Someren Capital

White Star Capital is a global venture capital fund and multi-stage technology investment platform investing in North America, Europe and Asia. It backs exceptional entrepreneurs globally, leveraging their extensive experience and networks to help them scale their businesses internationally. Operating out of New York, London, Montreal, Toronto, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong, its presence, perspective and people enable it to partner closely with Founders to help them scale internationally from Series A onwards.

White Star Capital

GFC is a venture fund that supports entrepreneurs at various stages of business development. It focuses on global markets and seeks individuals with innovative ideas. The fund evaluates opportunities based on potential impact and feasibility.

Global Founders Capital

Kingsway Capital is a investment management firm.

Kingsway Capital

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

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

Darrow Holdings is a venture capital firm that specializes in small businesses. They offer direct investment opportunities for private equity, real estate wholesale and development services, and other services.

Darrow Holdings

RW3 Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on investments in the infrastructure, protocols, and applications that are propelling growth in blockchain technologies, decentralized finance, and long-term web 3 development.

RW3 Ventures

Susquehanna Growth Equity is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on growth and expansion-stage companies. The firm primarily invests in software and tech-enabled businesses in North America, Israel, and Western Europe. Areas of focus include enterprise software/SaaS, financial technology, supply chain/logistics, internet, healthcare technology, security infrastructure, human resources technology, and lending technology. The firm invests $5-$100+ million in companies with $5-$100+ million of revenue.

Susquehanna Growth Equity

Valor is an investment firm that focuses on cross-border financial and investment opportunities. The firm operates across two investment strategies Growth Equity and Venture Capital. It was founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York, United States.

Valor Capital Group

# Hashed: To empower networks and innovators in building the decentralized future. Hashed, based in San Francisco and Seoul, is the largest crypto assets fund and community builder in South Korea. The team was founded by serial entrepreneurs, company operators, and systems engineers, who are passionate about enabling the global adoption of blockchain through education, acceleration and impact investments. Hashed operates Hashed Lounge--a premier blockchain meetup group; Hashed Post--a cryptocurrency blog interviewing founders and thought leaders; and Hashed Night--a world-class conference, events, and networking brand.  The team is actively working towards a definition of what it means to be a fundamental technology and founder-focused investment startup in the blockchain ecosystem.

Hashed

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

Exponential is a global financial firm providing access to capital and investments

Exponential Ventures

10T Holdings is a growth equity fund that invests in private companies operating in the digital asset ecosystem. It specializes in the fields of financial services, venture capital, and investment management. The firm was founded in 2019 and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

10T Holdings

GoldenTree is an employee-owned, global asset management firm that specializes in opportunities across the credit universe in sectors such as high yield bonds, leveraged loans, private credit, distressed debt, structured products, emerging markets, private equity and credit-themed equities. GoldenTree was founded in 2000 and is one of the largest independent asset managers focused on credit. GoldenTree manages over $48 billion for institutional investors including leading public and corporate pensions, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds. GoldenTree is headquartered in New York and has offices in West Palm Beach, FL, Charlotte, NC, London, Dublin, Sidney, Singapore, Tokyo, and Dubai.

GoldenTree Asset Management

FJ Labs is a stage-agnostic investment firm that focuses on marketplaces and consumer-facing startups. Their investments are seed and series A. The investment range of the company is $50,000 to $5,000,000. It invests in Alibaba Group, Beepi, BrightRoll, Betterment, Adore Me, and Earnest.

FJ Labs

Ascendant Capital is a boutique alternative investment firm that brings one-of-a-kind investment strategies to a diverse investor base with a focus on income-producing private equity.  With over 35 employees, Ascendant has more than a decade of capital markets experience in the independent broker/dealer space, and has specialists from the independent broker/dealer, RIA and institutional salespersons, in addition to a six-member National Accounts team.  Ascendant Capital wholesales, markets and educates broker/dealers and RIAs to sell and service the Funds. In addition to sales support functions, Ascendant Capital focuses on product development, due diligence, marketing services and client relations.

Ascendant Capital

Raptor Group Holdings is an alternative investment firm that provides investment management and advisory services. Raptor Group sources and invest in companies across various stages and asset classes, ranging from early-stage venture to both private and public equity. Raptor focuses on various industries including, but not limited to Sports, Consumer, Technology, Media, Entertainment, and Financial Services.  It was founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Raptor Group

Ledn

Ledn builds financial products with a mission to help more people save in digital assets. Ledn’s suite of products consists of Borrow - A bitcoin-backed loan which allows customers to access dollars without selling their bitcoin, B2X - Allowing clients to instantly double their bitcoin holdings through the use of a Ledn loan and Save - A bitcoin and USDC savings account that pays interest on bitcoin or USDC with no minimums. For more information visit ledn.io.

Based in Canada, Ledn is a cryptocurrency financial services company that offers Bitcoin and USDC-denominated savings accounts and Bitcoin-backed loans. Users can borrow USD while leveraging their Bitcoin holdings as collateral, with a 50% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Moreover, the company also offers custodied loans, where collateral is held by qualified custodians such as BitGo, to provide users enhanced security for their collateral.&nbsp;

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Ledn co-founder shares how crypto startups can avoid debanking

Deloitte

Ledn appoints Deloitte as its external audit partner.

Based in Canada, Ledn is a cryptocurrency financial services company that offers Bitcoin and USDC-denominated savings accounts and Bitcoin-backed loans. Users can borrow USD while leveraging their Bitcoin holdings as collateral, with a 50% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Moreover, the company also offers custodied loans, where collateral is held by qualified custodians such as BitGo, to provide users enhanced security for their collateral.&nbsp;In October 2022, Ledn acquired Arxnovum Investments, a regulated Canadian digital asset investment management firm, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition enabled Arxnovum to operate as an independent business unit under Ledn and offer its investment products to Ledn’s client base.In Q1 2024, Ledn processed USD 690 million worth of loans, with USD 584 million going to institutional clients. During the same period, the company also announced that it had doubled its loan book since November 2022.Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;In March 2024, Ledn partnered with Casa, a cryptocurrency self-custody platform, to provide the latter’s clients with an exclusive discount on crypto-backed loans made on the platform.

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.&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

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>

 Ledn, a Bitcoin-based lending platform, has acquired a USD 50 million Bitcoin-backed loan from <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/809352"> Sygnum </a>, a crypto custody and banking platform.
 The loan, gathered from among Sygnum's institutional clients, is to be applied in the expansion of Ledn's retail lending operations.&nbsp;
 Ledn, home-based in Canada, is a cryptocurrency financial services firm providing Bitcoin and USDC-denominated savings accounts and Bitcoin-backed loans. Its users have the advantage of being able to borrow USD while economically using their Bitcoin holdings as collateral at a 50% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. In addition, the company also renders Custodied Loans, where the collateral is safeguarded by expert custodians such as BitGo. This ensures the heightened security of users' collateral.&nbsp;
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 This loan is a significant milestone in Sygnum’s expansion plans since it <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/25908"> raised USD 40 million </a> in strategic funding in January. Notably, this funding round, which gave the company a post-money valuation of USD 900 million, was earmarked for venturing into new markets and expanding the company’s suite of regulated products and services. Moreover, Sygnum claims that this loan is the “first Bitcoin-backed syndicated loan from a fully regulated bank."

Ledn

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