Weekly Funding Roundup | 11 Projects Secure Funding, Total Raised Reaches $232 Million (Jan 12-18)
- Core View: From January 12 to 18, 2025, the number of global blockchain funding events increased week-over-week, but the total funding amount declined, with capital primarily concentrated in fintech infrastructure, crypto security, and AI-related sectors.
- Key Elements:
- 11 funding events were disclosed during the week, with a total amount of $232 million, showing an increase in event count but a decrease in total amount compared to the previous week.
- The largest single funding round was fintech infrastructure provider Alpaca's $150 million Series D, valuing the company at $1.15 billion.
- Crypto security company Project Eleven completed a $20 million funding round at a $120 million valuation, focusing on defending against quantum computing attacks.
- Stablecoin infrastructure providers VelaFi and Meld completed funding rounds of $20 million and $7 million respectively, focusing on payment and settlement services.
- The integration of AI and Web3 emerged as a hot topic, with projects like Neuramint and AGGX securing millions in funding for AI agent platforms and GPU computing infrastructure development.
According to Odaily's incomplete statistics, from January 12 to January 18, 2025, a total of 11 financing events were disclosed in the global blockchain sector, showing a slight increase from the previous week's 7 events. However, the total financing amount was $232 million, a slight decrease from the previous week's $332 million.
The largest single financing round this week was fintech infrastructure provider Alpaca announcing the completion of a $150 million Series D funding round. The second largest was crypto security startup Project Eleven, which is dedicated to protecting cryptocurrencies from quantum attack threats, announcing the completion of a $20 million funding round.
The following are the specific financing events (Note: 1. Sorted by the announced amount; 2. * indicates "traditional" sector companies with some business involving blockchain):
Fintech Infrastructure Provider Alpaca Completes $150 Million Funding Round Led by Drive Capital
On January 14, fintech infrastructure provider Alpaca announced the completion of a $150 million Series D funding round, with a valuation reaching $1.15 billion. This round was led by Drive Capital, with participation from Citadel Securities, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and the venture capital arm of BNP Paribas. As part of the financing, Alpaca also secured a $40 million credit line. The software created by Alpaca enables companies to more easily provide trading services for stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and other financial instruments. Yoshi Yokokawa, the company's co-founder and CEO, stated that as the boundaries between traditional finance and the crypto sector blur and platforms integrate services, Alpaca's annual recurring revenue has exceeded $100 million.
Project Eleven Completes $20 Million Funding Round at a $120 Million Valuation
On January 14, crypto security startup Project Eleven, dedicated to protecting cryptocurrencies from quantum attack threats, announced the completion of a $20 million funding round, with a valuation reaching $120 million. The new funds will be used to develop cryptographic solutions resistant to quantum computing cracking. The goal is to provide an upgrade path for existing public chains and crypto assets to address the risk that quantum computing may break the security of existing cryptographic algorithms. The company received a $6 million investment last year, co-led by Variant Fund and Quantonation.
On January 12, stablecoin financial infrastructure provider VelaFi announced the completion of a $20 million Series B funding round, led by XVC and Ikuyo, with participation from Planetree, BAI Capital, Alibaba Investment under Alibaba Group, and others. To date, the company's total financing has reached $40 million. Founded in 2020, VelaFi initially built payment infrastructure in Latin America and has since expanded its business to the United States and Asia. Its platform connects local banking systems, cross-border payment networks, and major stablecoin protocols, enabling businesses to transfer funds across markets faster and at lower costs than traditional systems.
Singapore Crypto Financial Platform Veera Completes $10 Million Funding Round
On January 16, Singapore-based crypto financial services platform Veera announced raising a total of $10 million in combined Pre-seed and Seed funding rounds. Investors in this round include Sigma Capital, CMCC Titan Fund, 6th Man Ventures, and Ayon Capital.
Veera stated that the funds will primarily be used for product development and further expansion of its on-chain financial services.
Noise Completes $7.1 Million Seed Round Led by Paradigm
On January 14, Noise, which is building an attention market tool for prediction market-related information platforms, announced the completion of a $7.1 million seed funding round led by Paradigm. The company had previously received investment support from Figment Capital and Anagram, as well as GSR, JPEG Trading, and KaitoAI. It is reported that the Noise testnet launched a beta version in May last year, accessible only by invitation, attracting over 1,300 users.
Stablecoin Service Provider Meld Completes $7 Million Funding Round Led by Lightspeed Faction
On January 14, stablecoin service provider Meld completed a $7 million funding round led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from F-Prime, Yolo Investments, and Scytale Digital. Its total financing to date has reached $15 million. The company currently provides stablecoin payment services for businesses and individual users, aiming to build a "crypto version of Visa," supporting the purchase or settlement of stablecoins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other type of digital asset globally.
BeatCoin Completes $5 Million Strategic Funding Round Led by Cogitent Ventures
On January 16, BeatCoin, a pioneering behavioral value settlement layer for Web3, announced the successful completion of a $5 million strategic funding round. This round was co-led by Cogitent Ventures and Go2Mars Labs, with participation from Castrum Capital, Alpha Capital, and several well-known family offices in the Asia-Pacific region.
This injection of capital will be used to accelerate the development of the core protocol, enhance its AI-native incentive coordination layer, and expand its global partnership agreement ecosystem.
On January 12, the Web3 AI agent platform Neuramint announced the completion of a $5 million seed funding round. This round saw participation from Maelstrom, Borderless Capital, Selini Capital, Symbolic Capital, Lattice Fund, Node Capital, and others.
On January 16, the social decentralized prediction market platform Slips announced the completion of a $3.5 million seed funding round, led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital, with participation from Andrew Schwartzberg, co-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and Leeds United Football Club, among others. Slips provides AI-generated P2P prediction markets and location-based group activities, allowing users to interact in real-time both online and offline.
Blockchain Real Estate Tech Company Titl Completes $2.5 Million Seed Round Led by FIT Ventures, etc.
On January 14, blockchain real estate tech company Titl announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed funding round, led by Cofounders Capital and FIT Ventures. The company primarily uses artificial intelligence and blockchain technology for property title verification. The new funds will support its business expansion, with plans to expand to 20 states in the US by the end of the year.
AI and GPU Infrastructure Project AGGX Secures $2 Million in Strategic Funding Round
On January 15, the next-generation GPU and AI computing infrastructure project AGGX (Adaptive GPU Grid Sharding) announced that it has secured a cumulative $2 million in its ongoing strategic funding round. This round saw participation from Ternary LEC Fund, EF Investment & Partners, Spacebar Venture, and two other strategic investors.
