Sam Reynolds

<div id="highlights-block_61a62d90ce079" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Hxro’s protocol allows market makers, traders, and other network participants to access what it calls “globally aggregated liquidity”</li>
 <li>$34 million strategic round follows $15 million HXRO token deal from earlier this year which had the backing of fund managers Alan Howard and Louis Bacon</li>
 </ul>
 
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Hxro, a derivatives primitive built on the Solana blockchain, announced today that it had closed a $34 million strategic round led by Jump Crypto, Blockchain Capital and SIG DT Investments.



Financial primitives refers to protocols that allow for the use of liquidity, leverage, risk, and arbitrage in the broader crypto ecosystem. For DeFi protocols to function properly, they need to incorporate these four primitives in some way, which has led to interest from investors in maturing this underlying infrastructure.



Earlier this year <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/pantera-capital-leads-15m-fundraise-in-dex-protocol-0x/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">liquidity primitive 0x protocol raised $15 million</a> in a round led by Pantera Capital while <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/defi-protocol-element-finance-raises-181119256.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fixed rate protocol Element Finance</a> closed a $32 million round in October.&nbsp;



“Investors are beginning to understand the impact open source financial primitives [the software building blocks of DeFi] can have on the financial market,” Clay Robbins, head of growth at 0x, told Blockworks in an earlier interview.&nbsp;



In a release, Hxro explained that its protocol allows for market makers, traders, and other network participants to access “globally aggregated liquidity” while combining the risk, margining, clearing, and capital efficiencies of centralized derivatives on Solana.&nbsp;



“The notional size of incumbent derivatives markets is still many times that of what is available in DeFi. The mission of Hxro Network is to change that in a way where all market participants, no matter the size of their contribution and participation, can benefit,” Dan Gunsberg, Co-Founder of Hxro Network, said in a release.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“As a community, we are creating a very powerful foundation for decentralized derivatives to scale and become a significant part of the fabric of the global derivatives landscape.”</blockquote>



In a release, Hxro said it will utilize a unique staking protocol to facilitate network governance, liquidity incentives, and rewards. The network’s value will largely derive from transaction fees generated within the network



Hxro said that it plans on launching its v1 network on the Solana mainnet in December, with more development work occurring during the first quarter of next year.



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Solana-Powered Derivatives Primitive Hxro Closes $34 Million Round Backed by Jump Crypto, Blockchain Capital

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_60d20c186c948" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>PayPal previously announced that it was launching international crypto offerings and that the company was “significantly investing” in its new crypto, blockchain and digital currencies business unit, CEO said </li>
 <li>Visa has also spent a fair amount of time investing in the digital asset space in recent months and years, and has said it would be working with Anchorage, a digital assets bank, as a settlement partner as well as Crypto.com as a payment gateway, Blockworks previously reported </li>
 </ul>
 
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Blockchain Capital, a cryptocurrency venture capital firm, closed a $300 million fundraising round with investors including PayPal and Visa, the company announced on June 22.&nbsp;



The company’s fifth fundraising, also known as “Fund V,” was oversubscribed at its $300 million hard cap with investors from around the world, the company said. Some of the investors from Fund V, including PayPal and Visa, will participate in Blockchain Capital’s strategic partnership program.&nbsp;



Since its inception eight years ago, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/morgan-stanley-blockchain-capital-lead-48m-funding-for-securitize/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockchain Capital</a> has invested in more than 110 companies, protocols and crypto assets across the ecosystem. The portfolio includes such industry leaders as Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage and OpenSea, as well as DeFi leaders Aave, Nexus Mutual and UMA. The company invests in both equity and crypto assets and is a multi-stage investor. 



The company was not available for additional immediate comments requested by Blockworks on June 22.&nbsp;



With the new funding, the company will continue to partner with industry professionals to help them grow their businesses and protocols, while focusing on investments in blockchain infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs and emerging applications of blockchain technology, it said.&nbsp;



&#8220;PayPal is committed to fostering an ecosystem of companies making digital currencies more accessible, useful and secure,&#8221; said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal. &#8220;Investing in Blockchain Capital&#8217;s new fund allows us to engage with the entrepreneurs driving the future of the decentralized economy and the new wave of financial services.&#8221;



PayPal previously announced that it was launching international crypto offerings and that the company was “significantly investing” in its new crypto, blockchain and digital currencies business unit, CEO Dan Schulman said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings in February, Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/paypal-has-a-new-business-division-dedicated-to-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>. 



Separately, earlier this month <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/paypal-alums-launch-decentralized-payment-network-that-connects-fiat-and-digital-currencies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two former PayPal leaders</a> launched the first international payment network, Six Clovers, that uses regulated stablecoins to power global transfers between banks, merchants and payment providers. 



Similarly, Visa has also spent a fair amount of time investing in the digital asset space in recent months and years, and has said it would be working with <a href="https://www.anchorage.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anchorage</a>, a digital assets bank, as a settlement partner as well as Crypto.com as a payment gateway, Blockworks previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/visa-bets-big-on-digital-assets-integration-with-usdc-ethereum-support/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>. 



&#8220;We&#8217;re focused on enhancing all forms of money movement, whether on the Visa network, or beyond,&#8221; Vasant Prabhu, chief financial officer at Visa, Inc., said in a statement. &#8220;Through our relationship with Blockchain Capital, we are deepening our efforts to shape and support the role that digital currencies play in the future.&#8221;

PayPal, Visa Join $300M Round for Blockchain Capital

<div id="highlights-block_60d0edf77156c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Securitize is adding Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Tactical Value Pedro Teixeira to its Board of Directors </li>
 <li>Participants in the investment round and existing investors will receive their shares in the form of security tokens, or digital asset securities, through Securitize’s platform</li>
 </ul>
 
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Securitize, a digital assets securities firm, announced it has raised $48 million in a Series B fundraising round, co-led by Morgan Stanley and Blockchain Capital, the company said in a statement June 21.&nbsp;



The round marks the first time a blockchain technology company has received major institutional funding from <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=morgan+stanley" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Stanley</a>, said Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, in a <a href="https://twitter.com/carlosdomingo/status/1406921691855458305" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>, “which is not only great for us but a great validation for the entire space that one of the largest US banks is placing this bet.”&nbsp;



Overall, it’s a good thing for everybody that large financial institutions are getting involved in crypto start ups like Securitize, and while they are the first investment in the space, hopefully they are not the last one, Domingo said to Blockworks.&nbsp;



In addition to Morgan Stanley&#8217;s funding, Securitize is adding Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Tactical Value Pedro Teixeira to its Board of Directors where Teixeira will join Domingo, Securitize co-founder and President Jamie Finn, SPiCE VC co-founder and Managing Partner Tal Elyashiv, and Blockchain Capital co-founder and Managing Partner Brad Stephens.



“We make long-term investments in businesses and asset classes that are ahead of the curve,” Teixeira said. “Our investment in Securitize is a sign that we believe in the growth and adoption of digital asset securities.”



The company was founded in 2017 and allows private companies to raise capital on its digital blockchain-based platform.&nbsp;



“Historically we’ve been viewed as a crypto and blockchain company because that’s the technology, but you’re going to see a shift to focusing less on technology and more on what we actually do,” said Evan Wagner, head of brand and communications at Securitize, in an interview with Blockworks. “Fundamentally, we help companies raise capital and we help investors participate in the private markets which have been closed off to them for the most part.” 



New <a href="https://www.securitize.io/about-us/investors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investors</a> include Ava Labs, IDC Ventures, Migration Capital, NTT Data and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and no valuation is currently being disclosed. The round also included existing investors including Blockchain Ventures, Borderless Capital, Global Brain, Mouro Capital, Ripio, Ripple and SPiCE VC.



The funding was oversubscribed for the Series B round as the initial target for funding was lower but demand was “quite high,” which resulted in the current funding, Wagner said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Previously, Securitize raised over $2 million in a Series A round in October 2018, and more than $14 million in January 2020, Wagner said.



The company hopes to use the funds to continue expanding and scaling key existing areas for growth operations as well as launching Securitize Markets, which has no official release date, Wagner said.&nbsp;



Participants in the investment round and existing investors will receive their shares in the form of security tokens, or digital asset securities, through Securitize’s platform. The investors will join a group of over 300,000 verified investors and over 150 companies on the platform, according to the company.&nbsp;



“On the platform, you will be able to access a range of opportunities whether it’s crypto yield funds or startups or real estate developments, you&#8217;re going to see a broader universe of primary offerings as well as secondary offerings,” Wagner said. “Looking forward, that’s the evolution you&#8217;re going to see and as more people become comfortable with crypto, it&#8217;s going to become the means for providing services that is taken for granted in public markets.”&nbsp;