1. ether.fi and Scroll to Collaborate on Crypto Credit Card ether.fi Cash
On September 9, the non-custodial liquid staking protocol ether.fi and the ZK Rollup L2 network Scroll will cooperate to develop the encrypted credit card ether.fi Cash. Officials said that Scroll's zk-Rollup technology enables ether.fi to provide zero-gas fee transactions for cardholders, and the cooperation between the two parties will also introduce an efficient and secure lending market for ether.fi Cash.
ether.fi Cash will provide 3% cashback on all transactions without any exceptions or restrictions. For pre-order users, the official will provide an additional $50 cashback on the first $1,000. In addition, Chad and Whale cardholders will receive Token2049 tickets for free.
2. WOO X launches social trading product WOO X Social Trading
On September 9, WOO X launched its social trading product, WOO X Social Trading, which has introduced a number of innovative features, including the CounterTrading function, allowing users to copy traders' strategies with one click, and the WOO Shield function. In addition, WOO X Social Trading also has a fair and transparent profit-sharing model, where followers will only share profits when they make a profit; trader planning, only providing the most skilled and reliable traders; advanced copy control, including fixed ratio/fixed amount copying, margin mode, slippage tolerance, etc.
3. EigenLayer releases new security model, providing AVS risk isolation machine
On September 11, EigenLayer released a new security model for the protocol. The original security model allowed all operator rights to be slashed by any AVS, without specifying the slashing ratio, and AVS itself required permission to join the network. The new security model allows operators to join a group of AVS and set the slashable pledge ratio corresponding to each AVS (the total is less than 1), which can better control the slashing risk and guarantee the rights of the corresponding AVS. AVS pays for its rights without permission.
4. Nuffle Labs is working with EigenLayer to develop a new protocol, Nuff Protocol
On September 11, Nuffle Labs, an independent entity separated from the NEAR Foundation, announced a partnership with EigenLayer. The NEAR DA and NFFL AVS teams are developing a new protocol, the Nuff Protocol, which will allow validators to re-stake on any blockchain and settle on EigenLayer, aiming to expand EigenLayer into a multi-chain platform.
6. 1inch Network releases cross-chain innovation white paper
On September 12, 1inch Network released a white paper on cross-chain innovation, aiming to address the challenges of cross-chain interoperability in the cryptocurrency field. 1inch Network also revealed that it is developing a hybrid solution, 1inch Fusion Atomic Swap Protocol, which combines the security of traditional atomic swaps with the simplicity of intent-based approaches.
On September 17, the Eigen Foundation announced in an article on X that the second season airdrop application will open on September 16, and the application window will last until March 16, 2025. In addition, a programmatic incentive plan will be launched soon, which will distribute EIGEN every week and reward stakers and operators.
1. DRiP completes $8 million seed round of financing, led by Coinbase Ventures and others
On September 9, Solana ecosystem creator platform DRiP announced the completion of an $8 million seed round of financing, led by NFX, Coinbase Ventures and Progression (a fund founded by former TikTok executives), with participation from Placeholder, 6th Man Ventures and more than 30 angel investors. The valuation and financing structure have not yet been disclosed. The new funds will be used to accelerate the attraction of creators, launch consumer-facing mobile applications, expand the development of creator tools and platform features, and strengthen marketing efforts.
2. AI infrastructure PIN AI completes $10 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from a16z, CSX and others
On September 10, AI infrastructure company PIN AI announced the completion of a $10 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from a16z CSX, Foresight Ventures, Hack VC, Nomad Capital, Symbolic Capital, Blockchain Builders Fund, as well as angel investors such as NEAR Protocol founder Illia Polosukhin and Solana Foundation Chairman Lily Liu.
PIN AI is an AI infrastructure company that is developing the world's first open source Personal Intelligence Network (PIN), which aims to transform smartphones into privacy-focused AI personal assistants, giving users full control and ownership of their own personal AI. PIN AI is incubated by YCubed, a Silicon Valley Web3 accelerator focused on driving innovation at the intersection of AI and encryption, and will release more information about its projects in the fields of AI data and reasoning in the coming weeks.
3. t1 protocol completed a $2.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from a16z crypto and others
On September 10, Ethereum scaling solution t1 protocol announced the completion of a $2.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing, with participation from a16z CSX, as well as angel investors from projects such as Espresso, Frax, Cow Swap, ETH Global, Enso Finance, and Injective. In addition, t1 protocol has been selected for the a16z Crypto Startup School (CSX) program.
4. Blocksense Network, a oracle network, completes $4 million seed round of financing, led by Permutation, with participation from a16z CSX
On September 10, the oracle network Blocksense completed a $4 million seed round of financing, led by Permutation, with participation from a16z's Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Scott Moore, Public Works, Tykhe Block Ventures, Selini Capital, and MH Ventures. Blocksense is a Zk Rollup-based oracle solution that reduces costs through tightly packaged data blocks, introduces a transparent fee model, and provides decentralized, permissionless data feeds, aiming to revolutionize the oracle network. Anyone can become a data provider on the network by staking BlockSense tokens, and nodes will automatically perform all result reporting tasks by obtaining the appropriate oracle script and broadcasting its results to the BlockSense network.
5. Orange Cap Games completes $2 million angel round of financing and will launch the card game Vibes
On September 10, blockchain game development studio Orange Cap Games announced the completion of a $2 million Pre-Seed angel round of financing, with participation from LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino, YGG founder Gabriel Dizon, and Dapper Labs executive Amber. The new funds will be used for its upcoming collectible card game Vibes, which features Pudgy Penguins intellectual property.
6. RON Ecosystem Game Platform Moku Completes $5.35 Million in Financing, Led by Sky Mavis and Others
On September 10, RON ecological game platform Moku announced the completion of a financing of US$5.35 million, led by Sky Mavis, A16Z GAMES and A16Z GAMES SPEEDRUN, with participation from institutions such as Arca, Framework Ventures, 32-Bit Ventures, and angel investors such as Axie Infinity co-founder Jihoz and Axie Infinity CEO and co-founder Trung Nguyen.
7. Web3 operating system Fountain completes $3.5 million seed round financing
On September 10, Web3 operating system Fountain announced the completion of a US$3.5 million seed round of financing. Institutions such as Foundation Capital, Caladan, Primal Capital, Druid Ventures, United Overseas Bank (UOB), NGC Ventures, Marin Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, and angel investors such as Celo co-founder and president Rene Reinsberg and Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley participated in the investment .
8. Ammalgam completes $2.5 million seed round of financing, led by Framework Ventures and others
On September 10, the decentralized lending exchange (DLEX) Ammalgam announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed round of financing, led by Lightspeed Faction and Framework Ventures, with participation from Robot Ventures, Bodhi Ventures, NGC Ventures, DeWhales, Blockchain Founders Fund and other institutions, as well as angel investors such as Kain Warwick, Anton Bukov, Spencer Noon and Jordi Alexander.
9. RWA platform Huma completes $38 million in financing and plans to expand to Solana and Stellar
On September 11, the real-world asset tokenization platform Huma Finance completed a $38 million financing round, which included a $10 million equity investment and $28 million in revenue RWA on the Huma platform. The equity investment was led by venture capital firm Distributed Global, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Folius Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation and TIBAS Ventures, the venture capital arm of Turkish private bank İşbank. Stellar Development Foundation was the largest participant in the RWA part, investing $10 million. The company said the investment will help expand the platform to the Solana blockchain and Stellar's Soroban smart contract network in the coming months.
Earlier this year, Huma Finance merged with cross-border payments company Arf to focus on the tokenization of RWAs.
10. CUDIS completes $5 million financing, led by Draper Associates
On September 11, Solana ecosystem DePIN smart wearable device project CUDIS completed US$5 million in financing, led by Draper Associates.
The smart ring developed by CUDIS uses the Solana blockchain to protect biometric data, offers gamified health challenges, and features a personalized AI coach that provides actionable insights and rewards for healthy behaviors.
11. Digital asset trading platform SDAX completes USD 50 million B2 round of financing, led by MPMR
On September 12, Singapore's crypto trading platform SDAX completed a $50 million Series B2 financing round, led by MPMR (Oman Muscat Precious Metals Refining Company). The funds raised will be used to launch a digital asset trading platform in Oman, providing a gateway to other parts of the Gulf and Africa. Previously, SDAX completed a $18 million Series B financing round in 2021, led by PSA International, Straits Trading Company and New Horizon Global.
12. Decentralized music streaming platform Tune.fm completes $50 million in financing, with Global Emerging Markets participating
On September 12, the decentralized music streaming platform Tune.fm completed a $50 million financing, with participation from Global Emerging Markets and others. The funds raised will be used to provide liquidity for the protocol's token JAM, which is used to reward artists and users within the platform. Tune.fm's previous investors include LDA Capital, Alpha Token Capital, Block Alpha, Animoca Brands, The HBAR Foundation and GDA Capital.
13. DeFi abstraction platform Infinit completes $6 million in financing
On September 12, DeFi abstraction platform Infinit completed US$6 million in financing. Electric Capital, Mirana Ventures, Hashed and Arthur Hayes' family office Maelstrom, Lightspeed Faction, Nomad Capital, Robot Ventures, Tangent and Presto Labs participated in the investment. The newly raised funds will be used to enhance its infrastructure.
14. Eigenpie completes seed round financing, with participation from Arbitrum Foundation and others
On September 13, the liquidity re-pledge platform Eigenpie completed its seed round of financing, with participation from the Arbitrum Foundation, Robot Ventures, PancakeSwap, Relayer Capital, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, Frax Finance founder Sam Kazemian, Zircuit co-founder Angel Xu, Maelstrom co-founder Akshat, Alex Esin, Matthew Howells, Matt Dobel, CoinFlipCanada and VelvetMilkman. The specific amount of financing was not disclosed. The funds raised will be used to support the long-term development of EigenLayer's liquidity re-pledge landscape.
15. Project Zero developer Fuse completes $12 million in strategic financing, led by Multicoin Capital
On September 13, Fuse, a decentralized renewable energy network developer, announced the completion of a $12 million strategic financing led by Multicoin Capital and participated by Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and others. Fuse plans to use the funds to launch Project Zero, a decentralized renewable energy physical infrastructure network. Currently, Fuse operates utility-scale solar and wind power plants, and has distributed energy resource (DER) installations, power trading, and power retail businesses.
16. Solana Ecosystem Edge Computing Open Layer Gradient Completes New Round of Financing, Multicoin and Others Participate
Solana Ecosystem Edge Computing Open Layer Gradient Network announced the completion of a new round of financing, with participation from Multicoin Capital, Sequoia Capital, Pantera Capital, etc. The specific financing amount and valuation data have not yet been disclosed. Gradient Network's vision is to bring inclusive, convenient, and low-cost computing services to everyone.
Gradient Network hopes to provide affordable solutions for scenarios such as AI reasoning, serverless computing, and content delivery through decentralized edge computing infrastructure. Gradient's first product, the Sentry Node browser plug-in, was also launched at the same time.
17. Content delivery network Pipe Network completes $10 million financing, Multicoin leads the investment
On September 16, Permissionless Labs, the development company behind the content delivery network Pipe Network, completed a $10 million financing round led by Multicoin. The project aims to help people quickly expand CDN nodes where they are most needed by borrowing existing computing power. It is reported that the project will rely on the Solana blockchain.
IOSG Ventures began investing in the crypto industry in 2017 and is an early investor in major verticals of Web 3.0. As a native crypto fund driven by industry research, we have long been committed to the development and innovation of the industry with outstanding early projects and protocols. Our portfolio includes a range of creative and high-potential projects, such as Infra (Polkadot, NEAR, Arbitrum, Arweave, Celestia, Optimism), Staking & Restaking projects (EigenLayer, etherFi, Swell, Babylon), DeFi (including 1inch, UMA), ZKRU (Scroll, zkSync) and other industry-leading projects.
