New Zealand-based crypto exchange Easy Crypto has raised $11.75 million (17 million New Zealand dollars) in Series A funding, as the firm eyes a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the future. The round was led by venture capital fund Nuance Connected Capital. According to a Wednesday announcement from Easy Crypto, the 17 million NZD figure “seemed to have set a new record in New Zealand” for the largest Series A funding from a local firm. The funding round marks a significant milestone for the firm. Easy Crypto co-founder and CEO Janine Grainger has expressed how difficult it had been …

Major Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber is joining the unicorn club, having raised $260 million in a Series C funding round. According to an official announcement on Wednesday, the new funding has propelled CoinSwitch Kuber to the “very top” of Indian unicorns, as the firm became “India’s most valued crypto company” at $1.91 billion. The funding round was led by Coinbase’s venture capital arm Coinbase Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Previous investors such as Sequoia, Paradigm, Ribbit and Tiger Global have also participated in the round. Using the new funds, CoinSwitch Kuber plans to onboard 50 million Indians on the platform …

Cross-chain decentralized exchange THORSwap has concluded a $3.75 million private token sale backed by leading venture funds within the blockchain industry, offering further evidence that investors are keen to back market-ready DeFi platforms. The funding will be used by THORSwap to continue building its development and operational resources, including the launch of new products on top of THORChain, the decentralized liquidity network powering the exchange. The private token sale was led by IDEO CoLab Ventures with participation from True Ventures, Sanctor Capital, Nine Realms, Proof Group, 0xVentures, Qi Capital, THORChain and others. THORSwap currently supports Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), …

Following a $680-million funding round, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Sorare is looking to be an active player in bridging the gap between sports and digital entertainment. Now valued at $4.3 billion, Sorare told Cointelegraph that the company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its business with new hires and partnerships, as well as support community-led programs. Besides working with community-led football programs aimed at helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and backing underprivileged entrepreneurs in sports and gaming, Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia explained via email that the NFT unicorn would also support female representation in sports. He said: …

Due to the enormous growth of DeFi and a lack of direct competitors, Ethereum wallet and browser extension MetaMask recently surpassed 10 million active users, a major milestone for the ConsenSys-led protocol. Now, a new browser wallet is looking to provide an alternative to MetaMask by doing something that most developers are shying away from — creating a web-based experience as opposed to a mobile client. Emile Dubié, the CEO of XDEFI Wallet, explained to Cointelegraph why MetaMask’s growth has previously gone unperturbed by competitors: “I think developers decided to get on mobile being the next client for blockchain users …

Fresh off the launch of its $25 million venture fund, OP Crypto Capital Management Ltd. seeks to play a more active role in the lifecycle of blockchain startups ranging from gaming to Web 3.0. Former Huobi executive turned founder David Gan spoke with Cointelegraph about the transition from his former company, the growth potential of crypto niches and the role his fund will play in bootstrapping the next generation of crypto startups. Seamless transition After more than three years at Huobi Ventures and Huobi Labs, Gan transitioned to his new role seamlessly, he said. One of the primary motivations for …

Social token infrastructure provider Roll raised $10 million in Series A funding, bringing the company’s total funds raised to $12.7 million to help creators tokenize their interactions with communities. Led by IOSG Ventures, the funding round saw participation from Animoca Brands, Alchemy, Huobi Ventures, Weekend Fund, Mischief Fund, Audacity and existing investors like Galaxy Interactive, Hustle Fund, Gary Vaynerchuk, Trevor McFederies, Ryan Selkis and Balaji Srinivasan. Social tokens are blockchain-based digital currencies that have the potential to be used as the basis of a decentralized creator economy. “Through Roll, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and communities can tokenize, trade and gate-keep …

African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card has concluded a $15 million Series A financing round led by some of blockchain’s biggest venture funds, underscoring the growth potential of digital assets on the continent. The fundraiser, which was described as the largest ever by any African cryptocurrency exchange, will enable Yellow Card to scale its operations across Africa and onboard new talent, the company announced Monday. The Series A came roughly one year after Yellow Card successfully raised $1.5 million from various investors. The investment round was led by Valar Ventures, Third Price and Castle Island Ventures with additional participation from Square, …

Blockchain infrastructure developer Blockdaemon has secured its status as a crypto unicorn after concluding a $155 million Series B fundraiser, putting the company on track to expand its operational footprint in a significant way. With Series B now closed, Blockdaemon’s valuation has swelled to $1.255 billion, the company announced this week. To date, the company has raised just under $190 million, with the latest funding round led by the Softbank Vision Fund 2. Additional investors included Goldman Sachs, Kraken Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, CoinFund, Matrix Capital Management and Sapphire Ventures. Konstantin Richter, Blockdaemon’s founder and CEO, said the capital injection …

Tokenized sport collectibles projects have raised almost $1 billion in funding in the space of a week. On Wednesday Dapper Labs — the firm behind the Flow blockchain and the widely popular tokenized basketball collectibles NBA Top Shot — announced a further $250 million in a funding round led by tech-focused hedge fund Coatue. As reported by Cointelegraph on Wednesday, French-based nonfungible token (NFT) soccer trading card game developer Sorare raised $680 million in Series B funding led by Japanese fintech giant SoftBank. The funding round raised the valuation of the firm to $4.3 billion. The combined funding for the …

Digital asset manager Cobo has raised $40 million to advance institutional pathways to decentralized finance products, offering compelling evidence that more Asia-Pacific investors are seeking secure access to the DeFi market. The Series B financing will be used by Cobo to develop the first DeFi-as-a-service, or DaaS, infrastructure, which allows institutions and their customers to access decentralized finance products in a compliant manner, the company announced Wednesday. Specifically, the capital will be deployed to acquire regulatory licenses and ensure that anti-money laundering guidelines are followed on all products. Cobo further explained that DaaS gives institutions more secure exposure to DeFi …

Solana ecosystem project Orca has concluded an $18 million Series A investment round led by some of the biggest venture funds in crypto, offering further evidence that high-profile investors are keen to back SOL-based startups. Orca, which operates as a decentralized exchange, will use the funds to continue developing its automated market maker solutions for Solana, the company announced Wednesday. The raise comes less than eight months after the project was launched by a two-member team consisting of Yutaro Mori and Grace Kwan. In addition to Three Arrows Capital, Polychain, Placeholder and Coinbase Ventures, Series A participants included Jump Capital, …