Three blockchain specialists scored venture capital this week — a bullish indicator that, perhaps, investors are once again warming up to the web3 sector.
Peaq
On March 27, Peaq — a layer-1 (L1) blockchain designed specifically for decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) — announced a successful Series A funding round, raising $15 million.
Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital led the effort, with participation from several prominent investors, including Spartan Group, HV Capital, CMCC Global, and Animoca Brands.
Announcing: peaq raises $15M in a pre-launch funding round led by @genventurecap and @borderless_cap 🎇
The funds will go towards making it easier and faster for #DePINs to build, launch, and scale on peaq, ahead of peaq’s upcoming public offering, and the launch of peaq’s… pic.twitter.com/1ErsxsIUFP
— peaq (@peaqnetwork) March 27, 2024
With a vision to build an “Economy of Things” network, Peaq aims to decentralize physical infrastructure and systems, offering a permissionless and borderless digital infrastructure for increasingly intelligent machines.
The platform offers many backend functions for app builders, facilitating access management, AI agents, and device data verification. Its ecosystem also boasts supporting tools like a machine platform and a decentralized physical infrastructure network accelerator, which are in partnership with Outlier Ventures.
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Peaq plans to use the funds raised to expand its ecosystem, which already hosts more than 20 DePINs, These DePINs encompass industries such as mobility, energy, connectivity, environment, agriculture, and digital infrastructure.
Midas
Midas raised $8.75 million in funding. The firm, led by CEO Dennis Dinkelmeyer, is developing a protocol that issues real-world assets as ERC-20 tokens.
1/ Introducing the Midas Protocol and the innovative $mTBILL to the DeFi landscape!
Today, we’re thrilled to unveil Midas, our pioneering asset tokenization protocol, alongside the successful raise of $8.75M co-led by industry titans @BlockTower, @hiFramework, and @HV_Capital. pic.twitter.com/FCDWy1LUZQ— Midas (@MidasRWA) March 28, 2024
The funding round, spearheaded by Framework Ventures and BlockTower, will fuel Midas’s expansion efforts and further development of its asset tokenization protocol.
Midas will also introduce mTBILL, a stablecoin designed to allow users to earn yield from U.S. Treasury bills on-chain. According to the company, this move has the potential to shake up the stablecoin industry, especially in light of its assertion that launching a stablecoin during a non-zero interest rate period could be disruptive.
7/ Natively yield-bearing tokens are key for on-chain finance in a non-zero interest rate world.
With giants like Circle & Tether born in a zero-rate era, there’s a huge chance for disruption.
The future? Yield-focused stablecoins like $mTBILL.
— Midas (@MidasRWA) March 28, 2024
Commenting on the news, Dennis Dinkelmeyer highlighted Midas’s commitment to innovation, stating, “Midas is well-positioned to continue bringing investors innovative products to keep capital, particularly stable capital, on-chain through yield-bearing tokens while still harnessing the full suite of relevant defi applications.”
Peaq and Midas are both based in Berlin. Their ability to attract funding indicates growing investor confidence in the potential of blockchain technology for real-world applications and asset tokenization.
Bob
Separately, a hybrid layer-2 network called Build on Bitcoin (BOB) has successfully raised $10 million in seed funding.
Castle Island Ventures spearheaded the funding round. Mechanism Ventures, Bankless Ventures, and notable angel investors Dan Held and Domo, the creator of the BRC-20 token standard, all participated.
We’re thrilled to announce: 𝐁𝐎𝐁 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 $𝟏𝟎𝐌 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 led by Castle Island Ventures, alongside other leading investors! 🎉
This pivotal moment fuels our mission to launch the first hybrid L2 – a blend of Bitcoin’s security and Ethereum’s… pic.twitter.com/lMwOcO5qTD
— BOB | Build On Bitcoin (@build_on_bob) March 27, 2024
The pioneering project, led by co-founder Alexei Zamyatin, is looking to introduce the first Bitcoin L2 solution with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.
The London-based company is also gearing up to launch its Fusion program on March 27, offering participants early access to its platform.
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