Avalon Labs Secures $10M Series a for Its Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoin
Quick take:
The company plans to use the funds to grow its Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem.
Users can leverage Avalon Labs’ stablecoin to unlock the value stored in their BTC by using it as collateral for USDa at a fixed rate of 8%.
The company also offers yield-generating savings accounts and a credit card.
Avalon Labs has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Framework Ventures. The fundraising also attracted participation from UXTO Management, Presto Labs and Kenetic Capital.
These 5 Sui Protocols Break TVL Records Amid Market Downturn
While Bitcoin and Ethereum have suffered double-digit losses over the past week, dragging down the DeFi sector, several Sui-based protocols have managed to increase their total value locked (TVL) to record levels. These include Kriya, Bluefin, AlphaFi, Bucket Protocol, and Sparkling Finance.
Kriya
This one-stop DeFi platform for Sui saw its TVL surge from $24 million at the beginning of November to the current all-time high (ATH) of $84 million.
VaultCraft Surges 5,600% to Hit $100M TVL, Leading DeFi Performance This Week
VaultCraft is currently the best weekly performer in DeFi, with its total value locked (TVL) gaining over 5,600% in the past seven days. The yield protocol, which allows crypto holders to generate returns by selecting from various yield strategies, has attracted over $100 million worth of tokens.
On December 16, VaultCraft had less than $1.7 million in TVL, the lowest level since January of this year. The protocol’s TVL dropped significantly in September, declining from a peak of over $22 mil
Spartan Group and Symbolic Capital Co-Lead $6M Pre-Seed for Crypto-AI Startup Fraction AI
Quick take:
The fundraising also attracted participation from Borderless Capital, Anagram, Foresight Ventures and Karatage.
Fraction AI is currently in a closed testnet and is scheduled to launch its public testnet in January.
The company uses a hybrid model for data labelling, combining both human inputs and AI agents.
Fraction AI, a decentralised AI platform combining both human inputs and AI agents for data labelling has raised $6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Spartan Group a
Plume Network Raises $20M Series a to Build Real-World Asset Tokenisation Platform
Quick take:
The company is building an EVM-compatible modular layer-1 blockchain focused on Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi).
The protocol currently powers over 180 products managing over $4 billion in assets, Plume said in a press release on Wednesday.
The platform allows users to easily swap, trade, and speculate on real-world assets just as easily as they can when interacting with crypto native assets.
Plume Network has raised $20 million in a Series A round backed by Brevan Howard Digita
Avara Raises $31M to Build Decentralised Infrastructure for Social and Consumer Apps
Quick take:
The funding announcement comes just weeks after the Aave developer unveiled an overhauled new version of Lens protocol.
The company has also moved the base technology powering its decentralised social media infrastructure to zkSync from Polygon, citing the ability to scale at lower costs as the reason.
Lens protocol v3 is scheduled for launch during the first quarter of 2025.
Avara, the developers of Lens, Aave and Family has completed a $31 million funding round led by Lightspee
Chainalysis did not share the details of the acquisition in the announcement.
Hexagate has established itself as one of the leading Web3 security firms, with Coinbase, Cronos Labs, Eigen Labs, Immutable and Chaianalysis among its customers.
The company has reportedly helped these companies save more than $1 billion of customer funds.
Chainalysis has announced the acquisition of Israel-based Web3 security firm Hexagate. The blockchain analysis company did not disclose the details
Aqua & Delea Hit Record TVL As TON Stablecoin Projects Gain Traction
TON-based decentralized stablecoin protocols, Aqua Protocol and Delea, saw their total value locked (TVL) soar to record levels. Both projects borrow from MakerDAO’s model and represent collateral debt position (CDP) projects that issue their own stablecoins to be used in decentralized finance (DeFi).
DefiLlama data shows that Aqua’s TVL has nearly doubled in December to a record $4.1 million.
Elsewhere, Delea, which launched a month ago, saw its TVL surge to $5.4 million. It gained over 100%
Dragonfly Leads $4.25M Seed Round for Blockchain-Based Card Game Fantasy
Quick take:
The fundraising also attracted participation from Manifold Ventures.
The fundraising was announced alongside the release of the Fantasy.top V2.
The V2 comes packed with new features including the Pack Shop, which introduces a new way of collecting different cards.
Fantasy, a decentralised card game that allows players to participate in fantasy betting and card trading has raised $4.25 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly, with participation from Manifold Ventures.
Stablecoin Protocol Resolv Hits Record $77M in TVL
Resolv, a decentralized stablecoin protocol, saw its total value locked (TVL) reach a new all-time high of $77 million, as per DefiLlama. The platform’s TVL has soared over 380% since the beginning of November, becoming one of the best-performing DeFi protocols on Ethereum.
Resolv offers a decentralized stablecoin called USR, which is pegged to the US dollar and is fully backed by Ethereum. It borrows Ethena’s delta-neutral design to ensure price stability and is backed by an insurance pool to
Avalanche Secures $250M Token Sale Led By Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly and ParaFi Capital
Quick take:
More than 40 investment firms participated in the token sale.
The company is overhauling its blockchain to lower transaction fees whilst making it easier to run validators on the network.
Avalanche also launched a $40 million grant program for developers building on its network.
Avalanche has closed a $250 million token sale led by Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly and ParaFi Capital. The fundraising follows the layer-1 blockchain’s recent upgrade which saw it launch Avalanche9000 on tes
Binance and Circle Partner to Accelerate the Global Adoption of the USDC Stablecoin
Quick take:
Binance users will be able to deploy USDC for trading, savings and payments, the companies said in a statement.
As part of the partnership, Binance will adopt USDC as a dollar stablecoin for its corporate treasury.
Circle has also collaborated with traditional banks in Latin America and recently integrated with Stripe and Aptos.
Circle is tapping Binance to accelerate the global adoption of the USDC stablecoin. The Web3 company adds another milestone to its global expansion campa
Beam Ventures to Invest $150M At the Intersection of Blockchain, Gaming and AI
Quick take:
The fund is also looking at opportunities in virtual reality and augmented reality in gaming.
Beam Ventures also plans to launch an accelerator program as part of the fund but is not disclosing its limited partners yet.
Teams can choose to participate via a combination of in-person and remote options.
Beam Ventures, the venture arm of Beam Foundation and the community-driven chain focused on gaming, Beam has announced a $150 million fund targeting the intersection of gaming, AI a
Exabits Secures $15M Seed Round to Tokenize GPU Power
Quick take:
Exabits is building a decentralised computing network that enables direct access to GPU compute assets.
The company has created a liquid marketplace that generates revenue and rewards token holders.
Lee claims Exabits has been growing its revenue by approximately 300% every quarter over the past year, bringing its annual recurring total to $10 million.
Exabits, a decentralised computing services provider leveraging blockchain technology to offer open access to GPU compute assets
Web3 AI Firm Hyperbolic Secures $12M Series a Round Co-Led By Variant and Polychain Capital
Quick take:
The fundraising also attracted participation from Chapter One, Lightspeed Faction, IOSG, Vertex, GSR, Wintermute Ventures and Blockchain Builders Fund.
Hyperbolic said the fundraising brings the total raised to $20 million.
The company offers Web3 AI infrastructure and services powered by a decentralised network of GPU power.
Web3 AI platform Hyperbolic has announced a $12 million funding round led by Variant and Polychain Capital. The Fundraising also attracted participation fro