SV Angel is a San Francisco-based venture fund. Their experience spans helping companies like Airbnb, Coinbase, Databricks, DoorDash, Faire, Flexport, GitHub, Notion, Pinterest, Snap, Square, and Stripe Scale. Over the last 30 years of investing, their core values of trust, loyalty, and integrity along with a founder-first approach have driven our strategy. They are a service organization, investing in founders who share these values. They support entrepreneurs in building lasting companies by assisting at key inflection points and leveraging networks to help them propel their businesses forward.

SV Angel

3KVC is a New York-based venture fund focused on early-stage investments. The company intends to invest in the software and financial services industries.

Third Kind Venture Capital

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

Motivate Venture Capital is a venture capital firm based in Chicago, IL. MVC invests in incredible founders with strong domain knowledge building new companies with very high growth potential in large and growing markets. Primary verticals of focus include Fintech, Insurtech, Payments, B2B software, B2B marketplaces, Crypto, DeFi, Blockchain, and web3.

Motivate Venture Capital

P2P provides secure non-custodial staking services for professional investors.

P2P Validator

SALT Fund

Circle Ventures invests in projects that accelerate global crypto innovation and adoption in service. They foster crypto innovation by assisting founders and teams that are committed to open access, financial inclusivity, and programmable commerce, all of which may contribute to global economic success.

Circle Ventures

BlockTower is a crypto and blockchain investment firm that uses trading, investing, and portfolio management to this digital asset class.

BlockTower Capital

Tioga Capital, LLC is a private investment firm based in Atlanta, GA that manages multiple partnerships across the real estate spectrum.  Tioga takes a disciplined approach to opportunistically investing across the real estate capital structure, with a primary focus on the U.S. Sunbelt Region.

Tioga Capital

U.S. Trust is a private bank serving the needs of high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals and families by providing comprehensive wealth management products and services focused on wealth structuring (wealth planning, trusts and estates, philanthropy, custody services), investment management (portfolio consulting, asset management, capital markets, specialty asset management) and credit and banking (financial manaement tools, liquidity services, custom credit, real estate finance).  At U.S. Trust, they have a long and rich history of helping clients achieve their own unique objectives. Since 1853, they've been committed to listening, building long-term relationships, and helping individuals and their families realize the opportunities they create for themselves, their children, businesses, communities and future generations.

U.S. Trust

A.Capital Ventures is an early-stage investment firm that finances consumer and enterprise technology companies. It was founded in 2014 by Ronny Conway. A.Capital Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California.

A.Capital Ventures

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

We are ParaFi, an alternative asset management and technology firm that operates liquid and venture strategies focused on the digital asset ecosystem. Founded in 2018, ParaFi was among the earliest institutional investors in the blockchain industry and has evolved into a trusted partner by leading institutions globally.

ParaFi Capital

Twelve Below operates as a venture capital firm.

Twelve Below

Architect

Architect gives traders customizable infrastructure that reimagines access to international markets for digital assets. Building institutional-grade infrastructure to link different crypto venues across centralized and decentralized exchanges is one of the project's goals.

Architect offers a platform that aims to provide institutions and large traders with a number of blockchain-based infrastructure solutions for trading. Scheduled to launch publicly in Q2 2023, the platform enables qualified crypto custodians and self-hosted wallets to use standardized risk, compliance, and market data, along with development and visualization tools.

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Architect offers a platform that aims to provide institutions and large traders with a number of blockchain-based infrastructure solutions for trading. Scheduled to launch publicly in Q2 2023, the platform enables qualified crypto custodians and self-hosted wallets to use standardized risk, compliance, and market data, along with development and visualization tools.Funding and financialsIn January 2023, Architect <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15842?industryIds=64">raised USD 5 million </a>in “pre-product financing” from Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, SV Angel, SALT Fund, P2P, and Third Kind Venture, among others. The company earmarked the funding to expand its team and invest in product development.

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

<div>
 
 Blockchain-based trading infrastructure provider, Architect, has successfully secured USD 12 million in a funding round. This round was led by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital, with additional contributions from CMT Digital, ParaFi Capital, A Capital, and Twelve Belo. This has increased the company's total funding to USD 17 million.
 The funds raised will be used to fortify the company's move into the US derivatives brokerage market and to boost its extension into US securities and security derivatives services. An allocated portion of the funding will also aid the growth of its headquarters in Chicago and further aid its strategic expansion activities across the EU and APAC regions.
 
</div>

Architect

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless