Weekly Summary: Focus on Crypto Restaking, DePINs and Monad’s Raise for High-Performant Layer-1
This week’s edition zooms in on the emergent crypto restaking platforms as EigenLayer’s TVL crosses $15 billion, the rise of DePINS and Monad Labs’ $225M raise for new L1.
Crypto Restaking Takes Centre Stage
Crypto restaking, the practice of re-investing (restaking) earnings from staked tokens has been one of the standout attractions for crypto VCs this year. The highlight was Andreessen Horowitz’s (A16z) $100 million investment in EigenLayer, the leading restaking protocol on Ethereum.
Even Bitcoin, which is quickly becoming a major player in the DeFi space has also seen restaking protocols on its network receive a fair share of funding.
BounceBit raised $6 million in February ahead of its testnet launch with Blockchain Capital and Breyer Capital leading the round, while Bullish Capital and CoinFund co-led a $23 million Series A for Ether.fi, an Ethereum liquid restaking protocol, powered by EigenLayer.
EigenLayer TVL Hits $15B After Mainnet Launch on Ethereum
EigenLayer, which launched its Ethereum mainnet on Tuesday has been the biggest player in the space, with total value locked (TVL) crossing $15 billion.
According to the Dune Analytics dashboard by 21co, the platform had already surpassed $12 billion TVL before the mainnet launch.
ETH deposits have skyrocketed over the past few months to account for 60% of the total staked tokens.
DePINs for the Mass Adoption of Blockchain Technology
Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) have become the trendy buzzword for 2024. DePINs reward users for their contributions to in development of physical infrastructure networks like electric vehicle charging networks and telecommunication networks.
Some of the benefits network providers can reap from integrating DePINs include improved system resilience and efficiency, more equitable access to resources and the encouragement of sustainable activities. Some of the world’s largest telecommunications networks like Ericsson have already collaborated with DePIN providers, which creates an avenue to onboard more users to the blockchain.
According to a report by crypto research platform Messari, the market value of DePINs could hit $3.5 trillion by 2028, making it one of the most exciting verticals in the crypto space.
Such optimism has seen DePIN platform peaq, raise $15 million in a round co-led by co-led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital, while MXC secured $10 million for its Ethereum-based decentralised physical infrastructure network.
Framework Ventures Leads $10M Funding Round for DePIN Platform Uplink
Uplink wants to reduce the reliance on traditional centralised telecommunication providers with its decentralised network connectivity.
The company has already collaborated with leading telecommunications companies including Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, and E.ON.
“By creating financial incentives that encourage people to increase DePin-powered internet access, more users will then be able to access connectivity wherever Uplink offers coverage and flag areas of need where it does not,” Uplink said in a press release.
Top Crypto Fundraising News
The cryptocurrency industry continued to lock in more milestones following last week’s numbers.
As it stands, the industry is on course to deliver a quarter-over-quarter growth, again signalling a resurgent recovery from the bear market.
Monad Labs Raises $225M for High-Performance EVM-Compatible Layer-1
Paradigm led the round with participation from Electric Capital and Greenoaks.
Monad Labs plans to use the capital to develop a layer-1 blockchain rivalling the likes of Solana and Sui.
The EVM-compatible L1’s main focus is on improving execution speeds up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Keone Hon, the founder of Monad Labs said: “We’re emerging from roughly two years of development… At a time when a lot of the research community was focused on roll-up, data availability, and other directions of scaling, Monad basically went really deep on the pure execution side.”
Alpen Labs Emerges from Stealth with $10.6M to Scale Bitcoin with ZK Rollups
Rabbit Capital led the round with participation from Castle Island Ventures, Robot Ventures and Axiom Capital.
Castle Island Ventures, Geometry Research, Village Global, Stillmark, Paxos, Robot Ventures and Axiom also joined the round.
Alpen wrote: “We envisioned a programmable, scalable layer on Bitcoin as the best place for on-chain finance: from payments to lending, custody, stablecoins, verifiable credentials, and use cases not-yet-imagined.”
Sapien Secures $5M Seed Round for Blockchain-Based AI Data Labelling Marketplace
The seed round attracted participation from Primitive Ventures, Animoca and Yield Guild Games.
Sapien’s platform allows users to tag text, images, and other data types with labels, enabling ML models to learn from the data.
Trevor Koverko, Co-Founder of Sapien said in a statement: “We are thrilled to have the support of our investors on our path to building the world’s largest network of ‘Sapiens’ – our brand for the millions of humans globally who power today’s most important AI models.”
On-Chain Analysis
Ethereum Staking Interest Surges Amid Record Low Rewards, Driven by Restaking Platforms
Staking activity on Ethereum has been gaining traction in recent months, even though the staking rate has declined to the lowest on record.
The Validator Queue, which indicates the number of validators waiting to stake on the Ethereum network, has been hovering above 15,000 at the beginning of April.
The interest in Ethereum staking is increasing even though the reward rate fell to a record low of 3.33% on March 29.
Base NFT monthly volume on OpenSea already surpasses previous ATH, currently at $27.9M
OpenSea NFT transaction volume on Base has spiked since March, following a steady rise in the preceding months.
The number of OpenSea NFT trades on the platform has also spiked in the past two months.
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