GTS is a global electronic market maker, powered by combining market expertise with innovative, proprietary technology. As a quantitative trading firm continually building for the future, GTS leverages the latest in artificial intelligence systems and sophisticated pricing models to bring consistency, efficiency, and transparency to today’s financial markets. GTS accounts for 3-5% of daily cash equities volume in the U.S. and trades over 30,000 different instruments globally.

Global Trading Systems

Flow Traders, named “ETF Market Marker Europe'' by the Annual Global ETF Awards for the last six consecutive years is an international leading trading house. Their office in Singapore was also recognized as ‘ETF Market Maker Asia Pacific 2012’ winning this award for the second consecutive year.  Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in New York and Singapore, Flow Traders trades equities as well as derivatives, currencies and bonds on exchanges around the world. Flow Traders is a privately held financial firm that keeps pace with global markets. Their business expands each day by adding new products across an ever-broadening range of markets around the globe.  Flow Traders stays ahead of the competition by focusing on technology and niche competencies in markets where every second counts. This requires access to the best information and the ability to respond instantly. To achieve this, Flow develops its own software in-house. Their team of software developers works in partnership with experienced traders to identify and execute tomorrow's strategies, making Flow a daily pioneer in professional trading.  In order to maximize their performance and facilitate their international growth, Flow Traders heavily invest in their employees. The backbone of their success is the collection of creative doers, thinkers, and above all, believers who form their company. They at Flow believe in the team effort and value their people.  Flow Traders offers you an exciting job with an excellent compensation package. They encourage employees to take advantage of opportunities to work internationally within the firm to maintain and grow their success as a worldwide leading proprietary trading house. They provide their employees with the best working environment, continuous support, team outings, sport events, company parties and trips. It’s all part of the deal!

Flow Traders

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With more than $3.8 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in some of today's growing markets.  With more than 40 team members including special advisors, operations professionals, and founders-turned-investors, True represents one of the largest and most experienced teams dedicated to the ecosystem.  The True team believes creativity flourishes when founders are supported fully and empowered to pursue brave ideas. To that end, the True Platform offers programs that inspire professional and personal growth. To date, True has helped more than 350 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 85,000 jobs worldwide.  True was awarded Venture Firm of the Year by the National Venture Capital Association in 2018. To learn more, visit www.trueventures.com.

True Ventures

Arrington XRP Capital is a digital asset management firm in blockchain-based capital markets. The company was founded in 2017.

Arrington XRP Capital

LedgerPrime is a quantitative and systematic investment firm in the Digital Asset space. With a data centric approach and a commitment to rapid innovation and technology, LedgerPrime seeks to become a global leader in generating sustained and superior risk-adjusted returns.

LedgerPrime

Republic Labs is a growth-stage investment advisory focused on profitability and resiliency. Republic Labs works with high net-worth individuals and family offices to syndicate investment opportunities. It was founded in

Republic capital

P2P Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in blockchain-based digital assets. They engage in cryptocurrency assets through the purchase of coins and tokens, as well as participating in traditional equity fundraising and DeFi.

P2P Capital

Hypersphere Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in and develops blockchain technology. A Hypersphere is an investment group leveraging on-chain treasuries, decentralized organizations, and governance to increase the utility of the blockchain networks in which we invest.

Hypersphere Ventures

Texture Capital offers a new market structure for capital markets with digital asset securities, delivering increased efficiency, participation, and capital allocation. They provide increased liquidity for institutional investors and issuers. They provide a valuation for their company.

Texture Capital

The LAO is a global community of Ethereum enthusiasts and specialists that supports the work of Ethereum developers. They invest in seed-stage firms in the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and application software sectors.

The LAO

At Double Peak Group, our guiding philosophy embraces a unique blend of value investing, focused on the pioneering domain of digital assets.  Managed by Nyx Holdings, the family office of Galen Law-Kun, our strategy is grounded in making meaningful investments during early funding rounds and secondary markets in the digital asset ecosystem. We pinpoint undervalued opportunities that hold the promise of substantial growth over an extended time horizon. Our investments cast a wide net across various facets of the digital asset ecosystem, reflecting our comprehensive and dynamic approach. From Asset Management, Banking & Payments, and Cross-Chain Bridges, to DeFi Primitives, Infrastructure Protocols, Investment Funds, Gaming/Metaverse, NFTs, Privacy/Security, and Web+ Social Protocols – our footprint is extensive and growing.

Double Peak Group

Ethereal Ventures a new venture fund established by Joseph Lubin.

Ethereal Ventures

Genblock Capital invests exclusively in blockchain and cryptocurrency, with a focus on decentralized finance. We have been deeply entrenched in the crypto markets since early 2017, and invest in liquid cryptocurrencies on the secondary market as well as early-stage funding rounds. We aim to be power users of the project we invest in and help projects with bootstrapping liquidity, token economics, market making, marketing, and connecting founders with our vast network.

Genblock Capital

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

Proof Group

Triblock is a web3 investment & advisory firm

Triblock

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

Astaria

Astaria is the solution to the hardest problem in Defi: instant highly liquid NFT lending. Astaria allows users to get instant liquidity for their NFTs.

Astaria offers a platform that enables users to borrow crypto using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as collateral. It also provides customized liquidity terms without forced liquidations. The platform was revealed to the public in June 2022 and was tentatively scheduled to launch publicly at the end of Q3 2022.

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Flash News: OKX Wallet Now Integrated with Astaria, an On-chain NFT Lending Platform

Astaria offers a platform that enables users to borrow crypto using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as collateral. It also provides customized liquidity terms without forced liquidations. The platform was revealed to the public in June 2022 and was tentatively scheduled to launch publicly at the end of Q3 2022.Funding and financialsIn June 2022, Astaria <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11204">raised USD 8 million in funding </a>from True Ventures, Arrington Capital, and Wintermute, among others.

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. Moreover, the company announced plans to launch a new perpetual futures exchange named Infinex in the following months.Funding and financialsIn March 2023, Synthetix <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17267">received an investment of USD 20 million </a>from DWF Labs, a Web3 venture capital company. Synthetix plans to use this investment to drive volume for its protocol across both centralized and decentralized exchanges and invest in product development.

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

Astaria

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