This week witnessed a flurry of funding activities in the blockchain and crypto space, with startups and projects collectively raising over $100 million in venture capital. The funding activities showcased a growing interest in various blockchain applications, ranging from gaming and social networks to advanced cryptographic security.
One of the standout winners was security startup PQShield, which secured $37 million in a Series B round. Led by Addition, the funding round saw participation from new investors such as Braavos Capital, Legal & General, and Chevron Technology Ventures. PQShield aims to enhance its post-quantum cryptography solutions to future-proof cryptographic systems against quantum computer-based hacks. Notable clients of PQShield include Nvidia and AMD.
Renzo, an Ethereum restaking protocol, secured the second-highest funding of the week with $17 million in a Series A round. The funding was led by Galaxy Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund. Renzo enables users to restake various Ethereum assets and provides them with ezETH, a liquid restaking token usable across decentralized finance platforms. The platform currently boasts a market capitalization of nearly $115 million and a total value locked of over $3.6 billion.
Particle Network, a modular blockchain developer, raised $15 million in a Series A round co-led by The Spartan Group and Gumi Cryptos Capital. The funding round, structured as a simple agreement for future tokens, saw participation from SevenX Ventures, Flow Traders, and HashKey Capital, among others. Particle plans to utilize the funds to support its work on chain abstraction technology and expand its operations.
Sonic, a Solana layer-2 network focused on gaming, raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Bitkraft Ventures. Other VC firms that participated in the round included Galaxy Interactive and Big Brain Holdings. Sonic aims to simplify Web3 gaming complexities and integrate with various gaming genres. With a total funding of $16 million, Sonic now has a fully diluted valuation of $100 million.
ZKX, a pioneering social perpetual trading decentralized exchange (DEX), secured $7.6 million in total funding, including a recent $6.3 million seed round. Investors like Flowdesk, GCR, and DeWhales supported the initiative, which aims to enhance perpetual swaps through social trading features and cross-chain interoperability. ZKX plans to introduce new features to the ZKX protocol using the fresh capital, including social copy trade pools and expanding cross-chain interoperability. The platform has also launched its native ZKX token on major exchanges such as Bitget, Gate.io, and KuCoin.
Gudchain, an OP-stack-based layer-2 blockchain focused on gaming, secured $5 million in funding led by Mechanism Capital. The funding round also saw participation from Manifold, Skyvision Capital, and Morningstar Ventures. Gudchain aims to simplify Web3 access for gamers and will serve as the foundation for Highstreet Market products. The platform has already signed five flagship games, with plans to launch them on-chain within six months.
In addition to these major funding rounds, several other startups secured smaller yet significant funding. Zeek, a decentralized social collaboration network, raised $3 million in a seed round, while Wasabi, a meme coin and NFT leverage trading protocol, garnered $3 million in seed funding. Bitwise received a $2.5 million seed investment for its Ethereum ETF, and Farworld Labs closed a $1.75 million pre-seed round to advance its Farcade platform. Lastly, Ordinox, a Cosmos-based automated market maker, received $1 million in pre-seed funding to support its development and security audits.
Overall, the funding activities in the blockchain and crypto space this week highlight the increasing interest and investment in diverse blockchain applications, showcasing the industry’s potential for growth and innovation.