GSR Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on technology companies developing AI-enabled enterprise software, consumer platforms, and healthcare technology. The firm backs entrepreneurs building disruptive businesses that have the potential to dominate multi-billion dollar markets. GSR Ventures currently manages about $3.7 billion across its funds.

GSR Ventures

Digital Currency Group builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging insights, network, and access to capital. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, DCG has been an active seed investor in the digital currency industry with 150+ investments in over 30 countries. In addition, DCG owns and operates CoinDesk, the top media and events platform in the blockchain space, Genesis Trading, the industry's leading bitcoin brokerage firm, and Grayscale Investments, the largest digital currency asset management firm.

Digital Currency Group

The emergence of bitcoin and subsequent blockchain technologies has generated a new digital asset class in which scarcity is based on mathematical properties. Through cryptographic verification and game-theoretic equilibrium, blockchain-based digital assets can be created, issued, and transmitted using the software. Polychain Capital is committed to exceptional returns for investors through actively managed portfolios of these blockchain assets.

Polychain

XBTO is a cryptoﬁnance company that provides institutional-grade liquidity to major trading platforms. It continues to grow and shape the market today through its extensive trading experience and deep technical knowledge of blockchain. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

XBTO Group

CMT Digital is a venture capital firm engaging in the crypto asset and Blockchain technology industry. The firm focuses on asset trading, blockchain technology investments, and legal and policy. It was founded in 2017 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

CMT Digital

CoinShares is an investment firm. Their technology and infrastructure helps to enable access investment in the digital economy.  They provide financial products and services for investors. Their proprietary capital markets support crypto investors, electronic trading, and risk management.  They have a track record of regulated investment management in digital assets.

CoinShares

Hashkey they offers investment opportunities and solutions to institutions, family offices, funds, and professional accredited investors across the digital asset and blockchain ecosystem.

Hashkey Exchange

Coinbase Ventures is an investment arm of Coinbase that aims to invest in seed-stage cryptocurrency and blockchain startups. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in San Francisco, California, United States.

Coinbase Ventures

Spartan is a blockchain advisory and asset management firm that specializes in hedge funds, venture capital, and fundraising.

The Spartan Group

HashKey Capital

Kronos Research

Kenetic is a proprietary trading and VC investment firm focused on digital assets and blockchain related companies. They have developed technology to facilitate their quantitative trading strategies and offer various digital asset related structured products to counterparts.

Kenetic

Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in March 2018 to provide a professional platform with an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service, and multilingual community support for crypto traders. The company offers innovative online spot and derivatives trading services, mining and staking products, and API support to retail and institutional clients worldwide, and aims to be the most dependable exchange for the emerging digital asset class.

Bybit

Primitive Ventures is a global venture investment firm with a focus on blockchain and related technologies. At Primitive, we're proudly thesis-free, and instead spend all of their waking hours finding and supporting the people building truly valuable things.

Primitive Ventures

Pirata Capital Management is a digital asset management company focusing on directional and market neutral strategies.

Pirata Capital Management

CMS is a principal investment company that focuses on investing in the crypto-asset ecosystem. The firm plans to invest in both liquid and illiquid crypto tokens, as well as equity interests in select businesses.

CMS Holdings

Bixin Ventures is the investment arm of Bixin Group which is one of the largest mining operators and wallet provider in the world, with over 1 million registered users. Bixin Ventures’ mission is to invest in and build crucial infrastructure that enables the future of open finance through permissionless and decentralized network. We have invested in groundbreaking projects like Mina Protocol, Star Atlas, LayerZero, CertiK, Arbitrum, EPNS, Algorand, OneKey and many others.

Bixin Ventures

mgnr is a systematic proprietary trading firm that uses innovative quantitative research and rigorous engineering to capture trading opportunities around the globe 24/7/365. mgnr have deep domain expertise across the cryptocurrency space and are supportive seed / early stage investors to a number of successful founders / projects.

mgnr.io

Gemini Frontier Fund is a strategic venture fund focused on growing the crypto ecosystem through investment in early-stage crypto projects and startups.

Gemini Frontier Fund

Dunamis Trading is a fintech firm that uses proprietary algorithms to manage money for a small group of qualified investors.

Dunamis Trading

Wintermute Ventures is the investment arm of Wintermute, a global algorithmic trading firm, liquidity provider, and leading OTC desk in digital assets.  Drawing from Wintermute's expertise in pioneering DeFi trading and powering liquidity across the entire ecosystem, Wintermute Ventures is uniquely positioned to back early-stage Web3 projects with hands-on support. Focused on long-term growth, the company takes a flexible approach, investing from early ideation to later-stage expansion. Committed to developing strategic relationships and driving positive outcomes, Wintermute Ventures prioritizes decentralized ownership, ensuring its investments align with the company’s broader vision of a decentralized future. Since 2020, it has invested in over 100 projects.

Wintermute Ventures

S&P Global offers financial information and data analytics services to provide transparent and independent ratings. The company's information and data analytics services offer market intelligence reviews, ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data that enable the capital and commodity markets to avail the intelligence necessary to make decisions with conviction.

S&P Global

Amber Group is a crypto finance service provider that provides liquidity provision, trading, and asset management services. Amber Group was founded in 2017 by a group of finance professionals from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Bloomberg. Amber Group operates around the world and around the clock with a presence in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, and Vancouver. The company provides services to 200+ institutional clients, cumulatively trading over $200 billion across 60+ electronic exchanges, with an average daily trading volume between $100-200 million. Amber Group is committed to serving clients around the globe by combining the best-in-class technology with sophisticated quantitative research to offer a streamlined crypto finance experience. Its goal is to optimize investment flexibility, maximize investment returns, and provide long-lasting value for its clients. In 2019, Amber Group raised $28 million in a Series A funding round led by global crypto heavyweights Paradigm and Pantera, with participation from Polychain Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Blockchain.com, Fenbushi Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.

Amber Group

Paradigm Connect, doing business as Paradigm, is a zero-fee, liquidity network for crypto derivatives traders across CeFi and DeFi. The platform provides traders with unified access to multi-asset, multi-protocol liquidity on demand without compromising on price, size, cost, and immediacy. The firm’s mission is to create a platform where traders can trade anything, with anyone and settle it anywhere. Paradigm has the largest network of institutional counterparties in crypto with over 1,000 institutional clients trading over $10B per month, including Hedge Funds, OTC Desks, Lenders, Structured Product Issuers, Market Makers, and prominent Family Offices.

Paradigm

MH Ventures is a founder-focused, early-stage venture fund dedicated to the growth of the Web3 ecosystem.

MH Ventures

KuCoin Ventures is an investment arm of KuCoin Exchange.

KuCoin Ventures

Breed VC operates as a venture capital firm, focused on crypto companies.

Breed VC

WAGMI Ventures invest in web3 companies through a collective network .

WAGMI Ventures

Early Stage Venture DAO backing the future of Web3 and beyond, LP of MH Ventures

300 DAO

Legends Group is an investment firm focused on bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3. They assist users in transitioning by supporting them with running nodes, participating in testnets, and engaging in various crypto activities. Over 4,000 people are already using our products. They also operate as a VC firm, investing $200-400k in promising early-stage crypto projects at the Seed and Series A stages.

Legends Group

Monolith is a venture capital firm that finances and promotes innovative Web3 startups. Our fundamental beliefs are impact and innovation. Our goal is to find and assist ground-breaking Web3 companies and revolutionary AI technologies, as well as to positively impact entire sectors by advising and strategically investing in forward-thinking business owners.

Monolith

Credora

Credora is building confidence in credit markets through privacy-preserving technology that enables real-time credit analytics and powers transparent and efficient markets. To date, Credora has facilitated $1b+ in uncollateralized loans across 100+ borrowers & lenders and can help well-capitalized, risk-managed borrowers borrow transparently and securely. Credora currently monitors over $4 billion of borrower assets with coverage across the majority of CeFi and DeFi venues.

Credora offers a blockchain-based lending infrastructure and credit ratings platform. It leverages privacy-preserving computational technology to enable lenders to evaluate credit risk in a confidential environment. Enterprises can carry out counterparty discovery, manage loan collateral, and perform credit evaluations using real-time metrics. Additionally, the platform offers a lending marketplace that aggregates opportunities for both lenders and borrowers to execute loans through other protocols or its own regulated agency lender.

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Credora Brings Credit Scores On-Chain

Credora offers a blockchain-based lending infrastructure and credit ratings platform. It leverages privacy-preserving computational technology to enable lenders to evaluate credit risk in a confidential environment. Enterprises can carry out counterparty discovery, manage loan collateral, and perform credit evaluations using real-time metrics. Additionally, the platform offers a lending marketplace that aggregates opportunities for both lenders and borrowers to execute loans through other protocols or its own regulated agency lender.Key customers and partnershipsThe company primarily targets enterprises such as trading firms, FinTech companies, insurance providers, and DAOs. Its clients include Cega, Wintermute, and Maple Finance. As of April 2023, Credora facilitated over USD 1 billion in loans across more than 100 borrowers and lenders.Funding and financialsIn April 2023, Credora <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17984">raised USD 6 million</a> in fresh funding from S&amp;P Global and Coinbase Ventures to further develop its private computation technology.

MakerDAO is a DAO (governed through the MKR token) that manages the Sky protocol (formerly known as Maker).&nbsp;Developed on the Ethereum blockchain, the protocol allows users to place their funds (through cryptocurrency) as collateral in exchange for its stablecoin DAI, which is pegged to the USD. DAI can be used like any other cryptocurrency and even as savings since holders of DAI are entitled to a return based on the DAI Savings Rate (DSR). The DSR is determined by members of the DAO using a mix of public and proprietary market data.Sky offers access to investing and borrowing DAI through the Oasis app which was developed by some of the creators of protocol. In addition, the protocol is available for developers of DeFi apps who can build apps to facilitate earning, investing, and borrowing DAI. As of May 2024, Sky had integrated with over 400 applications ranging from payment systems to gaming platforms. It generates revenue through stability fees (akin to interest payment on borrowed DAI) and liquidation fees which is an additional charge that occurs when the value of the submitted collateral falls below a set liquidation amount.&nbsp;In April 2022, the protocol announced that it was bridging to StarkNet, a reportedly cheaper and faster zero-knowledge (ZK) overlay chain built by StarkWare. Along with its expansion on Ethereum, the DAO had planned to move toward a multi-chain offering with this rebuild. It planned to roll out this offering in four phases, beginning with a simple bridge between the main blockchain and StarkNet’s Layer 2.&nbsp;In February 2023, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16269?industryIds=64">launched a new lending platform</a> named Spark Protocol, to enable users to borrow, lend, and stake DAI, the protocol’s stablecoin. The platform, which is a fork of Aave's version 3 (v3), will be built by Phoenix Labs, a research and development company formed by the DAO. Additionally, the company also announced the deployment of etherDAI, a liquid staking derivative for Ethereum that will be pegged to the value of ETH. Furthermore, in March, the protocol went on to<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17322"> approve several new proposals </a>that make changes to both its governance structure and the investment of its treasury. These changes divide the DAO’s current structure into smaller self-governed and self-sustained units named SubDAOs, which will also have their own tokens in the MakerDAO ecosystem. Moreover, the proposal also planned to increase the protocol’s revenues by investing a part of its reserves (worth USD 7 billion) into real-world assets and money-market funds.&nbsp;The platform outlined its plans for a major update (named Endgame) in May 2023. The launch was proposed to take place in five phases and will ultimately lead to the creation of a new blockchain. The road map is as follows: 1) launching new branding and website as well as upgraded versions of Dai and MKR tokens; 2) launching six Maker SubDAOs, specializing in user acquisition, decentralized frontends, and collateral allocation; 3) introducing new AI tools to assist governance, including tools for summarizing, interpreting, and generating governance proposals; 4) enabling rewards for governance participation; and 5) deploying a new blockchain to house backend logic for SubDAO tokenomics and governance security. The first phase of the update is expected to be rolled out in the summer of 2024.&nbsp;In August 2024, the protocol followed through with the first phase of its plans by <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32993">rebranding itself under the new name "Sky"</a>, and launching new versions of DAI and MKR tokens named the USDS and SKY.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsIn September 2024, Sky<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33252"> partnered with Aave Labs</a>, to launch the “Sky Aave Force” initiative. The initiative featured key proposals such as integrating the newly launched USDS and sUSDS stablecoins on Aave’s V3 protocol, introducing an incentive program for sUSDS suppliers and deploying a direct deposit module for USDS into the Aave Lido Market. Additionally, the partnership will enable the companies to distribute SPK tokens, the native token of Sky’s lending protocol Spark, to create a market for sUSDS on Aave. Collectively, these initiatives enable users to earn yields on their sUSDS deposits from the revenues generated by Sky’s protocol and mint USDS directly on Aave without meeting the usual collateral requirements.

MakerDAO

Founded by former executives of Qualcomm, Solana Labs is the developer of the Solana blockchain, which uses the native cryptocurrency SOL. The company enables developers to create decentralized applications in its blockchain and is capable of carrying out 50,000 transactions per second (TPS) with a theoretical upper limit of 710,000 TPS for the architecture. As of May 2024, the blockchain averaged around 2,400 TPS. This is in contrast to Ethereum’s average of between 13 to 15 TPS. In addition to transaction speed, Solana also has other advantages such as lower transaction fees and improved scalability, given its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and underlying architecture. The mechanism also enables users to stake their SOL and earn yields for validating the network. Solana provides the ability to create specialized tooling and programming functionality to tokens through <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25910">Token Extensions</a>. This allows developers and businesses to establish rules for tokens, such as dictating their functionality and determining their holders, as well as embed features like whitelisting, automatic transfer fees, and confidentiality provisions for transfers.Solana also provides guides and a content aggregator website for developers to discover tools to create dApps on its blockchain. As of May 2024, more than 440 dApps were created on Solana, ranging across use cases such as DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. It also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18094">launched a ChatGPT </a>(a chatbot built on OpenAI's GPT model) plugin to allow developers and users to query the blockchain for on-chain data. The plugin works through the ChatGPT interface and allows users to perform various tasks such as checking wallet balances, transferring tokens, and purchasing NFTs.Key customers and partnershipsWeb browser developer Opera partnered with Solana in December 2021 to integrate the blockchain and create a built-in crypto wallet onto the Opera browser to improve accessibility to dApps hosted on the blockchain.As of May 2024, the company served several enterprise clients such as Shopify, Asics, Helio, and Tiplink.Funding and financialsThe total value locked (TVL) in DeFi projects across the Solana blockchain amounted to USD 4 billion as of May 2024. The company raised USD 314 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) of SOL. The ICO was co-led by Polychain Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The funding was to be used to create a venture investing arm, a trading desk, and support the development of new applications in its blockchain.

Solana

Swiss-based Eidoo is a developer of a wallet that supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with tokens such as DAI, MKR, AAVE, and UNI, among others. In addition, Eidoo provides a DeFi marketplace that integrates with its wallet, allowing users to trade any tokens that they hold. Eidoo also offers a debit card that allows the conversion of digital assets into fiat currencies, such as the GBP and EURO, and spending or even withdrawing cash from ATMs.Eidoo began with the proprietary token EDO, which it also used to raise USD 27.9 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017. The token was then upgraded following its merger with blockchain oracle provider Provable Things to establish pNetwork, the infrastructure that facilitates cross-chain interactions between multiple decentralized apps, governed by the token PNT. To obtain an Eidoo debit card, users are required to stake PNT ranging from 20 to 200,000 for various service tiers.Eidoo had several applications such as virtual account numbers to deposit money and obtain a tokenized representation of their deposit as well as features to buy, hold, and trade NFTs in the roadmap as of December 2021.

Eidoo

Synthetix is a DAO (governed by holders of its native token SNX) that offers a platform on which users can trade and vote on the creation of on-chain synthetic assets, which are derivatives based on real-world assets. These synthetic assets enable traders to capture the price movements of assets such as cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, stocks, and commodities, among others, with zero slippage. The protocol allows users to stake SNX as collateral for the debt pool and earn weekly rewards. As of April 2022, Synthetix had USD 642 million in total value locked (TVL).Additionally, Synthetix also offers the opportunity for developers to build on top of the platform to tap into its liquidity as well as develop decentralized perpetual futures, options markets, deal coordination markets, and more. As of December 2021, the protocol served large DeFi platforms including 1inch, Curve Finance, Yearn Finance, and Paraswap.In February 2023, Synthetix <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16609?industryIds=64">deployed version 3 (v3) of its platform </a>on the Ethereum mainnet. V3 reportedly offers more efficient architecture that enables developers to create products that offer a liquid market for any financial derivative, as well as more complex decentralized applications. Additionally, the solution also offers staking and differentiated debt pools, to enable stakers to earn fees from supplying collateral to specific asset pools. The company went on to deploy its protocol on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain developed by Coinbase, in April 2024.&nbsp;Moreover, in May 2024, the company launched a new perpetual futures exchange named Infinex. The solution unifies several DeFi applications into a single layer and enables users to trade across multiple chains. Moreover, it provides users access to passkey authentication and social sign-in options.Key customers and partnershipsIn December 2024, Synthetix&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/37190">partnered with Mass</a>, a cryptocurrency application developer, to integrate its leveraged perpetuals platform into a new mobile trading app. The mobile app combines on-chain trading and self-custody features with a centralized exchange interface, allowing users to trade perpetual futures with up to 25x leverage. The app includes streamlined features like Apple and Google logins, sponsored first transactions, crosschain gas tank, and multiple on/off-ramp options via SEPA, ACH, and credit/debit cards.

Synthetix

Compound is an open-source lending protocol built on Ethereum that allows developers to build DeFi applications for functions such as deposits and lending. Compound offers adjusted money market interest rates based on asset-specific supply and demand and supports a number of Ethereum-based assets for users to take collateralized loans and lock-up assets without borrowing. Locked assets are automatically liquidated if an independent oracle determines that the price has dropped too low. Additionally, since assets are stored in a shared pool, even users with liquidated collateral can claim tokens if they are able to repay the general pool. Compound also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13038">offers borrowing services</a> for institutional clients that allow them to borrow USD or USDC at a fixed annual percentage rate of 6% using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether as collateral, with a loan-to-value of 90%.As of April 2024, Compound had a total value locked (TVL) of USD 2.3 billion. The protocol is governed by its native-token COMP, which along with a variety of other digital assets that are a part of the Compound ecosystem, are supported by Coinbase Custody, a crypto asset custodian. In August 2022, Compound launched a version of its protocol named “Compound III” which features a single borrowable asset. Users can supply collateral that can never be withdrawn by other users (except during liquidation) and borrow USDC.In May 2022, Compound<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10267"> received a B- credit rating from S&amp;P Global Ratings</a> on its enterprise credit facility which offers 4% annually on deposits of the stablecoin USDC. Notably, Compound claims that this is the first time an "institutional DeFi" product has been scored by a major credit rating agency.Funding and financialsCompound’s last funding round was in November 2019 where it raised USD 25 million in a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto fund to help the company further decentralize the protocol by enabling crypto exchanges and custodians such as Coinbase to maintain the protocol going forward.

Compound

Organizations and protocols that allow individuals to lend their crypto assets and take out collateralized or uncollateralized loans from to/from these projects

Organizations that allow individuals to invest in tokenized financial and real assets

Organizations that provide fully decentralized insurance products

Organizations that apply NFTs across areas of finance such as documentation and non-fractionalized ownership records for assets

Decentralized exchanges that help connect buyers and sellers of DeFi tokens without the need to rely on an intermediary

Organizations that provide digital wallets for users to take custody of DeFi tokens

Blockchains and related protocols that allow developers to build DeFi apps

All companies within this industry are either blockchain-based platforms or offer blockchain-centric services

Promotes financial inclusivity, allowing those that won't traditionally have access to credit to raise funds

Companies with the infrastructure segment offer solutions for users to build decentralized applications

Credora

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