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

Last week (7.14-7.20), there were a total of 11 investment and financing events in the global Blockchain sector, with a total funding scale exceeding $107 million. In addition, the total amount of financing for publicly listed companies' crypto asset reserves exceeded $635 million. The main investment and financing situations are as follows:

• In the DeFi sector: The tokenized money market fund platform Spiko completed a $22 million Series A financing round, led by Index Ventures.

• 2 occurrences in the Web3 gaming sector: Among them, the Web3 fantasy football game Football.Fun completed a $2 million financing.

• Web3+AI field together: XerpaAI completes $6 million seed round financing, led by UFLY Capital.

• 5 incidents in the infrastructure and tools sector: Among them, the decentralized messaging protocol XMTP completed a $20 million Series B financing, led by multiple well-known institutions.

• Other application fields: The blockchain-based travel platform Blockskye has completed a $15.8 million Series C financing, led by Blockchange.

• In the centralized finance sector: The stablecoin bank Dakota, founded by former executives, has completed a $12.5 million Series A funding round, 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 Frst, Rerail, Bpifrance, Blockwall, and others.

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

A 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 the exchange as President and Head of Growth, and their developed Telegram trading bot along with a 9-person technical team will be integrated. Pocket Protector was established last year and has raised $7 million from investors such as Electric Capital and Dragonfly.

Web3 Games

Web3 fantasy football game Football.Fun has completed a $2 million financing 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 meme coins. Users can build teams through player card packs, participate in tournaments, and trade player shares on a dynamic market based on AMM.

The global mini-game platform PlaysOut has completed a new round of strategic financing for a certain trading platform's ecological fund. This round of financing will primarily be used to promote the deep implementation of the "mini-game 2.0" model in 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-ecological expansion.

AI

Artificial intelligence growth platform XerpaAI has completed a $6 million seed round of financing, led by UFLY Capital. The funds from this round will be used for product innovation, international expansion, and strategic hiring. 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 has engaged in deep cooperation with important ecosystem 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. After this funding round, Ephemera's equity valuation stands at $300 million, while the broader network encompassing the XMTP protocol that will issue tokens is valued at $750 million.

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

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 a tracking-resistant cross-chain asset transfer infrastructure.

The crypto infrastructure company Function(, originally 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 engage in core business activities such as providing liquidity for FBTC and designing governance frameworks. The company is dedicated 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 (TVL) currently reaching $1.5 billion. This product allows institutional users to allocate Bitcoin to yield scenarios while retaining custodial control and a 1:1 asset backing.

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

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

Other Applications

The blockchain-based travel platform Blockskye has completed a $15.8 million Series C funding 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 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 its platform can reduce travel expenses by 14.5% and achieve an 84% savings on agency fees. Currently, the team consists of over 40 people, with plans to add 30 more 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 trading platform. Dakota facilitates fund transfers through stablecoins, providing bank account-like 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 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 is registered as a money service business in the United States and Europe.