nChain, a world leader in Web3 and enterprise blockchain technology and the developer of the BSV Protocol, today announces it has entered into a heads of agreement to take a 19.99% stake in TradeWindow (NZX: TWL), a leading international TradeTech company. The investment deal is valued at USD 7 million and nChain will also identify a new member to join TradeWindow's board of directors.

In addition to cash, the strategic investment by nChain would see the company provide TradeWindow additional software engineering capabilities to accelerate its Web3 transformation journey and delivery of its global trade platform. nChain brings leading-edge blockchain computing infrastructure to the partnership along with extensive software development and enterprise sales capabilities.

Founded in December 2018, TradeWindow is an NZX-listed software company that provides digital solutions for exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers to drive productivity, increase connectivity, and enhance visibility.

According to a company disclosure, cryptocurrency hardware wallet maker Ledger has raised €100 million ($109 million) in funding. CEO Pascal Gauthier said the capital injection will expand distribution, production, research, and development. Gauthier also noted that people are becoming more aware of the risks of leaving money on centralized crypto platforms, and traditional finance is struggling to gain trust due to recent bank collapses. The financing follows the launch of Ledger's new hardware wallet, the Ledger Stax, and the news that competitor Trezor is taking control of its chip production. Ledger's chief experience officer Ian Rogers said the internet has given birth to a "revolution of value." (Bitcoin.com)

LI.FI, the leading multi-chain liquidity and data gateway, announced today that it has raised more than $17 million in a Series A fundraise co-led by CoinFund and Superscrypt.

The round, which totalled $17.5 million, also includes participation from Bloccelerate, L1 Digital, Circle, Factor, Perridon, Theta Capital, Three Point Capital, Abra, and nearly 20 angel investors.

"This fundraise is vital to enabling us to execute our vision of a multi-chain future," said Philipp Zentner, CEO at LI.FI. " Our goal is to enable access to any token and order flow across any chain, trading on any venue, in a seamless manner that helps bring the next one billion users to Web3."

A new Hong Kong-based fund plans to raise $100 million this year to invest in digital asset startups, as the city seeks to become a regional fintech hub.

The fund led by Ben Ng, a venture partner at the Asian private equity firm SAIF Partners, and longtime tech investor Curt Shi has secured at least $30 million in funding commitments. Those who joined the first close for ProDigital Future Fund after a half-year fundraising period included Sunwah Kingsway Capital Holdings Ltd. and Golin International Group Ltd., Shi said in an interview.

Huobi, the virtual asset trading platform, announced a strategic partnership with Gala Games in Web3 ecosystem development. It is a platform that offers an ecosystem of play-to-earn crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) games across genres on the Ethereum blockchain.

Both parties aim to cooperate in the investment and listing of top projects in the Gala ecosystem and will also join hands in terms of ecosystem building, co-branding, project development and community building.

Polytrade, a web3 protocol focused on global trade, has raised $3.8 million in a seed round led by Alpha Wave, Matrix Partners, Polygon Ventures and CoinSwitch Ventures, the startup exclusively told TechCrunch.

Other investors include Singularity Ventures and GTM Ventures. The firm has previously been backed by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and QuickSwap co-founder Sameep Singhania, among others.

Ledger has raised most of a €100 million ($109 million) funding round at a €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) valuation, the company told Bloomberg. Media outlets first reported on a potential new capital raise last August.

The collapse of centralized crypto exchange FTX and recent U.S. regulatory actions against competitor Binance have made many digital asset owners wary of leaving their tokens in the hands of others. Ledger’s hardware products allow users to store their assets in a secure, physical location.

(By Brandy Betz)

Fetch.ai, an AI-focused crypto protocol, has raised $40 million from market maker and investment firm DWF Labs to deploy machine-to-machine tools for greater AI integration.

“Fetch.ai’s platform provides a comprehensive solution for building and deploying peer-to-peer applications with automation and AI capabilities,” Andrei Grachev, of Fetch AI, said in a statement.

Fetch is among a handful of other AI cryptos like SingularityNET (AGIX), Graph (GRT), Ocean Protocol (OCEAN) and RLC that all advertise an ability to integrate with AI as part of its core founding principles.

(By Dorian Batycka)

Indonesia's crypto market is still growing, with around 12 million people in the country owning cryptocurrencies. As a result, digital asset exchanges are continuing to emerge, such as Jakarta-based platform Mobee, which was founded in 2022 by Andrew Tjahyadikarta and Jeff Pradana.

Mobee recently obtained a license from Bappebti, Indonesia's regulatory body for trading digital assets, and has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from lead investor 1982 Ventures, as well as strategic Indonesian family offices and individuals. The funds will be used to expand operations, launch new products, and hire more veterans from the financial services and digital asset industry.

A new Hong Kong-based fund plans to raise $100 million this year to invest in digital asset startups, as the city seeks to become a regional fintech hub.

The fund led by Ben Ng, a venture partner at the Asian private equity firm SAIF Partners, and longtime tech investor Curt Shi has secured at least $30 million in funding commitments.

Those who joined the first close for ProDigital Future Fund after a half-year fundraising period included Sunwah Kingsway Capital Holdings Ltd. and Golin International Group Ltd., Shi said in an interview.