The cryptocurrency venture capital (VC) community has been abuzz with activity this week, with several startups securing significant investments. From Story Protocol’s impressive $80 million Series B funding round to Sorella Labs and BSX Exchange, these companies are making waves in the blockchain industry.
Story Protocol: Revolutionizing Intellectual Property Protection
One of the standout investments this week was Story Protocol’s $80 million Series B funding round. This San Francisco-based startup aims to address the growing issue of intellectual property theft, especially in the age of generative artificial intelligence. By leveraging blockchain technology, Story Protocol allows IP owners to store their creations on the platform and embed licensing terms directly into smart contracts. This ensures that creators are fairly compensated whenever their content is used, combating the unauthorized use of copyrighted material by technology giants.
The Series B round was led by prominent crypto VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and saw participation from Polychain Capital, Hashed, Samsung Next, and SparkLabs Global, among others. With this latest funding, Story Protocol’s total funding now stands at $140 million, valuing the company at an impressive $2.25 billion.
Sorella Labs: Maximizing Value on the Ethereum Blockchain
Another notable investment this week was Sorella Labs, a San Francisco-based startup that secured $7.5 million in funding. The company is focused on developing tools to identify and process maximum extractable value activities on the Ethereum blockchain. This funding round was led by research-driven tech investment company Paradigm, with participation from Nascent, Uniswap Ventures, Robot Ventures, and Bankless Ventures.
Sorella Labs plans to use the funding to expand its operations and accelerate the development of its key products, Brontes and Angstrom. These tools are designed to enhance value extraction on the Ethereum network, catering to the growing demand for efficient blockchain solutions.
Corn: Innovating with Layer-2 Solutions
Corn, an Ethereum layer-2 network that utilizes hybrid tokenized Bitcoin as gas, raised $6.7 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital. Binance Labs, Framework Ventures, and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal also participated in the funding round. Corn aims to create a unique “crop circle” ecosystem that connects users, applications, and token holders to address liquidity and utility challenges faced by decentralized networks.
BSX Exchange: Decentralized Derivatives Protocol
Meanwhile, BSX Exchange, a decentralized derivatives protocol built on the Ethereum L2 network Base, raised $6.2 million through pre-seed and seed funding rounds. The seed round, worth $4 million, was led by Blockchain Capital, with notable investors including Bankless Ventures and Maelstrom, the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
With this fresh capital infusion, BSX plans to expand its offerings beyond derivatives trading, with plans to launch a spot aggregator in September and introduce several earn-and-stake products shortly after. The platform aims to enhance liquidity and utility for users within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Orderly Network: Empowering Web3 Trading
Orderly Network, a project focused on developing a web3 liquidity layer, secured $5 million in funding, with backing from OKX Ventures, Manifold Trading, and Origin Protocol. The team behind Orderly Network intends to leverage the funds to strengthen its capabilities in creating a permissionless liquidity layer for web3 trading across multiple blockchains.
Currently supporting six chains, including the Ethereum mainnet and Polygon, Orderly Network aims to provide deep liquidity for various assets across these networks. The project is poised to play a crucial role in facilitating seamless and efficient trading within the web3 ecosystem.
Other Notable Funding Rounds
Wrapping up the notable VC funding rounds of the week are three projects that collectively raised over $12 million. Soulbound, a platform combining GameFi and SocialFi, secured funding to establish gaming partnerships, enhance social interactions, and expand streamer bounties and social questing. Stork Network, which earned $4.705 million in seed funding, is focused on expanding its product suite, including the development of an open data market. Finally, Thalex, a crypto derivative exchange, raised 3 million euros ($3.3 million) in a series A extension, with backing from industry players like Bitfinex, Bitstamp, and Flow Traders.
These investments highlight the growing interest and support for innovative blockchain projects that are pushing the boundaries of technology and reshaping the future of finance and digital assets. With VC funding pouring into the crypto space, we can expect to see continued growth and development in the ecosystem as these startups strive to make a lasting impact on the industry.