PQShield secures 37m in VC funding Renzo raises 17m
This week witnessed a flurry of activity in the blockchain sector, with startups and crypto ventures collectively securing over $100 million in venture capital. The funding spree, spanning June 16 to June 22, underscores a robust interest in various blockchain applications, encompassing gaming, social networks, and advanced cryptographic security.
**PQShield’s Series B Triumph**
PQShield emerged as the standout this week, closing a $37 million Series B round led by Addition. This funding boost aims to bolster its post-quantum cryptography solutions, crucial for safeguarding cryptographic systems against quantum computer-based threats. Noteworthy new investors such as Braavos Capital, Legal & General, and Chevron Technology Ventures joined the round, highlighting PQShield’s strategic expansion plans.
Dr. Ali El Kaafarani, PQShield’s founder, affirmed that these funds will enhance their workforce and foster closer collaborations with partners and clients, including tech giants Nvidia and AMD.
**Renzo’s Series A Achievement**
Renzo, a leading Ethereum (ETH) restaking protocol, secured $17 million in a series A round spearheaded by Galaxy Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund. Building upon an earlier $3.2 million seed round led by Maven 11, Renzo offers users the innovative ezETH token for flexible restaking across decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. DefiLlama data shows Renzo currently boasts a market cap nearing $115 million, with over $3.6 billion in total value locked.
**Particle Network’s Series A Success**
Particle Network, a modular blockchain developer, raised $15 million in a series A round co-led by The Spartan Group and Gumi Cryptos Capital. This round, structured around a simple agreement for future tokens, also drew participation from SevenX Ventures, Flow Traders, and HashKey Capital. Previously, Particle had raised $10 million across three funding rounds. Founder Pengyu Wang highlighted plans to bolster chain abstraction technology and scale operations with this fresh infusion of capital.
**Sonic’s Series A Round**
Sonic, a Solana (SOL) layer-2 network focused on gaming, concluded a $12 million series A round led by Bitkraft Ventures. Galaxy Interactive and Big Brain Holdings also participated, bringing Sonic’s total funding to $16 million. The funding will enable Sonic to streamline Web3 gaming complexities and integrate across diverse gaming genres.
**ZKX’s Funding Announcement**
On June 19, ZKX, a pioneering social perpetual trading decentralized exchange (DEX), secured $7.6 million in total funding, including a recent $6.3 million seed round. Investors such as Flowdesk, GCR, and DeWhales backed the initiative, aiming to enhance perpetual swaps through social trading features and cross-chain interoperability. ZKX plans to introduce new features and expand its cross-chain interoperability, bolstered by the launch of its native ZKX token on major exchanges like Bitget, Gate.io, and KuCoin.
**Gudchain’s Gaming Focus**
Gudchain, an OP-stack-based layer-2 blockchain catering to gamers, secured $5 million in funding led by Mechanism Capital. Additional investors included Manifold, Skyvision Capital, and Morningstar Ventures. Gudchain aims to simplify Web3 access for gamers and serve as the foundational platform for forthcoming Highstreet Market products, with plans to launch five flagship games on-chain within six months.
**Other Noteworthy Fundings**
Beyond these major investments, several other startups secured significant funding rounds this week:
– Zeek, a decentralized social collaboration network, raised $3 million in a seed round led by OKX Ventures and Animoca Brands.
– Wasabi, a meme coin and NFT leverage trading protocol, garnered $3 million from Electric Capital to enhance its DeFi offerings.
– Bitwise received a $2.5 million seed investment for its Ethereum ETF, with Pantera Capital signaling further interest.
– Farworld Labs closed a $1.75 million pre-seed round to advance its Farcade platform for Farcaster-native gaming.
– Ordinox, a Cosmos-based automated market maker, received $1 million in pre-seed funding led by DACM to bolster development and security audits.
This week’s funding activities highlight the dynamic growth and diversified applications within the blockchain and crypto ecosystem, reflecting sustained investor confidence in transformative technologies.
