NFT/Metaverse Resurgence and Funding Funds
Venture Capital Deals
Espresso Systems is a new layer 1 blockchain protocol that uses Proof-of-Stake consensus with zero-knowledge rollups in order to maintain user privacy while also improving transaction speed and costs. The project raised $32 million in a seed round led by Greylock Partners and Electric Capital, with Sequoia Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Slow Ventures also participating in the round. Espresso’s differentiator is its smart contract application that allows developers to customize the level of privacy that they offer to users while also supporting wrapped ERC-20 tokens at launch and NFT capability as the next step in the roadmap. (Espresso Systems Raises $32M to Bring Scaling and Privacy to Web 3)
Blockmetrix is a Bitcoin mining startup that is using joint ventures in acquiring mining sites in order to share development and power costs with its partners in each location. The company raised $43 million in a Series B round that will be used to purchase 5,000 new mining rigs for a co-location facility in Texas. The expansion will multiply their current mining fleet by 6x from their first deployment of 1,000 rigs in June 2021. Because share of network hashrate plays a major role in calculating mining revenue, Blockmetrix is attempting to rapidly outscale ...Reports you may have missed
WEEKLY RECAP After multiple weeks of total funding near $300 million, things have cooled slightly, with this week’s total falling to $155 million across 19 deals. Metaverse & Gaming was the leading category due to a $100 million fundraise by MapleStory Universe, our Deal of the Week. Infrastructure was the most popular category from a deal count perspective, tallying eight deals totaling $14 million. Seed rounds were the most common...
