Union Square Ventures is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on early-stage, growth capital, late-stage, and startup financing. The USV portfolio companies create services that have the potential to fundamentally transform important markets.  It exclusively invests in the internet world, focusing on the applications layer of the web, internet services, and web services that create large networks as well as the mobile sector. Some of its invested companies are based in New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, and places in between. It typically makes a starting investment in portfolio companies of $1 million. In certain Series Around cases, the firm may make a starting investment between $2.5 million to $3 million. It typically invests up to $20 million in any single company. Union Square Ventures was founded in 2003 and is based in New York, United States.

Union Square Ventures

Pillar VC partners with unstoppable founders from the moment of inception, providing the first capital. The firm is committed to helping founders grow with their companies, investing in their personal and professional development with connections, coaching, and community. From university spinouts led by first-time founders to serial entrepreneurs, backing the next generation of big, meaningful companies in Boston. Pillar VC is open to high-potential ventures of any type, with the bulk of our portfolio related to machine intelligence, AI, hardware, enterprise software, blockchain, quantum, digital health, and synthetic biology.

Pillar VC

Nirvana Capital is a San Francisco/Beijing based blockchain fund that focused on primary market investment. Its founding partners are also early supporters of Ethereum. To bring together ecosystems that revolutionize the social productions and labor relations with the communities underneath, Nirvana Capital provides end-to-end strong support to its portfolio projects, including advisory on strategies/operations and resources matching. Our investment themes mainly include public chains and protocols.

Nirvana Capital

Czhang's Digital Investment invests in blockchain startups from the early stages to the late stages.

Czhang's Digital Investment

AlphaCoin Fund is a venture capital focused on investing blockchain technology and tokens. Since 2017, AlphaCoin has invested in over 80 leading blockchain technology projects both home and abroad, with a total investment amount in exceed of  90 million USD. Our investment team consists of professionals from backgrounds covering traditional and crypto venture capital investing, blockchain technology and crypto exchange operations.  AlphaCoin Fund has founded strategic partnerships with both top-tier venture capital institutions such as Zhen Fund, Sequoia Capital, Danhua Capital, etc and service providers . With its connections in the blockchain industry, AlphaCoin Fund has been long dedicated to building an orbicular industry chain with its partners, so as to provide value-added services such as technology assistance, business development advising, marketing, partnership building and exchange listing consulting.

AlphaCoin Fund

Polybius Capital provides best-in-class Fund Management, Venture Capital and Advisory to the blockchain ecosystem.

Polybius Capital

MIH is the first India-based venture capital firm that exclusively invests in Blockchain-enabled companies. Our mission is to accelerate the inevitable future of Blockchain economy by supporting as many companies as possible. As a brand, we bring investors, influencers, and specialists to our partnering global blockchain projects. We contribute $500k++ in select projects, along with advisory services, exchange listing assistance, and a network of social influencers with thousands of followers. MIH is dedicated to the cause and equipped with highly experienced partners in both traditional finance and the blockchain technology.  With MIH's support, blockchain startups achieve maximum exposure during critical roadmap events which in turn helps boost the recognition and community support both in India and globally. We know from experience the importance for a startup to focus on developing its product without being distracted and we understand the importance of infusing an appropriate amount of capital at the right time. This makes us a reliable partner for most companies like yours!

MiH Ventures

Redline DAO has invested in digital assets and blockchain companies. We have ten years history of traditional finance investments. Founded in 2017, Redline DAO is a global investment fund focused on blockchain project research and has invested in more than 200 projects while achieving an overall return of more than 100 times. Redline DAO has invested in Polkadot, FTT, Algorand and Casper and also in partnership with Alameda Research, Binance, Chianlink, FTX, Kucoin, Bybit, Ouyi and Huobi.

Redline DAO

Family Office ~ Venture Investment Division

North West Quadrant Ventures ( NWQ Ventures)

Meld Ventures is an Australian-based firm dedicated to backing the next wave of blockchain entrepreneurs.

Meld ventures

Algorand

Ctrl Alt was launched in 2020 by Matt Ong (formerly of Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse) to make investing in alternative assets more accessible for the individual investor. The alternative asset platform empowers fintechs and investment platforms to provide their customers with opportunities to invest in tokenised assets such as green energy, property, and more while making it easier for asset holders to fractionalise assets as a means to raise capital.  By bringing together the needs of fintechs and investment platforms with that of asset holders, Ctrl Alt is enabling access to a previously exclusive world. It aims to bring a new arm of investing to fintech’s and investment platforms tool belt by blending industry expertise in alternative assets with financial technology. Ctrl Alt's team, based in London and Dundalk, Ireland. The team is composed of financial and product experts including alumni from Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Revolut.

We decentralize and incentivize air quality monitoring by leveraging IoT sensors, the Algorand blockchain and the direct participation of the population. In this way we can rapidly deploy low-cost, dense surveillance networks delivering real-time data.

Balthazar is a develops games. They provide services that include design, development, supplies, and installation. Their customers' inquiries are addressed through phone, email, and online applications.

Carbon Counts is creating a Play-to-Plant game called EverForest that will inspire millions of people to take individual and collective action to combat climate change. The mobile gameplay will have an impact on the real world as users play in the EverForest. Because the company plants, grows, and protects trees in the real world on their behalf as they grow forests and make them flourish in-game. It collaborates with some of the world's most progressive organizations to help regenerate thriving ecosystems.

Your trusted home for NFTs on Algorand. With Rand, you can easily create, research, manage, collect and sell digital assets at scale. Join us today and discover how Algorand's leading platform transforms community experiences.

Tokenized assets & smart contracts business rules integrated to the existing banking infrastructure, resulting into cutting-edge financial products embedded in their operations.

A digital Bank based on stablecoin so that it is easy to have a dollar account in Latam Neomoon is a bank in dollars, 100% digital, and aimed at all Latin Americans who want to protect their money from devaluation, but also want to be able to make their day-to-day payments. It is the first bank based on stablecoins and the only one aimed at all Latin Americans regardless of their residence or nationality. Neomoon is a real solution to the serious Latin American problem, which was possible thanks to the experience and technological development achieved by its team, the more than 20 years of experience that its founders have working in banking, and the wide digital community that they have achieved in social networks, which has allowed them to gain the trust of thousands of followers.

Team DAO is a decentralized, next-generation crypto gaming guild 3.0 offering for aspiring players and asset managers to engage with the new Web3 economy.

TravelX is using blockchain to tokenize air tickets, help airlines expand their retailing capabilities, and deliver a better and more flexible product, the NFTicket, that improves customer experience and value proposition while generating incremental revenues and reducing airline costs.

Ensurre is a blockchain-based decentralised, democratised & disruptive property and real estate insurance platform. Our blockchain-backed Insur-tech SaaS platform offers unparalleled transparency and predictability, making insurance something our users seek to secure their assets. With our asset register app and web3 insure-tech solution, new markets and possibilities for insurable real estate assets are now within reach. Say goodbye to the uncertainty of insurance and hello to a brighter, more secure insurance experience in the future with Ensurre. https://ensurre.com

BWS stands as an advanced Blockchain-as-a-Service infrastructure, offering a comprehensive suite of services for the Custody, Governance, and Tokenization of Digital Assets. Our platform empowers users by facilitating the seamless tokenization of assets, enabling the creation and management of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and supporting these features across multiple blockchains. With BWS, you gain a versatile and secure solution that extends beyond traditional boundaries, providing a cutting-edge ecosystem for the modern management and utilization of digital assets.

Agrotoken is a grain-backed, transactional digital asset used to save or exchange for supplies, services, and other assets. Agrotokens allow to carry out commercial and financial transactions with the direct support of the grains. Agrotoken creates a safe ecosystem to make trading grains easier, more efficient, and more reliable. Agrotoken is focused on tokenization of commodities, smart contracts, and digital economy solutions for Agribusiness.

Makor Capital and Makor Securities (“Makor”) were both established in 2011 to provide bespoke advice and execution to leading institutional investors in Equity, Fixed Income, FX and specialized trading strategies.   We support clients with original, innovative ideas in stocks and trading, offering a dedicated focus on risk arbitrage, special situations, relative value and event-driven opportunity.   Equally, we are committed to helping clients execute their investment strategy as efficiently as possible, providing access to liquidity across more than 90 trading venues.   Makor Capital offers 24-hour global trading from offices in London, Geneva and Tel Aviv

Marli enables individuals and businesses to fund environmental projects. By unlocking funding, many new environmental projects can be developed that save or absorb CO2. Marli makes this possible in a simple, transparent and responsible way. We’re a team of experts from diverse backgrounds and passionate to tackle climate change and enable the US and other countries achieve their climate targets.

Derivatives decentralized exchange with lightning-fast transaction speed and minimal transactions costs with institutional-grade centralized UI/UX experience.  Keywords: decentralized finance, DeFi, derivatives, perpetual, crypto exchange, marketplace, crypto, blockchain, digital assets.

Protego Trust Bank is a financial service company that offers regulated crypto services to institutional investors. The company provides clients comprehensive digital asset services including custody, trading, lending, and issuance - all within one vertically integrated partner. Protego Trush Bank was founded in 2017 and is based in Seattle, WA.

Algorand is positioned to address the blockchain’s scaling challenges through rapid and efficient user consensus, enabling even the smallest transactions, regardless of transaction volume or number of users.

<div>Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is a scalable blockchain protocol that uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and allows for the development of smart contracts and decentralized apps. Algorand’s smart contracts are written in the Transaction Execution Approval Language (TEAL) and Python, which is then interpreted by Algorand’s Virtual Machine (AVM) that implements the logic of the smart contracts and smart signatures. Its use cases include building DeFi apps, NFTs, and Web3 dApps. The Algorand blockchain also enables users to digitally represent any type of asset on its chain using its Algorand Standard Assets (ASA) tool. </div>

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Algorand is an open-source layer-1 blockchain that uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions. The blockchain was launched in June 2019 and has a two-tier architecture, where the base layer supports smart contracts, asset creation, and atomic swaps between assets, while the second layer is reserved for more complex smart contracts and dApp development. Its smart contracts are written in Transaction Execution Approval Language (TEAL) and Python, which is interpreted by Alogorand’s Virtual Machine (AVM) to implement the logic of smart contracts and smart signatures with the capacity to execute 1,000 transactions per second.

A decentralized version of the web powered by the blockchain

Web3 Ecosystem

Top Crypto Gainers Today Dec 14- Fantom, Algorand, DeXe, Cosmos

Ctrl Alt

Forward Partners

Middlegame Ventures

Enterprise Ireland

SyndicateRoom

365.fintech

PlanetWatch

Borderless Capital

Algorand Foundation

Balthazar NFT Gaming

IDG Capital

Animoca Brands

Gandel Invest

KuCoin

Fantom Foundation

Digital Asset Capital Management

Efficient Frontier

Tezos

Side Door Ventures

Vendetta Capital

Virtually Human Studio

Yolo Investments

Pluto Digital

Red Building Capital

TPS Capital

MetaEngine

Hive Empire Capital

369 Capital

focal

Carbon Counts

Susquehanna

Capital Factory

City Light Capital

Grantham Foundation

Oceans

Rand

Eterna Capital

Big Brain Holdings

FunFair Ventures

Koibanx

Innogen Venture Capital

Kalonia Venture Partners

G2 Capital

Neomoon

Diverse Angels

Optio Capital

T.E.A.M DAO

Krust Universe

CoinHako

Octava

NGC Ventures

GoldenSand Capital

Nexo Capital Partners

Shima Capital

Anti Fund

Great South Gate

Ex Capital

Libra Ventures

TravelX

Draper Cygnus

Monday Capital

Myelin VC

Ensurre

Redpoint

Insurance Australia Group

Zurich Insurance Group

Gate.io

Polygon

NFL Investments

BWS Bitfy

US Angel Investors

Dash Investment Foundation

Agrotoken

Xperiment Ventures

Barn Investments

BYMA(Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos)

MatterScale Ventures

Rio Uruguay Seguros

Newtopia VC

EDP Agro

Rapid Scale

SkyBridge Capital

Youbi Capital

Makor

Marli Technology Solutions

FXDX

Protego Trust Bank

Coinbase

Ripple

Digital Currency Group

Nyca Partners

Reciprocal Ventures

Cardano Foundation

Solana

Wavemaker Genesis

Wave Digital Assets

Avalanche

Valhalla Ventures

<div>
 
 Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is a scalable blockchain protocol that uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and allows for the development of smart contracts and decentralized apps. Algorand’s smart contracts are written in the Transaction Execution Approval Language (TEAL) and Python, which is then interpreted by Algorand’s Virtual Machine (AVM) that implements the logic of the smart contracts and smart signatures. Its use cases include building DeFi apps, NFTs, and Web3 dApps. The Algorand blockchain also enables users to digitally represent any type of asset on its chain using its Algorand Standard Assets (ASA) tool. 
 
 
 In April 2021, Algorand announced that its blockchain was fully carbon-neutral and that it had partnered with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based CO2 emissions transparency and traceability company, to improve the sustainability of its blockchain solutions. The protocol is also leveraged by a number of environmental organizations such as Planetwatch and Global Carbon Holding in their own blockchain-based solutions. As of December 2021, Algorand provided solutions to over 700 global corporations. 
 
 
 Algorand raised USD 60 million in funding through an ICO held in June 2019, where it offered investors a price of USD 2.4 per ALGO token.
 
</div>

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.

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.&nbsp;Moreover, in May 2024, the company launched a new perpetual futures exchange named Infinex. The solution unifies several DeFi applications into a single layer and enables users to trade across multiple chains. Moreover, it provides users access to passkey authentication and social sign-in options.Key customers and partnershipsIn December 2024, Synthetix&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/37190">partnered with Mass</a>, a cryptocurrency application developer, to integrate its leveraged perpetuals platform into a new mobile trading app. The mobile app combines on-chain trading and self-custody features with a centralized exchange interface, allowing users to trade perpetual futures with up to 25x leverage. The app includes streamlined features like Apple and Google logins, sponsored first transactions, crosschain gas tank, and multiple on/off-ramp options via SEPA, ACH, and credit/debit cards.

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

Algorand is an open-source layer-1 blockchain that uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions. The blockchain was launched in June 2019 and has a two-tier architecture, where the base layer supports smart contracts, asset creation, and atomic swaps between assets, while the second layer is reserved for more complex smart contracts and dApp development. Its smart contracts are written in Transaction Execution Approval Language (TEAL) and Python, which is interpreted by Alogorand’s Virtual Machine (AVM) to implement the logic of smart contracts and smart signatures with the capacity to execute 1,000 transactions per second.The company also provides AlgoKit, a developer tool suite that includes everything developers need to build, test, and deploy dApps on the network. Its main feature is templating, and it also allows developers to test dApps on a local network before deploying them to the mainnet. Initially, it focuses on smart contract development, with plans to expand to full-stack development in the future. In addition, Algorand allows developers to create new tokens or transfer existing tokens to the Algorand ecosystem using the Algorand Standard Asset (ASA) protocol. This enables users to digitally represent any type of asset that could be either fungible or non-fungible.Algorand claims that its blockchain was fully carbon-neutral and it had entered into a partnership with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based CO2 emissions transparency and traceability company in April 2021 to improve the sustainability of its blockchain solutions. The protocol is also used by a number of environmental organizations such as Planetwatch and Global Carbon Holding in their own blockchain-based solutions. As of December 2021, Algorand provided solutions to over 700 global corporations.Funding and financialsIn June 2019, Algorand raised USD 60 million through an initial coin offering. It sold 25 million of its native ALGO tokens at USD 2.4 per token.

NEAR Protocol is an open-source layer-1 blockchain launched in October 2020. The blockchain uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions. Its native token is NEAR, which can be used to pay for transactions and storage on the blockchain, while also allowing token holders to participate in the platform’s governance process. In August 2024, NEAR launched a significant upgrade called "<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32890">Nightshade 2.0</a>" to enhance scalability and usability. This update is a major step in integrating sharding into NEAR's core architecture, which divides the blockchain into smaller segments, allowing the network to process more transactions at a lower cost. Validators no longer need to store shard states locally; instead, they retrieve "state witnesses" from the network to validate changes. This improves shard performance and boosts the network’s ability to support more shards.NEAR allows users to sign up for a wallet (account) using unique human-readable names (e.g., johndoe.near, in comparison to cryptographic and randomly generated private keys, which is a characteristic of chains such as Ethereum), which in turn enables easy sign-ins for dApps for users and improves the overall usability of the blockchain. The platform also allows developers to prepay gas fees for first-time users, allowing the latter to interact with a dApp for free. NEAR also offers the Rainbow Bridge, which allows users to transfer ERC-20 and NEAR tokens or any other digital asset between the Ethereum and NEAR blockchain. In addition, the platform provides tools such as SDKs, CLIs, and APIs for developers to create dApps on its blockchain. In addition, NEAR allocates 30% of the transaction fees to developers to encourage them to build applications on its platform, with the remainder being burnt.The protocol also incorporates <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/32771">Chain Signatures</a>, a technology that allows smart contracts to sign transactions across multiple blockchains without relying on cross-chain bridges. This aims to simplify multichain dApp development by reducing the need for multiple wallets and manual bridging, as well as enhancing user experience and increasing asset liquidity and utility across blockchains.As of July 2022, NEAR had 100 validators on its blockchain, which it expected to increase in proportion to the number of transactions. The platform uses an auction system to select and determine the seat price for its validators every epoch (time interval of 12 hours). The platform claims to be able to scale infinitely by adding more validators owing to its underlying architecture.Key customers and partnershipsIn June 2021, NEAR joined ICON’s Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP), which seeks to improve cross-chain communication. The partnership allowed data to be transferred between the NEAR blockchain and other BTP partners such as Polkadot and Harmon. Moreover, NEAR partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23393">Nym Technologies </a>to integrate end-to-end encryption and privacy safeguards into the NEAR blockchain ecosystem.In addition, NEAR partnered with Ardana, a stablecoin and decentralized exchange (DEX) liquidity pool built on the Cardano blockchain in November 2021, to build a bridge to support integrations and token transfers between the NEAR and Cardano blockchains. It had also planned to enable cross-chain smart contract functionality and allow the NEAR token to be used as collateral on Ardana to mint stablecoins in the future.

NEAR

Ava Labs develops the open-source layer-1 blockchain, Avalanche. The Avalanche network architecture contains three separate blockchains in order to address the decentralization, security, and scalability limitations of blockchains. These include 1) the Exchange Chain (X-Chain), which is the default blockchain on which assets are created and exchanged and also includes Avalanche’s native token–AVAX; 2) the Contract Chain (C-Chain)—which is based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)—allows for the creation and execution of smart contracts with cross-chain interoperability; and 3) the Platform Chain (P-Chain), which coordinates validators and enables the creation and management of subnets (a sovereign network that defines its own rules for membership and tokenomic). Avalanche uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and is able to execute 4,500 transactions per second. As of December 2022, ~1,000 projects were built on Avalanche, including DeFi projects like Tether, SushiSwap, Chainlink, and Circle. As of the same date, the network processed on average two million daily transactions and was secured by more than 1,200 validators.Ava Labs launched Core, a dedicated non-custodial crypto wallet for AVAX as a browser extension, through which users are able to browse dApps on the Avalanche blockchain. In April 2023, the company announced plans to launch “ <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17583">Evergreen Subnets </a>,” a suite of blockchain deployments, tooling, and customization services specifically designed for financial institutions to run their own private, permissioned chains with approved parties. In addition, financial institutions will be able to communicate and transfer data with other subnets through Avalanche’s native communication protocol Avalanche Warp Messaging (AWM) without relying on any third parties. It also launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18842">AvaCloud </a>in May 2023, a no-code Web3 launchpad that assists businesses in building fully managed blockchain ecosystems. AvaCloud consists of four main components: an automated blockchain builder, managed validators, comprehensive data tools, and chain interoperability within Avalanche subnets.Key customers and partnershipAvalanche has partnered with several cloud services providers to improve its network such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15079">Alibaba Cloud </a>(December 2022) to improve its infrastructure and support for its validators. Users of the Avalanche blockchain can launch new validator nodes using Alibaba Cloud’s plug-and-play infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), while dApp developers can use the latter’s storage and computing resources for the efficient running of their dApps. It also collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15640?industryIds=144">AWS </a>(January 2022) to scale and improve blockchain adoption and support its dApp ecosystem, while also enabling one-click node deployments through the AWS marketplace.

Ava Labs

Based in Australia, Immutable is a developer of blockchain-based video games and a provider of a Web3 game development platform. The company develops and publishes its games through Immutable Game Studio, and released its first game, Gods Unchained, in March 2021. The game is a NFT strategy card game, and had ~80,000 active players as of January 2022. It also claimed that over USD 25 million of Gods Unchained digital assets have been traded as of the same date. In February 2024, the company launched the mobile version of Gods Unchained, available on Google Play and Apple App Store. Immutable launched its second game, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29491">Guild of Guardians </a>, in May 2024 to over 1 million pre-registered users. It is a mobile role-playing game set in a fantasy world on the brink of destruction, where players must form teams to battle against evil Dreads.Its Web3 game development platform, Immutable X, provides a SDK that offers APIs and smart contracts to allow developers to leverage ready-made Web3 infrastructure to quickly build and deploy blockchain-based games. These include an onboarding solution (non-custodial wallet) called <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16041">Passport </a>, transaction infrastructure, and NFT minting tools. The platform also consists of a developer hub which allows developers to launch and manage their projects in one-place and obtain related performance analytics.In addition, Immutable X also acts as a layer-2 scaling solution on the Ethereum blockchain. It uses <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/607497">StarkWare's </a>StarkEx roll-up technology and can process 9,000 transactions per second, with zero gas fees, while claiming to be carbon-neutral. Its native token IMX can be used to pay for transactions as well as stake and govern the network. Notable companies building on Immutable X include GameStop, TikTok, OpenSea, Ember Sword, Illuvium, GreenPark Sports, and Vee Friends (Gary Vee).Key customers and partnershipsImmutable partnered with Mineloader to develop Guild of Guardians, and it has also collaborated with several game developers, including Turner Sports and Kongregate, to build Web3 games on the Immutable X platform. Furthermore, Immutable partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22566">Amazon Web Services (AWS)</a> to develop infrastructure solutions to assist companies in developing and scaling blockchain-based games, and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24637">Amazon Prime Gaming</a> to list in-game content for Gods Unchained in the latter’s platform. This partnership also aimed to introduce the game to a broader audience circle through Amazon's platform, which boasts over 200 million Prime Gaming members. It also collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25892">Axelar</a> to integrate games built on Immutable's zkEVM into the Axelar network to enhance user onboarding across blockchain.The company collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/786111">Polygon</a> to launch its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24881">zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine</a> (zkEVM) scaling solution to bypass the scaling limitations of the Ethereum blockchain and promote Web3 gaming. This network allows developers to completely abstract transaction fees, allowing a frictionless player onboarding and improved user experience.

Immutable

Mythical Games is a video game studio building games based on blockchain technology, playable NFTs, and play-to-earn game economies. The company developed two games—NFL Rivals and Blankos Block Party. The latter was discontinued in December 2023 after its launch in June 2022.In May 2022, NFL and the NFL Players Association partnered with Mythical Games to develop an NFT-based video game NFL Rivals. The game was launched in 2023, with players taking part in arcade-style gameplay, assuming the role of NLF general manager. They can collect and trade players represented as NFTs on the secondary market via the iOS and Android apps, as well as Mythical’s web-based marketplace. In addition, a unique feature of the game is the “squad system,” which enables players to team up with fellow players to compete with others.Mythical Games also enables other game developers and publishers to build or integrate blockchain-based play-to-earn economies into their games through The Mythical Platform. The platform also includes built-in regulatory KYC/AML compliance and indemnity as well as a verified wallet for transacting both real and cryptocurrencies. Further, the company also offers a marketplace that enables users to sell and trade their digital assets.The Mythical Platform is built on an EVM-compatible sidechain Mythical Chain, which uses a proof-of-authority consensus mechanism to validate transactions. The chain also offers interoperability features, allowing players to transfer and trade NFTs across multiple blockchains. It also claims the minting of NFTs and integrating the marketplace over its platform does not require mining.It acquired <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15966">DMarket </a>–a digital gaming asset marketplace–in January 2023, and utilized its technology to launch an improved version of its own marketplace (Mythical Marketplace 2.0), with features such as a blended payment gateway and AML and fraud protection systems.Key customers and partnershipsAs of June 2023, the company reported to have achieved daily gross sales exceeding USD 1 million and gained more than 2.5 million new users over the past year. Moreover, it expects to reach over 20 million player accounts across its entire game portfolio by the end of 2023, primarily propelled by NFL Rivals and the upcoming release of Nitro Nation World Tour.The Mythical Platform’s first developer partners were announced by the company in November 2021, which includes 1) CCG Games to create Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight, a trading card game; 2) Creative Mobile to create Nitro Nation – World Tour, a racing game; and 3) Abstraction Games to create a new action strategy title. These were slated to be released in 2023.Funding and financialsIn November 2021, Mythical Games raised USD 150 million in a Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a valuation of ~USD 1.3 billion. Additionally, it raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19719">USD 37 million in a Series C1 </a>funding round led by Scytale Digital in June 2023, at a similar valuation. This funding round is expected to close later in 2023 and reach USD 57 million-67 million. It had planned to utilize the fresh funds toward initiatives that will drive profitability within the next year and expand its games and infrastructure to reach a larger audience.

Mythical Games

Storj Labs developed the Storj Decentralized Cloud Storage (DCS) network that works by compressing, encrypting, and splitting files into more than 80 smaller pieces to distribute and store them across a global network of individual storage nodes, which are excess hardware space rented out by individuals in return for a fee. Storj audits its network through random file verification every hour, which ensures its files are consistently being hosted by its nodes; it automatically reconstitutes the data when it is required by the user. The company claims to have more than 10,000 active nodes with over 6 petabytes of available storage capacity spread across the world, as of August 2022. It uses its native token STORJ, which is used by customers to pay for providers of decentralized storage.Key customers and partnershipsStorj partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/792614">Matter Lab’s </a>zkSync Era ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18986">in May 2023 </a>) to integrate the latter's zero-knowledge roll-up technology into its cloud storage platform to optimize transaction speed, reduce gas fees, and improve the overall efficiency of the payment process. Additionally, the partnership enables EVM-compatible composability for decentralized storage payments, providing customers with increased flexibility and a wider range of customization possibilities. As part of the development, Storj also had plans to develop and maintain two open-source libraries, Crypto-Batch-Payment and Storjscan, which will focus on creating a seamless onboarding experience for its customers on the zkSync Era network.

Storj

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.

Includes companies that form the Web3 ecosystem

Web3 is based on blockchain tech, a key enabler of the industry

GenAI tools help develop smart contracts and query the blockchain for data

Providers of node-as-a-service and SDKs to build dApps operate under this model

Algorand

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