CEO and Hyperlane core contributor Jon Kol. The new funds are intended to promote new economic possibilities in the Interchain.

zkPass Completes $12.5 Million Series A Financing, with Animoca Brands and Others Participating

Privacy-preserving data verification protocol zkPass has completed a $12.5 million Series A financing round, with a valuation of $100 million. Dao5, Animoca Brands, Flow Traders, Amber Group, IOBC Capital, Signum Capital, MH Ventures and WAGMI Ventures participated in the investment. It is reported that zkPass plans to launch tokens in the first quarter of next year. (Theblock)

Bitcoin protocol layer Surge completes $1.8 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from Vamient Capital and others

Bitcoin protocol layer Surge announced the completion of a $1.8 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from Autonomy, Gerstenbrot Capital, Double Peak Group, Sats Ventures, Vamient Capital, Samara AG, and angel investors including Movement Labs' Rushi Manche, Coingecko co-founder Bobby Ong and TM Lee. The new funds will drive the development of its MetaLayer to fully tap the potential of Bitcoin as the global currency base layer. It is reported that Surge plans to launch its testnet soon.

On-chain DA project Hyve completes $1.85 million seed round of financing, led by Lemniscap

On-chain data availability (DA) project Hyve announced the completion of a $1.85 million seed round of financing, led by Lemniscap, with participation from Paper Ventures, Frachtis, etc. It is reported that Hyve's solution HyveDA is a completely permissionless data availability layer that currently supports 1 GB of throughput per second. (Coindesk)

Digital asset solution Mento Labs completes $10 million financing

According to CoinDesk, Mento Labs, the development team of Mento, a decentralized EVM platform on the Celo network, announced the completion of a $10 million financing. This round of financing was supported by T-Capital, HashKey Capital, Richard Parsons, Flori Ventures, No Limit Holdings, Verda Ventures and w3.fund.

Mento Labs also announced its stablecoin roadmap, planning to add three new local digital currencies to its growing lineup of decentralized stablecoins: the Philippine Peso (PUSO), the Colombian Peso (cCOP), and the Ghanaian Cedi (cGHS).

According to the project documentation, the Mento Stability Protocol can be considered an over-collateralized, decentralized, and transparent stable asset mechanism. The protocol uses crypto reserves to allow users to adjust the supply of Mento stable assets as demand changes. Users can exchange between Mento stable assets and reserve collateral assets through the protocol.

According to Web3 asset data platform RootData, Mento Labs is a stablecoin and digital asset innovation laboratory that was derived from cLabs (Celo). The lab provides the Mento basket of cryptocurrency asset platforms, and all Mento stablecoins (cEUR, cREAL, cUSD) are fully supported by USDC and DAI. In addition, Mento also has support for loyalty and engagement, regenerative finance, and risk management, monitoring, and maintenance.

Crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial completes $25 million financing, led by Ripple Labs

Crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial announced the completion of a $25 million financing led by Ripple Labs and launched Botanical, a perpetual futures trading platform in the United States, which is currently in a closed beta phase. The platform will provide investors with trading methods for perpetual futures, traditional futures and options. Bitnomial CEO Luke Hoersten said the platform aims to provide a regulated and innovative trading experience and use Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin to settle perpetual futures. (The Block) Earlier news, Bitnomial sued the US SEC, questioning its regulatory authority over XRP futures. Bitnomial is regulated by the CFTC. After the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple ended, the company self-certified the XRP dollar futures contract in August, when a federal judge rejected the SEC's claim that XRP was a security. According to Bitnomial’s lawsuit, the SEC contacted the exchange shortly after the lawsuit was filed, stating that XRP futures are “security futures” subject to the joint jurisdiction of the SEC and CFTC, and that Bitnomial would violate federal securities laws if it proceeded with the listing. The SEC also stated that Bitnomial must comply with other requirements before listing XRP futures, including registering as a national securities exchange.

“Network Nation” project Praxis raises $525 million, Farcaster CEO, Worldcoin co-founder and others

The "Network State" project Praxis announced on Tuesday that it had raised $525 million, with participation from angel investors such as Arch Lending, Manifold Trading, Farcaster CEO Dan Romero and Worldcoin co-founder Max Novendstern. The project had previously received financing from Paradigm, Alameda Research and Three Arrows Capital. The new funds will be used to build a technology-forward city to support the development of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, energy and biotechnology. A report published by the Wall Street Journal stated that the location of the future Praxis city has not yet been determined. The project's website also shows that the project has nearly 14,000 "Praxians" who live all over the world.

Social protocol The Arena completes $2 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from Avalanche Ecosystem Fund and others

The Arena, an Avalanche ecosystem social protocol, announced the completion of a $2 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from Blizzard (Avalanche Ecosystem Fund), Ava Labs and Avalanche leadership team members, Balaji Srinivasan, Abstract Ventures, D1 Ventures, Saron Funds, Alpha Crypto Capital, and other angel investors from Galaxy Digital, Fenbushi, Republic, Espresso Systems, Efficient Frontier, and Dao5. As an Avalanche-based social hub, The Arena also welcomes participation from high-quality partners in its ecosystem, including Trader Joe and the Benqi team. To provide a frictionless payment experience, The Arena is leveraging its partnership with Stripe to support the purchase of cryptocurrencies with credit cards. In addition, in order to reach the largest possible creator market, The Arena plans to expand its login options beyond X to include Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit, and will launch a mobile app.

Stablecoin developer Hermetica completes $1.7 million seed round, led by UTXO Management

Stablecoin developer Hermetica has completed a $1.7 million seed round of financing, led by UTXO Management, with participation from CMS Holdings, Ethos Fund, Trust Machines SPV, Newman Capital, Silvermine and a group of angel investors. Hermetica issued a yield-based synthetic USDh on the Bitcoin network. (TheBlock)

Celo Ecosystem EVM Platform Development Team Mento Labs Completes $10 Million Financing

Mento Labs, the development team of Mento, a decentralized EVM platform on the Celo network, announced the completion of a $10 million financing round, with participation from T-Capital, HashKey Capital, Richard Parsons, Flori Ventures, No Limit Holdings, Verda Ventures, and w3.fund. Mento Labs also announced a stablecoin roadmap, planning to launch the Philippine Peso stablecoin PUSO, the Colombian Peso stablecoin cCOP, and the Ghanaian Cedi stablecoin cGHS. According to the project documentation, the Mento Stability Protocol can be seen as an over-collateralized, decentralized, and transparent stable asset mechanism. The protocol uses crypto reserves to allow users to adjust the supply of Mento stable assets based on changes in demand. Users can swap between Mento stable assets and reserve collateral assets.

Metaverse platform World of Dypians completes new round of financing, IBC Group Official participates in the investment

World of Dypians, a blockchain-based metaverse platform, announced the completion of a new round of financing. IBC Group Official participated in the investment and reached a partnership with it. The specific amount of financing has not been disclosed. The platform integrates elements of DeFi and NFT, allowing players to own assets and participate in transactions and governance.

Blockchain financial services application Predicate completes $7 million in financing, with 1kx and others participating

Blockchain financial services application Predicate announced the completion of $7 million in financing, with Tribe and 1kx participating in the investment. The company plans to launch its products this week and will operate under the concept of decentralization. Predicate is a startup founded by two alumni of the blockchain Celo, aiming to connect blockchain applications with the financial world. It is reported that the company refused to talk about plans to launch tokens. (Fortune)

Blockstream Completes $210 Million Convertible Note Financing, Led by Fulgur Ventures

Bitcoin infrastructure development company Blockstream has completed $210 million in convertible note financing, led by Fulgur Ventures. Blockstream plans to use the funds to accelerate the market application of its Layer 2 technology, expand its Bitcoin mining business, and enhance Bitcoin reserves.

Pell Network Completes $3 Million Seed Round of Financing, Led by Halo Capital and Others

Bitcoin ecosystem AVS network Pell Network announced the completion of a $3 million seed round of financing, led by Halo Capital, Mirana Ventures and Paper Ventures, with participation from ArkStream Capital, Caliber Venture Builder, Cogitent Ventures and others. Pell Network aims to build a full-chain decentralized verification service (DVS) network powered by Restaking.

Open content delivery network Blockcast completes $2.85 million financing, led by Lattice Fund

Blockcast, an open content delivery network built on a unique cache architecture, announced the completion of a $2.85 million financing round led by Lattice Fund, with participation from angel investors such as Protocol Labs, Finality Capital Partners, AllianceDAO, Zee Prime Capital, RW3 Ventures, and Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko. The specific valuation information has not yet been disclosed. It is reported that the Blockcast network is built on the project's multicast adaptive HTTP proxy, which can be installed anywhere from rack units in the core network to smart TVs in consumers' homes.

Blockchain game developer Azra Games completes $42 million Series A financing, led by Pantera Capital

Blockchain video game development company Azra Games announced the completion of a $42 million Series A financing led by Pantera Capital, bringing its total financing to $68.3 million. It is reported that Azra Games was founded in 2022 by veteran game designer Mark Otero. It is currently planning to develop a high-quality role-playing game called "Project Legends" and will integrate NFT and blockchain technology while promoting the development of the fourth generation of RPG games, first launched on mobile devices. (Fortune)

Opacity Network Completes $12 Million Seed Round, Led by Breyer Capital and Others

Opacity Network, a data verification platform based on zero-knowledge proof, announced the completion of a $12 million seed round of financing, led by Archetype and Breyer Capital, with participation from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Finality Capital Partners, Bodhi Ventures and Escape Velocity (EV3). This seed round of financing brings Opacity Network's total financing to $13.4 million. Previously, the company raised $1.4 million in the Pre-Seed round of financing. (TheBlock)

Bitcoin staking agreement Solv Protocol completes $11 million in financing, with OKX Ventures and others participating

Bitcoin staking protocol Solv Protocol announced that it has completed $11 million in financing at a valuation of $200 million, with participation from Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital, OKX Ventures, etc. It is reported that Solv Protocol's SolvBTC product has deployed more than 20,000 BTC (about $1.3 billion) in 10 major blockchain networks. (

Flappy Bird Foundation Completes $2 Million Funding

The Web3 mobile game project Flappy Bird Foundation announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$2 million, led by Kenetic Capital and Scytale Ventures, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, Optic Capital and 4SV. The new funds will support the project to add a series of new Web3 features to attract nostalgic and new generation players. It is reported that under the management of the newly established Flappy Bird Foundation, the game's intellectual property rights will continue to be protected.