After the turbulent bankruptcies of Terra and FTX, 2023 is a breath of fresh air for crypto players. Bitcoin and Ethereum largely recouped their losses in the months that followed. In particular, there has been a significant recovery momentum since the beginning of the year. The DeFi altcoin projects that came to the fore with million-dollar investment news throughout the process are as follows.
These DeFi altcoin projects have received institutional attention despite the bear market
LayerZero Labs
LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability protocol, closed its Series B funding round in early April, raising $120 million. The altcoin project thus increased its total valuation to $3 billion. The funding has received support from well-known names such as a16z, BOND, Circle, Lightspeed, Samsung Next and OpenSea Ventures.
LayerZero is a messaging protocol that enables interoperability and cross-chain messaging between blockchains. Additionally, it provides the framework for dApps to develop projects without the need for intermediaries for cross-chain shopping.
— LayerZero Labs (@LayerZero_Labs) April 4, 2023
LayerZero aims to expand its presence in the APAC region with the funds raised in this latest round. It also plans to employ more staff at LayerZero Labs and strengthen its position in the global crypto ecosystem.
The protocol is backed by top players in the industry such as Binance and Coinbase. It is also used on DEX platforms such as PancakeSwap, Uniswap, and SushiSwap.
Scroll ZKP
Scroll ZKP, the native zkEVM scaling solution for Ethereum, raised $50 million in March 2023. Notable investors included Polychain Capital, Sequoia, Bain Capital Crypto, and Moore Capital Management.
@polychain, @variantfund, @TheSpartanGroup, @QimingVC, @moorecapital, @sequoia China, @BainCapCrypto, and others participated.
Here are our plans for allocating these resources to further our mission and welcome the next billion users onchain:
— Scroll 📜 (@Scroll_ZKP) March 6, 2023
Last month Scroll launched its zkEVM on the Goerli testnet. However, it pulled over 1 million addresses and 16 million transactions during the pre-alpha testing phase. Alpha testnet is live now. It has processed 18 million transactions so far.
For nearly two years, we've built our zkEVM in the open alongside @PrivacyScaling and other contributors, and today, we're taking the next step to Goerli, the final stage before mainnet.
Our testnet on Goerli is 100% permissionless.
Here are the details:
— Scroll 📜 (@Scroll_ZKP) February 27, 2023
Launched in 2021, Scroll uses zk-rollup technology to process transactions outside the Ethereum network. It also helps increase transaction speeds and lower transaction-related costs.
Eigen Layer
Eigen Layer, an ETH staking solution, raised $50 million in late March. Participants included Polychain Capital, Hack VC, Coinbase Ventures, and Finality Capital.
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EigenLabs has raised $50 million in a Series A round led by Blockchain Capital.
EigenLabs last raised funds in August 2022 with a $14.5 million seed round led by Polychain Capital and Ethereal Ventures.
Source: https://t.co/ttj8ovx9cz pic.twitter.com/WFGoasmlO7
— Airdrop Adventure 🧭 (@Airdrop_Adv) April 6, 2023
The project is currently working to launch the first version of its protocol this year. The latest funding is expected to support the staking solution. Following Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade, Eigen Layer may gain more attention. This is because it allows tokens that were once locked to authenticate the Ethereum network to be used to secure other protocols by “repurposing” them.
Fetch.ai (FET)
Artificial intelligence-focused blockchain platform Fetch.ai received a $40 million investment from DWL Labs in late March. cryptocoin.comWe have included the details and movements of the investment in this article.
Another step forward for TOMI 🫶✨️ https://t.co/aSRVudnjqC
— DWF Labs (@DwfLabs) February 23, 2023
Fetch.ai helps build open services using AI. It automates processes in the supply chain, finance, travel and other industries. Recently, Fetch.ai developed artificial intelligence tools for advanced trading products of decentralized exchanges.
The company stated that the funds will be used to develop decentralized machine learning, network infrastructure and autonomous agents.
Sei Network
Sei Network, a layer 1 blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK, has raised $30 million in two funding rounds from Jump Crypto, Multicoin Capital, Flow Traders, Distributed Global, Bixin Ventures and Hypersphere Ventures.
The funding round ended on April 11. With the newly collected capital, the value of the protocol was 800 million dollars. The latest funding aims to accelerate Sei Network’s growth and expansion in Asia-Pacific.
🚀 Exciting news!
♒ Layer-1 blockchain @SeiNetwork has raised $30 million in a funding round, according to co-founder @jayendra_jog
🔥The funding round valued the company at $800 million, making it a significant player in the space. #SeiNetwork #Sei#Seilors $SEI pic.twitter.com/FtPup7cq9W
— Sei Daily (@SeiDailyTK) April 12, 2023
Meanwhile, Sei Network’s testnet went live on March 13. Following the mainnet launch, the Sei team claims that more than 120 applications will be deployed on the network, including AMMs, order books, launchpads, RWAs, DEXs and more. The team has also confirmed an airdrop for those interacting with the network.
