The Spartan Group

The Spartan Group is a prominent advisory and investment firm specializing in blockchain technology. The firm provides strategic guidance and investment support to businesses seeking to leverage blockchain solutions across various sectors. With a focus on fostering innovation, Spartan aims to help organizations navigate the complexities of the blockchain landscape, enabling them to capitalize on emerging opportunities. The firm is recognized for its expertise in the blockchain space, offering a blend of advisory services and investment strategies tailored to the needs of its clients.

Kelvin Koh

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Past deals in Smart Contracts

zkCandy

Seed Round in 2025
Zkcandy is an Ethereum-based game network that focuses on providing gaming software solutions for gaming companies and developers. The company specializes in the development and deployment of three casual-player web games, offering clients innovative Ethereum scaling technologies. Zkcandy emphasizes a user-friendly approach, ensuring that its offerings meet the needs of both developers and players within the gaming ecosystem.

Echo Protocol

Pre Seed Round in 2024
Echo Protocol is a technology company that develops decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure. It specializes in creating bridges for seamless asset transfers, liquid staking and restaking solutions, and yield optimization tools. The company's platform emphasizes transparency, security, and user empowerment, allowing users to access rewards in Aptos (APT) without locking up their assets and enabling Bitcoin holders to participate in the DeFi ecosystem without selling their Bitcoin.

B² Network

Seed Round in 2024
B² Network is a Bitcoin Layer 2 network that utilizes ZK rollup and on-chain logical gate commitment verification mechanisms. It is a supplementary network that runs on top of the Bitcoin Network. It also introduces smart contracts to Bitcoin, which could open up new possibilities for DeFi, NFTs, and derivatives.

Essential

Series A in 2024
Essential is focused on developing intent-based infrastructure and tools aimed at facilitating the shift from value extraction to intent satisfaction. The company creates core components of intent-centric infrastructure that promote ecosystem-wide composability, ensuring that the intent paradigm is fully realized. This approach seeks to reduce extractive practices while enhancing user satisfaction. Essential's offerings include a domain-specific language for expressing intent and a blockchain protocol centered on intent. Through these innovations, Essential aims to empower clients to navigate and utilize intent-driven frameworks effectively.

API3

Venture Round in 2024
API3 is focused on developing a decentralized API infrastructure that connects blockchain applications with off-chain data providers. The company's platform addresses the API connectivity challenge by utilizing decentralized APIs, which are composed of first-party oracles. This approach allows data providers to operate as their own blockchain oracles, eliminating the need for third-party intermediaries. By aggregating data from reputable API providers through its innovative dAPI framework, API3 enables the creation of decentralized applications that utilize secure, quantifiable data feeds. This infrastructure empowers developers to effectively integrate real-world data into blockchain solutions, enhancing the functionality and reliability of decentralized applications.

Puffverse

Seed Round in 2024
Puffverse is a gaming company that operates a 3D metaverse platform for online gaming and trading of digital assets. It specializes in a multi-game platform featuring diverse, whimsical NFT characters, each with unique costumes, skills, and bonuses. Players can collect, trade, and use these characters in various games or life simulation activities within the metaverse.

Centrifuge

Series A in 2024
Centrifuge, established in 2017, is a technology company that develops a decentralized blockchain-based platform. This platform connects the global financial supply chain, enabling secure and private peer-to-peer exchange of financial documents. It allows businesses to transact while retaining ownership of their data, including company details and transaction history. Centrifuge is headquartered in San Francisco, with an additional office in Berlin.

Merlin Chain

Seed Round in 2024
Merlin Chain offers a native scaling solution.

XION

Series A in 2024
XION is a Layer 1 blockchain platform designed to facilitate mainstream adoption through a unique chain abstraction approach. It serves as the first Generalized Abstraction layer specifically tailored for consumer use, enabling users to interact with blockchain technology without the need for traditional wallets. By simplifying the user experience, XION aims to make blockchain more accessible to a broader audience, thereby promoting its integration into everyday applications.

peaq

Series A in 2024
peaq is a pioneering company in the blockchain sector, focused on creating a decentralized infrastructure for various real-world applications, known as DePINs. It operates a layer-1 blockchain that supports over 25 applications across 11 different industries, facilitating the connection of more than 500,000 devices, vehicles, machines, and robots. By offering a permissionless and borderless platform, peaq aims to democratize access to mobility, energy, connectivity, environment, agriculture, and digital infrastructure, ensuring that the benefits of advanced technologies reach a broader audience. The company's in-house developed blockchain hybrid technology operates under a software-as-a-service model, allowing large organizations to enhance efficiency by reducing costs, automating processes, and improving the security and speed of their systems. Through its innovative solutions, peaq is positioned to play a critical role in the evolving landscape of intelligent machines and the digital economy.

Morph

Seed Round in 2024
Morph is a fully permissionless EVM L2 that uses a combination of optimistic and zero-knowledge rollup technology to open up new possibilities in banking, gaming, social media, and entertainment. Morph is the first Layer 2 on Ethereum to launch with a decentralized sequencer, which aligns with several important web3 concepts, including decentralization, censorship resistance, and security.

Zeus Network

Seed Round in 2024
Zeus Network is a cutting-edge and permissionless communication layer platform that connects connects Solana and Bitcoin.

Kinto

Seed Round in 2023
Kinto is the KYC'ed Layer 2 capable of supporting both modern financial institutions and decentralized protocols.

Pendle Finance

Seed Round in 2023
Pendle Finance is a decentralized finance protocol that allows users to tokenize and sell future yields.

Stackr

Seed Round in 2023
Stackr Labs is a company focused on developing app-specific rollups on the Ethereum blockchain, utilizing web2 programming languages. It aims to create standalone customizable applications that leverage the benefits of rollups for distributed computing. By specializing in the efficient integration of off-chain data sources, such as social graphs, user credit scores, and KYC and identity systems, Stackr Labs enables users to access and utilize data seamlessly. The company's innovative approach seeks to unlock the potential of rollups, enhancing the functionality and performance of decentralized applications.

zkMe

Pre Seed Round in 2023
zkMe operates a verification network platform that focuses on managing online identity and personal information through zero-knowledge Identity Oracles. This technology enables truly decentralized and anonymous cross-chain credential verifications, ensuring that users maintain full control over their digital identities. By processing no personal information beyond what the user provides, zkMe eliminates the risks of data leaks and misuse by service providers. The platform allows users to selectively disclose their credentials to authorized parties while preserving their privacy. Additionally, zkMe stands out as a fully decentralized KYC provider compliant with FATF regulations, offering a comprehensive suite of products, including solutions for anti-bot and anti-sybil measures, along with KYC services.

DFlow

Seed Round in 2023
DFlow is a payment-for-order-flow marketplace that provides transparent and market-driven price discovery for order flow. They provide a decentralized market platform to ensure the most optimal execution environment for consumers. The market-driven approach to PFOF used by DFlow allows the public to see live market prices for token pairs.

Affine

Seed Round in 2023
Affine is a Web3 protocol and decentralized application that enables users to automate their savings and enhance their cryptocurrency holdings. By eliminating high fees and simplifying the investment process, Affine aims to make cryptocurrency investing as straightforward as purchasing an exchange-traded fund. The application supports liquid restaking tokens, which extend the security of Ethereum to various decentralized services, thereby providing users with a more secure and efficient way to manage their crypto investments.

MSafe

Seed Round in 2023
MSafe is a developer of a multi-signature, non-custodial digital asset management solution designed for decentralized financial systems. The company focuses on providing enhanced security and full interoperability through its advanced wallet services platform. MSafe's system offers features such as treasury management, smart contract deployment, and protocol administration, enabling enterprises to manage their digital assets securely and effectively. By emphasizing true decentralization and a robust infrastructure, MSafe aims to meet the growing demand for reliable non-custodial wallet management in the evolving digital asset landscape.

Shardeum

Seed Round in 2022
Shardeum is a decentralized blockchain platform that focuses on enhancing transaction speed and efficiency through a technique known as sharding. By partitioning the network into multiple shards, Shardeum enables the processing, verification, and validation of transactions in parallel, which significantly increases the number of transactions per second as more nodes are added to the network. This innovative approach ensures that transaction costs remain low while maintaining a high level of security and true decentralization. Shardeum's linearly scalable architecture allows it to adapt to growing demand, making it an attractive solution for organizations that prioritize scalability, security, and decentralization in their blockchain applications.

Celestia

Series A in 2022
Celestia is a provider of modular blockchain networks based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Founded in 2019, the company specializes in deploying decentralized blockchains without the need for extensive initial setup. Celestia's platform serves as a scalable data availability layer for decentralized applications and sidechains with minimal trust requirements. This allows developers to efficiently store and manage blockchain data collectively, optimizing performance for various applications.

Tapio Protocol

Seed Round in 2022
Tapio Protocol is a synthetic asset protocol that unifies different formats of staking and crowdloan derivatives into an efficient standard. Tapio is powered by the Stable Asset system, which enables efficient trading while minimizing risk by utilizing uniform, closely pegged assets with stable swaps and stable asset capabilities.

Sherlock

Seed Round in 2022
Sherlock Protocol is a security audit marketplace and smart contract coverage protocol operating on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform is dedicated to protecting decentralized finance (DeFi) users from smart contract exploits by providing security reviews conducted by top auditors. Additionally, it offers affordable and reliable coverage against potential vulnerabilities in audited contracts. By leveraging blockchain technology, Sherlock Protocol assesses the inherent risks associated with DeFi operations, thereby enhancing the security of Web3 projects and information systems within the decentralized ecosystem. Through its comprehensive approach, Sherlock Protocol aims to foster a safer environment for users engaging in decentralized finance activities.

Omni

Series A in 2022
Launched in 2021, Omni is a comprehensive Web3 wallet supporting assets across 25+ blockchain networks, enabling seamless token management, DeFi activity, NFTs, and multi-chain staking with a single mnemonic. It aggregates bridging and DEX services for efficient swaps, abstracts staking complexity, integrates Ledger for security, and offers WalletConnect, fiat on-ramp, and broad NFT support. For more information, visit www.omni.app.

Unlockd

Seed Round in 2022
Unlockd is a decentralized financial platform that aims to enhance the financial potential of digital assets, particularly non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By implementing a pooled liquidity model, the platform enables NFT holders to secure instant loans against their assets while retaining the ability to use them. This approach allows users to maximize the return on their NFTs, facilitating wealth accumulation in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Unlockd's innovative services support individuals in achieving greater financial freedom by leveraging the full value of their digital assets without sacrificing their utility.

Contango

Seed Round in 2022
Contango is a decentralized protocol that focuses on providing perpetual futures atop money markets. It operates a decentralized exchange designed to facilitate expirable futures without the need for order books or liquidity pools. By leveraging existing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, Contango enables fixed-rate lending and borrowing. The platform also supports physical delivery and minimizes price impact for larger trades, allowing traders to effectively hedge their positions and manage their costs. Through these innovations, Contango aims to enhance trading efficiency and accessibility within the decentralized finance ecosystem.

Unstoppable Domains

Series A in 2022
Unstoppable Domains Inc. is a company that specializes in providing blockchain-based domain names, allowing users to create uncensorable websites and secure their digital identities. Established in 2018 and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company offers NFT domains that enable individuals to control their online presence. These domains serve multiple purposes, including simplifying cryptocurrency transactions by replacing complex wallet addresses with human-readable names. Unstoppable Domains operates a decentralized domain registry, ensuring that users can send and receive payments without the risk of being restricted by government authorities or traditional domain providers. The platform also facilitates access to over 150 Web3 applications, further enhancing the utility of its domain offerings.

CLST

Seed Round in 2022
CLST is focused on creating a global network that connects institutional borrowers and lenders in the short-term digital assets debt market, referred to as the New Money market. The company aims to serve as a gateway for uncollateralized lending, specifically targeting stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. By facilitating bilateral price negotiation and settlement, CLST's platform enables institutional adoption of digital assets, bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto-native institutions. Through its innovative approach, CLST is positioned to enhance liquidity and market efficiency within the emerging landscape of digital asset finance.

Mero

Series A in 2022
Mero is a company that has created a crypto-based lending platform focused on automating liquidity through a decentralized finance protocol. This platform allows users to register loans on-chain, providing them with collateral top-ups that enhance the yield and utility of their crypto assets. Mero's innovative approach to reactive liquidity enables users to earn yield while easily accessing funds without relying on intermediaries. This streamlined process is designed to offer investors greater flexibility and efficiency in managing their financial activities within the cryptocurrency space.

Coinshift

Series A in 2022
Coinshift offers a treasury management platform tailored for businesses and decentralized autonomous organizations to efficiently manage their cryptocurrency assets. The platform facilitates collaboration among users, enabling them to approve transactions and execute mass payouts seamlessly. Coinshift's comprehensive solution encompasses cash management, asset management, risk management, and reporting, ensuring users have a secure and transparent way to oversee their digital assets. Additionally, the platform supports data encryption and provides tools for diversification and allocation of idle treasury funds across various decentralized financial protocols, enhancing the overall management and security of cryptocurrency holdings.

Bastion

Series A in 2022
Bastion is a lending and exchange protocol built on Aurora, the Ethereum-compatible layer of the Near blockchain. Bastion builds an autonomous interest-rate engine with high-quality capital efficiency, quick transactions, low transaction fees, accurate liquidations, and leverages NEAR's underlying UX benefits. Users can deposit assets into the Bastion liquidity pool, and the protocol will generate collateral tokens. These cTokens earn interest based on the underlying asset value and can be used as loan collateral in the future.

TiTi Protocol

Seed Round in 2022
TiTi Protocol operates a decentralized stablecoin platform designed to offer diverse financial services. Its primary focus is on creating a multi-asset reserve-backed system that utilizes an algorithmic monetary policy. This policy is powered by a mechanism known as ReOrders, which continuously monitors the total value of reserves to establish the average price of its stablecoin, TiUSD, in circulation. By adjusting the market-making peg price of TiUSD in the primary market, TiTi Protocol aims to enhance liquidity and profitability for users, thereby facilitating a stable decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 environment.

Composable Finance

Series A in 2022
Composable Finance is focused on developing a blockchain protocol that facilitates cross-layer and cross-chain interoperability. By bridging various Ethereum layer two implementations, the protocol enhances connectivity among different blockchain networks. This infrastructure enables smart contracts from diverse layer one blockchains to operate simultaneously on a single parachain. As a result, users can experience improved liquidity and greater financial and creative freedom in their blockchain interactions. Composable Finance aims to unlock the potential of a multi-layer and multi-chain future, providing essential tools for seamless integration and collaboration across the blockchain ecosystem.

Zecrey

Angel Round in 2022
Zecrey is a Singapore-based company founded in January 2021 that focuses on enhancing blockchain accessibility for businesses and consumers while prioritizing privacy and security. The company has developed a layer 2 cross-chain protocol utilizing zkRollup technology, which enables secure management, swapping, and bridging of assets across multiple blockchain networks. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, Zecrey facilitates private transactions, thereby safeguarding users' ownership of their assets. The protocol aims to lower the barriers to entry in the blockchain space, making it easier for a wider audience to engage with decentralized technologies.

Solana

Seed Round in 2022
Solana is a blockchain technology company, established in 2021, specializing in the development of a decentralized, scalable blockchain platform. The platform, validated by thousands of independent nodes, ensures robust security and resistance to censorship. It leverages proof of history and concurrent GPU parallelization to deliver high-speed, low-latency, and inexpensive transactions, enabling users to scale without sharding or specialized hardware.

Spin

Seed Round in 2022
Spin, founded in June 2021, is a developer of a multichain decentralized exchange (DEX) platform focused on derivatives trading, specifically futures and options. Operating on the NEAR Protocol and Solana blockchains, Spin aims to deliver a user experience comparable to centralized exchanges by utilizing a central limit order book execution model combined with a liquidity pool. The platform offers traders advanced risk management and strategy-building tools, enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of trading for a wide range of users.

MyCointainer

Seed Round in 2022
MyCointainer operates a digital wallet that simplifies access to the cryptocurrency landscape. It enables users to earn rewards from the decentralized economy through mechanisms such as staking, master nodes, and airdrops. By facilitating these processes, MyCointainer aims to accelerate global cryptocurrency adoption and provide users with benefits from various digital assets. The company has secured financial licenses to ensure a safe, transparent, and user-friendly environment for both individuals and entities. With a team experienced in the emerging cryptoeconomy, MyCointainer is positioned to connect communities worldwide and meet the evolving needs of the digital finance sector.

Airwaive

Seed Round in 2022
Airwaive is a company that facilitates connections between wireless service providers and property owners, including both residential and commercial spaces. By leveraging blockchain technology, Airwaive aims to decentralize wireless broadband networks, enhancing affordability and accessibility for users. The company assists in the establishment of access points for wireless networks, which supports the development of small cell networks. This approach allows property owners to monetize their land and services by hosting wireless hotspots, thereby generating additional revenue while contributing to improved wireless connectivity in their areas.

Galxe

Series A in 2022
Galxe is a prominent Web3 credential data network that provides a collaborative infrastructure for brands and developers to engage communities and create innovative products in the decentralized web. The company offers a modular platform that facilitates the creation, distribution, and gamification of non-fungible tokens, utilizing customized on-chain data. By rewarding curators for the use of credentials within its infrastructure and credential oracle engine, Galxe fosters a participatory environment where developers and community members can construct engaging experiences. Its platform allows for the development of tailored campaigns through plug-and-play modules, enhancing the capability of users to interact with decentralized credential data networks effectively.

Hubble Protocol

Venture Round in 2022
Hubble Protocol is a decentralized financial platform that facilitates long-term borrowing, lending, and the creation of structured financial products. It aims to democratize access to decentralized finance by offering a range of sustainable financial services. The protocol's software supports multi-asset collateral and enables zero-interest borrowing, allowing users to leverage yield-bearing assets for loans. Additionally, Hubble enhances yield generation on deposits of various tokens, providing clients with optimized financial opportunities while minimizing costs associated with loans.

CharmVerse

Funding Round in 2021
CharmVerse is a blockchain-based platform designed to facilitate coordination among contributors in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). It offers an all-in-one workspace that integrates various functions, including task management, document organization, and bounty tracking. By connecting contributors, projects, and documentation, CharmVerse enables users to efficiently manage daily operations and enhance collaboration. The platform streamlines processes, allowing developers to focus on their work while also providing opportunities to earn NFTs as part of their engagement.

B.Protocol

Seed Round in 2021
B.Protocol is a developer of a decentralized backstop liquidity protocol aimed at enhancing the security of lending platforms. Its blockchain-based platform integrates seamlessly with existing lending services, allowing users to engage through a dedicated smart contract interface. This innovative approach offers priority in the liquidation process by providing a cushion for user accounts approaching liquidation prices. As a result, both lenders and borrowers can reduce their reliance on traditional financing methods and improve effective interest rates, thereby unlocking greater capital efficiency in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

Gear Technologies

Series A in 2021
Gear Technologies is a technology company focused on creating a Substrate-based smart contract platform that facilitates the development and deployment of decentralized applications (dApps). By contributing to the Gear Protocol, which is supported by the Gear Foundation, the company enhances Web3 capabilities while maintaining a user experience akin to Web2. Gear Technologies aims to streamline the process for developers, offering a low barrier to entry that minimizes both financial and time investments. This approach enables clients to build and deploy dApps on the blockchain quickly and efficiently, with improved speed, security, and automation in smart contract development.

ConsenSys

Series C in 2021
ConsenSys, established in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, is a leading Ethereum software company focused on Web3. It offers a suite of products, including Infura, Quorum, Truffle, Codefi, MetaMask, and Diligence, which serve millions of users and support billions of blockchain-based queries. ConsenSys enables developers and enterprises worldwide to build next-generation applications and access the decentralized web, fostering business adoption and growth of the Ethereum ecosystem. Additionally, ConsenSys Academy, its educational arm, bridges the Ethereum knowledge gap globally for ecosystem development.

nameless

Seed Round in 2021
StealthTest provides a comprehensive sandbox for battle-testing Web3 experiences within private, secure and isolated testing environments.

Manta Network

Seed Round in 2021
Manta Network is focused on creating a secure and interoperable digital ecosystem through the use of Zero-Knowledge technology. The company operates a decentralized exchange platform designed to protect user privacy and prevent tracking of activities. By utilizing a protocol based on substrate frameworks, Manta Network offers end-to-end anonymity, high throughput, and robust cross-chain interoperability. This enables users to exchange data in a secure environment, prioritizing privacy and security in their transactions.

P0x Labs

Seed Round in 2021
P0x labs is the team behind Manta Network is a privacy-preserving technology operating on the Polkadot blockchain.

Taker Protocol

Seed Round in 2021
Taker Protocol is a cryptocurrency liquidity protocol focused on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The protocol optimizes the liquidation of NFT assets through a quote-by-lock-in pricing mechanism. This approach enables asset holders to borrow stablecoins while facilitating cross-chain bridges that connect different public blockchain networks. By enhancing the efficiency of asset transfers, Taker Protocol aims to broaden application scenarios for its clients, thereby improving the overall liquidity and usability of NFT assets in the market.

Visor Finance

Seed Round in 2021
Visor Finance operates a decentralized platform that focuses on active liquidity management within the decentralized finance sector. Its platform enables users to leverage smart vaults for liquidity mining and asset management across various decentralized finance protocols and exchanges. By facilitating the implementation of strategies for reinvesting fees and distributing protocol revenue, Visor Finance aims to help users maximize their returns while minimizing the risks associated with impermanent loss. This innovative approach positions Visor Finance as a key player in enhancing user engagement and profitability in the rapidly evolving DeFi landscape.

ClayStack

Seed Round in 2021
ClayStack is a blockchain-agnostic staking protocol that provides a platform for users to engage in liquid staking of digital assets. By enabling the conversion of staked tokens into liquid staking derivative tokens, ClayStack allows users to maintain liquidity while participating in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities. This facilitates seamless staking of crypto assets, empowering traders to leverage their investments without sacrificing the opportunity to engage in other DeFi transactions. The protocol is designed to support a decentralized cross-chain experience, making it accessible for a diverse range of digital asset holders.

Coinomo

Seed Round in 2021
Coinomo is a blockchain firm that operates an investment platform designed for seasoned cryptocurrency investors. The platform offers a range of curated investment products, including cryptocurrency pairs and various yield products, allowing users to engage with decentralized finance (DeFi) offerings more efficiently. Coinomo provides a custodial wallet that simplifies the investment process, enabling users to invest or trade with minimal manual steps. This streamlined approach allows investors to earn passive income on their crypto deposits by selecting from diverse DeFi investment plans tailored to their individual risk preferences.

Composable Finance

Venture Round in 2021
Composable Finance is focused on developing a blockchain protocol that facilitates cross-layer and cross-chain interoperability. By bridging various Ethereum layer two implementations, the protocol enhances connectivity among different blockchain networks. This infrastructure enables smart contracts from diverse layer one blockchains to operate simultaneously on a single parachain. As a result, users can experience improved liquidity and greater financial and creative freedom in their blockchain interactions. Composable Finance aims to unlock the potential of a multi-layer and multi-chain future, providing essential tools for seamless integration and collaboration across the blockchain ecosystem.

Zapper

Series A in 2021
Zapper is a financial technology platform that simplifies the management of decentralized finance (DeFi) assets through a user-friendly interface. It caters to both newcomers and experienced investors by offering streamlined access to DeFi lending, automated yield farming, and liquidity provision through its unique shortcuts known as Zaps. The platform enhances cryptocurrency asset management by leveraging the principles of open finance, allowing users to efficiently deploy and manage their buy and sell positions while actively participating in the DeFi ecosystem.

Pendle Finance

Seed Round in 2021
Pendle Finance is a decentralized finance protocol that allows users to tokenize and sell future yields.

Secret Network

Venture Round in 2021
Secret Network is a blockchain platform that enables the development of decentralized applications, known as Secret Apps, which prioritize user privacy by utilizing encrypted data. Its secure computation protocol allows developers to run blockchain functions and smart contracts on sensitive information without exposing it, even to the network's nodes. This innovative approach supports a peer-to-peer encrypted platform that facilitates private and secure data sharing, storage, and analysis through multi-party computation and blockchain technology. By providing users and organizations with granular control over their data, Secret Network aims to foster broader adoption of blockchain technology while ensuring that privacy is maintained by default, yet transparency is available when required.

Notional Finance

Series A in 2021
Notional is a decentralized protocol for fixed rate, fixed term lending and borrowing of crypto assets on Ethereum. Users can lend or borrow stablecoins at fixed rates of interest for terms of up to six months using a variety of assets as collateral. Notional achieves fixed rate lending via a primitive called fCash, which is redeemable for an underlying currency like DAI upon the fCash token’s maturity date. Notional operates specialized liquidity pools that allow users to efficiently trade cash for fCash and vice versa. The exchange rate that a user receives on their trade implies a fixed rate of interest from the time of trade until the fCash token’s maturity. Notional is flexible and configurable. The protocol can add additional assets for lending and borrowing, additional collateral types, and additional maturities beyond six months. The community intends to broaden Notional’s scope over time to include a wider array of supported assets and extended available maturities. Notional prioritizes security. The protocol team works with industry leaders to ensure that the smart contracts are technically secure and that the economic assumptions applied in the protocol’s design are sound.

BENQI Corpo

Funding Round in 2021
Developed by an experienced team of blockchain designers, BENQI is a protocol to unlock greater liquidity within the defi market. BENQI enables defi users to make their assets work harder to generate additional yield. Built on Avalanche’s high speed smart contract network, BENQI will evolve into a cross-chain defi hub that’s positioned at the heart of decentralized finance.

Enso Finance

Venture Round in 2021
The world's first intent engine powering the intent-centric future. A layer-1 tendermint-based blockchain, storing state from EVM, SVM, and MVM chains to enable execution on all blockchain frameworks.

Benqi

Private Equity Round in 2021
BENQi is a developer of a decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity protocol built on the Avalanche blockchain. The company focuses on creating a seamless platform for lending, borrowing, and earning interest on digital assets. By combining elements of traditional finance and decentralized finance, BENQi aims to democratize access to financial products, offering permissionless lending and borrowing options. The protocol is designed to be highly scalable and user-friendly, with an emphasis on low fees. Additionally, BENQi seeks to bridge multiple blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Polkadot, and Binance Smart Chain, through Avalanche's subnets, positioning itself as a cross-chain DeFi solution that enhances liquidity and accessibility in the digital asset space.

Delta Exchange

Initial Coin Offering in 2021
Delta Exchange is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that specializes in a diverse array of trading products, including futures, perpetual contracts, options, interest rate swaps, and calendar spreads. Recognized as a leading player in options trading, Delta holds a significant market share globally, particularly with USDT settled options on various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, BNB, and Matic. The platform caters to both retail and institutional traders, offering advanced features like multiple margin modes, a strategy builder, and basket orders. These capabilities enable users to execute trades efficiently and capitalize on various market strategies within a trusted trading environment.

Apwine

Seed Round in 2021
Apwine is a decentralized finance protocol that focuses on tokenizing and trading future yield generated by various DeFi protocols. By enabling the speculation and hedging of passive revenue, Apwine allows liquidity providers to implement innovative strategies while offering traders tools to capitalize on market volatility. Through its platform, users can convert their yield into futures, facilitating new opportunities for borrowing and leveraging assets. This approach not only enhances the ability to manage risk but also fosters a dynamic environment for trading within the DeFi space.

SIREN

Seed Round in 2021
SIREN is a distributed protocol creating a decentralized blockchain exchange for options trading on Ethereum. The company is focused on creating a high-quality, seamless experience for sophisticated users and requires no third-party settling mechanism or order matching to complete option settlement on-chain. It allows for both buyers and sellers to mint, buy, and trade in and out of options positions at any time. SIREN was founded in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, CA.

dYdX

Series B in 2021
dYdX is a decentralized exchange that provides traders with a secure and efficient platform for various financial activities. Established in 2017 by Antonio Juliano, a former engineer at Coinbase and Uber, dYdX operates on audited smart contracts on Ethereum, ensuring transparency and security without relying on a central authority. The platform offers a range of trading options, including perpetual, margin, and spot trading, along with borrowing and lending pools. Users can earn interest on deposits or take loans at nominal fees, enabling them to trade on margin with customized leverage. dYdX aims to create an open financial system, granting users access to vital financial tools while facilitating fully collateralized loans for short-selling.

1inch Labs

Series A in 2020
1inch Limited is the prevalent contributor to 1inch Network. It develops the software, supports it, develops new features for 1inch Network. 1inch Limited works on supporting and improving the Pathfinder – the basis of the Aggregation Protocol and 1inch Network – as a software development company. The API to the Pathfinder is licensed and sold to external parties for commercial purposes under the API License Agreements. 1inch Limited is located at 2nd Floor Ellen L. Skelton Building, Fishers Ln, Road Town VG1110, British Virgin Islands. 1inch Limited also provides the PMM Integration Services, namely the services of integration of the third-party’s API to provide access to the third-party liquidity so that it is discoverable by Pathfinder. 1inch Wallet is a mobile app available in various application stores. Front-end and back-end of the app are developed and run by 1inch Limited.

SIREN

Seed Round in 2020
SIREN is a distributed protocol creating a decentralized blockchain exchange for options trading on Ethereum. The company is focused on creating a high-quality, seamless experience for sophisticated users and requires no third-party settling mechanism or order matching to complete option settlement on-chain. It allows for both buyers and sellers to mint, buy, and trade in and out of options positions at any time. SIREN was founded in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, CA.

Horizon Finance

Seed Round in 2020
Horizon Finance is a platform dedicated to decentralized interest rate and protocol cash flow markets. It enables users to deposit their assets with either fixed or floating interest rates, providing a unique opportunity to compete for preferential payment by capping their yield. The platform offers a trading toolkit for participants in the decentralized finance ecosystem, facilitating engagement with key yield streams while rewarding users for their participation. Through its innovative approach, Horizon Finance aims to enhance user experience in managing and optimizing financial returns.

Band Protocol

Seed Round in 2019
Band Protocol is a decentralized blockchain protocol that serves as a cross-chain data oracle platform, designed to connect real-world data and APIs with smart contracts. Founded in 2017 and based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, it addresses the challenge of blockchains being unable to securely access external data. By providing reliable data access without central points of failure, Band Protocol enhances the functionality of smart contracts, facilitating the development of decentralized applications such as decentralized finance (DeFi), prediction markets, and gaming. The platform enables the creation of tokenized marketplaces and supports the introduction of both real-world products and new digital assets, including rare digital collectibles.

DeversiFi

DeversiFi gives traders the edge in fast-moving decentralized finance (Defi) markets by allowing them to trade at lightning speed and with deep aggregated liquidity, directly from their privately owned cryptocurrency wallet. Traders can take advantage of more trading opportunities while always preserving control of their assets when they need to move fast. DeversiFi’s order-books are off-chain, but settlement occurs on the Ethereum blockchain. This means that traders benefit from fast-moving order books and instant execution, without having to trust the exchange and whilst always maintaining control of their assets at all times.

Agoric

Agoric is a developer of a framework designed to enhance the programming of smart contracts for the blockchain ecosystem. The platform facilitates the creation and deployment of smart contracts using JavaScript, making it accessible to millions of programmers. By emphasizing composability, Agoric enables rapid development and offers a competitive advantage in creating decentralized applications. Its framework allows for secure execution of transactions, the establishment of new markets, and the creation of innovative exchange patterns without centralized control. The Agoric team comprises experienced technologists, economists, and business leaders who have collaborated on smart contracts technology for over three decades. They aim to revolutionize how smart contracts are developed and utilized, fostering unprecedented global cooperation and enabling entrepreneurs to explore new business opportunities with digital assets. Agoric has partnered with notable projects within the blockchain space and received support from various investors, further solidifying its mission to advance smart contract technology.

Polygon

Polygon is a platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development and web3. Its growing suite of products offers developers easy access to all scaling and infrastructure solutions: L2 solutions (ZK Rollups and Optimistic Rollups), sidechains, hybrid solutions, stand-alone and enterprise chains, data availability solutions, and more. Polygon’s scaling solutions have seen widespread adoption with 7,000+ applications hosted, 1B+ total transactions processed, ~130M+ unique user addresses, and $5B+ in assets secured.

Maverick Protocol

Maverick Protocol is a developer of a decentralized crypto derivatives platform that aims to create open, transparent, and efficient markets accessible to all users. The protocol is built on a decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure designed to facilitate highly liquid markets through its innovative automated market maker (AMM) system. Maverick Protocol offers users the ability to trade and stake any asset pair with low fees, fast execution, and enhanced capital efficiency. The platform prioritizes safety and security, allowing for permissionless trading of perpetual contracts backed by mid-cap tokens. Ultimately, Maverick Protocol seeks to provide a seamless ecosystem for traders while promoting financial inclusivity within the decentralized finance landscape.
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