Friends, it’s Thanksgiving week here in the US, but AS YOU KNOW, the news NEVER stops (sometimes I SO wish it did, as in the NON-STOP coverage of the FTX fiasco). But I digress. Here we are with the latest grouping of top 5 VC deals worldwide in digital wealth, and it’s quite an interesting and diverse group of “winners” this week.
Some trends worth noting:
- Every deal but one was north of $100M this past week, a trend we are THRILLED to see again;
- Our funding winner for the week was a UK-based “ethereum scaling” platform. So DESPITE the whole FTX ONGOING soap opera and debacle, there’s still money flowing in VC to the digital asset sector;
- And ditto the above on a digital asset deal for Genesis to the tune of $140M. HOWEVER….as of Monday, 11/21, customer withdrawals have been halted at Genesis, so it appears THAT capital influx was for an emergency need, and it’s interesting because Digital Currency Group – the funding source – already owns Genesis, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the crypto media site CoinDesk.
Without further ado, here are this week’s top 5 fintech VC deals for the week below, in order from highest to lowest funding levels.
1Matter Labs
$200M, Series C | UK | Ethereum Scaling With Zero Knowledge Proofs | Blockchain Capital, Dragonfly, LightSpeed Venture Partners, Variant, Andreessen Horowitz |
https://matter-labs.io/
Website Overview:
“We are scaling Ethereum with zero-knowledge proofs. This is the most viable technology to enable the mainstream adoption of public blockchains. Our mission is to accelerate this ongoing financial revolution.
zkSync is in production since Summer 2020, with growing usage. It makes crypto payments cheaper today, and it will soon be used to scale arbitrary smart contracts — imagine Solidity in a ZK rollup! Everything we build is open source.”
2Genesis
$140M | NYC | Digital asset prime brokerage, trading, etc. | Digital Currency Group (DCG) | https://genesisdigitalassets.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Genesis facilitates billions in digital currency trades, loans and transactions on a monthly basis. Our team combines decades of experience at top Wall Street investment banks with a deep understanding of cryptocurrency markets. Our platform provides a single point of access for digital asset trading, derivatives, borrowing, lending, custody and prime brokerage services.“
3RESI
$100M, Debt | NYC | Occupancy-as-a-service/Proptech | Ivanhoé Cambridge, Belfus Insurance | https://cohabs.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“IN / RESI is a design and home furnishings platform for renters. We offer our clients a new way to design and furnish their apartments that is convenient, personal, and flexible. We use a combination of technology and human touch to create living spaces our customers love with minimal effort and financial flexiblity.”
4Ordergroove
$100M | NYC | Subscription solutions provider | Primus Capital Partners | https://www.ordergroove.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Ordergroove enables Relationship Commerce experiences for hundreds of brands and retailers, including The Honest Company, Stumptown Coffee, L’Oreal, Hotel Chocolat, and PetSmart, shifting consumer interactions from one-and-done transactions to frictionless and highly profitable recurring revenue relationships. With successful subscription and membership experiences, the company’s technology platform coupled with artificial intelligence, analytics and unmatched consumer expertise helps top brands transform their commerce experiences across every channel while making their consumers’ lives easier.”
5Kuda
$90M | London/Nigeria | Digital bank service provider | Valar Ventures, Target Global | https://www.kuda.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“Kuda is a fintech company on a mission to make financial services more accessible, affordable and rewarding for every African on the planet. We’ve built the money app for Africans around the world, giving them a better alternative to traditional finance by delivering services including free money transfers, smart budgeting, investments and instant access to credit through digital devices..“
