Crypto.com Capital

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Pendle Finance is a yield trading platform that enables users to tokenize their yield-bearing assets such as liquid staking tokens. Users can split these assets into a yield-bearing component and a principal token, which can be bought at a discount and redeemed on a given maturity date to capture the yield generated. Furthermore, the protocol also offers an automated market-making system for yield trading. The platform operates as a DAO governed by holders of its native token, “PENDLE.” Users can also stake PENDLE to receive vePENDLE, which lets holders vote for and direct the flow of yields to different pools. As of August 2023, the protocol operated on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and the BNB Chain. Funding and financialsIn November 2023, Spartan Capital invested an <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23773">undisclosed amount </a>in Pendle Finance. The investment was executed via over-the-counter purchase, furthering Spartan Group's support towards Pendle, which began during Pendle's launch in 2021. The investment was targeted toward fostering further ambitions of the Pendle project.

Hubble Protocol is a Solana-based DeFi protocol that enables users to borrow and mint USDH, a native US dollar-denominated stablecoin. Users can deposit several assets on the platform and leverage up to 11x on their deposits. Hubble Protocol allows users to borrow at a one-time fee of 0.5% instead of a variable interest payment. The platform also incorporated Kamino Finance, a Solana-based liquidity aggregator, to enable users to use Kamino-based stablecoins as collateral.&nbsp;The protocol also operates as a DAO that is governed by holders of its native token, HBB. The token also enables users to earn yields from fee sharing, liquidations, and providing liquidity for the minting of USDH. In January 2024, the platform introduced a Dutch auction system for distributing fees to token holders.Funding and financials&nbsp;In September 2022, Hubble Protocol <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12919">raised USD 5 million</a> in a funding round led by Multicoin Capital to expand its employee base and invest in the development of its stablecoin.

<div>
 
 Thetanuts Finance offers a yield aggregation platform that enables users to earn returns by leveraging liquidity pools as well as long and short options strategies. The platform packages these strategies into structured products in the form of decentralized vaults where users can deposit their crypto funds. Thetanuts also plans to launch a buy-side altcoin options market powered by these decentralized options vaults.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In April 2023, Thetanuts Finance 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18352">
 raised USD 17 million
 </a>
 in funding led by Polychain Capital, Hyperchain Capital, and Magnus Capital. The company earmarked the funding to support new partnerships with layer 1 and layer 2 networks, liquidity providers, blockchain foundations, market makers, and exchanges.
 
 
 
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A decentralized version of the web powered by the blockchain

Web3 Ecosystem

Based in Canada, Axelar provides a secure cross-chain communication platform for developers to build and deploy dApps across multiple blockchains. The company was formed by the creators of the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/600251">Algorand </a>blockchain. Axelar consists of 1) a network layer that is an open overlay network that offers Turing-complete cross-chain communication, which is monitored by delegated validators through a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and 2) an API layer, which is the application development layer that sits on top of the network layer. Developers use APIs and SDKs to build and deploy dApps across multiple interoperable blockchains, without the need to roll out or manage the blockchain infrastructure. As of August 2022, Axelar supported interoperability between 17 different blockchains including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Polygon.Key customers and partnerships<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20003">In July 2023</a>, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/201465">Microsoft</a> to improve Web3 adoption by constructing a data integration and interoperability layer that connects isolated blockchain networks. The collaboration seeked to utilize Axelar's secure cross-chain communication network with Microsoft Azure, allowing customers of the latter to construct new Web3 apps. In addition, it partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/620114">Immutable</a> (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25892">in January 2024</a>) to enable the latter to onboard players across 50+ blockchains and increase liquidity through new user funding channels, by integrating games built on Immutable's zkEVM into the Axelar network.Funding and financialsAxelar raised USD 35 million in Series B funding in February 2022 at a valuation of USD 1 billion, with participation from investors such as Polychain Capital and Dragonfly Capital. The fresh funds were aimed at launching the company’s mainnet during the same month.In December 2022, it raised a further USD 60 million from more than 15 blockchain investors including Dragonfly Capital, DCVC, Blockchange, and Morningstar Ventures to launch the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15434">Axelar Ecosystem Startup Funding Program </a>. Through this, Axelar intended to fund Web3 startups and accelerate the development of dApps and protocols on all blockchains.

Ledger is a hardware/cold wallet developer that provides secure storage and protection for cryptocurrencies. Its wallet features a proprietary operating system called BOLOS and a certified secure chip to ensure the safety of a user's wallet (private key) and assets. These look similar to a USB device and contain a small screen to confirm transactions. Ledger offers three cold wallet models: the Nano S Plus, the Nano X, and the Stax, as well as accessories to protect the wallets and recovery phases.In addition, Ledger offers Ledger Live, a mobile and desktop app that allows users to purchase and manage cryptocurrencies and NFTs, as well as access dApps, and take part in staking. The company also provides a crypto debit card called the CL Card provided in partnership with Baanx that allows users to spend their cryptocurrency. The CL Card is available to UK and European Economic Area (EEA) customers, regardless of whether they own a Ledger wallet. Furthermore, Ledger operates an NFT marketplace that allows artists and brands to release new NFTs.For enterprises, Ledger offers a platform that provides governance and treasury management, as well as DeFi and NFT management features, for the secure storage of digital assets.Key customers and partnershipsThe company has collaborated with various firms in the blockchain and DeFi industry to enhance its offerings. It partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/660101">Bitski </a>to integrate support for its hardware wallets with Bitski’s online wallets. Ledger also partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/749019">Figment </a>to incorporate validation and staking services for popular PoS networks, enabling users to delegate their tokens and earn rewards in exchange. Additionally, it collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/201116">BitPay </a>to enable cryptocurrency purchases and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/637254">Compound </a>to grant its users access to the latter’s lending and borrowing services.Funding and financialsLedger raised EUR 100 million (USD 108 million) in an <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17415">extended Series C funding round </a>in March 2023, at a valuation of EUR 1.3 billion (USD 1.4 billion; similar to its previous funding round). The round saw participation from existing investors such as 10T, Cité Gestion Private Bank, and Cap Horn, as well as new investors such as True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group, and VaynerFund. It had planned to utilize the fresh capital to expand its network of distributors, as well as increase the production and development of products.As of March 2023, the company claimed to have sold one million devices between June 2022 and February 2023, with lifetime unit sales of six million.

Tevaera offers a gaming stack for developers to build and launch Web3 games on the zkStack gaming chain. The platform is interoperable with zkSync Era and other zkStack-based hyper chains, enhancing the seamless movement of users, funds, and developers. It also offers low transaction fees and high throughput, leveraging zkSync’s technology.Tevaera's infrastructure consists of four main components: Teva Core, Teva Chain, Teva Dex, and Teva Market. Teva Core provides the essential smart contracts and tools for developers to create decentralized games. Teva Chain, a scalable L3 gaming HyperChain on zkSync, ensures fast and secure performance for growing player bases. Teva Dex powers the in-game economy by allowing players to trade assets in a secure, transparent, and sustainable play-to-earn model. Teva Market serves as a community-led NFT trading hub, offering low fees and fast transactions on zkSync Era, supporting dynamic trades and functional ONFTs within the ecosystem.Tevaera has also built its own flagship game called “Teva Run,” which counted over 850,000&nbsp; gamers as of April 2024.

Giving creators the power of content monetization and audience engagement.

Creator Economy

<div>
 
 Enjin is a prominent blockchain project and a pioneering NFT/metaverse project that has built an extensive ecosystem of products that cater to individuals, businesses, and developers involved in the development, trading, monetization, and marketing of NFTs. Enjin&rsquo;s main products include&nbsp;
 
 
 1) The cryptocurrency Enjin Coin&nbsp;
 
 
 2) Enjin Wallet for managing NFTs and cryptocurrency
 
 
 3) An NFT platform for integrating NFTs with games and apps
 
 
 4) An NFT marketplace for trading NFTs&nbsp;
 
 
 5) JumpNet
 
 
 ENJ (Enjin coin) distinguishes itself by having multiple use cases within the Enjin ecosystem, making it a viable option for long-term cryptocurrency investment compared with many other popular cryptocurrencies.
 
 
 Enjin's NFT platform was introduced in 2020 and is a blockchain development platform and API that lets developers mint and integrate NFTs into their games and apps. It offers the functionality to generate custom coins and ensures gas-free transactions for NFTs and ENJ through JumpNet, which is a fast bridge network designed to facilitate cost-free on-chain transactions of ENJ (introduced in 2017 and through which all ecosystem transactions are made) and ERC-1155 tokens (introduced in 2021). Integration with other Enjin products, such as Enjin Beam, Marketplace, and Wallet, further enhances the overall ecosystem.
 
 
 This followed the introduction of the Enjin Wallet in 2018, which allowed users to manage their NFTs and cryptocurrencies, facilitated the sharing of NFTs through QR codes, and granted access to a dedicated marketplace for trading and collecting rare NFTs. In addition to its core function, ENJ can be used like any other cryptocurrency and traded on different crypto exchanges. With its strong presence in the gaming industry, ENJ serves as a means for gamers to store unique in-game items, including characters and accessories, in the form of customized tokens.&nbsp;
 
 
 On Enjin&rsquo;s NFT marketplace, creators can earn revenue as a percentage of peer-to-peer trade, with a certain percentage being paid to Enjin. It also levies network fees.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In collaboration with Efinity, a Polkadot-based parachain, Enjin enables creators to mint tokens on specialized blockchains focused on core functionalities and exceptional chain stability. Notable integrations include those with companies like Microsoft (2021) to introduce a new digital badge rewards program called Azure Heroes and Samsung (2021) to grant support for Enjin Coin on the Samsung Galaxy S10. In 2020, Enjin formed a partnership with Minecraft to create &quot;Enjincraft,&quot; the world's first blockchain-powered Minecraft server.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Enjin&rsquo;s last funding round was in March 2021 when it raised USD 18.9 million to migrate its public blockchain Efinity to Polkadot. The funding was raised in a private token sale led by Crypto.com Capital, DFG Group, and Hashed.
 
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Cryptocurrencies

Frax Finance is a decentralized protocol focused on developing stablecoins and a suite of supporting products across DeFi verticals like lending, liquidity, and staking. Its flagship offering is FRAX, a USD-pegged stablecoin partially collateralized by assets like USDC and algorithmically stabilized through its governance token FXS. Originally launched in December 2020 as a fractional algorithmic stablecoin, FRAX transitioned to a fully collateralized model in 2023 following the UST crash.
Frax Finance has continuously expanded its ecosystem with products like the FraxSwap decentralized exchange (launched June 2022), utilizing the Time-Weighted AMM concept, FraxLend money markets for borrowing FRAX, and frxETH, its liquid staking derivative for Ethereum. The frxETH v2 launched in May 2023 redefined LSDs by facilitating ETH lending to validators, with yields paid as interest to frxETH stakers.
As of September 2023, Frax Finance operated across 16 blockchains with over USD 797 million in total value locked (TVL) across offerings. Its forthcoming endeavor, FraxChain, combines strengths of Optimistic and zero-knowledge rollups, using frxETH as the gas token to bolster ecosystem value. Slated for a 2023 launch, FraxChain aims to improve scalability, finality, and security compared to competitors.
In April 2024, Frax Finance partnered with Noble to expand FRAX and sFRAX natively to the Cosmos ecosystem of around 80 blockchains, boosting adoption across applications like trading, savings, payments and collateral.

Imbuing emotion into human-digital interactions

Digital Humans

Alethea AI is a pioneering artificial intelligence company founded in 2019 that combines AI and blockchain technology to create intelligent NFTs (iNFTs). The company's flagship product is the iNFT Protocol, a set of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to create AI-powered digital assets with unique personalities and blockchain-managed ownership. Alethea AI's iNFTs are capable of interactive conversations, content generation, and can evolve over time through training.
The company's AI Engine powers various functionalities, including real-time lip-sync for avatars, audio speech recognition, comprehension, speech synthesis, and intelligent response generation. In June 2021, Alethea AI made history by auctioning the world's first iNFT, "Alice," for USD 478,800 at Sotheby's. The company has since launched several collections, including "The Revenants," featuring 100 historical figures as iNFTs, which sold for approximately 2,400 ETH.
Alethea AI has developed CharacterGPT, a multimodal text-to-character AI system that enables users to create distinct AI characters with unique personalities, voices, and traits. The company is also building Noah's Ark, described as the world's first intelligent metaverse, where iNFTs can interact, evolve, and offer AI services. Alethea AI utilizes a native ERC-20 token called Artificial Liquid Intelligence (ALI) for various ecosystem functions, including creating and upgrading iNFTs, governance, and facilitating collaborations between iNFTs.

ZKEX appears to be a decentralized exchange (DEX) operating on Layer 2 (L2) technology, which aims to enhance transaction speeds and reduce costs compared to traditional Layer 1 solutions like Ethereum

Tevaera enhances multi-genre game launch and play using zkStack-based L3 gaming chain, offering multiplayer features and UX-focused apps, facilitating user, liquidity, and builders' free flow within zkNation.

Arcade offers a GameFi Platform that allows crypto enthusiasts, institutions, game developers, and those interested in the metaverse to play and earn with access to the ecosystem. The company was established in 2021.

Magic Square is a portal for discovering and engaging with the Web3 crypto and blockchain ecosystem. Their offering is a Web3 App Store where users can find community-vetted apps and games. They provide unique Use2Earn capabilities that add actual value to the projects listed in the store as well as the overall ecosystem. They also provide a range of tools for active and engaged community and user-base expansion.

Headquarters automates financial activities and reporting, which helps Web3 teams be responsible. Combine personal and CeFi wallets. Take advantage of how simple it is to view all of your cash in a single location across wallet types, multi-sig wallets, exchanges, and custodians. Headquarters was established in 2022 in Singapore, Central Region.

DoraHacks is a global hackathon organizer and a multi-chain Web3 developer platform. DoraHacks partners with over 40 Web3 ecosystems, such as Solana, Polygon, and Avalanche, to provide infrastructure for open-source communities and foster blockchain technology innovations. The company offers various tools and services, including hackathons, bounty programs, quadratic funding, and privacy voting mechanisms, all aimed at supporting the development and governance of decentralized applications.

Nomad is a novel approach to blockchain interoperability that leverages an optimistic mechanism to increase the security of cross-chain communication.

Chillchat is a game studio based in Bangkok, Thailand. Currently, the studio is building Tearfallen,  an online fast-paced rogue-lite action set in a unique ''Pantheonpunk'' universe. Imagine Hades MMO.

Bastion is a lending and exchange protocol built on Aurora, the Ethereum-compatible layer of the Near blockchain. Bastion builds an autonomous interest-rate engine with high-quality capital efficiency, quick transactions, low transaction fees, accurate liquidations, and leverages NEAR's underlying UX benefits. Users can deposit assets into the Bastion liquidity pool, and the protocol will generate collateral tokens. These cTokens earn interest based on the underlying asset value and can be used as loan collateral in the future.

LimeWire is a digital collectibles marketplace for the music, art, and entertainment industry. LimeWire has been relaunched to once again reinvent how fans and artists share content and interact with each other. LimeWire provides a platform and framework for direct fan membership in order to assist artists in developing a recurring revenue stream. In exchange, fans gain exclusive material, access to a private community, the ability to contact directly with their favorite artists and businesses, and become a part of their journey.

Elumia is a cash based game development company. Their games allow players to themselves in world zones, engaging in multiplayer adventures, quests, and fierce player battles with in game enemies and against other real time players. Their legends of elumia is a multiplayer online role playing game that allows players to gain full ownership of their in game assets using revolutionary new mechanics.

GoPlus Security is an open, permissionless, user-driven security service platform for all types of blockchain users.

Eizper Chain is a blockchain action online multiplayer role-playing game that celebrates adventure and arena battle.

IQ Protocol develops a decentralized money market for digital asset renting and on-chain subscriptions. It enables digital asset owners to earn passive income by safely lending their NFTs & Fungible Tokens.

Thetanuts Finance's DeFi structured products and its customizable vaults are the future of generating yield. The platform is designed to provide treasury management for DAOs, as well as help retail traders earn yield on their tokens. Thetanuts' vaults simplify the process of options trading, making previously complex instruments easy for any investor to access, empowering users to monetize volatility in a risk-adjusted manner.

Heroes of Mavia is an NFT based MMO Strategy game developed by Skrice Studios. The game takes place in a fantasy-themed island called Mavia, where players build bases on plots of land and battle neighboring bases and armies to earn in-game resources, such as RUBY.

Astar Network is a multi-virtual machine scalable smart contract platform on Polkadot supporting cutting-edge layer 2 like Rollups.

Hubble is a decentralized financial protocol that allows for long-term borrowing, lending, and structured products.

AI-enhanced decentralized data networks delivering unmatched analytics and forensics for NFTs, wallets, and other digital assets on the public blockchain.

Axelar is a cross-chain communication tool developing interoperability software to connect blockchain ecosystems, applications, and users. Axelar Network consists of a protocol suite, tools, and APIs, designed to break down the barriers to cross-chain communication. Axelar enables developers to build on the best platform for their needs while leveraging the Axelar stack to unlock cross-chain composability and liquidity. The company was founded by Sergey Gorbunov and Georgios Vlachos in 2020.

WOO Network is a trading platform provider that aims to provide above-average liquidity for spot and futures trading while charging zero or negative trading fees. The company's platform connects traders, exchanges, institutions, and Defi platforms, democratizing access to liquidity and trading execution

YGG SEA is a sub-decentralized autonomous organization (subDAO) of the play-to-earn blockchain game YGG. The YGG SEA will be based on smart contracts built on the Etherum blockchain.

PlaceWar is a strategic play-to-earn social game universe deployed on a multi-chain with highly engaging artillery gameplay that allows players to create and define the outlook of the in-game world through building, battles, and alliances. Inspired by Worm and r/place, PlaceWar creates a gamified and open Internet culture metaverse and puts users in control.

deBridge is a cross-chain interoperability and liquidity transfer protocol that allows the truly decentralized transfer of assets between various blockchains.

Alethea AI is a decentralized protocol to create intelligent and interactive NFTs powered by GPT-3. We are originators of the iNFT standard and are on the cutting edge of embedding AI animation, interaction, and generative AI capabilities into NFTs.

Frax Finance is a stablecoin protocol that issues multiple stablecoins including: FRAX, frxETH, and FPI.

AlchemyNFT is a non-fungible token (NFT) service.

Hodooi is a NFT Marketplace providing multiple payment options to buyers and sellers.

Ledger develops security and infrastructure solutions for cryptocurrencies as well as blockchain applications for individuals and companies, by leveraging a distinctive, proprietary technology. Launched in 2014, Ledger has designed an acclaimed line of hardware security devices quickly placing the company as a leader in the market with 1,000,000 units sold in more than 165 countries. For enterprises and corporations, Ledger introduced the Vault: a fully managed SaaS solution addressing the need to safeguard a very large amount of multiple cryptocurrencies while mitigating both IT and physical assault threats. The company is also active in the industrial IoT market, leveraging its secure hardware technology to interface sensors and machines to smart contracts or blockchain-based assets. Ledger is headquartered in Paris, has a production facility in Vierzon (France), and offices in San Francisco.

Pendle Finance is a decentralized finance protocol that allows users to tokenize and sell future yields.

Enjin is one of the world's largest blockchain projects and one of the first NFT/metaverse projects. It is helping launch Efinity, the NFT chain on Polkadot, custom built with NFT-specific functions at the protocol level. Enjin offers a full tech stack for easy NFT integration. Enjin Wallet 2.0 integrates with apps, allowing games to use NFTs in the wallet. Beam distributes NFTs via QR code. NFT.io rounds out these tools with a dedicated marketplace. Indie developers have used Enjin tools to integrate NFTs, with no added blockchain development resources, since 2019. Enjin was founded in 2009 by Maxim Blagov and Witek Radomski.

Efinity is a cross-chain NFT blockchain that brings non-fungible tokens to everyone. It was developed by Enjin on Polkadot.

Crypto.com Capital is a venture arm of Crypto.com focused on investing in crypto startups at Seed and Series A stages. It is dedicated to accelerating the growth of promising startups with $200 million earmarked for investment and gives founders building in the crypto industry two things: a reputable lead investor for their Seed or Series A rounds and priority of launch on the growing retail crypto platform with over 10 million users. Crypto.com Capital leads seed rounds with cheque sizes between $100k and $3m and Series A rounds from $3m to $10m and seeking long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs in every sector of the cryptocurrency industry. Crypto.com Capital is led by Bobby Bao, co-founder of Crypto.com.

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