Crypto VC funding: The Open Network raises $30M, Drift Protocol brings in $25M

The Open Network and Drift Protocol emerged as the top two firms with the highest funds raised in the last seven days.

Per a report by Galaxy, 2024 has been a good year for the fundraising industry, as there has been a steady uptick in the funds raised. As of July 1, founders are reporting an active fundraising environment.

Even though there was a drop in deal count from 603 in the first quarter to 577 in the second, capital invested paints a different picture with a rise to $3.2 billion in Q2 from Q1’s $2.5 billion.

Data shows a 28% increase in capital invested quarter over quarter. When it comes to geographical location, United States-headquartered companies accounted for more than 40% of all deals in Q2.

The United Kingdom followed suit with 10%, and Singapore enjoyed 8.7% of all deals.

As for the most recent crypto VC funding rounds, crypto.news compiled the latest announcements from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 using data obtained from Crypto Fundraising. Let’s look at the companies that grabbed headlines with million dollar-plus rounds.

The Open Network, $30 million

• TON is a layer-1 blockchain that was originally developed as the Telegram Open Network.
• Now known as The Open Network (TON), it raised $30 million this week and over $54 million since its inception in 2018.
• Bitget and Foresight Ventures contributed to the latest fundraising effort.

Drift Protocol, $25 million

• Drift Protocol is a Solana-based DEX that offers spot trading, swaps and perpetual futures.
• It closed a $25-million Series B funding round led by Multicoin Capital.
• The firm has raised over $52.3 million so far.

Helius, $21.75 million

• Helius is a provider of RPC Nodes, APIs, webhooks and developer tooling.
• Lead investors of the $21.75 million include HAUN, Founders Fund, Foundation Capital, 6MV, Chapter One and Spearhead.
• Helius has raised a total of $34.35 million so far.

Hemi Labs, $15 million

• Hemi Labs is a layer 2 protocol focusing on security and interoperability across Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
• The firm raised $15 million from investors including Binance Labs, Breyer Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Crypto.com, etc.

Pipe Network, $10 million

• Pipe Network, is an incentivized internet infrastructure, clinched $10 million from Multicoin Capital.

Yellow Network, $10 million

• Yellow is a blockchain product and infrastructure company.
• Investors like Consensys, GSR, Global, Gate.io Labs, ZBS Capital and others contributed toward the startup’s $10 million fundraising round.

Additional funding rounds under $10 million

• TrueX: The non-custodial, stablecoin-native exchange officially launched with $9 million in funds courtesy of RRE Ventures, Paxosm Accomplice, Hack VC, Solana Foundation and Aptos.
• Fermah: CSX, Lemniscap, Bankless Ventures and LONGHASH Ventures are among the backers of a $5.2-million round
• Vana: Coinbase Ventures, Manifold, GSR, DeFiance Capital and Auros participated in a $5-million fundraising effort.
• Cudis: The startup collected $5 million from Draper Associates, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital, Penrose, Block Patch, Trinito and other investors.

For last week’s column, click here.