Venture capital funding continued to pour into the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry in March, even as market commentators sensationalized the end of the bull market amid Bitcoin’s 30% retracement.
VC flows are considered a vital sign for the blockchain industry, with higher deal activity indicative of strong investor appetite and growing innovation in the space.
As Cointelegraph reported, blockchain startups raised a combined $1.1 billion in February alone, with projects spanning decentralized finance, decentralized physical infrastructure networks and payments attracting the lion’s share of capital flows.
Despite fear and trepidation in the crypto market, February was a strong month for blockchain VC. Source: The TIE
Early signs suggest that March was arguably a stronger month for crypto VC deals, as evidenced by the growing size of the investment rounds and the number of investors participating.
Eight deals are featured in this month’s VC Roundup — and seven of them were valued in the eight-figure range.
Related: VC Roundup: Investors continue to back DePIN, Web3 gaming, layer-1 RWAs
Across Protocol raises $41M via token sale
Across Protocol, an Ethereum crosschain interoperability platform, raised $41 million in a token sale that was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Paradigm. Coinbase Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto and Multicoin Capital also participated in the token sale round.
Across Protocol is expanding Ethereum layer-2 connectivity through so-called “intents,” an architecture approach that decouples asset transfers and message verification.
Across Protocol (ACX) price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
“The urgent tasks — moving assets and fulfilling the intent — are carried out immediately by a relayer […] while the time-consuming message verification is done afterward,” wrote Aiden Park, an engineer and technical writer, in an explanatory note on intents.
“This approach enables Across to send messages cheaply, quickly, and securely, setting it apart from other message-passing protocols,” he said.
Related: Greedy L2s are the reason ETH is a ‘completely dead’ investment: VC
Ribbit Capital leads $23.6M Crossmint raise
Enterprise Web3 company Crossmint has closed a $23.6 million funding round to scale its onchain onboarding technology, which is designed to help companies and AI agents embrace Web3 without needing blockchain expertise. The funding round was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Ribbit Capital.
According to Crossmint co-founder Rodri Fernandez, the platform provides low-code APIs for a variety of blockchain functions, including wallets, stablecoins, tokenization and credentials. The announcement also claimed that more than 40,000 companies and developers are now using Crossmint across more than 40 blockchains.
Financial app Abound gets backing from Near Foundation, Circle Ventures
New York-based remittance app Abound has closed a $14 million funding round led by Near Foundation, with participation from Circle Ventures.
The Abound app has been designed to bridge the remittance gap between India and its vast diaspora of citizens in the United States. The app claims to have processed more than $150 million in remittances.
Abound was developed by the Times of India Group, a Mumbai-based media company.
Although it’s not entirely clear how blockchain technology and digital assets factor into Abound’s service offerings, if at all, participation from Near and Circle Ventures suggests that blockchain-focused companies are increasingly focused on cross-border payments and remittance services.
Source: Near Protocol
Chronicle closes seed round
Chronicle, an Ethereum Oracle and tokenization infrastructure provider, raised $12 million in seed funding led by Strobe Ventures, formerly known as BlockTower Venture Capital. Additional investors included Galaxy Vision Hill, Brevan Howard Digital, Tioga Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Gnosis Ventures, 6th Man Ventures and several angel investors.
Chronicle connects protocol developers to real-time data feeds, which are essential for DeFi and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization ecosystems. The company cited growing institutional interest in RWA tokenization as one of the reasons for its early success in raising capital.
Related: Tokenized real estate trading platform launches on Polygon
DeFi-yielding stablecoin Level debuts with $2.6M in funding
In March, blockchain developer Peregrin Exploration debuted the Level USD stablecoin with $2.6 million in backing from Dragonfly Capital, Polychain, Flowdesk and others.
Level USD is a yield-bearing stablecoin that issues digital dollars collateralized by restaked stablecoins. The stablecoin’s market capitalization has grown significantly since its launch, reaching $116 million at the time of writing.
Level USD is integrated with several DeFi protocols, including Pendle, LayerZero and Specta. It can also be used as collateral on noncustodial lending platform Morpho.
Demand for dollar-backed digital tokens has surged over the past two years, with the total stablecoin market approaching $230 billion. Source: RWA.xyz
Related: VC Roundup: Bitcoin RWA, BNB incubator, Web3 gaming secure funding
Halliday raises $20M for Agentic Workflow Protocol
No-code blockchain developer Halliday has closed a $20 million Series A funding round to scale its Agentic Workflow Protocol (AWP) — an AI tool that helps developers build DeFi applications without the need to write smart contracts.
The funding round was led by a16z Crypto, with additional participation from SV Angel, the Avalanche Blizzard Fund, Credibly Neutral, Alt Layer and other angel investors.
Through AWP, blockchain companies can “build applications in hours, not years,” Halliday said in its announcement. Halliday’s programming model handles all the technical aspects of blockchain development and execution, which can theoretically enable companies to scale their products faster.
AI-driven Validation Cloud closes $15M Series A
Validation Cloud, a company at the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain infrastructure, has closed a $15 million Series A investment round backed by True Global Ventures. Additional investors include Cadenza, Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate and others.
The funding will be used to expand Validation Cloud’s Web3 infrastructure solutions, including staking, node API and data offerings.
Validation Cloud provides access to blockchain data and offers node and staking solutions to institutions. Its technology is used by Hedera, Aptos, Stellar, EigenLayer, Polygon and others.
Skytale Digital debuts $20M Polkadot Ecosystem Fund
Blockchain investment firm Skytale Digital has launched the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, earmarking $20 million to further develop the so-called “network of networks.”
The fund combines financial support, technical expertise and mentorship to help Web3 developers expand their product offerings in the Polkadot ecosystem. Specifically, the fund is targeting decentralized applications and critical infrastructure projects.
Source: Cryptking.eth
Polkadot is the 20th largest blockchain network, with a total market capitalization of around $7.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Related: Crypto Biz: GameStop takes the orange pill
