📬 Inbox Dump #86
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!
[This post is exclusive to subscribers]
Inbox Dump!
Crypto Staking Rewards & Best Staking Platforms for January 2023
Key Takeaways: Staking offers passive income while you hold your crypto for price appreciation. The most common ways to stake include staking through an exchange or staking to a pool. Risks for staking are limited, but some blockchains can “slash” stakes, reducing holdings, if the validator you choose misbehaves.
Stargate Taps Metis for 1st Blockchain Expansion to Accelerate Crypto Adoption
January 19, TORONTO- Stargate, a fully composable liquidity transport protocol, is set to deploy on Metis Andromeda, an organization committed to building a robust and decentralized layer 2 infrastructure to empower the Web3 economy.
Coinbase Lists KAVA, Advancing Ethereum–Cosmos Interoperability
San Francisco, California, 18th January — Today, Coinbase has listed Kava and will launch a massive Learning Rewards Campaign to educate its user base about how Kava is leading the world to Web3.
Talos Announces Partnership with Leading Fund Administrator Formidium
NEW YORK, Jan. 18, Talos, the premier provider of institutional digital asset trading technology, announced it has partnered with leading digital assets fund administrator Formidium.
CV VC solidifies Crypto Valley’s position as the world’s most mature and stable blockchain hub
The CV VC Top 50 Report 2022 was presented in Davos today and shows that Crypto Valley, which includes Switzerland and Liechtenstein, is the most mature blockchain hub. It continued to expand steadily in 2022 because of an exemplary regulatory jurisdiction and a determined decentralized mindset exhibited by the 1,135 entities building from there.
Binance to let institutions store crypto with cold custody
The Mirror service is based on Binance Custody and involves mirroring cold-storage assets through 1:1 collateral held on a Binance account.
Global Trusted AI and blockchain based ID Certification for businesses and SMEs launched by OpenBusinessCouncil.org powered by Concordium blockchain
TUE, JAN 17, OpenBusinessCouncil and Concordium announce a partnership to offer a Global Business Digital Identity enabled by AI and Blockchain based Certification.
Tim Draper Launches Web3 Deal Syndication Platform
Tim Draper and the Draper Venture Network open up a new way for investors to share and syndicate alongside each other. NBA All-Star Baron Davis and LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani join as Venture Partners.
Here comes the Diva: Liquid Staking powered by Distributed Validators
While other solutions have features like liquid staking or DVT as tools, Diva is the first end-to-end solution that fully addresses the current economical and technical challenges that Ethereum’s staking mechanism poses.
OKX releases third proof-of-reserves report — demonstrates largest 100% clean asset reserves among major exchanges
Seychelles, Jan. 19 — OKX, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, published its third monthly proof of reserves (PoR), showing $7.5 billion held by the exchange in Bitcoin, Ether and Tether, which is the largest 100% clean asset reserves among major exchanges, according to third party data.
SuperRare Announces 2nd Airdrop Collection for RarePass: Genesis Pass Holders
NEW YORK, NY, JANUARY 12, 2023 | SuperRare, the largest decentralized platform dedicated to original cryptoart, is pleased to announce Talking Heads by Coldie, the second of 12 Airdrop collections for RarePass: Genesis pass holders.
Daata announces winners of its first ever digital art open call
The open call for digital art resulted in over 700 submissions and the nine winners include artists Ceren Su Çelik, OgiWorlds, Dawnia Darkstone, Fabio Catapano, Gabriel Köi, Sian Fan, Brandon B, Stusontier, and Linda Loh.
BlockchainSpace Makes An Exceptional Move for Web3 Community Support with Metasports
BlockchainSpace (BSPC), the leading data aggregator and infrastructure provider for guilds and Web3 projects, is confident that 2023 will be a banner year following the majority acquisition of Intellectual Property (IP) House, Metasports.
Nebeus, Crypto & TradFi app, launches Virtual VISA Debit Card
January 16, Nebeus, the financial app for Crypto Hodlers has announced the launch of the first Nebeus Card backed by VISA, available in all-around European markets.
Popular DeFi Apps Cover Pool Launches in Neptune Mutual dApp
One of the partners will create and finance initial liquidity for a new diversified cover pool: “Popular DeFi Apps”. Projects to be included: 1Inch, Sushiswap, Compound, Uniswap V3, Convex Finance, GMX, dYdX, AAVE V3 and Bancor.
Funding
NFT startup Candy Digital raised $38.5 million at the start of this year
The filing said that a total of 14 investors participated in this offering. The Series A1 funding round was led by ConsenSys and Galaxy Digital.
Tech Veteran-Backed Web3 Social Platform Plai Labs Raises $32M in Seed Round
Web3 social platform builder Plai Labs has raised $32 million in a seed funding round led by crypto investment firm a16z.
African gaming startup Carry1st raises $27M from Bitkraft Ventures and a16z
Impressive backing from top-tier funds focused on web3 and gaming: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Konvoy Ventures and now Bitkraft Ventures, the lead investor in its newly announced $27 million pre-Series B round. Both a16z and Konvoy participated in this financing round, which included TTV Capital, Alumni Ventures, Lateral Frontiers VC and Kepple Ventures.
The =nil; Foundation Raises $22M to Build Marketplace for Zero-Knowledge Proofs
=nil; Foundation has raised $22 million, the fundraise values =nil; Foundation at $220 million, with the round led by Polychain Capital, including Blockchain Capital, Starkware, Mina Protocol, and angel investors including Hasu.
Latin American Web3 Infrastructure Provider Parfin Raises $15M
The funding was led by crypto investment firm Framework Ventures, the company said in a statement, adding that L4 Venture Builder, a corporate venture capital fund backed by the Brazilian stock exchange B3, also invested.
ZK proof startup Ulvetanna raises $15 million in seed funding
Bain Capital Crypto and web3 venture firm Paradigm co-led the seed round, with participation from Jump Crypto.
Obol Labs Raises $12.5M Series A Funding to Make Proof-of-Stake Blockchains More Secure
NEW YORK, Jan. 17, Obol Labs announced the close of a $12.5 million Series A financing round. Pantera Capital and Archetype co-led the round, with new participation from BlockTower, Nascent, Placeholder, Spartan, and IEX, and follow-on investment from Coinbase Ventures and Ethereal Ventures
Neowiz’s Intella X raises $12M for Web3 gaming platform
The funding round included more than 20 investors from various sectors and includes notable partners such as Polygon, Animoca Brands, Magic Eden, Planetarium, Big Brain Holdings, Crit Ventures, JoyCity, Pearl Abyss, XL Games, WEMIX, and Global Coin Research.
Metaverse Project Createra Closes $10 Million Series A Funding Round Led by a16z
Createra, a creator-oriented metaverse project, announced today $10 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to continue its pursuit of building the largest Gen Z-focused metaverse platform.
WEB3 FASHION PLATFORM, SYKY, CLOSES $9.5M SERIES A FUNDING ROUND
NEW YORK, Jan. 17,-SYKY (pronounced “psy-che”), a next generation luxury fashion platform, announced the close of a $9.5 million Series A funding round. The investment is led by Alexis Ohanian’s firm Seven Seven Six. The round is also funded by Brevan Howard Digital, Leadout Capital, First Light Capital Group, and Polygon Ventures.
Circle Ventures Backs $4M Round for Blockchain-Based Debt Provider Obligate
Blockchange Ventures and Circle Ventures participated in the extension, joining initial seed investors Earlybird and SIX Fintech Ventures. Combined with its initial fundraise in late 2021, Obligate’s seed round now totals more than $8.5 million.
