VC roundup: Arbelos Markets, ZKM, Volta, Hemera and more score new capital

As a researcher with extensive experience in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, I’m thrilled to see the recent surge of funding activity in this dynamic industry. The successful fundraising rounds by companies like Arbelos Markets, Lagrange Labs, ZKM, Volta, Hemera, and Crestal Network are clear indicators of growing investor confidence in the potential of these innovative projects.


In the bustling world of finance, numerous initiatives within the realm of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have secured venture capital investments in recent times, fueling their expansion and progression.

Arbelos Markets secures $28 million

Arbelos Markets, a significant New York-based company that provides liquidity in the cryptocurrency derivatives market, has successfully raised $28 million in new financing.

In this latest funding round, Dragonfly Capital took the lead, with contributions also coming from Room40 Ventures, Selini Capital, Breed VC, FalconX, and Circle Ventures.

Established by Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang, Arbelos intends to improve its quantitative trading platform, broaden its range of products, and strengthen its market position using the freshly obtained funds.

Arbelos Markets Successfully Gathers $28 Million in Financing

— TotalBulletin.com (@TotalBulletin) May 10, 2024

Lagrange Labs raises $13.2 million

A New York-based start-up specializing in blockchain computations, Lagrange Labs, has successfully raised $13.2 million in seed financing recently.

In this latest investment round, Founders Fund took the lead, with additional investments coming from Archetype Ventures, 1kx, Maven11, Fenbushi Capital, Volt Capital, CMT Digital, and Mantle Ecosystem Fund.

As a researcher specializing in blockchain technology, I’m excited about Lagrange Labs – a pioneering venture established by a seasoned team. Our mission is to enhance the way computations are executed within blockchain networks.

Excitedly announcing the successful completion of Lagrange Labs’ $13.2 million seed funding round! This round was spearheaded by @foundersfund, alongside significant investments from Archetype Ventures, 1kx Network, Maven 11 Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Volt Capital, CMT Digital, and 0xMantleEco. Angels also joined in to support our vision. Explore our blog for more details! 👇

— LAGRANGE (@lagrangedev) May 8, 2024

ZKM nabs $5 million

Recently, ZKM, a scaling solution startup on Ethereum, announced that it had raised $5 million in its initial funding round. OKX Ventures served as the primary investor in this pre-seed financing.

Among the other distinguished attendees are Amber, Metis Foundation, and Crypto.com. This investment represents an important achievement for ZKM, as they work towards improving Ethereum’s scalability options.

As a crypto investor, I’m excited to see the increasing backing from prominent investors in Ethereum (ETH). This validation speaks volumes about the burgeoning significance of Ethereum’s advancements and the crucial role of scalability solutions within the blockchain industry.

With its inventive methods and crucial alliances, ZKM emerges as an intriguing contender in the Ethereum network expansion scene.

As a crypto investor, I’m thrilled to share that ZKM successfully raised $5M in its Pre-A funding round during November 2023. This round was spearheaded by OKX Ventures and backed by Polygon Ventures, Cryptocom, Amber Group, Leland Ventures, Waterdrip Fund, JSquare, Contribution Capital, and Metis Foundation. This significant investment paves the way for our team to advance towards the next stage of development.

— ZKM (@ProjectZKM) May 7, 2024

Volta collects $4.1 million 

A non-custodial crypto company based in Las Vegas called Volta has secured $4.1 million in seed financing for building out its infrastructure tailored to institutions.

Fika Ventures and Haven Ventures jointly spearheaded the investment round, while Soma Capital, Dispersion Capital, and Uphonest Capital also contributed.

As a financial analyst, I would describe Volta’s premier offering, Volta Circuit, as a next-generation, multi-signature and non-custodial solution tailored specifically for institutional investors. This platform is engineered to deliver heightened speed, security, and compliance benefits, enabling large-scale investors to seamlessly manage their digital assets while maintaining control over them.

As a crypto investor, I’d put it this way: “This platform tackles issues of scalability, security, and performance by implementing smart contract wallets that allow for real-time, on-chain enforcement of governance and policy rules.”

Hemera confirms $2.6 million in funds

In a recent funding round, Hemera, a web3 infrastructure startup based in San Francisco, successfully secured $2.6 million in investment. This round was jointly spearheaded by LIF Capital and Nomad Capital.

During this funding round, SNZ, Chainlink, and several prominent angel investors joined in, among whom were the founders of ZetaChain, Sending Labs, the co-founder of Wish, Danny Zhang, and Microsoft’s Senior Vice President and AI expert, Harry Shum.

As a analyst, I’d rephrase Jane Smith’s statement from LIF Capital as follows: “I believe Hemera’s unique methodology for decentralized indexing and data processing holds significant promise for innovators and users in the Web3 community, opening up new avenues for exploration and development.”

“She expressed her enthusiasm about helping the team construct a more expansive and productive web3 infrastructure,” is one way to paraphrase that statement.

Hemera’s design allows it to work effectively with large language models (LLMs) and advanced AI systems, making it simple to incorporate the latest technological innovations.

Crestal Network raises $2 million

As a crypto investor, I’m excited to share that I recently learned about Crestal Network, a innovative company based in San Francisco. They’ve developed a proof-of-performance marketplace specifically for Web3 developers. I’m impressed with their progress and can’t wait to see how they’ll impact the industry. Exciting news: they’ve successfully secured $2 million in pre-seed funding!

A varied collection of investors participated in the endeavor. Among them are Lingfeng Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Kyro Ventures, Veris Ventures, Smape Capital, MH Ventures, LayerLabs, Pragma Ventures, Builder Capital, NxGen.lens, Artemis Capital, and Quotient Ventures.

Lingfeng Li, the managing partner at Lingfeng Capital, pointed out that Crestal Network’s method of creating a decentralized marketplace for Web3 services with a focus on performance aligns perfectly with the needs of the industry.

As a dedicated researcher in the field of Web3 technology, I am thrilled to contribute to our team’s mission of improving accessibility and efficiency in this rapidly evolving space. By doing so, we aim to benefit all stakeholders and make Web3 technologies more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.

CRESTAL, an emerging L1 blockchain on Cosmos, has secured $2 million in a pre-seed funding round. This investment will facilitate the development of the new project. Some distinguished venture capital firms took part in this financing round.

— BSCN (@BSCNews) May 3, 2024

Moso sees $2 million in seed funding

As a researcher studying the latest trends in e-commerce and cryptocurrency, I’m excited to share that Moso, a Los Angeles-based platform bridging online shopping with rewards in the form of cryptocurrency, has successfully secured $2 million in seed funding. This investment was spearheaded by Symbolic Capital and Dao5, with valued contributions from Coinlist and Polygon Ventures as well.

Moso empowers shoppers to collect digital currency rewards as they make purchases online, thereby integrating blockchain tech into e-commerce for an enhanced experience.

Backed by investments from Symbolic Capital, Dao5, Coinlist, and Polygon Ventures, Moso is looking to overhaul its platform, expand its user base, and make a strong entry into the burgeoning shop-to-earn marketplace.

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2024-05-11 20:38