Financing Weekly Report | 10 public financing events, the encryption trading protocol Lighter completed $68 million financing, led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital.

Highlights of this issue

According to incomplete statistics from PANews, there were 10 investment and financing events in the global blockchain sector last week (from November 10 to November 16), with a total funding scale exceeding $195 million; in addition, the total financing amount for listed companies' cryptocurrency asset reserves exceeded $210 million. An overview is as follows:

• In the DeFi sector, 3 financing events were announced, with Lighter completing a $68 million financing round led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital;
• Web3+AI sector announced 1 financing event, the Web3 AI security agent project LISA has completed a $12 million financing, with participation from Redpoint and others;
• Infrastructure & Tools sector announced 3 funding events, among which the crypto startup Seismic completed a $10 million financing, led by a16z crypto;
• Decentralized Finance sector announced 1 investment event, with Public acquiring Alto's crypto business for a total of 65 million USD in cash and stock;
• Other Web3 applications announced 2 financing events, among which Kyuzo's Friends announced the completion of a $11 million financing round, with investors including DeAgentAI and others;
• In addition, 3 publicly listed companies have completed financing for their cryptocurrency treasury strategies, among which Republic secured $100 million in zero-interest financing to purchase ETH and expand its staking business;

DeFi

The crypto trading protocol Lighter completes $68 million in funding, led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital

The decentralized trading protocol Lighter has completed a $68 million financing round, led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood. After this round of financing, the company's valuation is approximately $1.5 billion.

Lighter was founded by Vladimir Novakovski in 2022, focusing on decentralized perpetual contracts and an upcoming spot trading feature, built on Ethereum Layer 2, aiming to create a “fair and transparent financial infrastructure layer.” Novakovski entered Harvard at the age of 16 and was personally recruited by Citadel founder Ken Griffin after graduating at 18, later transitioning from the AI social platform Lunchclub to the cryptocurrency field.

Lending platform Curvance completes $4 million strategic financing

The decentralized lending platform Curvance announced the completion of a $4 million strategic round of financing. The leading investors are F Prime Capital and 0xPrimal, with participation from Auros, GSR, Flowdesk, Q42, v3v ventures, and others. The project is positioned as a decentralized lending and collateral platform, supporting the collateralization of yield-bearing assets such as LST, LRT, stablecoins, Pendle PT, and LP. The team claims to have developed the architecture in-house and has incorporated safety designs such as dual oracle pricing, a circuit breaker mechanism, and MEV capture liquidation auctions; the funds from this round will be used for launch, auditing, team expansion, and asset integration.

Sui Ecosystem DEX Bluefin completes 2 million Swiss francs financing, SUI Group participates in the investment

NASDAQ-listed company SUI Group announced an investment of 2 million Swiss francs (approximately 2.5 million USD) into the Sui ecosystem decentralized exchange Bluefin. The two parties will collaborate to bring hedge funds, asset management companies, and market makers to the on-chain market.

AI

LISA completes $12 million financing, promoting AI-native on-chain security systems

The Web3 AI security proxy project LISA has announced the completion of a $12 million financing round, aimed at creating an Agentic Security OS that combines AI and blockchain. This round of financing was participated in by institutions such as Redpoint, UOB Venture Management, Signum Capital, NGC Ventures, and Hash Global. LISA is committed to using AI to detect complex multi-step logic vulnerabilities that traditional auditing tools find difficult to uncover, thereby enhancing the security of smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Infrastructure & Tools

Acurast Secures $11 Million in Funding to Advance Mobile Confidential Computing Mainnet

Acurast announced a funding of $11 million and plans to launch its mainnet and issue the ACU token on November 17. The project claims to achieve verifiable, confidential, and tamper-proof computing on consumer-grade smartphones and proves that only manufacturer-certified devices are allowed to connect through hardware keys. Its network data shows that nearly 150,000 phones have joined, processing approximately 494 million transactions and deploying about 94,200 services. Investors include Ethereum co-founder and Polkadot founder Gavin Wood, among others.

Cryptocurrency startup Seismic secures $10 million in funding, led by a16z crypto

The crypto privacy infrastructure startup Seismic announced that it has completed a $10 million financing round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Polychain, Amber Group, TrueBridge, dao5, and LayerZero. The company's total funding has reached $17 million. Seismic was founded by CEO Lyron Co Ting Keh, with the aim of helping fintech companies protect users' sensitive information, such as salaries and rents, from being exposed on public blockchains when using crypto technologies. Seismic has currently partnered with the stablecoin account platform Brookwell and private credit service provider Cred to provide private chain payment rails, preventing transaction data from being exposed on public chains. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its range of services, including fiat deposit and withdrawal channels and crypto card projects, and expects to achieve revenue in the first quarter of 2026, with a fee model of 1 cent per transaction. Its competitor is Tempo, valued at $5 billion.

Zero-Knowledge Identity Protocol Self Secures $9 Million in Seed Round and Launches Points Program

Zero-Knowledge Identity and the “proof-of-humanity” protocol Self announced the completion of a $9 million seed funding round, with investors including Greenfield Capital, SoftBank's Startup Capital Ventures x SBI Fund, Spearhead VC, Verda Ventures, Fireweed Ventures, and several angels. Self provides privacy identity verification using zero-knowledge proofs and verifiable credentials, integrated with Google, Aave, and Velodrome, supporting verification of biometric passports, national IDs, and India's Aadhaar, and is used for anti-witch airdrops and OFAC-compliant token distribution. The company also launched a points program to reward users who complete identity verification and interact on partner platforms.

DAT

(Such transactions are not included in the current financing weekly report statistics)

Biotechnology company Propanc raises $100 million in funding for cryptocurrency reserves and cancer therapy research

Digital asset finance company Propanc Biopharma (NASDAQ: PPCB) announced on Monday that it has secured up to $100 million in financing from family office Hexstone Capital, which is active in the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, and other digital asset sectors. This private placement transaction will be conducted through a convertible preferred stock structure, with Propanc receiving an initial investment of $1 million and the potential to receive up to $99 million in follow-on funding over the next year. The proceeds will be used to build Propanc's digital asset portfolio and accelerate the development of its lead oncology therapy, PRP, which is planned to enter its first human trial in 2026. CEO James Nathanielsz referred to this move as a “transformational phase,” aimed at strengthening the company's balance sheet and providing funding support for its enzyme-based research projects. The company did not specify which digital assets it plans to acquire. The financing news did not halt the decline in Propanc's stock price. On Monday, PPCB's stock fell by 4%, dropping below $1, with a cumulative decline of 43% over the past month.

Republic secures $100 million in zero-interest financing to acquire ETH and expand staking business

Canadian listed company Republic Technologies (CSE: DOCT) announced it has secured a $100 million interest-free convertible bond financing from an institutional investor to expand its Ethereum staking and reserve business. The company stated that over 90% of the funds will be used to purchase ETH, with an initial investment scale of $10 million.

This financing has no interest and no additional margin requirements, and is regarded as a rare “cash flow neutral” structure in the cryptocurrency industry, equipped with 50% market price exercise warrants. Republic operates ETH validation nodes to earn staking and validation income from holding coins and collaborates with QCP Capital to develop structured yield strategies for ETH, with a weekly yield of approximately 1.75%.

Matador completes its first $10.5 million convertible bond financing, dedicated to increasing its Bitcoin holdings

Matador Technologies Inc. announced that it has completed the first tranche of a $10.5 million convertible bond financing with ATW Partners, aimed at increasing its Bitcoin holdings. The company plans to purchase up to 1,000 BTC through this facility by 2026 and accumulate up to 6,000 BTC by 2027, targeting a position among the top 20 corporate Bitcoin holders globally. The annual interest rate for this convertible bond is 8%, which will decrease to 5% if the company successfully transitions from TSX Venture to Nasdaq or NYSE.

Centralized Finance

Public acquires Alto's crypto retirement account business for $65 million, with AUM of approximately $600 million

Public announced the acquisition of Alto's crypto business for a total of $65 million in cash and stock, with the AUM for that segment being approximately $600 million. AltoCrypto supports a variety of crypto assets; in contrast, Fidelity's crypto retirement account only supports Bitcoin. Public co-founder Leif Abraham stated that IRA positions can be adjusted without immediate tax liabilities. The transaction is set to be fully integrated by 2026, with Alto retaining its other business and continuing as a service provider. Public is targeting “upmarket” investors, with a median customer age of around 38 years.

Other

Web3 Games:

Kyuzo's Friends team completes $11 million financing, Key Origin platform's first licensed IP game fully accelerates

The AI-driven social gaming project Kyuzo's Friends announced that its team has completed a $11 million financing round, with investors including DeAgentAI, Stratified Capital, Chain Capital, KnightFury, X Wave, and LBank Labs. This round of financing will be used for global market expansion, upgrading the AI creation system, and strengthening on-chain infrastructure.

Kyuzo's Friends, launched by the Key Origin platform, is its first officially licensed IP project, developed based on the well-known IP “DNAxCAT (Jiu Cang Miao Wo)” and has already landed on the Sui and LINE platforms. The project combines AI creation with Web3 game mechanics, aiming to promote the transformation of traditional IP into the decentralized era. Key Origin is building a global Web3 licensed IP ecosystem, covering IP licensing, AI co-creation, and digital asset trading. The success of Kyuzo's Friends is expected to attract more well-known brands and creators to join.

Crowdfunding platform:

The crypto financing platform Shodai Network has completed a $2.5 million seed round funding, with participation from Consensys and others.

The cryptocurrency financing platform Shodai Network announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed round of financing, with investors including Consensys, Consensys Mesh, and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. This investment will help Shodai Network expand its founder network and further develop its financing support platform.

Shodai Network brings together a group of entrepreneurs, developers, and seasoned professionals in the crypto industry, aiming to assist early-stage developers in obtaining resources and connecting with other entrepreneurs through its founder network, while systematically achieving project scalability. Through its product department, Shodai focuses on the research and development of new financing technologies and the creation of open-source capital raising tools, aiming to align the interests of protocol developers and investors right from the initial stages of protocol construction.