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 …

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: …

With venture capital funding seemingly prioritizing emerging technology, the blockchain industry experiences a significant influx of capital from corporate backers. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 published on Wednesday, blockchain-based businesses account for 10% of startups worldwide. The figure is part of a more significant trend that has seen emerging technology become a fast-growing sub-sector in terms of early-stage funding. The report divides startups into growing, matured and declining sub-sectors. Unsurprisingly, blockchain technology is in the first group, where the average growth rate is 107%, along with agriculture technology (agtech) and new food, advanced manufacturing and robotics, artificial …

Cryptocurrency market intelligence provider Messari has concluded a $21 million fundraise that was supported by some of the biggest venture firms in blockchain, once again highlighting growing investor appetite for budding crypto startups. The new funding will aid Messari in expanding its product suites as well as hiring and retaining more engineering and research talent. The company also plans to expand its enterprise offerings targeting institutional players. Ryan Selkis, Messari's co-founder and CEO, further explained to Cointelegraph how the funds will be deployed: "We haven’t yet burnt through our seed capital from 2019, and have been highly capital efficient to …

The United States-based cryptocurrency tax software developer TaxBit is reportedly looking for new funding at a valuation of $1 billion or more, which would make it a unicorn startup. According to Bloomberg, people with knowledge of the matter said TaxBit is in talks to raise capital, but the terms have yet to be finalized. TaxBit declined to comment on the reports. TaxBit is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based startup founded in 2018 specializing in crypto-related tax processes for consumers and businesses. Developed by a group of CPAs, tax attorneys and software developers, the solution enables users to track the tax …

CoinFund, a blockchain investment firm behind several recent venture raises, has closed an $83 million funding round as part of its ongoing initiative to bootstrap promising crypto-focused startups. The oversubscribed fundraise was led by Venrock, a California-based venture capital firm founded in 1969. CoinFund said several other “forward-thinking institutional allocators” contributed to the raise, but did not name them. David Pakman, partner at Venrock, touted CoinFund’s ability to identify and help develop leading crypto startups: “CoinFund’s deep connectivity throughout the entire crypto ecosystem, the firm’s critical technical insights and its ability to incubate projects at the earliest stages differentiates them …

Transitioning from static digital collectibles to tokens with real utility will lead to a new generation of NFTs according to Tytan Inc the COO of NFTY labs, a platform focused on building products for the NFT space. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, he said that even if the market is saturated, there is still room for startups to raise funds in the NFT ecosphere. “Most VCs are kind of catching on to the fact that a lot of the real value is in how you can use an NFT and not so much about what it looks like.”, he …

While the value of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) is designed to be pegged to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar, the crypto industry has fretted for years about the possibility of a major depegging — especially amid U.S. regulatory concerns about Tether, which has a current market capitalization of over $63 billion. Now one company intends to provide discretionary coverage for investors against that scenario — and Tether itself is backing the play. Bridge Mutual aims to mitigate the risk of loss of funds resulting from hacked or exploited smart contracts, exchange hacks or theft, …

Colombia’s capital of Bogotá is funding blockchain development as part of the city’s broader investment in innovative technologies. According to a Monday announcement on the city of Bogotá’s official website, the municipal government will provide 8.8 billion Colombian pesos ($2.3 million) to local companies as part of four new programs in the city’s Innovation, Technology and Creative Industries Fund, or FITIC. The new funding includes a contribution of of 2.8 billion pesos, ($739,000) to the development of local blockchain startups through a program called “Hub Blockchain Bogotá.” The project aims to support 100 blockchain-focused companies in order to boost their …

Solverse, a Solana-focused accelerator program, has tapped 21 subject matter experts to advise on up-and-coming Solana projects, setting the stage for further development of the high-performance blockchain network. Representatives from 21 companies were selected to join the Solverse mentorship program. The mentors themselves come from diverse backgrounds, including global investment banking, blockchain infrastructure and media. Representatives from Alameda Research, Axia8 Ventures, Bitscale, Lemniscape and many others will make up the mentorship panel. The infrastructure provided by Solana will bring De-Fi capacity and sophistication to the next level,” said Wayne Lin, founder of Axia8 Ventures. “Our goal with Solverse is to …

Digital collectibles platform Terra Virtua has tapped branding veteran Pierre Dadd to lead its marketing division, offering yet another example of a high-profile executive transitioning to a blockchain company. Dadd was hired for the position of marketing director, Terra Virtua announced Wednesday. Dadd has over 20 years of experience in marketing and brand development, making him a strong candidate to spearhead Terra Virtua’s marketing efforts. Dadd’s LinkedIn profile suggests he has been involved with the company since at least April. Prior to accepting the position, he headed his own private brand consulting fir for three years. He also has long-tenured …

A crypto project says its goal is democratizing a type of investment that has been “in the hands of the rich for far too long.” Nodeseeds says it tokenizes private sales and seed rounds — allowing enthusiasts to gain exposure to promising startups at all stages of their evolution if they have an appetite for risk. The project’s founders hope to tackle some of the biggest problems that exist in public sales at present. Those interested in getting involved often need to complete Know Your Customer checks on platforms they may be unfamiliar with, and their contributions can be capped. …