Nonfungible token (NFT)-game and virtual property developer Animoca Brands has doubled its valuation to $2.2 billion after closing a new funding round that fetched $65 million. The latest funding round was conducted at a pre-money valuation of $2.2 billion, and included backing from gaming giants Ubisoft Entertainment along with Liberty City Ventures, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital to name a few. It’s more vindication for a company that was kicked off the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in March 2020, in part for its involvement in cryptocurrencies. According to the Wednesday announcement from the firm, more than 43.8 million newly issued shares …

Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation interactive technology, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based games. In a Tuesday announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies, including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, Roar, Art Blocks and Masterworks, with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company …

Manta Network, a privacy layer project for the Polkadot ecosystem, has completed a new funding round to continue scaling decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases by boosting blockchain privacy. Announced Tuesday, Manta Network’s latest $5.5-million funding round included participation from more than 30 venture funds, including crypto hedge fund CoinFund and alternative investment firm ParaFi Capital. Other investors included Web 3. investment fund LongHash Ventures, CMS Holdings, Divergence, Spartan Group, Global Coin Ventures, SkyVision Capital, Zee Prime and SNZ. The funding has also featured some of the industry’s prominent individual investors from major cryptocurrency companies such as Digital Currency Group, Consensys …

Bitfury, one of the world’s largest companies in the blockchain industry, is mulling a potential initial public offering, or IPO, as part of the company’s global growth plans, the company’s CEO confirmed to Cointelegraph. “As Bitfury and its portfolio of companies continue their global expansion in the digital assets space, Bitfury will be considering an IPO as part of its broader expansion and growth plans,” Bitfury co-founder and CEO Valery Vavilov said. According to the executive, Bitfury has not yet determined when and on what exchange the company is willing to proceed with an IPO. The company’s last funding round …

TradingView, the price charting platform used as a reference for price movements of cryptocurrencies and other assets, has secured $298 million in a funding round to attain a $3-billion valuation. Led by TradingView’s new investor, Tiger Global, the funding follows a strong growth of the platform’s user base, mostly retail investors, during the pandemic. According to the announcement, TradingView experienced a 400% increase in new accounts and a 237% increase in visitors in the last 18 months. TradingView CEO and co-founder Denis Globa highlighted Tiger Global’s expertise in fintech, adding that the partnership would contribute to informed financial trading. Established …

MoonPay, a fintech startup dedicated to building crypto payments infrastructure, is reportedly expected to reach a valuation of $3.4 billion after conducting its first round of venture capital funding. The VC funding for the crypto payments startup is being co-led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management and will inject funds worth $400 million into the bootstrapped company. The MoonPay platform allows the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies and digital assets using mainstream payment methods such as debit and credit card and local bank transfers. While the funding information is not officially announced, a report from The Information suggests that …

Front Row, a marketplace geared toward progressive organizations, has said it will be partnering with the Texas Democratic Party to pilot a program aimed at raising money for candidates and causes using nonfungible tokens (NFT). In a Monday announcement, Front Row said it had already minted digital images of key moments related to the progressive movement and listed the NFTs for sale. Some of the featured NFTs include “wanted” posters depicting conservative Texan lawmakers fleeing the state. Front Row said that the funds raised through its NFTs will go “directly towards political groups and individuals” but did not specify how …

Cryptocurrency risk management firm Elliptic has announced a $60 million Series C funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners and supported by a panoply of venture capital firms including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as well as existing investors AlbionVC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and SBI Group, amongst others. Elliptic's history of funding charts a consistent increase, with their debut funding raise in 2016 totaling $5 million, while their second raise across late 2019 to early 2020 resulted in an additional $28 million. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in London, Elliptic captures analytical data from the blockchain sector …

Indian short-video sharing platform Chingari is preparing to launch its own blockchain network and social token. Chingari has completed a $19-million funding round to launch its mainnet and conduct a token sale for its Solana-based GARI token in November, the firm announced on Friday. Chingari co-founder and CEO Sumit Ghosh said that the token sale is scheduled for Nov. 2, while the mainnet launch and application integration are expected to have gone live by the end of that month. Co-led by major blockchain investors such as Republic Crypto and Mike Novogratz’s investment firm, Galaxy Digital, the new raise included over …

Esports, gaming and interactive media investment platform Bitkraft VC has established a $75-million token fund for investing in blockchain gaming and digital entertainment. The fund uses a “stage-agnostic” strategy, meaning that it will put money in companies and startups at any business development stage. Apart from equity investment, the token fund will also invest in cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFT). In order to provide regulated investment opportunities, Bitkraft received an investment advisor registration from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2021. The new token fund is led by Piers Kicks, a founding partner in the investment arm …

Switzerland-based technology company Velas has allocated $100 million to startups building on top of the Velas blockchain, marking a sizable increase from its initial pledge of $5 million earlier this year. The grants program is designed to support the growth of the Velas ecosystem and expand its capabilities within Web 3.0, a broad umbrella term that describes the next stage in the internet’s evolution. Like the initial $5 million grants program announced in August, the new funding initiative will allocate up to $100,000 per project. While Velas intends to fund a wide range of projects, developers who are creating solutions …

Stader Labs, a cryptocurrency staking management platform, announced on Thursday a $4 million financing round to accelerate development across multiple blockchains — including Ethereum, Near and Polkadot — as well as broadening its marketing campaigns. The funding raise was conducted by Pantera Capital, with participation from a prominent number of venture capital funds, blockchain foundations and angel investors, including Coinbase Ventures, True Ventures, Hypersphere, TerraForm Labs and the Solana Foundation. Stader Labs aggregates decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and applications into a simplified staking solution for delegators in a bid to maximize their returns. The current offering includes staking, liquid staking, …