This week, 14 cryptocurrency startups secured a total of $49.9 million in funding. At the heart of these investments is the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, with digital payment provider dtcpay standing out as a major beneficiary, raising approximately $16.5 million in a pre-Series A round. The round was led by Kwee Liong Tek, the chair of Singaporean luxury real estate developer Pontiac Land Group, and included investors from The Carlyle Group, McKinsey, and KPMG.
Launched in 2019, dtcpay focuses on providing payment solutions for traditional fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. With a license to run digital payment token services from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the company enables customers to convert fiat into digital currencies and vice versa. Dtcpay’s vision is to bridge the gap between traditional businesses and Web3 by streamlining the payment experience.
Additionally, DeFi has been a central focus for investment in the crypto space. One significant fundraiser in this sector is Neutron, a blockchain network that raised $10 million in a seed round led by Binance Labs and CoinFund. Other participants included Delphi Ventures, LongHash, and Nomad. Launched in May, Neutron was designed to bring smart contracts onto the Cosmos blockchain through CosmWasm (Cosmos WebAssembly). The funds will be used to develop key software, according to a statement from Neutron.
DeFi infrastructure provider Maverick Protocol also raised $9 million, with noteworthy participants including Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Apollo Crypto. The statement provided to Blockworks indicates Maverick will focus on creating efficient liquid staking token infrastructure, deploying on new chains, and solving cross-chain liquidity inefficiencies.
These developments in DeFi investments show that more players are entering this space, driven by the potential for broader use cases, technological innovations, and a desire to challenge the traditional financial system. This expansion is impressive and points toward a promising future for DeFi and its integration into the broader economy.
However, it is crucial to consider the challenges that the sector faces. DeFi’s nascent nature means that many projects are still in development or untested in real-world scenarios. Furthermore, the involvement of regulators in the crypto space, while critical to foster growth and protect consumers, presents potential hurdles to DeFi projects’ operations.
Nonetheless, recent investments demonstrate a deepening interest in the DeFi sector, and while there may be growing pains, the potential rewards for these startups can outweigh the risks. Strengthening the bridge between traditional finance and emerging Web3 technologies is a commendable endeavor, and the backing of significant players indicates a promising future for this disruptive industry.
Source: Blockworks
