Crypto Funding: $169 Million For Custody, Infrastructure, DAO Sports League

A karate league structured as a DAO raised $18 million this week

article-image

BillionPhotos/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Crypto companies saw their funding rise this week, with about 11 companies bringing in a total of approximately $169 million. That’s a little less than double last week’s $88.5 million, though it falls short of the first week of April, where crypto companies raked in $251 million.

Unchained, a bitcoin custody solution and collateralized lender, raised $60 million in its series B round, making it the largest fundraiser this week. Its capital raise was led by Valor Equity Partners. This latest haul follows a prior $15 million in financing led by Ten31, according to a company statement. 

Unchained co-founder and CEO Joseph Kelly told Blockworks that his company offers a collaborative custody solution that currently secures “over $2 billion worth of bitcoin across thousands of clients.”

Collaborative custody, Kelly explained, means that his clients share multisig keys with the company so that there is never a single point of failure that leads to someone losing their assets. 

Kelly added that his clients that are holding two of three keys have “unilateral” control over their assets. “They can move [bitcoin] without Unchained interfering anytime they’d like. But by us holding one of those three keys, that means that if they don’t have access to a key…we can cosign with them on a transaction.”

With the new inflows, Unchained plans to expand their product offerings, expand its client base, and improve on its collaborative custody model.

Blockchain infrastructure and a DAO sports league

Another startup on the fundraising list this week was P2P.org, which raised $23 million in a series A round led by Jump Crypto, Bybit, and Sygnum’s DAO Fund. 

A press release from P2P.org said it is a non custodial staking provider on Ethereum and 49 other blockchains. With the latest funding round, the company said it plans to focus on R&D expansion initiatives and building a stronger community.

Konstantin Lomashuk, founder of P2P.org, said the Shanghai upgrade could increase institutional interest in ETH staking, adding, “Now that the upgrade is complete and as the market continues to expand, we may expect ETH staking to grow significantly in market size.”

Separately, Karate Combat, a Karate league structured as a DAO, raised $18 million. BITKRAFT Ventures led the funding round, with additional participation from Delphi Digital, The Operating Group, and Alpha Wave Global, among others.

The cash raised will support the May 10th launch of the Karate Combat App and $KARATE token, according to a press release.

Other notable fundraises this week

Bera Chain, a layer one blockchain, received $42 million in a private round led by Polychain Capital.

Tableland, a decentralized cloud database, had an $8 million series A round led by CoinFund.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (5).png

Research

Outside of stablecoins, the value of tokenized assets sits below $20B, dominated by the following asset classes: private credit, US Treasuries, commodities, institutional alternative funds, stocks, non-US government debt, and corporate bonds. In the coming months, we see the greatest opportunities in the tokenization of illiquid markets, particularly private equity. However, the successful integration of offchain assets into blockchain ecosystems relies heavily on clear and consistent regulatory frameworks, with purpose-built infrastructure to support it.

article-image

The BITCOIN Act now has 13 sponsors in total — up from one last year

article-image

Carson Cook and James Roth of Membrane Labs join the Empire podcast to discuss the state of lending and how custodians impact market growth

article-image

A popular equity investing strategy, which considers network effects, is paying off for this crypto index

article-image

The encoded timekeeping system improves proof-of-stake, allowing the chain to quickly validate transactions

article-image

Cuts to interest rates unlikely as officials weigh labor market data and Trump tariffs take effect

article-image

Standard Chartered’s Waqar Chaudry pointed to some initially believing that tokenized money market funds could replace stablecoins