Web3 developer, EVM sharding and cryptobank header agreements for blockchain finance

by · October 22, 2022

Web3 dominance in crypto funding rounds is well documented by Cointelegraph Research. In addition to the recently announced Web3 mega-funds, venture capital has also made smaller, more targeted investments in the sector. In this week’s Venture Capital (VC) Roundup, we profile the latest Web3 funding initiatives and draw attention to a sharding platform, NFT (nonfungible token) marketplace, crypto banking solution and co-ownership infrastructure.

Related: Blockchain games and metaverse projects raised $1.3 billion in Q3: DappRadar

Gamers, athletes and content creators support WWVentures

WWVentures, a boutique crypto venture firm, has raised $15 million for its Web3 fund – setting the company on course to invest in the metaverse, decentralized finance and blockchain gaming startups. The funding round was backed by a number of notable players, content creators and athletes, including former UFC champion Michael Bisping and Liverpool FC’s Trent Alexander Arnold. The fund will focus exclusively on startups with a “community-first approach” to development and will help their growth through social capital and community-building support.

Scalability-focused blockchain raises $18.2 million

Ethereum Virtual Machine-based blockchain Shardeum has received $18.2 million in seed funding from over 50 investors, including venture firms Jane Street, The Spartan Group and DFG. Shardeum is a proof-of-stake network focused on solving one of blockchain’s biggest pain points: scalability. As the name suggests, the platform uses sharding – a type of database partitioning – to increase throughput capacity. Shardeum claims that its scaling capacity is superior to other layer-1 blockchains.

Avalanche native platform raises $6M for NFT marketplace

Myna Swap, a luxury collectibles marketplace that allows users to convert their physical possessions into digital twins via NFTs, has raised $6 million in seed funding. Investors include Polygon Studios, Blizzard Avalanche Fund, Spartan Capital and Wave Financial. The platform, which offers trading and vault services, is aimed at collectors of sneakers, sports cards and watches and was built on the Avalanche blockchain. Myna Swap is set to launch later this year.

Alexis Ohanian backs Antic with $7M raise

Web3 co-ownership infrastructure provider Antic has raised $7 million in funding led by Sheva and Alexis Ohanian’s venture studio Seven Seven Six, with additional participation from Pantera Capital, Sound Ventures and Dapper Labs. Antic described co-ownership technology as an emerging concept in the Web3 community that enables companies to establish blockchain-based ownership models more easily.

Crypto banking platform closes $18M Series A

Web3 banking platform Juno has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by ParaFi Capital, with additional participation from Hashed, Jump Crypto and others. Juno offers a crypto-native checking account that allows users to more easily bank with their digital assets. After the investment round, Juno plans to expand its product offering and launch a tokenized loyalty program that allows users to earn coins to take their paycheck in crypto or spend digital assets with the Juno card.

Related: FTX and Visa partner to allow crypto payments in 40 countries

Wintermute Labs is leading the Zerion funding round

Web3 wallet and DeFi aggregator Zerion has closed a $12.3 million Series B funding round led by Wintermute Labs, the venture arm of liquidity provider Wintermute. Zerion will use the funding to further develop its Web3 wallet by integrating advanced data and enabling better cross-chain identity management for Ethereum-compatible blockchains. Zerion claims that trading volume has grown from $47 million in 2019 to more than $1.5 billion.

thirdweb lands $24M from major VC investors

Web3 developer platform Thirdweb achieved a high valuation of $160 million after its Series A funding round that netted the company $24 million. The Series A funding was led by Haun Ventures and included several notable investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Shopify, Polygon and Protocol Labs. Founded in 2021, Thirdweb is developing the infrastructure layer for Web3 that can enable more seamless app development across blockchains.