Crypto Investments Weekly – Sept. 24–30

Top investment deals across the crypto sector over the last week (Sept. 24–30, 2022):

Deribit raises $40 million from existing investors at a $400 million valuation

Deribit, the largest Bitcoin options exchange by market share, has raised funds from existing investors at a $400 million valuation, The Block reported. The Panama-based exchange raised around $40 million in the deal from its existing shareholders, including QCP Capital, Akuna Capital, and Dan Tapiero’s 10T Holdings.

The fundraising comes three months after Deribit took a hit from liquidating now-bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s positions. Deribit raised new capital to restore its reserves to where they were before the 3AC incident, according to the sources, while the exchange was valued at $2.1 billion in its last funding deal in August 2021.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust discount hits all-time low amid crypto market downturn

The discount on GBTC has dropped to -35%, its lowest level ever. This means that the market price of GBTC shares is more than 35% lower than the actual value of Bitcoin.

Theta Capital raises $500 million to invest in blockchain startups

Theta Capital Management, an Amsterdam-based fund manager and investor in blockchain venture capital, has raised a total of $500 million in 2021 to invest in crypto-native venture capital funds.

The investment is through its Theta Blockchain Ventures fund-of-funds program, which seeks diverse exposure to the most promising Web3 projects globally at their earliest private round valuations focused on the core infrastructure of this new technological paradigm.

Fasanara Capital establishes $350 million crypto VC fund

London-based asset manager Fasanara Capital has established a new $350 million venture capitalist fund focused on fintech and Web3, according to a press release. The firm has more than $3.5 billion assets under management and also has a team dedicated to digital assets arbitrage trading and lending.

Crypto VC Pantera Capital looks to raise $1.25 billion for 2nd blockchain fund

Crypto venture-capital investment firm Pantera Capital is looking to raise $1.25 billion for its second blockchain fund, Bloomberg reported. Pantera founder Dan Morehead said at a conference in Singapore that the fund will invest in digital tokens and equity, including shares in companies Pantera already owns that have dropped in value.

Bitcoin Lightning Network’s builder Strike secures $80 million in funding

Strike, the leading digital payment provider built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, announced it has raised an $80 million funding round led by Ten31 and joined by Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Wyoming, and other investors, with participation from existing investors.

The capital will be used to drive Strike’s efforts to revolutionize payments for the largest merchants, marketplaces, and financial institutions in the payments industry.

Cardano’s founding entity Emurgo to invest over $200 million to boost ecosystem

Cardano development lab Emurgo will invest over $200 million to support the ecosystem’s growth over the next three years, founder Ken Kodama told CoinDesk on the sidelines of the ongoing Token 2049 conference.

The funds, which are from Emurgo’s own capital, will be invested over a three-year period in projects directly building atop Cardano and to projects from other networks that build products that integrate Cardano’s network alongside their own.

Crypto trading-focused blockchain Sei launches $50 million ecosystem fund

Sei, a layer-1 blockchain designed for trading, has launched a $50 million ecosystem and liquidity fund to support new decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on its platform, its co-founders Jeff Feng and Jay Jog exclusively told TechCrunch. The core value proposition for Sei is focused on specializing a layer-1 blockchain, Feng said.

Uniswap Labs eyes over $100 million in new funding

Uniswap Labs is in early stages of putting together a new round, TechCrunch reported, as the parent firm of the world’s largest decentralized exchange gears up to broaden its offerings. The startup is engaging with multiple investors, including Polychain and one of Singapore’s sovereign funds, to raise an equity round of $100 million to $200 million at a valuation of about $1 billion, the sources said.

The new funding is indicative of Uniswap’s ambitious plans to expand its offerings. The decentralized exchange commands 64% of all DEX volumes, according to DeFi Llama. And the exchange protocol’s token has a market cap of nearly $5 billion despite the market downturn.