Funding increased 40% week-over-week from $75 million to $105 million. Infrastructure and Web3 & NFTs dominated fundraising, representing 88% of total funding. Deal counts also rose this week, ticking up 31% to 21 deals. Deal sizes were consistent with last week’s levels, with an average of $6 million per deal. The week’s largest deal was a $16.5 million token sale completed by Limewire. The ex-notorious file-sharing platform is refocusing its efforts toward a digital platform where musicians can create and monetize blockchain-based content.
Deal stage make-up stayed consistent with recent trends, with Seed deals representing 29% of funding and 43% of deal count. Pre-seed deals comprised 10% of the total count, while 43% failed to disclose the deal stage. Other than the Limewire deal, there were no other token sales, and there were no reported M&A deals.
Deal of The Week
Odsy Network, a layer-1 blockchain aiming to create universal wallets for Web3, raised $7.5M at a $250M valuation. The seed round was led by Blockcharge Ventures, with participation from Rubik Ventures, Node Capital, and FalconX, among others. Odsy’s cyber security and cryptography experts are developing the network as a universal control layer to secure assets across all Web3. A new primitive built on Odsy called Dynamic Decentralized Wallets (dWallet) is designed to serve as a native interoperable wallet that allows users to sign transactions on any network.
Why is this the Deal of The Week?
The need for users to have multiple wallets for different networks and applications is one of the major pain points leading to friction for broader crypto adoption. As the number of blockchain networks grows, the user experience continues to deteriorate, requiring users to use bridges and centralized exchanges to manage assets across chains. Odsy Foundation, an organization based in Zug, Switzerland, aims to decentralize access control in Web3, eliminating the need for users to have multiple wallets. Odsy has developed decentralized wallets, known as dWallets, that provide seamless access to various Web3 protocols and platforms. These innovative wallets utilize transferable signing mechanisms, enabling users to sign transactions on practically any blockchain. dWallets revolutionize access control by enforcing trustless and decentralized logic. They also allow dynamic interactions and collaboration among protocols and solutions built on Odsy, fostering flexibility and interoperability. Odsy is creating a more inclusive and user-friendly Web3 ecosystem by empowering users and simplifying access to blockchain networks.
Selected Deals
Blocktorch is a Web3 & NFT-based tooling platform aiming to assist developers in constructing and maintaining decentralized applications. The platform has secured $4.2M in funding through its seed round led by Ideo CoLab Ventures. In addition, the funding round included investor participation from Alchemy Ventures, Speedinvest, Remote First Ventures, RockawayX, and others. Blocktorch intends to use the capital raised for workforce expansion across its commercial and engineering teams.
Cloudburst Technologies is an infrastructure-based platform aiming to develop solutions for its users that deter and prevent digital asset fraud. The platform plans to accomplish this without being dependent on anonymous wallet addresses. The company has secured $3M in funding through its seed round led by Strategic Cyber Ventures. In addition, the funding round included investor participation from Bloccelerate and Coinbase Ventures.
Artifact Labs is a Web3 & NFT-based platform aiming to allow users to preserve historical records by utilizing blockchain technology. The company has secured $3.25M in funding through a round led by Blue Pool Capital. In addition, the funding round included investor participation from Animoca Ventures. Artifact Labs intends to use the capital raised for operational expansion.
Blockworks is an infrastructure-based media platform that provides users with digital asset related news, analytics, and research. The company has secured $12M in funding at a $135M valuation led by 10T Holdings. In addition, the funding round included investor participation from Framework Ventures and Santiago Santos. Blockworks intends to use the capital raised for workforce expansion and product development.
Aether Games ($AEG) is a Metaverse & Gaming-based platform aiming to connect traditional gaming and blockchain technology. The platform has already released Cards of Ethernity, a trading card game available on Sui and Polygon. In addition, the studio plans to release Gates of Ethernity, an auto battler-based title, later this year. The company has secured $4.5M in funding through a round that included investor participation from Polygon, Polkastarter, Mysten Labs, Magic Eden, and others.
