Global Blockchain Investment and Financing Weekly Report: 11 incidents with a total scale exceeding 107 million USD

According to statistics, there were 11 financing events in the global blockchain sector last week (from July 14 to 20), with a total funding scale of over $107 million. In addition, the total financing amount for listed companies' crypto asset reserves exceeded $635 million. An overview of the main financing events is as follows:

• There is 1 incident in the DeFi sector: the tokenized money market fund platform Spiko completed a $22 million Series A funding round, led by Index Ventures.

• There are 2 events in the Web3 gaming space: one of which is the Web3 fantasy football game Football.Fun completing a $2 million funding.

• There is 1 event in the Web3+AI field: XerpaAI completed a $6 million seed round financing, led by UFLY Capital.

• There are 5 incidents in the infrastructure and tools sector: among them, the decentralized messaging protocol XMTP completed a $20 million Series B funding round, led by several well-known institutions.

• There is 1 incident in other application areas: the blockchain-based travel platform Blockskye completed a $15.8 million Series C funding round, led by Blockchange.

• There is 1 incident in the field of centralized finance: the stablecoin bank Dakota, founded by former executives, has completed a $12.5 million Series A financing, led by CoinFund.

DeFi

The tokenized money market fund platform Spiko has completed a $22 million Series A financing round, led by Index Ventures. Several institutions and angel investors participated, including White Star First, Rerail, Bpifrance, Blockwall, as well as individual investors such as the co-founder of Revolut, the founder of Kyriba, the co-founder of Bridge, the Chief Technology Officer of Wise, and the co-chief investment officer of Blackstone.

Spiko focuses on providing tokenized currency market fund services for European enterprises, allowing users to obtain daily returns by investing in low-risk assets such as Eurozone and US Treasury bonds. The platform utilizes blockchain technologies such as Ethereum and Arbitrum, and has currently processed over $900 million in liquidity. The company plans to collaborate with multiple institutions, aiming to exceed $1 billion in assets under management by 2025.

The decentralized derivatives exchange has completed the acquisition of the crypto social trading platform Pocket Protector, marking its first external acquisition. The transaction was completed in a cash + token combination, with the specific amount undisclosed. The two co-founders of Pocket Protector will join and take on key positions, and the Telegram trading bot they developed along with a 9-member technical team will be integrated. Pocket Protector was founded last year and has raised $7 million from several well-known investors.

Web3 Games

Web3 fantasy football game Football.Fun has completed a $2 million funding round, led by 6th Man Ventures(6MV), with participation from Devmons, Zee Prime Capital, Sfermion, and The Operating Group. Football.Fun is a Web3 fantasy football platform where player cards can be traded like tokens. Users can assemble teams through player card packs, participate in tournaments, and trade player shares through an AMM-based dynamic market.

The global mini-game platform PlaysOut has completed a new round of strategic financing for a certain trading platform ecosystem fund. This round of financing will mainly be used to promote the deep implementation of the "Mini-Game 2.0" model in terms of technology and ecology. PlaysOut is a global mini-game infrastructure and distribution platform aimed at embedding modular game systems into super applications. It will build a bridge between web2 and web3 through mini-games, achieving seamless monetization, user growth, and cross-ecosystem expansion.

AI

The artificial intelligence growth platform XerpaAI has completed a $6 million seed round financing, led by UFLY Capital. The funds from this round will be used for product innovation, international expansion, and strategic recruitment. XerpaAI focuses on AI and social networks, aiming to enhance user acquisition, brand influence, and distribution efficiency for innovative enterprises in the Web3 and AI fields. Currently, XerpaAI has operational teams in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Singapore, and is engaged in deep cooperation with important ecological partners in the blockchain and AI industries.

Infrastructure and Tools

The decentralized messaging protocol XMTP developer Ephemera has completed a $20 million Series B funding round, led jointly by Union Square Ventures, a16z crypto, and Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Offline Ventures, Sound Ventures, and Distributed Global. Following this round of financing, Ephemera's equity valuation is $300 million, while the broader network encompassing the XMTP protocol, which will issue tokens, is valued at $750 million.

The XMTP protocol has now been integrated into a newly launched application by a certain exchange platform, upgrading from an optional feature to a core infrastructure. This protocol offers end-to-end encrypted communication services, supporting secure interactions between wallet addresses, with the testnet having gone live this February. Ephemera has stated that it will expand its team size to promote the mainnet launch of the protocol and ecosystem development. USV partner Fred Wilson will join its board.

The privacy financial protocol AI Cross Matrix(ACM) has completed a $12 million seed round financing, with participation from Asva Capital, Genesis Capital, BuzzBridge Capital(BZB), Avalon Wealth Club, and M2M Capital. ACM utilizes ZKP(zero-knowledge proof), ring signatures, and AI-based routing obfuscation technology, aiming to build an anti-tracking cross-chain asset transfer infrastructure.

The cryptocurrency infrastructure company Function(, formerly Ignition), has completed a $10 million seed round financing, led by Galaxy Digital, with participation from Antalpha and Mantle. In addition to investing, Galaxy Digital will also be involved in core business areas such as liquidity provision and governance framework design for FBTC. The company is committed to developing institutional-grade yield solutions for Bitcoin. Function's core product FBTC is a fully reserved, composable Bitcoin derivative asset, with a total locked value of ( TVL) reaching $1.5 billion. This product allows institutional users to allocate Bitcoin to yield scenarios while maintaining custody control and 1:1 asset backing.

Web3 intelligent layer W3.io has completed a $7 million seed round financing, led by Blockchange Ventures, with participation from Framework Ventures, Arrington Capital, and others. The alliance is building a programmable smart automation network called Prodigy Network, aimed at lowering the barriers for enterprises to use blockchain technology. The CEO of W3.io stated that the project is committed to developing plug-and-play business solutions, covering scenarios such as global micropayments and mortgages.

The stablecoin payment and embedded financial services platform Kun KUN announced the completion of its Series A financing, with investors including BAI Capital, GSR Ventures, a certain Hong Kong listed company, and Eternium Global. Since its establishment 20 months ago, Kun KUN has raised a total of over 50 million US dollars.

Other Applications

The blockchain-based travel platform Blockskye has completed a $15.8 million Series C financing round, led by Blockchange, with participation from United Airlines Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, KSV Global, Lasagna, Litquidity Ventures, Longbrook Ventures, and TFJ Capital. This round of financing will be used to expand into the European, Latin American, and Asian markets, and to develop real-time payment products based on stablecoins.

Blockskye connects directly with suppliers such as airlines through Blockchain technology, helping corporate clients reduce travel costs. The company claims that its platform can reduce travel expenses by 14.5% and achieve a 84% savings on agency fees. Currently, the team has more than 40 members and plans to add 30 positions in technology, sales, and other areas.

Centralized Finance

The stablecoin bank Dakota, founded by former executives, has completed a $12.5 million Series A funding round, led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Triton Ventures, a subsidiary of a certain trading platform. Dakota facilitates fund transfers through stablecoins and provides banking-like account services for businesses and individuals. Its business model combines traditional banking functions with Blockchain technology, primarily serving overseas corporate clients in non-crypto sectors.

The platform has currently processed $1.6 billion in transaction volume and is expected to reach $4 billion by the end of 2025. Although it does not hold a banking license, the company has registered as a money services business in the United States and Europe.