Betaworks Ventures is a product-focused, seed-stage venture capital fund, having invested in more than 150 companies. We invest in new consumer behaviors and trends powered by frontier technologies, and are often amongst the first institutional investors to invest.

Betaworks

Chapter One Ventures is an early-stage seed fund created by Jeff Morris Jr.

Chapter One Ventures

Quantstamp is the Leader in Blockchain Security

Quantstamp

KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange for numerous digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Launched in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges and already has over 8 million registered users across 207 countries and regions around the world.   Known as ''People’s Exchange'', KuCoin operates in Seychelles, providing users with 24/7 multi-language customer services. Meanwhile, KuCoin has established about 19 local communities in North America, Europe, SEA and other regions, providing users with highly localized services.   As the home of crypto gems, KuCoin has supported over 420 projects with 790+ trading pairs. A number of projects like ICP, BOSON, AERGO, RNDR, and DAO had a primary listing on KuCoin.   In November 2018, KuCoin announced $20 million (USD) round A funding from IDG Capital and Matrix Partners. In 2021, Forbes Advisor named KuCoin as one of the Best Crypto Exchanges.

KuCoin

FalconX is a cryptocurrency brokerage and digital asset trading platform. It specializes in the fields of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and fintech. Its platform provides reliable execution using data science to eliminate slippage and hidden fees. It was founded in 2018 and is based in San Mateo, California.

FalconX

Inception Capital, formerly OP Crypto, is a first-check VC focusing on early-stage web3 startups. Since raising $50M in September 2021, we have been at the forefront of the industry, investing at the earliest stage in over 30 projects such as Scroll Tech, Merit Circle, Avalanche, Celestia. Backed by esteemed investors like Bill Ackman, Alan Howard, and Garry Tan, and institutions including Galaxy Digital, Animoca Brands, and Mirana, Inception Capital boasts an extensive, global network. This network spans venture funds, exchanges, expert advisors, and major ecosystem founders (Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, Scroll, et cetera), enabling us to source and secure the most competitive deals in the market. Our team, rooted in the United States yet deeply connected to the APAC region, positions Inception Capital as a vital conduit between East and West. This unique positioning allows us to offer our portfolio companies more than just capital. With a dedicated team providing portfolio support, we assist our founders in key areas such as marketing, tokenomics, and strategic networking, ensuring they have the tools and guidance necessary to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Discover more about Inception Capital and how we are shaping the future of crypto venture capital: Visit our website: https://www.inception.capital/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_inceptioncap

Inception Capital

Gate is an investment firm that engages in the financial services industry.

Gate

Commonwealth Capital Ventures is a venture capital firm that offers capital with a view toward long-term success. The firm's partners have invested in around 140 high-growth companies, with more than $580 million in committed capital under management.

Commonwealth Capital Ventures

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

MH Ventures

Truffle Ventures is a seasoned cryptocurrency investor, and your results will vary depending on your educational background, work experience, and background. Truffle Ventures does not personally invest in each investment that we train on. It does not know or track the typical results of our students due to the sensitivity and privacy of financial information. Truffle Ventures' strategies and investments are not always correct, and they are not always profitable. They may result in a total loss of investment.

Truffle Ventures

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

300 DAO

Animoca Brands is a metaverse and gaming venture capital firm that focuses on driving digital property rights to gamers and internet users through NFTs. It utilizes gamification and blockchain to develop and market a portfolio of mobile applications, games, and additional products oriented to educational learning to ensure transparency, security, and new business models.

Animoca Brands

MVST:MG provides capital and additional supporting services. We act as a mega angel investor, focusing on advanced technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, ad-tech, fintech and other industry-leading technologies in various areas.

MVST:MG

Hack VC is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the cryptocurrency, fintech, and marketplaces sectors. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.

Hack VC

AngelList is a U.S. website for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups. It is the parent company of AngelList Venture, AngelList Talent, and Product Hunt and has more than 20 unicorns in the portfolio. They support millions of job-seekers in their search and helped makers launch over 100,000 products that will define the future of tech.

AngelList

Hudson River Trading operates as a multi-asset class quantitative trading firm. Hudson River Trading consists of mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers that research and develop automated trading algorithms.

Hudson River Trading

Genesis is an institutional trading firm connecting institutional investors to digital asset markets. It facilitates billions in digital currency trades, loans, and transactions on a monthly basis, including over $25 billion in 2020 YTD. Its platform provides a single point of access for digital asset trading, derivatives, borrowing, lending, custody, and prime brokerage services. Its team combines decades of experience at top Wall Street investment banks with a deep understanding of cryptocurrency markets.

Genesis

NEO Global Capital is the strategic investment vehicle NEO foundation and one of the largest institutional owners of cryptocurrencies. It was founded 2017 and is based in Singapore.

NGC Ventures

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

Bloccelerate is a global accelerator and a fund focused on investing in blockchain companies all over the world. They bring together a decentralized community of advisors, mentors, and developers to facilitate the blockchain ecosystem.

Bloccelerate VC

Infinite Capital invests in generational innovation, with a focus on decentralized networks and deep tech.

Infinite Capital

Mysten Labs develops tools that make web3 secure and ready for mass adoption. They create foundational infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of web3.

Mysten Labs

Maelstrom invests in cool shit with a focus on crypto and digital assets.

Maelstrom

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

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

Manifold brings together the people, technology, processes, and capital to accelerate growth for companies at all stages. Manifold Holdings has adopted the Diversity Term Sheet Rider.

Manifold

Flowdesk is a regulated, full-service digital asset trading and technology firm that specializes in market making, OTC, and treasury management services.  Company registered in France - no. 883604647 Registered Digital Asset Service Provider with the AMF for digital assets custody, purchase/sale of digital assets for legal tender and trading of digital assets for other digital assets number: E2021-019

Flowdesk

Backing pre-seed & seed founders going after the 'long tail' of India.

Long Tail Ventures

Elixir

Elixir is a decentralized protocol that enables full composability for integrations by providing computationally secure, algorithmic market-making across CEXs and DEXs.

Elixir is a DeFi liquidity provisioning platform that lets users earn market-maker rewards for providing liquidity across decentralized order books and centralized exchanges. Exchanges can also provision liquidity for token pairs by integrating Elixir’s algorithmic market-making into their infrastructure. Notably, the protocol is compatible with a number of API-based central limit order books and includes over 20 back-end integrations to decentralized exchanges like dydx, SudoSwap, and Perennial Finance.

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Securitize, Elixir launch DeFi vaults for Blackrock’s BUIDL

Elixir is a DeFi liquidity provisioning platform that lets users earn market-maker rewards for providing liquidity across decentralized order books and centralized exchanges. Exchanges can also provision liquidity for token pairs by integrating Elixir’s algorithmic market-making into their infrastructure. Notably, the protocol is compatible with a number of API-based central limit order books and includes over 20 back-end integrations to decentralized exchanges like dydx, SudoSwap, and Perennial Finance.Elixir uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and offers staking rewards to validators in the form of its native token (named EXLR). As of October 2023, the company provided market-making services to over 50 dApps. Furthermore, it announced plans to launch its mainnet and integrate with more exchanges such as Vertex, dYdX, and Hyperliquid in March 2024.Funding and financialsIn March 2024, Elixir raised USD 8 million in Series B funding led by Mysten Labs and Maelstrom at a valuation of USD 800 million.

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

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 Securitize and Elixir have formed a partnership to introduce liquid staking tokens for tokenized securities such as BlackRock's BUIDL. They are launching an sToken, based on Ethereum's ERC-4626 standard, enabling investors to convert real-world assets into deUSD, meanwhile continuing yield earnings.
 In the initial phase, the program will focus on BlackRock's BUIDL token holders but will eventually extend to other assets like Hamilton Lane's SCOPE fund. As part of the collaboration, Elixir will possess sBUIDL, a derivative of BlackRock's BUIDL minted by Securitize users. The objective is to raise the Total Value Locked and improve liquidity across various blockchain networks.
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Securitize has been steadily building on its collaborations with institutional players within the RWA space over the last year. With this development, Securitize will expand its partnership with Blackrock, which <a href="https: 
//finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-launches-first-tokenized-fund-222700828.html"> launched its first tokenized fund on Ethereum </a> , the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), via a partnership with Securitize in March. Notably, it also led Securitize's <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/29051"> USD 47 million funding round in May </a> , which was earmarked to bolster its partnerships across the financial services industry.

Elixir

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