Blockchain
Fireblocks Surpasses $100 Million ARR Milestone, Cementing Its Status as SaaS Centaur
Fireblocks (www.fireblocks.com), an easy-to-use platform to create innovative products on the blockchain and manage day-to-day crypto operations, announced today that its 2022 Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) has surpassed $100 million just four years after the company’s inception and three years since Fireblocks’ first product went into market. This achievement places Fireblocks among a rare subset of SaaS unicorns — including Slack and Twilio — that have reached this coveted valuation milestone in less than five years.
Founded on a mission to enable every business to easily and securely support digital assets and cryptocurrencies, Fireblocks’ explosive growth runs congruent to the overwhelming interest in decentralized finance, blockchain, and Web3 technologies from the world’s largest banks, consumer brands, gaming companies, fintechs, startups, and enterprises.
“For the digital asset industry, 2022 has been a year of consolidation as well as tremendous growth,” said Fireblocks Co-founder and CEO, Michael Shaulov. “We saw an unprecedented volume of new market entrants, including fintechs, Web3 startups, banks, and PSPs. Because of Fireblocks’ MPC custody and treasury management technology, which has become one of the most fundamental pieces of infrastructure for the digital asset ecosystem, we have seen first-hand the innovation happening among fintechs, Web3 start-ups, banks, and PSPs who are diligently bringing new digital asset products to market. We will continue growing our secure and scalable product suites to meet this market demand and support every business joining the decentralized economy.”
“Fireblocks’ growth is a testament to the quality of its product and the dedication of the team building it,” said Michelle Bailhe, Partner at Sequoia. “As crypto becomes increasingly integrated into global financial infrastructure, Fireblocks will continue to grow in importance, enabling businesses to deliver secure crypto products for customers around the world, ranging from crypto and fintech startups to large financial institutions.”
Fireblocks is the only platform that eliminates a single point of failure and insulates digital assets from cyberattacks, internal collusion, and human error using a patent-pending multi-layer security approach. As digital assets and crypto enter into mainstream consciousness, Fireblocks’ MPC-CMP technology has become widely adopted by some of the world’s most recognized institutions and cutting-edge start-ups such as BNP Paribas, Six Digital Exchange, ANZ Bank, FIS, Checkout.com, MoonPay, Animoca Brands, and Wirex. In 2022, over 1,500 organizations deployed Fireblocks’ technology to protect customer and investor funds, strengthen digital asset security, and streamline day-to-day crypto operations.
“Essentially, businesses — from startups to enterprises — reach out to Fireblocks in order to maximize security in their technology stack so that they may focus on their core competencies: building innovative services and products for their customers while maintaining agility and the ability to react quickly to headwinds,” said Idan Ofrat, Fireblocks’ Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder. “As we look to the future, we are committed to delivering the same secure, easy-to-use and scalable solution for emerging market entrants and use cases such as stablecoin issuance, NFT treasury management, and crypto payments.”
“Fireblocks offers critical infrastructure for a wide range of companies looking to build out digital asset operations, including games, fintechs, banks and more,” said Arjun Balaji, an Investment Partner with Paradigm. “At Paradigm, we’re committed to supporting organizations like Fireblocks that empower developers and ultimately make Web3 more user-friendly and secure.”
Stay in the know and subscribe to Fireblocks’ Weekly Newsletter, Fireblogs, here https://www.fireblocks.com/blog/.
Learn more about how Fireblocks can power your digital asset business here: https://www.fireblocks.com/.
Blockchain
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Global Supply Chain Finance Market
Blockchain
Web3 Startups Raise Nearly $1.9B in Q1 2024 Despite Overall Downtrend in Crypto VC Interest
Venture capital funding for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects has seen a notable resurgence in the first quarter of 2024, marking its first quarterly rise since 2021. Crunchbase data released today indicates that Web3 startups secured nearly $1.9 billion in funding across 346 deals during this period. This represents a substantial 58% increase from the previous quarter, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the ongoing downward trend in overall crypto VC interest.
The recent surge in funding can be attributed to investors adopting a more long-term perspective on Web3, as opposed to the hype-driven “tourist investors” predominant in recent years. Chris Metinko, the author of the report, notes that investors are shifting their focus to the AI sector, indicating a change in investment strategy. There is a growing interest in supporting the foundational infrastructure of the decentralized internet, rather than solely concentrating on crypto wallets and lending platforms, which attracted significant investments during the peak period of 2021 to 2022.
While large funding rounds were relatively uncommon in Q1, several notable investments stood out. Exohood Labs, a company integrating AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, secured a remarkable $112 million seed round at a valuation of $1.4 billion. EigenLabs, an Ether token “restaking” platform, raised $100 million in a Series B round led by a16z crypto. Additionally, Freechat, a decentralized social network leveraging blockchain technology, secured $80 million in a Series A round. These investments, among others, contributed to the increase in valuations and the emergence of four new Web3 unicorns in Q1.
Despite the recent progress, the future trajectory of Web3 remains uncertain. Metinko suggests that the next few quarters will be pivotal in determining the industry’s direction. While investors anticipate a rebound in investment as the decentralized internet evolves, it may take another year for venture capital activity to stabilize after the exuberance of 2021. Factors such as the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the upcoming Bitcoin halving could also influence the market, given the rising prices of Bitcoin and Ether.
A noteworthy example of significant funding in the Web3 space is Monad Labs’ recent successful funding round, which secured $225 million led by Paradigm. Monad Labs is a layer-1 blockchain compatible with Ethereum, offering faster transaction processing. This funding round harkens back to the golden era of crypto funding in 2021-2022, when L1 solutions attracted substantial investments.
Earlier this year, Balance, a digital asset custodian based in Canada, announced that it had once again reached $2 billion in assets under custody (AUC) amidst the recent market recovery. Similarly, Korea Digital Asset (KODA), the largest institutional crypto custody service in South Korea, has experienced remarkable growth in crypto assets under its custody, expanding by nearly 248% in the second half of 2023.
Analysts at Bernstein Research project that crypto funds could reach an impressive $500 billion to $650 billion within the next five years, representing a significant leap from the current valuation of approximately $50 billion. This forecast underscores the growing optimism and potential for substantial growth within the crypto industry in the coming years.
Source: cryptonews.com
The post Web3 Startups Raise Nearly $1.9B in Q1 2024 Despite Overall Downtrend in Crypto VC Interest appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
Blockchain
ASIC cracks down on blockchain mining firms
Three blockchain mining companies – NGS Crypto, NGS Digital, and NGS Group – along with their directors, Brett Mendham, Ryan Brown, and Mark Ten Caten, are facing legal action from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for allegedly operating without a license, in violation of Australia’s Corporations Act. ASIC initiated legal proceedings against these entities on April 9, citing concerns about their non-compliance with financial regulations and their solicitation of Australian investors.
According to ASIC, the NGS companies promoted blockchain mining packages with fixed-rate returns to Australian investors, encouraging the transfer of funds from regulated superannuation funds to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) for conversion into cryptocurrency. Approximately 450 Australians invested a total of around USD 41 million in these packages, raising concerns about potential financial losses.
The legal action filed by ASIC alleges that the companies violated section 911A of the Corporations Act, which prohibits companies from providing financial services without a valid Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). ASIC is seeking interim and final court orders to prohibit the NGS companies from offering financial services in Australia without an AFSL.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo emphasized the importance of investors carefully considering the risks before investing in crypto-related products through their SMSFs. Longo stated that ASIC’s actions send a message to the crypto industry about the regulator’s commitment to ensuring compliance with regulations and protecting consumers.
In a separate development, the Federal Court appointed receivers for the digital currency assets associated with the NGS companies and their directors to safeguard these assets amid concerns about the risk of dissipation. Mendham was also issued a travel restriction order, preventing him from leaving Australia.
While a court date for the proceedings has not been set, ASIC’s investigation is ongoing, with the regulator continuing to gather evidence and build its case. It is worth noting that the investigated companies share a similar name with NGS Super, a legitimate Australian pensions provider, leading to potential confusion among investors. NGS Super clarified that it is not involved in selling cryptocurrency or related products and has taken legal action to protect its trademark and members’ interests.
Source: iclg.com
The post ASIC cracks down on blockchain mining firms appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
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