Participated · Equity · Feb 2024

OX.FUN operates a cryptocurrency perpetual trading platform (a contracts exchange). On the exchange, P&L is calculated in OX, and the spot trading pairs listed include OX/USD and AOX/USD. The platform distributes AOX tokens as a subsidy when users incur losses; AOX is issued only in losing scenarios. The product mechanics emphasize asymmetric token distribution tied to trading outcomes. The company completed a new financing round of $4 million, according to the report.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2024

ZeroLend is a decentralized lending protocol that focuses on DeFi lending, RWAs, privacy, and account abstraction. It is currently the largest lending protocol on zkSync and the third-largest on Manta by total value locked (TVL). The project plans to launch its native governance token ZERO in Q1 2024 and run a series of airdrop initiatives under its Zero Gravity campaign to engage users. ZeroLend reports rapid growth, with TVL rising roughly 1500% from $3 million to $50 million and averaging around 100k daily active users. The protocol highlights integrations with Pyth and potential future integrations across the Manta and zkSync ecosystems. Development and expansion have been incubated by MahaDAO and are funded in part by recent seed and private round financing.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2024

Bitflow Labs operates a decentralized exchange protocol that uses smart contracts and decentralized liquidity pools to enable BTC liquidity flow and trading for tokens defined in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The protocol aims to replace middlemen and offers features such as auto-compounding BTC yield and arbitrage between different flavors of Bitcoin. During its private beta the protocol’s TVL grew from about $30K to over $4M in less than a month, demonstrating early traction. The company plans to use new funding to refine its infrastructure, grow the team, improve user experience, and pioneer new applications in Bitcoin DeFi. Its product roadmap centers on building Bitcoin-native DeFi primitives that leverage the security, capital, and network of Layer 1 Bitcoin. The team emphasizes building through market cycles to prepare for future growth.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2023

Sleek is a Web3 social network that launched in April 2023 and aims to bring blockchain-powered social media to the masses. Its core product, Sleek Card, uses NFC and a proprietary messaging bot to create blockchain wallets and decentralized identities, onboarding users into Web3 and building on-chain social graphs. The Sleek Card has powered over 300,000 connections and supported 60+ global events through partnerships with groups like Solana Hacker Houses, Coinfest, Digital Art Fair, and NFTNow. Sleek also plans to launch an open knowledge marketplace in the first half of 2024 to let domain experts tokenize and monetize their knowledge. The company raised US$5 million in a seed round and positions itself to enable creator monetization via SocialFi business models.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2022

Astaria is a NYC-based NFT lending platform that enables users to obtain instant liquidity for their NFTs through a webapp. Users can log on and receive customized liquidity terms for specific NFTs without forced liquidations. The platform is led by CEO Justin Bram and CTO Joseph Delong. Astaria closed an $8 million seed funding round, bringing outside capital to the business. Backers span venture firms, trading firms, DAOs and numerous individual crypto investors.