A project that is backed by a16z, Balaji Srinivasan, Samsung Next, and Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media has the ambitious goal of becoming the native IP infrastructure of the internet. Story Protocol raised $54M in a funding round from several large name investors. The platform, built on blockchain, will serve as an open repository for many forms of IP including images, video, and audio. Every developmental step of an IP from inception onward is recorded on-chain. The protocol aims to make IP a liquid asset that can be plugged into DeFi.
This is an interesting usage of blockchain technology that makes monetization of IP very efficient because Story Protocol also allows anyone to contribute to an IP, and it captures the value of their contribution. Capabilities such as licensing, revenue streams from derivative works, and access to global capital can be added via modules, which enables content creators to set their own transparent licensing terms. The licensing module automatically distributes and divides revenue from remixed content related to IP stored on the protocol per the terms of the module.
An on-chain, accredited marketplace is providing access to private credit opportunities in emerging markets. Helix, a protocol that tokenizes real-world assets raised $2M in from Helicap, a private credit platform with a focus on Southeast Asia. Lenders will include crypto native entities such as DAO treasuries or miners, and they will go through full KYC/AML checks.
Helix boasts, “higher yield than on-chain DeFi, with less crypto correlation and volatility.” Sample deals on the company’s home page include annual yields ranging from 9.45% – 17.55%, with both senior tranche and junior tranche opportunities available (junior tranche lenders receive a higher yield, but in the case of a liquidation, senior tranche lenders are paid first).
List of VC Investments into Crypto Projects
The full list of the institutional investments that Ruceto tracked last week is below. Links to the target company website, investment announcement, and token info are provided via hyperlinks on the Target Name, $ Raised, and Token columns respectively.
| Target Name | $ Raised | Lead Investors | Description | Token |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
a16z, Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media, and more |
Uses blockchain technology to track the development of and contributions to IP |
|
||
|
Pantera Capital |
Order book-based spot DEX |
|||
|
Point72 Ventures |
Builder of GenTwo Pro, a fintech platform that enables investment professionals to create customized investment products including digital assets, alternative assets (generally not publicly traded), and various publicly traded TradFi assets |
|
||
|
White Star Capital, New Form |
Crypto lending platform founded by former Coinbase execs |
|
||
|
Coinbase Ventures, Framework Ventures |
Cross-chain protocol which enables asset and data transfers for apps across blockchains |
|
||
|
Hivemind Capital Partners, OKX Ventures |
Fine art collectible platform |
|
||
|
Shima Capital |
Enable the creation, management, and sale of tokenized, compliant domains |
|
||
|
NFX, Jump, Alliance, Village Global, Orange DAO, and more |
Helps individuals and institutions protect themselves against on-chain risks including smart contract exploits, scams and governance attacks |
|
||
|
Saison Capital, Superscrypt |
Accredited on-chain marketplace that provides access to off-chain private credit in emerging markets |
|
||
|
Mechanism Capital, Polygon, Double Peak, and more |
Web3 game company |
|
||
|
Hashed Emergent |
Creator of Onboard, a self-custody wallet that enables crypto to easily be stored, transferred, or converted to fiat |
|
What is Going on at Ruceto?
We recently released a report on CyberConnect when it was trading at over $15, and it is currently trading at around $5, which is within the price range we estimated in our deep dive analysis based on Web2 social media comps. Check out our report on our Research page to see why we think CyberConnect represents an interesting early SocialFi use case even though we correctly predicted the recent collapse of its token price.
The Venture Trotter Newsletter will take a couple weeks off as we work on a few exciting initiatives, but our research reports will keep coming as planned. We are releasing a report on XRP very soon, and we will send out an email blast when it’s ready.
Disclaimer: The content presented is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, legal, or professional advice. Nothing contained in this report is a direct or indirect recommendation or suggestion to buy, sell, make, or hold any investment, loan, commodity, security, or token, or to undertake any investment or trading strategy with respect to any investment, loan, commodity, security, token, or any issuer. Ruceto does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, sequence, or timeliness of any of this content. Please see our Terms of Service for more information.