This week marked a departure from the prevailing funding downturn in the cryptocurrency sector, with three major crypto companies successfully raising over $90 million each.
Blockchain.com, a prominent crypto exchange and wallet service, secured an impressive $110 million in a Series E funding round led by Kingsway. Simultaneously, BC Technology Group, the parent company of crypto exchange OSL, obtained $91 million through a share subscription, with crypto firm BGX acquiring nearly 30% of the company’s stock. Additionally, tokenized currency firm Fnality announced a significant $95 million funding round, with leading financial institutions Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas taking the lead.
These funding achievements stand out against the backdrop of a broader funding downturn in the crypto industry, marked by consecutive quarterly declines in venture capital since the beginning of 2022. Blockchain.com’s Series E round is the fourth-largest fundraising event of the year, following Blockstream, LayerZero, and Worldcoin, as reported by DeFiLlama data. Although the company did not disclose its valuation, Bloomberg indicated a valuation considerably below last year’s $14 billion mark.
In connection with the funding, Manny Stotz, CEO of UK venture firm Kingsway, and Nicolas Brand, a partner at VC fund Lakestar, will join Blockchain.com’s board of directors. Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based BC Technology Group, after obtaining regulatory approval to facilitate retail crypto trading in the city, saw substantial investment following its August acquisition of a new license.
Fnality, a fintech firm specializing in tokenizing securities, attracted significant funding, emphasizing the growing trend of tokenizing real-world assets. JPMorgan and HSBC have also demonstrated increased interest in potential tokenization offerings in recent weeks.
Tokenization company Superstate, led by Robert Leshner, the founder of DeFi lending firm Compound, raised $14 million in a Series A round led by CoinFund and Distributed Global. This notable tokenization raise comes within five months of Superstate’s $4 million seed round announcement, highlighting the increasing emphasis on tokenization in the cryptocurrency space.
Additional noteworthy fundraises this week include K-Pop fan engagement startup Modhaus raising $8 million in a Series A round led by Sfermion, CFX Labs securing $9.5 million in seed funding for its remittance-focused stablecoin payment product on Solana, and the Bitcoin ordinals project Taproot Wizards announcing a $7.5 million seed round led by Standard Crypto.
