Last week, there were a total of 14 public financing events in the cryptocurrency market, with a cumulative financing of approximately 2.987 billion USD | Investment and Financing Weekly Report
Digital asset trading infrastructure provider GoQuant has completed a $4 million seed round financing, led by GSR; BlackRock-backed asset tokenization platform Securitize has received a strategic investment from Jump Crypto; Visa has made a strategic investment in blockchain payment company BVNK.Organizer: Luan Peng, RootData
According to incomplete statistics from RootData, during the period from May 5 to May 11, 2025, there were a total of 14 public financing events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, with a cumulative financing of approximately $2.987 billion.
From the distribution of sectors, the projects that received financing are mainly concentrated in the infrastructure and CeFi sectors. Popular projects include the Web3 consumer rewards platform T-Rex, the Dogecoin ecosystem application development layer DogeOS, the real estate tokenization trading platform Alt DRX, and the next-generation L1 blockchain protocol Litheum.
In addition, according to The Wall Street Journal, Coinbase executives stated that they plan to acquire the cryptocurrency options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion.
*(List of projects with financing greater than $5 million last week, data source: * Rootdata）
1. Infrastructure
At the Sonic Summit held in Vienna from May 6 to 8, Sonic Labs announced the completion of $10 million in $S strategic financing, led by digital asset and data center infrastructure giant Galaxy. This partnership will accelerate Sonic Labs' expansion in the U.S. market and provide critical support for its DeFi ecosystem development.
Galaxy has a network of over 1,300 institutional trading counterparties, and this collaboration aims to bridge traditional finance with Sonic's high-performance blockchain infrastructure through its resources. Sonic Labs CEO Michael Kong stated that Galaxy's involvement will bring important market insights and resources to the ecosystem.
As a high-performance EVM-compatible chain, Sonic's solutions are attracting increasing attention from institutions seeking enterprise-level blockchain services. This collaboration also reflects institutional confidence in blockchain technology's ability to transform financial infrastructure.
About Galaxy: Galaxy (TSX: GLXY) is a global leader in digital assets and data center infrastructure, headquartered in New York, with businesses covering institutional trading, asset management, staking, and tokenization technology.
According to The Block, the Web3 consumer rewards platform T-Rex has completed a $17 million pre-seed round financing, with investors including Portal Ventures, North Island Ventures, Framework Ventures, and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures.
T-Rex aims to provide cryptocurrency rewards to users watching content on platforms like X, TikTok, and YouTube through a "browse-to-mine" mechanism, and plans to launch a browser extension this summer.
According to official news, digital asset trading infrastructure provider GoQuant announced the completion of $4 million in seed round financing, led by crypto investment firm GSR, with participation from Copper.co, Lombard Odier, Capital Union Bank, TYR Capital, and FRNT Financial. The new funds will be used to enhance trading infrastructure performance, providing institutional clients with faster execution speeds and a more transparent trading environment.
GoQuant, founded in 2022, currently processes millions of orders daily through its trading system, offering smart order routing services across centralized exchanges, decentralized platforms, and over-the-counter markets. The platform integrates real-time market data, trading cost analysis tools, and risk management features to help institutions optimize digital asset trading strategies.
According to CoinDesk, the Dogecoin ecosystem application development layer DogeOS announced the completion of $6.9 million in financing, led by Polychain Capital.
The project aims to build an application development layer on the Dogecoin blockchain, supporting various consumer applications from gaming to artificial intelligence, enhancing the Dogecoin ecosystem and its decentralized financial services. DogeOS plans to promote the practical application of DOGE by providing operating system-level development tools, fostering the integration of community and on-chain innovation.
The next-generation L1 blockchain protocol Litheum announced the completion of $750,000 in strategic financing, co-led by Alphemy Capital and Amber Group. The funds will be used to advance its testnet launch plans.
Litheum employs an innovative PoP (Proof-of-Performance) consensus mechanism, enhancing on-chain performance and cost efficiency while ensuring security and decentralization by incentivizing all core functional nodes in the network and dynamically adjusting block sizes and transaction fees. Litheum plans to launch its testnet in the next quarter, laying the groundwork for its mainnet release.
2. CEX
WSJ: Coinbase plans to acquire cryptocurrency options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion
According to The Wall Street Journal, Coinbase executives stated that they plan to acquire the cryptocurrency options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion.
The transaction still requires regulatory approval, and Coinbase will also take over Deribit's operating license in Dubai.
3. CeFi
According to CryptoSlate, Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced the issuance of its 14th series of ordinary bonds, raising $21.25 million, all of which will be used to purchase Bitcoin. This bond was approved at the board meeting on May 9 and was fully subscribed by EVO FUND.
Previously, Metaplanet purchased 555 Bitcoins for approximately $53.4 million, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 5,555, with a total investment of $481.5 million and an average purchase price of $86,672 per Bitcoin. This makes Metaplanet the largest listed company holder of Bitcoin in Asia and ranks ninth globally.
According to Forbes, quantitative trading giant Jump Trading's crypto division, Jump Crypto, has made a strategic investment in the asset tokenization platform Securitize, with the specific amount undisclosed.
This follows last year's $47 million investment from BlackRock, marking the latest financing for Securitize. Securitize COO Michael Sonnenshein stated that Jump's involvement indicates traditional financial institutions' recognition of on-chain capital markets. The advantages of tokenized products include daily dividends and collateral applications, attracting yield-seeking investors to shift from stablecoins to tokenized government bonds.
Securitize currently provides tokenization services for top asset management firms such as BlackRock and Apollo, with its flagship product, the BUIDL Fund (tokenized money market fund), reaching a scale of $2.86 billion. Securitize is collaborating with Ethena Labs to develop a compliant DeFi blockchain called Converge, designed specifically for institutions, expected to launch this quarter.
Visa makes strategic investment in blockchain payment company BVNK
According to Coindesk, global payment service provider Visa (V) has made a strategic investment in the startup BVNK, which builds stablecoin-based payment infrastructure, reflecting the trend of traditional financial companies entering blockchain-driven currency flows. A BVNK spokesperson confirmed via email that the transaction has been completed but declined to disclose the investment amount.
BVNK's software allows businesses to send and receive stablecoins in global markets. The London-based company claims its annualized stablecoin transaction volume has reached $12 billion and has recently entered the U.S. market, with offices in New York and San Francisco. The company has applied for licenses in all U.S. states and has received approvals in several states.
Real estate tokenization trading platform Alt DRX completes $2.7 million Pre A financing
According to ET Realty, the blockchain-driven real estate tokenization trading platform Alt DRX announced the completion of $2.7 million in Pre A financing. This round of financing was participated in by Qatar Development Bank, Times of India Brand Capital, Hindustan Media Ventures, Zee Group, WeFounder Circle Angel Fund, and nX Capital, along with support from angel investors such as Harsha Bhogle, Parthasarathy, and Richard Rekhy.
Headquartered in Bangalore, Alt DRX aims to tokenize residential real estate assets through blockchain technology, providing users with the opportunity to buy and sell residential properties by square foot. The platform supports algorithmic daily pricing, instant settlement, and provides transparent transaction records. Co-founder Anand Narayanan stated that this round of financing will be used for purchasing residential assets, technology development, marketing, and regulatory license fees.
4. Others
According to CoinDesk, IntoTheBlock and Trident Digital announced their merger to form a new company, Sentora, aimed at bringing institutional investors into the on-chain world.
The new company is led by Trident co-founder and former Coinbase risk strategy head Anthony DeMartino.
At the same time, Sentora has completed $25 million in new financing, led by New Form Capital, with participation from Ripple, Tribe Capital, UDHC, and Joint Effects, as well as support from strategic ecosystem investors such as Curved Ventures, Flare, and Bankai Ventures.
Reportedly, Sentora integrates IntoTheBlock's over $3 billion of institutional-grade DeFi analytics data with Trident's structured liquidity solutions, aiming to develop a unified interface to solve the fragmentation of multi-chain protocol interactions. CTO Jesus Rodriguez stated that its goal is to build "core infrastructure that allows institutions like DAOs and family offices to safely access DeFi."
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