Top 10 crypto projects that raised venture capital in July

Crypto fundraising picked up in July, as most projects are trying to close their rounds before summer, and valuations for deals are now much lower and comparable to those of early last year. With valuations now lower, VCs are now once again interested in participating.

In July 2024, crypto startups raised $1.1 billion across 120 unique rounds. These projects span various sectors, such as Modular Blockchain, socialFi, and AI, and have secured funding ranging from $1.75 million to $60 million.

Let's look at the ten most exciting projects that raised capital in July 2024 without further ado.

Pi Squared

Pi Squared is a crypto project that utilizes zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to revolutionize verifiable computing across blockchains. The core innovation of Pi Squared is the development of a Universal Settlement Layer (USL), which allows for seamless interoperability between different blockchains, programming languages, and applications without requiring traditional translation methods like compilers. This makes the verification of computations across platforms more efficient and secure.

The way Pi Squared works is by employing a minimalistic ZK circuit that guarantees the correctness of computations across all languages and virtual machines. This ZK circuit forms the basis of their Proof of Proof concept, which enables trustless remote computing, AI applications, and interoperable smart contracts. The project’s technology ensures that all transactions and computations can be independently verified, reducing the need for trust in blockchain operations and enhancing security.

Pi Squared's vision is to make verifiable computing universally accessible and efficient. The long-term goal is to create a system where all blockchain activities, and even broader fields such as science and knowledge, can be settled with absolute correctness. This would establish a foundational infrastructure for the next generation of decentralized applications and blockchain interoperability.

Recently, Pi Squared raised $12.5 million in seed funding, with the round led by Polychain Capital. Other participants included notable investors such as ABCDE, Bloccelerate, Generative Ventures, Robot Ventures, and Samsung Next. This capital will be used to further develop the Universal Settlement Layer, advance their ZK circuit technology, expand the team, and prepare for the testnet launch expected by the end of 2024. These developments are critical as Pi Squared aims to play a significant role in advancing the Web3 ecosystem, making cross-chain applications more secure, efficient, and interoperable.

Sentient

Sentient is a blockchain-based AI startup focused on creating an open-source platform for artificial intelligence (AI) development. The project is particularly ambitious in integrating AI with blockchain technology to build decentralized AI solutions. This allows developers, researchers, and businesses to collaborate on AI projects while retaining ownership and being compensated for their contributions.

Sentient operates by leveraging the blockchain to create a decentralized environment where AI models and data can be developed, stored, and shared. The platform uses a unique approach to ensure that contributions to AI development are recognized and rewarded fairly, which contrasts with the current centralized AI systems dominated by a few large companies. By decentralizing AI development, Sentient aims to democratize the creation and use of AI, ensuring that its benefits are distributed more equitably.

The vision of Sentient is to create an ecosystem where AI is developed in a way that benefits humanity as a whole. The platform aspires to build a community-driven approach to AI development, focusing on fair distribution of power and benefits. This aligns with the broader goal of ensuring AI aligns with global interests rather than being controlled by a select few.

Recently, Sentient raised $85 million in a seed funding round. The investment was co-led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Framework Ventures, with additional backing from a diverse group of venture capital firms, including Delphi Ventures, Arrington Capital, and Robot Ventures. This significant capital injection will be used to accelerate the development of Sentient’s open-source AI platform, expand its team by hiring AI and blockchain experts, and establish partnerships with leading academic institutions and industry players.

Sentient’s progress includes plans to launch its testnet soon, marking an important milestone in realizing its vision of a decentralized, community-driven AI ecosystem.

Ethos Network

Ethos Network is a decentralized platform that focuses on transforming trust and reputation within digital ecosystems. The platform aims to establish a new standard for how trust and reputation are managed and utilized in decentralized environments. By leveraging blockchain technology, Ethos Network decentralizes these critical aspects, allowing users to build and maintain their digital reputations securely and transparently across various platforms and services.

The platform works by utilizing a trust and reputation system built on blockchain, where users' actions and behaviors are recorded in a transparent and immutable ledger. This decentralized approach ensures that reputations are earned and maintained based on verifiable data, free from manipulation or centralized control. Users can carry their trust scores and reputations across different platforms and services, fostering a more trustworthy and accountable digital ecosystem.

The vision of Ethos Network is to decentralize trust and reputation, making these essential components of digital interaction more transparent, secure, and universally accessible. The platform aims to empower individuals by giving them control over their reputations and ensuring that trust is established based on actual, verifiable actions rather than subjective opinions or centralized entities.

Recently, Ethos Network raised $1.75 million in a pre-seed funding round, with backing from prominent Web3 angel investors, including figures such as Bharat Krymo, Dingaling, and Zeneca. The funds will be used to complete the development of the Ethos Network platform, enhance its features, and prepare for its upcoming launch. Additionally, the capital will support the expansion of the team and the further refinement of the platform’s infrastructure to ensure a successful deployment and adoption.

Rome Protocol

Rome Protocol is a crypto project built on Solana, designed to enhance the scalability and efficiency of Ethereum-based rollups by using Solana's blockchain as a shared sequencer. This approach enables faster transaction confirmations, improved privacy, and reduced costs for Ethereum rollups by leveraging Solana's high throughput and advanced infrastructure.

The protocol works by integrating Solana’s capabilities into the Ethereum ecosystem, allowing Ethereum-based rollups to use Solana's validators for processing and sequencing transactions. This setup addresses common issues like liquidity fragmentation and centralized sequencer vulnerabilities in Ethereum's current architecture. By ensuring that transactions are confirmed on Solana before being finalized on Ethereum, Rome Protocol enhances interoperability and security across the networks.

The vision of Rome Protocol is to create a decentralized and scalable infrastructure that bridges Ethereum and Solana, making decentralized applications more efficient and secure. The project aims to democratize scalability by offering rollup-as-a-service, enabling developers to focus on building innovative applications without worrying about cross-chain interoperability complexities.

Recently, Rome Protocol raised $9 million in a funding round. The investment was led by notable venture capital firms such as Hack VC, Polygon Ventures, and HashKey, along with individual angel investors like Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana. The funds will be used to further develop the protocol, expand its infrastructure, and support the integration of Solana's capabilities into Ethereum's ecosystem, ensuring a more seamless and efficient experience for developers and users alike.

Partior

Partior is a blockchain-based payment network designed to streamline and revolutionize cross-border payments and settlement processes. Launched as a joint venture between DBS, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Chartered, Partior aims to address the inefficiencies in traditional payment systems, such as delays, high costs, and lack of transparency, by providing a unified ledger that facilitates real-time, multi-currency clearing and settlement.

The network operates by leveraging blockchain technology to enable instantaneous transactions across various currencies, ensuring transparency and reducing the reliance on multiple intermediaries. Partior's infrastructure supports 24/7 availability, allowing for seamless, real-time payment processing. This approach significantly improves liquidity management for both corporate and financial institutions by eliminating traditional bottlenecks in cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlements.

Partior's vision is to create a more efficient and connected global financial ecosystem by breaking down silos and enabling frictionless, secure cross-border transactions. The platform seeks to transform how financial institutions and corporations manage their international transactions, providing them with greater control, transparency, and efficiency.

Recently, Partior raised over $60 million in a Series B funding round, led by Peak XV Partners and supported by existing investors, including DBS, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and Temasek, along with new investors such as Valor Capital Group and Jump Trading Group. The capital raised will be used to expand Partior's capabilities, including introducing new features like intraday foreign exchange swaps, cross-currency repurchases, and programmable liquidity management. Additionally, the funds will support the network's international expansion and the integration of more currencies into its system, building on its existing support for USD, EUR, and SGD​

Bima Labs

Bima Labs is a crypto project focused on developing Bitcoin-backed stablecoins, specifically a stablecoin called USBD (Universal Stable Bitcoin Dollar). This stablecoin is designed to be chain-agnostic, allowing it to operate seamlessly across various blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains, Solana, and others. The USBD stablecoin can be used for a range of financial activities such as lending, borrowing, swapping, and even as collateral for credit, making it a versatile tool in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

The platform works by allowing users to stake their Bitcoin as collateral. These staked assets are then restaked into a vault, which can mint USBD. This process leverages liquid staking tokens, providing users with opportunities to optimize returns through different strategies.

The vision of Bima Labs is to revolutionize the stablecoin landscape by offering a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin that can be widely used across different blockchain ecosystems. The project aims to create a stable and secure financial ecosystem that bridges traditional finance with decentralized finance, enabling new credit, debt, and hybrid use cases globally.

Recently, Bima Labs raised $2.25 million in a seed funding round led by Portal Ventures, with participation from Draper Goren Blockchain, Sats Ventures, Luxor Technology, Delta Blockchain Fund, and several angel investors. The funds will be used to expand the platform's operations, develop new features, and grow its team to support the launch and adoption of the USBD stablecoin​

Pexx

PEXX is a fintech startup specializing in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, focused on creating a stablecoin-to-fiat payment platform. The platform allows users and businesses to convert stablecoins like USDT and USDC directly into 16 different fiat currencies and transfer them into bank accounts globally. This service significantly simplifies and accelerates cross-border money transfers, offering instant processing and low transaction costs by leveraging blockchain technology.

The vision of PEXX is to bridge the gap between the Web3 world and traditional finance, providing a compliant and secure way for users to convert their digital assets into everyday currencies seamlessly. By doing so, PEXX aims to empower financial freedom by making global transactions effortless and accessible to everyone.

Recently, PEXX raised $4.5 million in a seed funding round led by TNB Aura, with participation from other investors such as Antler and EMO Capital. The capital will be used to expand the company’s engineering and product teams, enhance marketing and business development efforts, and scale the platform starting in Southeast Asia. The funds will also support further development of PEXX’s innovative platform to meet the growing demand for stablecoin-to-fiat conversions as stablecoins become increasingly prevalent in the financial ecosystem.

Igloo

Igloo is a crypto project that has recently gained attention for its efforts in developing a new consumer-focused blockchain called Abstract. Igloo, Inc., the parent company behind the well-known Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, aims to leverage its experience in the NFT space to drive mass adoption of cryptocurrency through innovative blockchain technology.

Igloo's Abstract blockchain is designed to make decentralized app development more accessible, affordable, and secure, utilizing advanced zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography. This technology allows for low-cost, fast, and secure transactions, making it easier for both developers and users to interact with the blockchain. The goal is to create an on-chain community driven by culture, creativity, and user-first experiences, ultimately integrating blockchain technology seamlessly into everyday life.

Recently, Igloo raised over $11 million in a funding round led by Founders Fund, with additional participation from Fenbushi Capital, 1kx, Everest Ventures Group, and Selini Capital. The capital will be used to establish Cube Labs, a new venture under Igloo, which will oversee and further develop the Abstract blockchain. This initiative is part of Igloo's broader vision to create a dominant consumer crypto platform that bridges the gap between traditional and decentralized finance, making crypto accessible to a wider audience.

JokeRace

JokeRace is a decentralized governance platform that enables communities to create, execute, and reward decisions through competitions, debates, and hackathons. The platform is designed to empower blockchain projects and communities by allowing them to initiate various types of on-chain activities without needing to code. It operates across more than 90 blockchains, making it widely accessible and versatile.

The vision behind JokeRace is to simplify the process of community-driven decision-making in the crypto space, providing a user-friendly platform where projects can engage their communities in meaningful ways. By focusing on a no-code approach, JokeRace aims to lower the barriers to participation in decentralized governance, enabling more people to get involved in the decision-making processes of their favorite projects.

Recently, JokeRace raised $3 million in a funding round led by Maven 11 Capital, with participation from around 30 angel investors. The capital will be used to expand the platform's reach, enhance its features, and support marketing and business development efforts. The funding will also help JokeRace scale its operations and continue to innovate in the decentralized governance space.

RiskLayer

RiskLayer is a decentralized finance (DeFi) project developed by Chainrisk Labs, focused on enhancing economic security within the DeFi ecosystem. The project aims to build a security middleware on EigenLayer, which is designed to provide transparent and efficient risk management solutions for DeFi protocols.

RiskLayer operates by deploying two Actively Validated Services (AVS): the Risk Oracle AVS and the Risk Rollup AVS. The Risk Oracle AVS serves as a data provider for DeFi risk, utilizing a “proof of risk” consensus to assess and index user risk across various markets and assets. The Risk Rollup AVS, on the other hand, is designed to economically secure application-specific rollups, enabling the development of new financial products that are inherently risk-aware.

The vision of RiskLayer is to scale economic security from the protocol level to the application layer, making risk-optimized strategies more accessible and efficient for both institutions and individual users in the DeFi space. By focusing on commercializing risk as a metric, RiskLayer aims to provide more transparent risk assessments, which are crucial for the broader adoption and stability of DeFi.

Recently, RiskLayer secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a pre-seed round, termed the "Builders Round," co-led by Antler and Momentum6, with additional backing from Wagmi Ventures, Hypotenuse Ventures, and several notable angel investors. The capital will be used to accelerate the development of its AVS infrastructure and prepare for an upcoming pre-staking launch​

It is encouraging to witness an increase in capital flowing into the early stages of the crypto industry. Sectors that are popular among venture investors tend to become popular among the general public around 12-18 months later. Make sure to explore and utilize these early-stage projects, as you may receive handsome rewards through an airdrop!

That’s it for this month’s top 10 crypto projects that raised funding! If you’d like to receive the next edition, and all our other top content, directly in your inbox, subscribe to our no-nonsense weekly newsletter here!