Funding saw a notable increase this week, rising to $503 million from $73 million last week. CeFi and Infrastructure made up the large majority of capital raised, representing 60% and 31%, respectively. The largest deal this week was a $300 million Series C deal raised by Amber Group. Amber Group is a digital asset trading platform, and they raised capital in order to increase the company’s health following the collapse of FTX.
Seed Round deals were the most popular deal type this week, representing 37% of all deals. There was one acquisition this week as Bitcoin Group acquired the German bank, Bankhaus von der Heydt. Bankhaus von der Heydt has a German banking license and currently offers custody and tokenization of digital assets. Bitcoin Group plans to leverage the acquisition to become a one-stop shop for banking, securities, and crypto trading services.
Deal of The Week
Crypto insurance platform, Evertas, raised $14M in funding in a Series A round led by Polychain Capital with participation from CMT Digital Ventures, Morgan Creek, and Balaji Srinivasan, among others. This round brings the company’s funding to a total of $19.8M. Evertas aims to bring quality insurance to crypto by applying traditional insurance principles to the new risks and opportunities present in crypto.
Why is this Deal of the Week?
As we’ve seen throughout 2022, tail risk is a real threat in crypto. From hundred-million-dollar DeFi hacks to exchange insolvencies, crypto users always need to be on high alert to mitigate risks and protect their assets. Despite this clear need to insure assets, most crypto users haven’t yet utilized crypto insurance. According to Evertas, out of the nearly $1 trillion invested in crypto, only 0.25% is insured. This gap presents an enormous opportunity for platforms like Evertas. Evertas views itself as the premier crypto insurance firm. The company has been building since 2017 and currently supports about 30% of crypto underwriting globally. Evertas has a wide range of insurance offerings, including theft, loss, smart contract risk, platform risk, and property coverage (for crypto miners and data centers). Investors believe that Everta’s specialization in crypto puts them at a distinct advantage compared to traditional insurance companies. According to Andrew Keys, investor and co-founder of Darma Capital, “The incumbent carriers and reinsurers writing the occasional crypto policy are staffed by insurance generalists analyzing these very specialized risks, part time; they’re in way over their heads and that’s unsustainable.”
Selected Deals
Amber Group is a centralized finance (CeFi) based trading platform. The firm focuses on offering a variety of digital asset-related investment products to institutional clients. The company has secured $300M in funding through its Series C round led by Fenbushi Capital U.S.. Amber Group intends to use the capital raised to recover from FTX contagion.
Aztec Network is an infrastructure-based platform aiming to provide protection for the Ethereum blockchain. The company has secured $100M in funding through its Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz Crypto. In addition, the funding round also included investor participation from Variant, HashKey, Fenbushi Capital, King River, and others. Aztec Network intends to use the capital raised for workforce expansion and infrastructure development.
Nillion is an infrastructure-based platform focusing on developing a non-blockchain decentralized network. The company has secured $20M in funding through an oversubscribed round led by Distributed Global. In addition, the funding round also included investor participation from Big Brain Holdings, Chapter One, OP Crypto, and others.
Frontrunner is a decentralized sports prediction and betting platform. The platform plans to allow users to buy and sell shares in teams/players. The company has secured $4.75M in funding through its seed round led by Susquehanna Private Equity Investments. In addition, the funding round also included investor participation from Toy Ventures, Ledger Prime, WAGMI Ventures, SOMA Capital, and others. Frontrunner intends to use the capital raised for workforce expansion, licensing, and product development.
Decent is an infrastructure-based platform focusing on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform plans to develop a protocol allowing users to monetize their work. The company has secured $3.5M in funding through its seed round led by Archetype. In addition, the funding round also included investor participation from Y Combinator Circle Palm Tree Crew Crypto, Circle Ventures, and others. Decent intends to use the capital raised for workforce expansion.
