Institutional Bulletin: Fireblocks Raises $550M, FTX Valuation Reaches $32B
The crypto industry is attracting a growing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by new investments in infrastructure, and the increasing attention that companies are showing to bitcoin as an asset class. The most important events of recent weeks are in the ForkLog review.
Fireblocks Custodian raised $550 million at an $8 billion valuation
Cryptocustodial services provider Fireblocks has raised $550 million in a Series E funding round. Investors valued the company at $8 billion.
The round was led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital, with participation from General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Mammoth, CapitalG, Altimeter, ParaFi Capital, Sequoia Capital, Coatue, Ribbit, Bank of New York Mellon, Paradigm and SCB10x.
The raised funds will be used to expand the client base, support various DeFi services and new blockchain platforms like Terra, as well as increase the staff from the current 300 to 600.
Founded in 2018, Fireblocks provides institutional players a secure storage platform, access to DeFi services like Aave Arc, crypto asset staking and tokenization capabilities.
Custodian services are used by Bank of New York Mellon, Revolut, Galaxy Digital, BlockFi, Deribit, eToro, CoinShares and Three Arrows Capital. The amount of assets involved in Fireblocks is $45 billion.
FTX raises $400M at $32B valuation
FTX has announced that it has raised $400M in a Series C funding round. The company’s valuation reaches $32B
In the round Temasek, Paradigm, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tiger Global and others participated.
The exchange said that since October 2021, the user base has grown by 60%, and the average daily trading volume has increased by 40% ( up to ~$14 billion).
At the end of 2021, the daily number of transactions concluded on the platform, including transactions with derivatives, amounted to 13.8 billion. Spot trading volume increased by 2400%, reaching $719 billion.
Animoca Brands raised $358.9 million at a $5 billion valuation
Hong Kong NFT game developer Animoca Brands raised $358,888,888. The company’s pre-money valuation was $5 billion
The funding was led by Liberty City Ventures with participation from 10T Holdings, C Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund, L2 Capital, Pacific Century Group, ParaFi Capital, Provident, Sequoia China, Soros Fund Management, Winklevoss Capital and others.
Funds raised will be used for strategic investments and acquisitions, product development and intellectual property licensing.
Blockchain company Blockdaemon has raised $207 million at a $3.25 billion valuation
Blockdaemon Closes $207M Series C Funding Round Brings Blockchain Company Valuation to $3.25B
Sapphire Ventures and Tiger Global led the round. Softbank also participated through Vision Fund 2, Boldstart Ventures, StepStone Group, Matrix Capital Management, Lerer Hippeau, Kenetic and Galaxy Digital.
The company will create a fund “to reinvest earned assets in institutional grade DeFi offerings” .
Blockdaemon recalled that in 2021 they hired 150 new employees, and also entered the markets of Singapore and Germany. Acquisitions include Lunie and Anyblock Analytics.
NFL star Tom Brady’s Autograph NFT platform raises $170M
Sports and entertainment-focused NFT- Autograph has raised $170 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins with other investors.
The NFT platform has been operating since April 2021. Among the collections that have used it for release are Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, tennis player Naomi Osaka, Brady and The Weeknd.
The new project of Blockstack founder Munib Ali raised $150 million
Founded by Blockstack founder Munib Ali and Princeton University computer science professor J.P. Singh, Trust Machines has raised $150 million.
Venture firms are among the funding rounds Breyer Capital, Digital Currency Group, GoldenTree, Hivemind and Union Square Ventures.
“We are excited to announce that we have raised $150 million to transform Bitcoin from a passive store of value to the ultimate settlement for a powerful new platform, and to enable and develop a new app economy, who use BTC and its blockchain,” the founders wrote.
The company’s goal is to create the largest dapps ecosystem based on Bitcoin and its blockchain. The project will be based on the technologies of Blockstack’s Stacks platform, which creates layers of smart contracts for the network of the first cryptocurrency.
Phantom crypto wallet raised $109 million in investments
Cryptocurrency developers Solana-based Phantom Wallet closes $109M Series B funding round. Project valuation reaches $1.2B
The investment round is led by venture capital firm Paradigm with Andreessen Horowitz, Variant Fund, Jump Capital, DeFi Alliance and Solana Ventures .
The raised funds will be used to expand the project, launch an Android application and increase the staff from 20 to at least 40 people.
NFT comics publisher Pixel Vault has raised $100 million
NFT-focused decentralized media group Pixel Vault has raised $100 million in funding from venture capital firms 01 Advisors and Velvet Sea Ventures.
The company will use funds to create a multi-franchise NFT platform that will allow individuals to own digital content in films, television, comics, video games and other media.
The startup is the creator of the PUNKS Comics project, in which NFT holders get access to webcomics. The first issue chronicled the life of fictional crypto influencer Beanie, while the second featured characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
Dune Analytics raises $69.4M at a $1B valuation
Norway-based analytics platform Dune Analytics closed a $69.42 million Series B funding round led by Coatue.
The company’s valuation reached $1 billion as a result of the investment round. Funds raised will be used for training, rewards and empowerment « the next generation of Web 3.0 data analytics.”
The startup also plans to expand to other blockchains with additional tools.
Dune Analytics interacts with Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism and xDAI data. The developers plan to integrate all systems compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
British crypto processor BCB Group raises $60M
London-based crypto processor BCB Group raises $60 million in a Series A funding round.
It was led by Foundation Capital with participation from BACKED VC, PayU, Digital Currency Group, Nexo, Wintermute, Menai Financial Group, Circle, Tokentus Investment, Cowa, Profluent Ventures, LAUNCHub Ventures, North Island Ventures, Blockchain.com Ventures, Rockaway Blockchain Fund, Pantera and L1 Digital.
The raised funds will be used to expand the business geographically, as well as the purchase of shares in “critical infrastructure partner companies”.
According to the statement, the round was the largest for this stage of financing in the UK blockchain industry.
BCB Group provides clients with a range of services for processing payments in cryptocurrencies and fiat, trading digital assets and custody through a unified platform.
Over five years of operation, the firm has processed payments worth about $100 billion.
More than $30 billion in a year: why venture investments in the crypto industry are growing
blockquote>
Also on ForkLog:
- Metaplex raises $46M from Multicoin Capital and Jump Crypto.
- Polkadot parachain auction winner raises $22M from Polychain and others.
- Crypto startup Superdao raises $10.5M seed funding
- Animoca Brands backs Indian gaming startup with $10M round
