During this week, Web3 saw major funding rounds and investments across various sectors. ZKX secured $6.3M for social trading, Covalent raised $5M to expand in Asia, NovaNet closed a $3M seed round for ZKP technology, and Bitcoin miner Hut 8 landed a massive $150M investment from Coatue Management. These deals, totaling over $160M, highlight the diverse innovation and growing investor confidence in blockchain, DeFi, and the convergence of crypto with AI technologies.
ZKX Lands Major Funding to Revolutionize Social Trading in Crypto
Decentralized exchange ZKX has successfully secured $6.3 million in a seed funding round spearheaded by notable investors Flowdesk, GCR, and DeWhales. This financial boost will fuel the expansion of ZKX’s innovative protocol, introducing cutting-edge features like social copy trading pools and enhanced cross-chain functionality.
Leveraging Starknet and Ethereum, ZKX’s platform employs advanced appchain technology to deliver a seamless trading experience, complete with gas-free transactions and a consolidated order book catering to both novice and seasoned traders.
Covalent Secures Strategic Investment to Spearhead Asian Market Expansion
Blockchain data powerhouse Covalent has clinched $5 million in strategic funding, with RockTree Capital leading the charge alongside CMCC Global, Moonrock Capital, and Double Peak Group. This capital injection will propel Covalent’s ambitious plans to establish a strong foothold in key Asian markets, including China, Korea, and Singapore.
The company aims to champion the adoption of its Long-Term Data Availability solutions in these regions while simultaneously rolling out its transformative New Dawn Initiative, designed to strengthen ties with its crypto-centric user base.
NovaNet Attracts Seed Funding to Pioneer ZKP Incentive Layer
In a groundbreaking move, NovaNet has raised $3 million in seed funding, backed by Finality Capital Partners and joined by Arrington Capital, the Avalanche Foundation, and Builder Capital. This innovative startup is set to create the world’s first incentive layer for zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), extending their application far beyond traditional zk-rollups.
NovaNet’s cutting-edge NIVC-based zkVM enables localized verifiable computation and privacy-preserving applications at an unprecedented scale. This funding will accelerate the development of advanced ZKP capabilities, opening new possibilities across various sectors.
Binance Labs Backs Infrared to Enhance Berachain’s Liquidity Ecosystem
Binance Labs has thrown its weight behind Infrared, a promising protocol aimed at simplifying access to Berachain’s Proof of Liquidity (PoL) mechanism. Infrared’s mission is to optimize value capture within the Berachain network through user-friendly liquid staking solutions for BGT and BERA tokens.
This strategic investment will improve Berachain’s network infrastructure and refine liquid staking products like “iBGT” and “iBERA”. The move is expected to boost wider adoption of Berachain and spawn innovative use cases within the DeFi landscape.
ORA Raises Capital to Bridge AI and Blockchain
Oracle protocol ORA has successfully closed a $20 million funding round, attracting investments from industry leaders such as Polychian, HF0, and Hashkey Capital. ORA is pioneering technology in tokenizing AI models on-chain and introducing a novel initial model offering (IMO) mechanism.
ORA is excited to announce a $20M fundraise from top backers:@polychain@hf0residency@hashkey_capital@sevenxventures
and more 
pic.twitter.com/smhU5FPx1Y
— ORA 
(@OraProtocol) June 26, 2024
The protocol’s innovative, optimistic machine learning technology (opML) enables blockchain-based AI model inference with enhanced verifiability and traceability. This substantial funding will drive ORA’s ecosystem development, with a focus on advancing Oracle technology and blockchain infrastructure.
Colosseum Secures Major Funding to Nurture Solana’s Developer Ecosystem
Solana’s Colosseum has raised an impressive $60 million for its inaugural fund, which is dedicated to fueling its startup accelerator program. This substantial capital will provide pre-seed investments to promising teams accepted into Colosseum’s Accelerator, aiming to attract and nurture top talent within the Solana ecosystem.
Selected projects will benefit from a $250,000 pre-seed investment and gain invaluable access to Solana’s extensive network of mentors and venture funds. This initiative is poised to significantly boost innovation and growth within the Solana community.
Hut 8 Attracts Massive Investment to Merge Crypto Mining and AI
Bitcoin mining giant Hut 8 Corp has secured a game-changing $150 million investment from tech-focused investment firm Coatue Management. This strategic funding, structured as a convertible note, recognizes Hut 8’s potential to power cutting-edge generative AI applications using its formidable high-performance computing infrastructure.
This investment underscores the growing synergy between cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence as mining operations pivot to support emerging AI technologies. The capital infusion is expected to accelerate Hut 8’s compute capacity expansion and position the company at the forefront of both the crypto and AI sectors.
The post From Social Trading to Zero-Knowledge Proofs: This Week’s $200M+ Web3 Investments Showcase Diverse Innovation in Crypto Space appeared first on Metaverse Post.