Crypto VC roundup: Bridge coffer totals $58m, Edge Matrix Chain raises $20m

Venture capitalists are pumping more money into fewer deals.

That’s according to the latest VC report from London-based analytics firm, GlobalData. The trend is especially evident in the U.S. where total VC funding raised by startups improved by 2.4% year-over-year from January to July. However, there was a 41% decline in VC deal volume.

Still, the U.S. “continues to lead the global VC landscape with a significant gap” over its peers (i.e., China, Europe) leading both in deal count and funding value, driven by a surge in deals exceeding $100 million.

Venture rounds in the crypto sector rarely reach that level. This year’s exceptions include Berachain, the bear-themed blockchain platform, which secured $100 million in funding, and Farcaster, a decentralized social protocol, raising $150 million in a series A round.

Still, crypto startups continue to attract plenty of investor love, and this past week was no different. According to crypto fundraising tracker, Crypto Fundraising, over $141 million was raised between Aug. 25 and Aug. 31.

Below we look at a few standouts (not including the funding rounds with undisclosed amounts).

Bridge, $58 million

  • Bridge, a global stablecoin payment network, has raised $58 million in funding thus far, including $40 million in fresh capital.
  • Sequoia, Ribbit and Index are among its backers, according to Fortune, which broke the story.
  • The startup, co-founded by former Square and Coinbase executives Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, now counts Coinbase among its customers — the other being SpaceX.

Edge Matrix Chain, $20 million

  • Edge Matrix Chain, which specializes in multi-chain artificial intelligence infrastructure, collected $20 million in a round led by Amber Group and Polygon Venture.
  • One Comma, Kapley Judge and Associated Corporations, Cyberrock Venture Fund, Candaq Fintech Group, Hameem Raees Chowdhury also joined the effort.
  • Edge Matrix hopes to put the funds toward a Layer 1 blockchain and, ultimately, introduce a new DeFi asset class backed by tokenized real-world GPU resources.

Space and Time, $20 million

  • Space and Time, or SxT, nabbed $20 million in a Series A round that included Cypher Capital, Framework Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Arrington Capital and Hivemind Capital.
  • The startup — offering index data for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) ecosystems — raised $50 million in total.
  • Other backers include Microsoft’s M12 Ventures, DCG, F-Prime Capital, OKX Ventures, Circle Ventures and Alumni Ventures, Fortune reported.

Solayer, $12 million

  • Solayer Labs clinched $12 million in seed funding. Polychain Capital led the round; Big Brain Holdings, Hack VC, Nomad Capital, Race Capital, ABCDE, and Maelstrom also participated.
  • The startup is developing a Solana (SOL) restaking protocol.

Gameplay Galaxy, $11.17 million

  • Gameplay Galaxy, a web3 video game studio, amassed $11.17 million as part of a seed extension round.
  • Blockchain Capital and Merit Circle co-led the round; Several anonymous investors also took part.

Myco io, $10 million

  • UAE-based Web3 streaming platform, Myco, completed the first closing of its Series A funding round, which included a $10-million sum.
  • Daman Investments, Aptos Labs, B Digital, Mocha Ventures, Art3 Foundation, Ghaf Capital Partners, Mix Media Network, Factor6 Capital Partners, and Enjinstarter joined the campaign along with 88 accredited investors via Republic.com.

Double Jump Tokyo, $10 million

  • SBI Investment led a $10-million Series D funding round for Japanese web3 game maker Double Jump.Tokyo, a developer of blockchain games and infrastructures.
  • Sony Group, Taisu Ventures, Gate Ventures, TM Capital and Bing Ventures also participated.

Additional funding rounds < $10m

  • Quai Network, $5 million
  • OneBalance, $5 million
  • Chainbound, $4.6 million
  • SnakeLite, $4 million
  • Nectar AI, $3.9 million
  • Level Protocol, $3.6 million
  • Echelon Market, $3.5 million
  • Time Fun, $3 million
  • Verofax, $3 million
  • Kredete, $2.25 million
  • Legion, $2 million
  • Origami Finance, $1.5 million

For last week’s edition of our “Crypto VC roundup,” click here.