📬 Inbox Dump #87
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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Inbox Dump!
Amazon NFT Project Is Set To Launch In Spring: What’s Coming?
Amazon is preparing to launch its first digital business through an NFT initiative. Sources indicate that Amazon will debut blockchain-based gaming and other NFT applications in the spring of 2023.
ZenGo Becomes The First Seedless Wallet On Polygon
Cryptocurrency wallets are the most straightforward option for users to engage in self-custody. However, the traditional approach of seed phrases and recovery seeds warrants improvements. ZenGo, a non-custodial Polygon wallet, offers a glimpse of what that future may look like.
Router Protocol Partners with FXDX to Power its Multi-Chain Expansion on Optimism
[SINGAPORE, January 24] Router Protocol – an infrastructure layer enabling communication between blockchains, today announced a partnership with FXDX, a decentralized on-chain derivative exchange, to power its cross-chain launch on Optimism.
DeSo Partners With Ivy Leagues to Launch Breakthrough Web3 Startup Competition
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 — DeSo is thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind Web3 startup competition on the prestigious Princeton campus, designed exclusively for students looking to create and launch the next big thing.
China’s “Instagram” Chooses Conflux Network For Permissionless Blockchain Integration
Little Red Book, (XiaohongShu), the Chinese version of Instagram integrates Conflux Network as a permissionless blockchain allowing users to showcase NFTs minted on Conflux on their profile page in the digital collection section called ‘R-Space’.
Marinade Finance Launches “Open Doors” Program to grow Solana TVL
THURSDAY JANUARY 26 – Marinade Finance, Solana’s No.1 protocol by total value locked (TVL), has announced a major drive to increase staking of SOL on the blockchain as the protocol aims to increase Solana’s decentralization and grow liquidity throughout its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Cross-chain decentralized exchange Maya Protocol to launch its mainnet on March 7, 2023
Cross-chain decentralized exchange Maya Protocol confirms the date of its mainnet launch amid a decentralization trend that continues to gain momentum from the strength of decentralized finance (DeFi) despite the harsh market conditions of the last months caused partly by centralized finance failures and blowups that impacted the industry.
Yield App acquires structured product provider Trofi Group
TALLINN, ESTONIA, JANUARY 26 — Yield App has acquired Trofi Group, a platform that offers structured product solutions for cryptocurrencies, in response to growing investor demand for enhanced yield investment opportunities.
Quadrata Partners with 9 DeFi Protocols to Expand Digital Identity Solutions
California, January 26 – Quadrata, an identity solution bringing compliance and reputation to public blockchains has partnered with nine DeFi protocols: TrueFi, Archblock, BSOS, Frigg. Eco, Cred Protocol, Chelo Finance, CR Square, Chee Finance, and SPACE.
ESG DAO and PARSIQ join forces to revolutionize the ESG industry with OpenESG and Instant Web3 Data
In a major development, ESG DAO and PARSIQ have announced a partnership to push forward the creation of OpenESG, the first open, democratic, and credibly neutral ESG scoring system.
Blockchain Fest Singapore 2023 announces sponsorship
[Singapore] On 16-17 February, thousands will descend on Marina Bay Sands Convention Center, Singapore, for attending Blockchain Fest Singapore 2023, the most interactive event on Blockchain, Exchanges, Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DeFi, Mining, Gaming, Online Payments, Investment and FinTech industry.
Scalable Solutions Introduces Lite Instant Exchange: A Gateway to 300+ Million Users in Crypto
January 27, 2023 – Scalable Solutions introduces its newest product, Lite Instant Exchange. Lite Instant Exchange is a white-label tool for exchanges to attract and retain crypto-curious customers at the start of their digital asset journey.
Yesports Partners with 30+ World Class Web3 Games to Announce “Convergence 2023” — The Largest Digital Web3 Gaming to Esports Conference
New York, United States of America, 23rd January — Yesports. gg, the leading gateway for web3 gamers and esports fans, announced today that registration is now open for the highly-anticipated “Convergence 2023” event.
Funko Pop! Release Teen Titans Digital Collectible NFTs
Funko Pop! Digital announces the latest entrant to its already stellar NFT lineup – Teen Titans! Starting January 31st, collectors can collect their favorite Teen cartoon icons as NFTs on the Droppp NFT marketplace.
Ledgible Expands C-Suite Growing Institutional Cryptoasset Leadership
ATLANTA, Jan. 26 — Ledgible, the leading institutional and enterprise crypto tax and accounting platform, today announced the company added two new strategic executives, Paul Diegelman as Chief Revenue Officer, and Will Coleman as Head of Institutional Product.
Queer Museum of Digital Art launches first artist grant program on Zora
The Queer Museum of Digital Art (QMoDA) on Tuesday, January 24, dropped the first NFT art from its artist grant program. As part of the first annual edition of the event, the grant awarded 10 artists with 1 ETH each.
NFT-Backed Lending Protocol Zharta Celebrates Launch
LISBON, PORTUGAL, January 24 — Zharta is excited to announce the official launch of its NFT-backed lending protocol. This development comes after a successful audit by Hacken and close on the heels of a $4.3 M seed round.
Funding
BITCOIN INFRASTRUCTURE STARTUP BLOCKSTREAM RAISES $125 MILLION USD TO EXPAND CRYPTO MINING SERVICES
Kingsway Capital led the convertible note, with participation from other investors, including Fulgur Ventures.
QuickNode Raises $60M Series B Round To Further Fuel Blockchain Adoption
The round was led by 10T Holdings with participation from Tiger Global, Seven Seven Six, Protocol Labs, and QED, among others, valuing QuickNode at $800M.
Web3 tech company Spatial Labs secures 10 million dollars in funding
The seed funding round was led by Blockchain Capital. It brings the company’s total financing to over 14 million dollars, with Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Capitals also returning to back the start-up.
Calimero Network Raises $8.5M in Seed Funding
The round was led by Khosla Ventures, Lyrik Ventures and the Near foundation, with participation from GSR, FJ Labs and Warburg Serres.
Senken Raises USD $7.5 Million to Streamline and Expand Carbon Markets Offerings to the Global Climate Economy
The round was led by Obvious Ventures, and participating investors included Offline Ventures, Inflection, Kraken Ventures, and Climate Capital.
Framework Ventures Leads $4.91M Seed Round for Asset Reality, the First End-to-End Solution for Crypto Asset Recovery
January 24 – Led by Framework Ventures, the round also saw participation from TechStars; The Fund; SGH Capital, and angel investors such as Chris Adelsbach, founding partner at Outrun Ventures.
Bunzz Raises $4.5M Seed Round to Expand its Smart Contract Hub for DApp Development
Investors included gjmp, DG Daiwa Ventures, Coincheck, and Ceres. Funding will be used to help build out Bunzz’s Smart Contract Hub
Ethos Wallet raises $4.2M to build out applications on blockchain founded by former Meta employees
Ethos Wallet’s funding round was led by Boldstart Ventures and gumi Cryptos Capital, with contributions from Mysten Labs, Tribe Capital, Matrixport, Charge Ventures, Builder Capital, Alliance DAO, and crypto influencer and CoinShares chief strategy officer Meltem Demirors.
Web3 Social Wallet Tribes Launches With $3.3M in Funding
Tribes, a new Web3-native messaging and group wallet app, has raised $3.3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Kindred Ventures, South Park Commons, and Script Capital.
