This week’s crypto funding highlights include investments in web3 gaming, Ethereum scaling, Bitcoin infrastructure, and decentralized AI.
Riot Platforms Acquires Block Mining
Our funding roundup begins with an acquisition. On July 24, Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot Platforms announced that it had acquired Block Mining, a Kentucky-based Bitcoin mining company, in a deal valued at $92.5 million.
According to Riot, the acquisition could increase its operating capacity by about 60 megawatts, with plans to expand to 110 megawatts by the end of 2024.
Riot paid $18.5 million in cash and $74 million in common stock for the acquisition.
NPC Labs, $18 million
NPC Labs, a Web3 gaming infrastructure startup founded by three former Coinbase employees, has raised $18 million in a seed funding round.
Pantera Capital led the round, with participation from Mantle EcoFund, Makers Fund, Bitscale Capital, Hashed, Mirana Ventures, and Collab+Currency.
The project has raised a total of $21 million after raising $3 million in its last pre-seed funding round.
NPC Labs said it will use the funding to bring on new members to the team, particularly engineers. It is also looking to increase gaming adoption of the series through its game expansion ecosystem, B3.fun, which is built on Base.
Caldera, $15 million
Caldera, a Web 3 infrastructure platform, also benefited from the VC activity this week, raising $15 million in a Series A funding round.
Founders Fund led the round, which also included participation from Lattice, Dragonfly, Arkstream Capital, and Sequoia Capital. This brings Caldera’s total funding to $25 million, with the project having raised $10 million in 2023.
The US-based startup aims to help developers launch Ethereum staking or “one-click” scaling networks. It has a long list of clients, including Injective, RARI Chain, and ApeChain, with a total value locked of more than $800 million.
Igloo, $11 million
Igloo, Inc., the parent company of NFT project Pudgy Penguins, also got in on the act, raising $11 million to develop Abstract, a new scalable layer 2 network on Ethereum (ETH).
Founders Fund led Igloo’s funding round, which included investments from Selini Capital, Everest Ventures, 1kx, and Fenbushi Capital.
Igloo reportedly plans to use the funds raised to create a new entity, Cube Labs, to oversee Abstract’s development.
In June, Igloo acquired another Layer-2 network, Frame, which primarily supports NFTs. Igloo said it would use the Frame team to help build the Abstract project.
Betlayer, $11 million
Bitcoin Layer-2 startup Bitlayer has raised $11 million in its Series A funding round. The round, led by Franklin Templeton, ABCDE, and Framework Ventures, brings Bitlayer’s total investment to $16 million.
It is worth noting that Franklin Templeton’s participation represents the first strategic investment from an ETF-licensed institution in the Bitcoin Layer-2 project.
Another notable fundraiser in the crypto venture capital space
While the projects above brought in the biggest investments this week, several other notable rounds helped push the total VC funding this week, including the Riot Platforms deal, to over $210 million. Here are some of them, according to Data From crypto fundraisers:
- Obviously The company raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Pantera Capital, bringing its total funding to $10 million.
- middle Raised $7.5 million in a strategic funding round led by Ledger Cathay Fund.
- OpenSocial The company has raised $6 million in strategic funding led by Framework Ventures and North Island Ventures, bringing its total funding since inception to $26 million.
- daubis database Closed $6M Series A funding round with investments from SevenX Ventures, AntAlpha Ventures, and more.
- Network 3 The company has raised $5.5 million in seed and series A funding. The round included Borderless Capital, EV3, IoTeX Eco Fund, SNZ, Waterdrip Capital, and Bing Ventures.
- Redbell AI The startup has secured $5 million in its seed funding round led by Animoca Brands and DFG.
