Gm.
Please enjoy the July Deal Flow Digest, a monthly newsletter recapping recent web3 funding rounds.
Be sure to check out the Airtable below with ALL the deals, and the recent hackathon/demo day results (in the links).
Ripple XRP Ruling
There were a few topics We could’ve written about this month. Key contenders were July’s web3 headlines centered around:
Ripple XRP Ruling (below).
Web3 VC Funds Raising - CoinFund ($158M) and Polychain ($200M)
ETHCC was great. Tons of excitement in the air with some major launches.
Yes, we went with Ripple XRP’s SEC Ruling.
First, Why is this important? The SEC’s case against Ripple, AND the firm’s key personnel CEO Brad Garlinghouse and founder Chris Larsen, has been in limbo since December 2020. With this case, the SEC alleges that Ripple failed to register XRP as a security before proceeding to offer up $1.38B worth of the token for sale or other consideration.
On 13-July-23, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple Labs did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges. The ruling did, however, find that Ripple's sales of XRP to institutional investors did violate securities laws.
The ruling was a partial victory for Ripple, and was seen as a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. The ruling clarified that not all cryptocurrency tokens are securities, and it could help to pave the way for more regulatory clarity in the future.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the ruling:
The court found that XRP is not a security when it is sold on public exchanges. Ripple's sales of XRP to "Programmatic Buyers" through Exchanges to anonymous buyers were NOT investment contracts.
The court found that some of Ripple's "Institutional Sales" of XRP were investment contracts and thus, the sale of unregistered securities.
Ripple's other distributions of XRP to employees as compensation or to 3rd parties to develop applications for XRP or XRP Ledger are NOT investment contracts.
The ruling does not affect the SEC's ongoing investigation into Ripple. The SEC is still free to bring charges against Ripple for other alleged violations of securities law.
This ruling is the first time that a court has ruled on the legal status of a cryptocurrency token, and it could have a major impact on how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the future.
Top Five Crypto Funding Rounds
ZYBER 365 | $100M | Series A | 7/25/2023
Web3 and AI startup ZYBER 365 announced achieving unicorn status with the $100 million Series A funding from UK-based Sram & MRAM Group at a $1.2 billion valuation. Founded in May 2023 by Indian-origin entrepreneurs Pearl Kapur (founder and CEO) and Sunny Vaghela (co-founder and CPO), ZYBER 365 is an amalgamation of web3, AI, and cybersecurity, focusing on Globalization 3.0 and Sustainability. With its headquarters in London, UK and operational base in India, the company aims to make India the hub of its operations.
Flashbots | $60M | Series B | 7/25/2023
Flashbots has raised $60 million in a Series B round led by crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm, a company spokesperson confirmed to CoinDesk in an email on Tuesday. The raise will fuel the continued development of its maximum extractable value (MEV).network, SUAVE. Flashbots is an Ethereum-centric research and development startup that aims to remove the negative impacts of maximal extractable value (MEV), the potential profit that network operators can extract by previewing or re-ordering upcoming blockchain transactions.
Futureverse | $54M | Series A | 7/18/2023
Futureverse, a leading AI and metaverse technology and content company, announced the close of its $54 million Series A funding round. The round was led by 10T Holdings, LLC ("10T") and included participation from Ripple. The company's aim is to combine AI and blockchain to build the infrastructure for users' experience of the metaverse. It formed out of the merger of eight companies in late 2022, with three more assimilated subsequently.
Veloce | $50M | 7/9/2023
Following the announcement of Veloce Media Group’s evolution to Web3, with the launch of its new blockchain utility and governance token, VEXT, it was today announced that GEM Digital Ltd will invest up to $50 million, through a structured token subscription agreement, into the organization. For GEM Digital, the investment has found a natural home that reflects its ambitions to work with a diverse set of organizations whilst promoting businesses in the emerging markets, supporting sustainable and inclusive ambitions through business. The investment promises to herald mutual long-term opportunities.
RISC Zero | $40M | Series A | 7/19/2023
RISC Zero, creator of infrastructure that helps developers build zero-knowledge proof software, has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by crypto-focused investment firm Blockchain Capital. The funds will help RISC Zero bring its Bonsai computing platform to market. Other investors in the round included Galaxy Digital, IOSG, RockawayX, Maven 11, Fenbushi Capital, Delphi Digital, Algaé Ventures, IOBC and Tribute Labs' Zero Dao.
Click to see all of July’s funding rounds here:
Hackathons
Ongoing
InnovateX : Nibiru Global Hackathon June 16 - August 31
$150K Available in prizes. Virtual too!
Not Another Virtual Hackathon July 6 - September 6
$115,500 Available in prizes. Virtual too!
Sway Summer Online Hackathon July 7 - August 7
$100,000 Available in prizes. Virtual too!
Neo APAC Hackathon July 22 - October 15
$1,100,000 Available in prizes.
Upcoming
Seoul Web 3.0 Festival July 31- August 3
₩150 million ($115,000) Available in prizes.
Superhack August 4-18
$125K Available in prizes. Virtual too!
Ripple CBDC Innovate August 18
$200,000 Available in prizes. Virtual too!
Permissionless Hackathon Sep 9/10
$50K+ Available in prizes. In Austin, TX.
Recently Completed
Polkadot Hackathon, July 18
Fantom Hackathon Q2 2023 July 3
ETH Barcelona July 5-7
ETH Global Paris July 21-23
Demo Days
Ongoing Demo Days
ABCDE Hacker Camp, July 15 -September 15
Poolside Web3 Accelerator S23 August 12
Upcoming Demo Days
FinTech Demo Day, August 23
Unicorn Pitches - GSD Demo Day, August 17
XRPL Accelerator Demo Day, September 5
Cretech Virtual Demo Day, September 6
Recently Completed Demo Days
Outlier ventures Demo Week July 11
That’s a wrap for July.
Enjoyed this newsletter or the data? Please share it with a friend, and THANK YOU for your time.
Good luck out there!
Ben & Brady
Thanks for sharing! Great resource for all things deals.