📬 Inbox Dump #90

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!

Ordinals Support Comes to Bitcoin-Based Web Wallet Xverse

Xverse, billed as a “Bitcoin wallet for Web3,” just rolled out support for Ordinals, the newly popularized protocol allowing users to inscribe NFTs onto the Bitcoin blockchain.

Theta Network to enable collaborative machine learning with new partnership

Blockchain video delivery network Theta Labs has partnered with the artificial intelligence (AI) platform FedML to enable collaborative machine learning on content recommendation and generative AI.

NounsDAO Launches Their First & Historic Animated TV Show – THE NOUNERS

HOLLYWOOD, CA – Trailblazing new series from NounsDAO– THE NOUNERS — brings its first mature audience animated tv show focused on web3 to market; premieres Monday, February 13th, 2023.

Crypto Exchange Bitget Reveals Participation in CBDC Projects of Brazil and Argentina

Bitget announced its partnership with the fintech company Capitual to participate in Brazil’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project. Capitual is amongst the main partners of Brazil’s Central Bank, which assist the institution with exploring CBDCs.

gmoney launches 9dcc World Connect with personalized POAPs

Today we are thrilled to announce 9dcc’s World Connect, a gamified Networked Product™ experience launching under the luxury label platform. As CEO, gmoney, dives deeper into engagement and gamification, he is applying his knowledge and experience, beginning with POAP personalization

Talos Announces Integration with BCB Group

Feb. 15, Talos, announced an integration with London-based BCB Group, a leading provider of business accounts and trading services for the digital asset economy. Talos and BCB Group clients gain access to a complete suite of front, middle, and back-office digital asset trading solutions.

Chiliz: Reshaping the Web3 sports space with Ankr

Ankr has played a crucial role in developing the new Chiliz blockchain. Chiliz, selected Ankr for its unique combination of cloud-native and blockchain-native capabilities, making it the perfect infrastructure provider for the development of this cutting-edge blockchain.

EthereumZuri.ch launching this year to elevate Ethereum research and development to new heights

Switzerland’s premier development and research-focused conference and hackathon is taking place between April 14 and 16, 2023, with the goal of fostering innovation and creating an environment where developers, researchers, and the Ethereum community at large can connect, learn, experiment, and build.

Koii Network Provides Founder Support: $1M Grants, Mentorship, & More

Koii’s Founder Support program is working with partners who share their vision of creating an internet owned and governed by the people and prioritize community-governance and decentralization.

Daata announces its first immersive AI art experience by artist collective Keiken

February 15, 2023 – Daata, the leading platform for digital art, is pleased to announce its first large-scale, immersive, Artificial Intelligence art experience by multidisciplinary artist collective and CHANEL Next Prize recipient, Keiken.

SUPERRARE LABS ANNOUNCES ROBUST LINE-UP AT NFT PARIS 2023

February 13, 2023 – SuperRare, the largest decentralized platform dedicated to original cryptoart, announces a robust line-up of activations during NFT Paris on February 24 – 25, 2023.

Nomura’s Crypto Arm Invests in Institutional Hybrid DeFi Protocol Infinity Exchange

Japanese investment banking giant Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in institutional-grade decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Infinity Exchange, the firms announced Wednesday.

ESPL Announces Listing of First Host-to-Earn Utility Token on ProBit Global

Esports Players League (ESPL), an integrated esports tournament platform, announced that its utility token $ARENA has been listed on ProBit Global. The listing is in line with ESPL’s goal of providing holistic esports to a global audience, offering a renewed economic model for aspiring esports athletes.

Gameconomy Rebrands to Hashcode Studio to Solidify its Web3 Position

13 Feb 2023 – Gameconomy announced that it has rebranded to Hashcode Studio. The rebranding signifies Hashcode Studio’s continued ambitions for quality Web3 backend solutions that will allow organizations from various industries to leverage the power of blockchain in their business operations.

Funding

Monad Labs closes $19M Seed Funding Round Led by Dragonfly Capital

Monad Labs, announced the closing of a $19 million seed funding round led by Dragonfly Capital. The round saw additional participation from 70 investors, including Placeholder Capital, Lemniscap, Shima Capital, Finality Capital, as well as notable angel investors in the space such as Cobie and Hasu – amongst others.

Sending Labs secures $12.5M seed round to launch the Web3 Communications Stack

Sending Labs has raised $12.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Insignia Venture Partners, MindWorks Capital, and Signum Capital. The company also announced the beta launch of its first two products.

Crypto index platform Alongside raises $11M led by a16z

Led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), investors in the round include Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton Investments, Village Global, and Not Boring Capital, as well as angel investors.

Sequoia, Dragonfly Back Web3 Startup Caldera in $9M Rounds

Caldera, has raised $9 million across two funding rounds led by traditional finance giant Sequoia Capital and crypto-native firm Dragonfly. Other investors in the rounds included Neo, 1kx, and Ethereal Ventures.

Blockchain security platform Ironblocks announces $7 million fundraise

This fundraising is co-led by Collider Ventures and Disruptive AI, with additional participants: ParaFi; Quantstamp; Samsung Next; Balaji Srinivasan; Calvin Liu; Nimrod Lehavi; Fos Finance; venture investor Lluis Pedragosa; and others.

The NFT Gaming Company, Inc. Announces Pricing of $7 Million Initial Public Offering

The Company has received approval to list its Common Stock and on The Nasdaq Capital Market, with its Common Stock trading under the symbol “NFTG”, with trading expected to begin on February 15, 2023, subject to final approval by Nasdaq.

Stelo Labs raises $6M in a16z-led round to help crypto wallet users protect themselves

Stelo Labs, a web3 security company, raised $6 million in a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

C3 Completes $6M Seed Round with Two Sigma Ventures alongside top trading firms

Led by Two Sigma Ventures, the venture capital arm of New York-based quantitative hedge fund, Two Sigma. Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Flow Traders, Jump, DRW’s Cumberland, Golden Tree, CMS Holdings, AlphaLab Capital, and C² Ventures also participated in the round.

Nefta, a web3 infrastructure startup focused on gaming and entertainment sectors, raised $5 million in a seed funding round.

Play Ventures led the round by injecting $2.5 million — the single largest investment from its Future Fund. Other investors in the round included Polygon Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Sfermion, and Picus Capital.

Web3 Gaming Platform Ajuna Raises $5M in New Private Financing

Led by blockchain-focused venture capital firm CMCC Global. Other investors for the funding round included OKX Blockdream Ventures, Signum Capital, and Animoca Brands.

Kolibrio Raises $2M to Build a Web3 Order Flow Auction Solution

Kolibrio, a Web3 infrastructure startup, has raised $2 million in a funding round led by Jump Crypto. Delta Blockchain Fund and Everstake Capital participated in it along with other angel investors to build a Web3 order flow auction solution.