📬 Inbox Dump #38

Hello Defiers! Welcome to Inbox Dump where we include the updates and announcements that flood our DMs each week and didn’t make it to The Defiant’s content platforms. Sometimes announcements here didn’t meet the bar to become a news story, sometimes they may have slipped through the cracks, or they came late and we haven’t had a chance to cover.

At The Defiant we cover the most important DeFi-related news and developments but we know many of you are hunting for projects before they are fully developed and before they are newsworthy. Our goal with this installment of the newsletter is to help you find them. Look at this as the starting point to DYOR.

We also include a compilation of DeFi and crypto funding rounds in the past week so you have these in one handy place.

Keep in mind these have been unedited. With that —here we go!

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• Matcha: Matcha makes sure you’re getting the best possible price by routing orders across all the various DeFi exchanges, now with an integrated fiat on-ramp. Start trading at matcha.xyz/defiant

Inbox Dump!

✉️ Developers: Access the Latest Technical Innovations in Web3 Using MetaMask Flask

MetaMask Flask is the experimental proving ground for our most cutting-edge and innovative features. A canary distribution of production MetaMask, Flask is where developers and experimental features combine to ignite ignites to create the future of Web3.

✉️ DSRV launches <All That Node> : the multi-chain node platform, for blockchain development made easy

DSRV, a leading blockchain infrastructure provider based in South Korea, has recently launched its integrated multi-chain node API platform, All That Node. Optimized for compatibility with multiple blockchain ecosystems, All That Node seeks both to address notable pain points and lower the barrier to entry for developers.

✉️ HOKK Finance unveils NFT offering

Copenhagen, January 10, 2022: HOKK Finance, one of the original meme tokens that peaked at an $800M market cap in May 2021, has today released 4444 utility NFTs. They will enable collectors to access the HOKKFi crypto portal, stake their NFTs, and preserve their value through the use of stablecoins.

✉️ Press Record is the First Industry Platform to Offer Curated NFTs for Exclusive First Use Song Licenses

London, UK and Los Angeles,CA, January 11, 2022 – “Press Record” has been launched as a new web3 NFT-powered song marketplace and is wholly-owned and operated by Stone Rolla Media, a London and LA-based music publisher. The new platform will auction NFTs of original songs written and performed by emerging and underground artists based around the world. According to Stone Rolla Media founders Gyles Gyesie and Cliff Simms, Press Record instantly becomes the first music industry platform to offer curated NFTs for exclusive, first-use song licenses.

✉️ World Renowned Multimedia Artist DALEK To Drop NFT Collaboration With Generative Artworks on Doodle Labs Platform

NEW YORK – January 11, 2022 -Doodle Labs Corp, the non-fungible token (NFT) company dedicated to bringing established artists and brands to the blockchain in an authentic manner, has announced their partnership with masterful artist James Marshall, AKA “Dalek” and prolific artist duo Generative Artworks. Dalek is well known for his graffiti art, murals, illustrations, and most notably, the iconic Space Monkey character.

✉️ INX Limited Acquires Tokensoft’s Transfer Agent

NEW YORK, January 5th, 2022 - INX Limited (INX ATS: INX), ("INX"), the owner of digital asset trading platforms, today announced that it has acquired Tokensoft Transfer Agent LLC (“TTA”), an SEC-registered transfer agent owned by Tokensoft Inc. (“Tokensoft”). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

✉️ Rapyd’s Fintech as a Service Offering Yields 196% ROI, Finds Total Economic Impact Study

London, UK and Mountain View, CA- January 10th, 2022. Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-Service company, announced today the publication of a new Total Economic Impact™ study conducted by Forrester Consulting. Commissioned by Rapyd, the study evaluated the cost savings, business benefits, risks, and flexibility of implementing Rapyd’s solutions and determined the Return on Investment for a composite organization to be 196% over three years. Rapyd helps businesses create local experiences anywhere, handling the complexities of cross-border payments and regulations to enable quick and easy collection and disbursement capabilities.

✉️ Budweiser Spotlights Emerging Music Artists with new NFT Collection in partnership with VaynerNFT

Budweiser is preparing to launch it’s newest Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Collection, Budweiser Royalty, in partnership with VaynerNFT which will go on sale January 21st. For this collection, Budweiser is partnering with 22 of the world’s top emerging music artists to drop their first-ever NFTs. These NFTs allow fans to support artists directly and unlock exclusive experiences with them. Budweiser is supporting local artists by giving them a global platform on their journey to becoming the next kings and queens of the music industry.

✉️ Bitso Becomes the First Crypto Company to Sponsor the Mexico National Soccer Team

Mexico City, January 12, 2022 —Bitso, the leading cryptocurrency platform in Latin America, with more than 3.7 million users, is proud to become an official sponsor of Mexico’s national soccer team, which is seeking to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The partnership positions Bitso as the first cryptocurrency company to sponsor Mexico's National Soccer Team, and the first to sponsor a member of The Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

✉️ Binance Officially Launches ICP Staking - 38.75% APY

Binance has officially launched ICP staking. ICP holders can stake their ICP from today and earn up to 38.75% APY! This is one of the highest returns from staking for any layer 1. Just before the new year, devs launched a bridge connecting the Internet Computer and Ethereum - meaning Ethereum-based assets can now natively exist on Internet Computer.

Funding

💰 Decentral Park Capital Launches $75M DeFi Fund

Decentral Park Capital, an early-stage investment firm with $140 million in assets under management, now has a $75 million fund to invest in decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives. The firm has $74 million in the bank with about $1 million left to raise for the oversubscribed fund, Decentral Park Capital founder John Quinn told CoinDesk in an interview.

💰 Near Raises $150M From Major Crypto Investment Firms

One of crypto’s most cash-rich ecosystems just got a little richer as it prepares for a major decentralized finance (DeFi) push. On Thursday, the Near Foundation announced the close of a $150 million funding round. Su Zhu’s Three Arrows Capital led the private token sale, with participation from major crypto-focused funds including Mechanism Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Jump, Alameda, Zee Prime and Amber Group, among others.

💰 DeFi API startup Conduit raises $17 million from Portage Ventures

Canadian startup Conduit has raised $17 million in a funding round led by Portage Ventures, according to a statement. FinVC, Gemini Frontier Fund, and ex-a16z partner Rex Salisbury also participated in the round.

💰 Mark Cuban and Robinhood's CEO join $6 million round for high-yield investment app Seashell

Seashell, a startup building an investment app to offer high yields, has raised $6 million in a seed funding round. Khosla Ventures and Kindred Ventures co-led the round, with Coinbase Ventures, Solana Ventures, and the Avalanche Foundation (through its Blizzard Fund) also participating.

💰 DeFi Platform Giddy Raises $8M Seed Round

DRAPER, Utah, Jan. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Giddy, a mobile app that enables mainstream DeFi adoption, has announced that it has raised $8M in seed funding. The round was led by Pelion Venture partners and also includes Divvy founder and CEO Blake Murray, Galileo CEO Derek White, Traeger CEO Jeremy Andrus, angel investor Scott Paul, Brand Whisperer Shaun Neff, and real estate mogul and owner of Skinwalker Ranch Brandon Fugal.

💰 Defi Technologies Co-Leads Investment into SEBA Bank (a Swiss Global Digital Assets Bank)

ZUG, Switzerland, Jan. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - SEBA Bank, a fully integrated,
FINMA licensed digital assets banking platform, today announced that it has
closed a successful Series C funding round, raising CHF 110 million. The round
was comprised of a consortium of specialized blockchain and fintech investors, co-led by DeFi Technologies (NEO: DEFI) (GR: RMJR) (OTC: DEFTF), a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, with an investment of CHF25 million.

💰 DeFi Platform Giddy Raises $8M Seed Round

DRAPER, Utah, Jan. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Giddy, a mobile app that enables mainstream DeFi adoption, has announced that it has raised $8M in seed funding. The round was led by Pelion Venture partners and also includes Divvy founder and CEO Blake Murray, Galileo CEO Derek White, Traeger CEO Jeremy Andrus, angel investor Scott Paul, Brand Whisperer Shaun Neff, and real estate mogul and owner of Skinwalker Ranch Brandon Fugal.

💰 Hubble Protocol Picks Up $3.6 Million in Pre-IDO Seed Funding

Hubble Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoin protocol based on the Solana network closed its pre-IDO seed round of $3.6 million on Dec. 16. In this round, the protocol found support from some of the most reputed crypto venture capital firms like Delphi Digital, Jump Capital, CMS Holdings, Spartan, Mechanism Capital, Three Arrows / DeFiance Capital, DeFi Alliance, Decentral Park Capital, and Digital Strategies.

💰 Digital Assets Startup SEBA Bank Notches $120M in Series C Funding

Digital assets startup SEBA Bank raised $120 million in a Series C funding round led by Altive, Ordway Selections, Summer Capital and DeFi Technologies. Alameda Research also participated in the oversubscribed round, along with a core partner of FTX, and existing investors, including Julius Baer, according to a press release on Wednesday (Jan. 12).

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