Crypto Asset investing is akin to liquid venture capital. There are layers of idiosyncratic, systemic risk, and even unknowable risk. Crypto asset investing requires the application of public market investment techniques plus access to and understanding of venture-stage tech investing. This dynamic landscape demands active portfolio management.  The mission of the digital asset fund is to deploy an actively managed, macroeconomic & multi-strategy approach to acquire more bitcoins for investors. Iron Key Capital combines systematic trading techniques to manage risk with a thesis-driven venture style research framework, focusing on enterprise adoption of utility-driven digital assets. We also operate a venture ecosystem fund that invests into pre-seed and seed stage web3 companies and provides them with value-add services.

Iron Key Capital

Black Hole Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2014 that makes equity investments in the internet and mobile Internet, hi-tech, healthcare, and other sectors.

Black Hole Capital

Funcity Capital is an asset management company specializing in Internet finance, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and smart travel.

Funcity Capital

LCI's mission is to offer our clients diversified exposure to ventures, tokens, and projects related to blockchain tech, digital currency, and crypto assets. The Fund's investors benefit from our access and diligence with our principal based approach into technology, economics, game theory, and code.

Limitless Crypto Investments

Binance

A decentralized version of the web powered by the blockchain

Web3 Ecosystem

Oasis Labs develops privacy-focused blockchain solutions, including the Oasis Network, a layer-1 blockchain. This network consists of two parts: the consensus layer and the ParaTime layer. The consensus layer employs a decentralized group of validator nodes for secure, scalable proof-of-stake consensus. In the ParaTime layer, multiple parallel runtimes (ParaTimes) process transactions parallelly, ensuring complex tasks on one ParaTime does not impede transactions occurring on another. Each ParaTime can process up to 1,000 transactions per second and can be developed in isolation to meet the needs of a specific application, such as confidential compute, and open or closed committees. The network’s native token is ROSE, which is used to pay for transactions, staking, and delegating.The company also offers Sapphire, a confidential EVM Compatible ParaTime providing a smart contract development environment with EVM compatibility. This utilizes Oasis' Network’s privacy layer, which is based on a secure computing technology known as a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for secure smart contract execution. This encrypts data that is processed, ensuring a secure platform for dApps across EVM networks and eliminating the necessity for cross-chain swaps, as well as enabling dApps to be compatible across different blockchains.

Chiliz, the developer of the fan engagement platform Socios, developed its own layer-1 blockchain, Chiliz Chain 2.0, which was launched in February 2023. The blockchain uses a proof-of-stake authority consensus mechanism to validate transactions and is compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine. Its testnet was launched in March 2022 and is a hard fork of the BNB Chain.The platform supports developers and sports and entertainment brands to build decentralized finance, play-to-earn and watch-to-earn dApps, as well as mint NFTs. However, initially, only approved third-party developers would be permitted to develop on its blockchain. The network is powered by its native token, CHZ, which would be used to pay gas fees, run smart contracts, and perform cross-chain operations.Funding and financialsThe company raised USD 65 million in June 2018 through the private placement of CHZ tokens. The raise saw participation from companies such as Binance, OK Blockchain Capital, FBG Capital, Ceyuan Ventures, and Bancor. The use of the proceeds was not disclosed. In addition, it secured an undisclosed investment from Jump Trading in April 2021.

Based in Vietnam, Sky Mavis is a game studio developing blockchain-based games that incorporate player-owned economies and marketplaces for trustless trading of unique digital assets.Its flagship video game is Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn NFT-based game launched in March 2018. Axie Infinity gameplay involves players collecting and raising pets called Axies (represented by NFTs) to fight and hunt for treasures. Players can mint Axies as well as buy and trade them in a marketplace. The game had a peak of 2.8 million monthly users in January 2022 and, as of September 2023, averaged at ~348,000 monthly users. Axie Infinity is deployed on a dedicated side-chain named the Ronin Network and is connected to the Ethereum blockchain through the Ronin Bridge, which allows for the transfer of digital assets between the networks. Moreover, the company also developed a free-to-play card-based strategy game called Axie Infinity: Origins, which launched in December 2022.In June 2024, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30591">launched Ronin zkEVM</a>, allowing developers to launch their own layer-2 chains on top of the Ronin protocol. It utilizes zk proofs to increase transaction throughput and reduce costs while maintaining compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem. This allows Ronin to process significantly more transactions. In addition, it launched a cross-game onboarding solution called <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33585">Ronin Waypoint</a> in September 2024, allowing players to access games on Ronin using a single account credential—via email or social logins—without the need for seed phrases or browser extensions.In addition, Sky Mavis launched Mavis Hub: Greenlight as a part of Axie Infinity's builders' program. The platform offers game builds, tools, and potential funding to support game developers in creating new games within the Axie ecosystem.

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Injective offers an open interoperable blockchain platform for building and launching decentralized applications such as exchanges, derivatives, prediction markets, and options. The platform is built using Cosmos SDK and uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. It also provides traditional finance infrastructure and is interoperable with layer 1s, including Ethereum, Evmos, Axelar, and Moonbeam. The protocol operates as a DAO, which is governed and secured by its native token INJ. As of May 2024, the platform had processed over 612 million transactions. The platform upgraded its mainnet in July 2022, introducing a multichain smart contract layer that can be executed automatically at every block. This enables users to migrate dApps from other blockchains onto Injective. It went on to launch a major upgrade to its mainnet, named Volan, in January 2024. The upgrade features a software module dedicated to real-world assets (RWAs) to enable users to launch and access a range of structured products including tokenized fiat currency pairs, treasury bills, and credit products. Moreover, the upgrade also includes improved integration with the inter-blockchain communication (IBC) protocol to allow for better interoperability between Injective and other chains in the Cosmos ecosystem.Key customers and partnershipsIn March 2024, the company partnered with DojoSwap, a decentralized exchange built on its blockchain infrastructure, to introduce the CW-404 standard, a replica of the experimental token standard ERC-404, for its network. The new standard combines the CW-20 and CW-721 standards (which relate to token issuance and NFTs, respectively) and enables multiple wallets to directly own an NFT and tokenize their exposure to take out loans or stake holdings.In June 2024, Injective<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30882"> partnered with Andromeda</a>, a Web3 operating system provider, to integrate the latter’s operating system with its blockchain and ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps). The partnership aims to accelerate the adoption of DeFi across Andromeda’s user base, and unlock opportunities for cross-chain tokens and tokenized asset management within a unified trading platform.Funding and financialsIn August 2022, Injective<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12255"> raised USD 40 million </a>in a funding round led by Jump Crypto to support Injective developers, build critical toolkits, and support software systems and upgrades to strengthen its ecosystem.In January 2024, Injective launched a USD 150 million fund ecosystem initiative backed by investors such as Pantera, Jump, Kraken Ventures, KuCoin Ventures, Delphi Labs, and Flow Traders. The company planned to deploy the pooled capital over “a few years” to support Injective or Cosmos-based projects in the interoperability, DeFi, trading, proof-of-stake infrastructure, and scalability solutions segments.

PrismaStake is a cutting-edge decentralized staking platform that provides users with new opportunities. Its innovative multi-chain staking platform aims to democratize cryptocurrency by allowing people of all backgrounds to generate passive income through ETH crypto staking, altcoin staking, and other methods.

Experience FlexyStakes, your gateway to unbounded earnings in decentralized staking, powered by our robust smart contracts.

Zenfuse is a comprehensive cryptocurrency trading platform. It offers the ability to trade on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges from a single secure account, accessible on both desktop and mobile platforms. The platform provides an intelligent ecosystem for cryptocurrency trading, portfolio analytics, and news. It also features a native token, ZEFU, with multiple use cases. Zenfuse's team comprises professionals with extensive experience in the crypto industry, each bringing unique digital product experience to the platform.

Blockchain financial market infrastructure technology company operating Gofax (Cryptocurrency Exchange) and Dask (Cryptocurrency Depository).

MX Global is a platform for cryptocurrency exchange. MX Global provides services to maintain our integrity and ensure trustability because your trust is our top priority.

X, formerly Twitter, is a global social networking platform that allows its users to send and read 280-character messages. It enables registered users to read and post their tweets through the web, short message service (SMS), and mobile applications. As a global real-time communications platform, X has more than 400 million monthly visitors and 255 million monthly active users around the world. X’s active group of registered members includes World leaders, major athletes, star performers, news organizations, and entertainment outlets. It is currently available in more than 35 languages.  X was launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass. X is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with local offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Sunnyvale, and Washington.  X's international offices are located in Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Skynet EGLD Capital is an Investment Fund focused on growing the Elrond ecosystem.

Sky Mavis is a technology company that creates decentralized applications and services. They specialize in the fields of information technology, blockchain, video game, and more.

Treehouse reimagines workflows for digital asset traders and investors through Hyperion, cryptocurrency's most powerful and actionable portfolio management and market intelligence toolset.

Forbes Magazine is an American business magazine that is focused on business news and financial information. The magazine is published on a biweekly basis and features original articles on finance, industry, investing, technology, communications, science, law, and marketing. Forbes is well known for its lists and rankings that include lists of the richest Americans, the world’s top companies, and so on. The company also manages an up-to-date website that allows advertisers to publish blog posts alongside regular editorial content.  The website employs a “contributor model” through which a wide network of contributors writes and publishes articles directly on the site. Apart from Forbes and its lifestyle supplement, Forbes Life, the company also publishes ForbesWoman, Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes Asia, and fifteen local language editions. Steve Forbes and his magazine's writers offer investment advice on the weekly Fox TV show Forbes on Fox and on Forbes On Radio. Other company groups include Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Investment Advisory Group, and Forbes Custom Media.  Forbes  On January 6, 2014, Forbes Magazine announced that, in partnership with app creator Maz, it was launching a social networking app called “Stream”. Stream allows Forbes readers to save and share visual content with other readers and discover content from Forbes magazine and Forbes.com. Forbes was founded by B. C. Forbes, a financial columnist for the Hearst papers, and his partner Walter Drey, the general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street in 1917.

Mask Network build the bridge between Web 2.0 (Platforms such as Twitter) and Web 3.0 -  By letting users send encrypted messages to friends, send and receive cryptocurrency and share files, and interact with DApps, all on a decentralized level. Mask Network offers the ability to fund Gitcoin grant campaigns directly from Twitter, as well as plans to offer p2p payments and decentralized storage functionality. It is a decentralized portal that also allows users to use DApps like crypto payments, decentralized finance, decentralized storage, e-commerce (digital goods/NFTs) and decentralized organizations (DAO) over the top of existing social networks without migrating, creating what is referred to as a decentralized Applet (DApplet) ecosystem.

Cere Network is a blockchain CRM ecosystem platform optimized for service data integration and collaboration. The Cere Blockchain solutions capture the entire customer journey on the blockchain and stores key user data such as purchases, achievements, and usage in the user wallet.

OpenOcean offers a full range of products including price comparisons between Central Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX).

Stake Technologies is a firm that develops key decentralized protocols for Web3.0. The company's goal is to provide infrastructure that empowers people to own their data, rights, and destiny.

Biconomy is a relayer infrastructure network and transaction highway to reduce the friction between applications built on the blockchain and the end-users. Biconomy’s relayer network comprises of an SDK and dashboard that abstracts and hides many of the complexities of opening a wallet, storing private keys, paying gas, and buying cryptocurrency.

TokoCrypto is building a TokoScape Ecosystem to spread financial freedom and Aims to Indonesia’s crypto ecosystem.

Bundle Wallet Technology is a social payments app for cash and cryptocurrencies.

Numbers Protocol provides content verification for AI-powered companies and creativity tools. It offers efficient and low-cost digital provenance infrastructures and decentralized storage, which not only enhance trust in digital content but also provide a pathway for innovative content monetization strategies.

BxB offers crypto currency transaction services.

FTX Exchange is a cryptocurrency exchange company that develops a platform for professional trading firms. They strive to build a platform suitable for professional trading firms and intuitive enough for first-time users. FTX supports quarterly and perpetual futures for all cryptocurrencies, leveraged tokens, and OTC. FTX was incubated by Alameda Research, a top cryptocurrency liquidity provider. Because of this, FTX has had industry order books from day one.

The Founders Bank project is a corporate challenger bank servicing the tech industry, including blockchain and other emerging technologies, aiming to provide banking services on a world class technology platform with a strong emphasis on customer experience and AML/KYC. Founders Bank project is in the process of obtaining a full EU banking license under the regulation of the MFSA and the European Central Bank.

Band Protocol is a cross-chain data oracle platform that aggregates and connects real-world data and APIs to smart contracts. Blockchains are great at immutable storage and deterministic, verifiable computations - however, they cannot securely access data available outside the blockchain networks. Band Protocol enables smart contract applications such as DeFi, prediction markets, and games to be built on-chain without relying on the single point of failure of a centralized oracle.

Mars Finance is a Chinese news and reports platform focusing on the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. It provides free and publicly accessible hosting services for blockchain and cryptocurrency reference material, market segments, and online blockchain communities.

Capitalise is the innovative and magical way that lets you use natural language to make your investment ideas come to life.  Capitalise simplifies the investment process by taking simple words and converting them into executable and optimized investments. We bridge between the simplicity of common words and the complex world of automated trading. Capitalise delivers portfolio management automation based on written investment scenarios. With Capitalise you can instantly optimize your investment ideas to analyze, predict and improve investment performance.

Tellor is a decentralized oracle on the Ethereum network that provides trustless access to high-value off-chain data. By utilizing a network of staked miners who compete to retrieve off-chain pricing data, Tellor’s system is both secure and easy to implement.

Injective Labs is a key contributor to Injective, the blockchain designed specifically for finance. Injective is an open, interoperable network that provides solutions for DeFi developers in a unique way. Injective, which is Cosmos IBC and Ethereum compatible, is a hub for dApps shaping the future of finance. Injective-based applications benefit from zero gas fees, secure transactions, and fast transmissions for dynamic scalability. The company aims to create a truly free and inclusive financial system through decentralization.

TravelbyBit is an Australia digital currency tourism company.

Buxx is digital cash and can be used to make payments through their exchange or at thousands of partners across the globe. Buxx's mission is to make digital cash accessible for all users across the world. They provide a simple payment method for businesses where they can access payments as fast as they can accept cash face-to-face. BUXX also provides an exchange where you can exchange your buxx for any of the major cryptocurrencies globally.

Oasis Labs is a privacy-first cloud computing platform on blockchain technology. They are building a new computing platform that enables cloud-scale, real-world applications with decentralized trust and privacy protection; in short, a privacy-first, high-performance cloud computing platform on blockchain.

Chiliz developed the Socios.com sports fan engagement platform which is built on the Chiliz blockchain infrastructure & uses $CHZ as it’s exclusive on-platform currency. The company creates scalable, secure blockchain-enabled systems that use digital assets to enhance fan experiences.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that combines digital technology and finance. The platform features a portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more.

<div>
 
 Malta-based Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017. It offers a platform for users to buy and sell over 300 cryptocurrencies and tokens. As of December 2021, the exchange was reported to carry out over 1.4 million transactions per second at an average daily volume of 2 billion.
 
 
 Binance offers the ability for users to generate yield using their crypto assets by depositing into DeFi tokens or staking them into DeFi projects. It also offers a marketplace for users to swap their DeFi tokens and a wallet for storage.
 
 
 The company also offers the Binance Chain and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchains, with the latter being a newer version that uses a combination of proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-authority (PoA) consensus mechanisms and supports Ethereum-based applications. The BSC supports the creation of decentralized apps including those in the DeFi space. As of December 2021, BSC has a total value locked (TVL) of USD 17 billion.
 
 
 Binance acquired mobile wallet company TrustWallet in 2018 for an undisclosed sum. Through this deal, Binance was to expand its product portfolio and add a connection to TrustWallet among the wallet integrations of its cryptocurrency exchange. TrustWallet also offers staking and yield generation options for investors.
 
</div>

Binance Report: Crypto HODLers Prefer Meme Coins over Bitcoin

Giving creators the power of content monetization and audience engagement.

Creator Economy

Platforms that allow creators to share several types of content. Some platforms also offer fan engagement/ interactions with the creative artist via videos/ live streams.

Platforms that offer exclusive content to signed up members.

Platforms that allow creators to share their written works and blogs.

Platforms that provide tools to discover relevant analytics, produce content, engage with the audience, and help with the overall process.

Platforms that allow creators to share one of either videography, live streams, photos, music or audio podcasts with fan engagement capabilities.

Blockchain-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) allow creators to transfer ownership of their content via platforms that share proceeds with buyers, sellers, creators, and platforms via smart contracts.

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

Cryptocurrencies

Protocols that issue digital currencies that can be used as a medium of exchange and/or a store of value

Companies and protocols that offer digital tokens pegged to the value of a fiat currency (such as USD and EUR) or a commodity (such as gold)

Companies providing infrastructure solutions for central banks to develop and issue their own digital reserve currencies

Companies that offer a marketplace for users to buy, sell, and trade a number of cryptocurrencies and other cryptocurrency-linked financial products

Companies and protocols that offer infrastructure solutions for businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services

Developers of video games that use elements of blockchain technology, allowing gamers to earn cryptocurrency by playing games. They can either convert it into real money or purchase in-game assets.

A decentralized alternative to traditional social networks that operate on independently run servers on the blockchain. These are community-owned and reward user participation.

An alternative storage system in which data is encrypted, segmented, and stored on multiple nodes across the blockchain rather than a single server.

Developers of dApps for use in industries such as travel, health, and fitness, which are yet to reach wider adoption.

Providers of wallets that allow users to purchase and store the cryptocurrencies/tokens required to interact with web3 apps, along with app browsers for users to browse and access dApps.

Also known as layer-1 networks, these include developers of the base blockchain network.

Also known as layer-2 solutions, this includes providers of scaling solutions, such as sidechains, state channels, and rollups, which improve the speed and throughput of transactions occurring in layer-1 blockchain networks.

Platforms that provide tools such as SDKs, blockchain node infrastructure, and bridges for developers to create, host, debug, and add extra functionality to dApps on one or many blockchains.

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 Binance has launched a rollup-as-a-service (RaaS) solution to enable development of layer-2 blockchains on its layer-1 blockchain, referred to as the BNB Chain. Enterprises and dApps can create their L2 networks via the BNB Chain using the RaaS. It also provides rollup management support and a no-code deployment option for those without coding expertise.
</div>

Binance

Featured Industries

EDGE Insights

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless