Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we dive into the cash injection coming from investors for Blockchain Startups!
Nothing should be considered investment or financial advice. Enjoy the ride!
Over the past few years, the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry has driven the digital economy forward with countless innovative developments including decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, Web3 tools, and NFTs to name a few. While the space was initially referred to as a bubble waiting to burst, blockchain technology has so far proven doubters wrong.
This persistence coupled with continuous advancement has supposedly caught the eyes of institutional investors who are increasingly splashing the big bucks to support startups focused on solving key problems by leveraging the technology powering modern financial products like the so-called ‘magic money’ and ‘digital gold’.
Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led a bumper Seria A+ funding round on Wednesday (March 30, 2022), along with investment giants like FTX Ventures and Sequoia. The fundraiser pooled $135 million in capital for omnichain startup LayerZero.
LayerZero is built upon the thesis that different decentralized networks should have cross-chain operability. In other words, LayerZero’s ideal world has users on Solana communicating with Ethereum users on the blockchain without a hassle.
The idea is similar to how web2 mobile applications work across different operating systems like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
According to LayerZero Labs CEO and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino, the protocol’s success will signal the expansion of how blockchains work and are deployed, Pellegrino said:
“Our mission is to connect every [smart] contract on every chain. “In the next four weeks or so we’ll be on Solana and Terra network.”
Currently, the project is in beta mode and only supports seven blockchains – Avalanche, Ethereum, and Fantom.
American-located blockchain startup Helium has reached a $1.2 billion market valuation following a $200 million Series D funding round led by Tiger Global. Investors from a16z and Deutsche Telekom also contributed to the raise.
The Helium network operates as an open-source blockchain sometimes referred to as the people’s network. Mining on the Helium blockchain is done online via “hotspots”. Interested miners order custom rigs to access bandwidth and become Hotstop owners.
Although delays in equipment delivery have supposedly slowed down the network’s growth, COO Frank Mong opined that the fresh capital could aid in combating this obstacle. Mong also added that there are already 680,000 mining hotspots in over 50,000 cities.
Commenting on the rebrand, Mong said:
“We wanted to make the distinction very clear…It will be community-run, community-driven, community-owned, and -governed. And Nova Labs, the original creators, not only are we still participants but we’re still investing in driving growth and innovation.”
Following the name change, COO Mong revealed that a newly found organization dubbed The Helium Foundation will ensure that the community is fairly represented in future decisions.
Last year Kyrgyzstan introduced regulations on crypto exchanges and the crypto mining industry but the circulation of crypto assets remained unregulated. Now there are calls to legalize crypto assets and launch a national cryptocurrency.
Read more here…
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The post VCs Inject Almost Half A Billion Dollars into Blockchain Startups Recently appeared first on San Francisco Tribe.
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