According to recent market analysis, the Web3 and blockchain sector witnessed a significant uptick in funding activity last week. A total of 21 publicly disclosed deals raised approximately $282 million, averaging around $13.43 million per round. This represents a notable increase compared to recent weeks, signaling sustained investor confidence in key areas of technological innovation.
The digital asset management and payment sector attracted the largest share of capital, followed closely by the social and creator economy vertical. Notable growth was also observed in funding for metaverse and GameFi projects, DeFi protocols, and core infrastructure. In contrast, investment activity remained relatively low for NFT and digital fashion initiatives.
Metaverse and GameFi Funding Overview
The Metaverse and GameFi sector secured four funding rounds last week, collectively raising $51.2 million and accounting for 18.16% of the total weekly investment.
Nazara Technologies Limited
On September 7th, India's diversified gaming and sports media platform, Nazara Technologies Limited, announced the completion of a $49.2 million funding round. The investment saw participation from SBI Mutual Fund, SBI Magnum Global Fund, and SBI Technology Opportunities Fund, valuing the company at approximately $230 million.
Nazara operates a leading interactive gaming, esports, and gamified early-learning ecosystem across emerging and developed markets, including Africa and North America. The company has been actively expanding its portfolio, recently investing $500,000 in Israeli game developer Snax Games to secure exclusive distribution rights for the Indian subcontinent and Middle East.
"Nazara has established a diversified, profitable gaming platform well-suited to seize future opportunities in India's rapidly growing gaming industry," commented Nikhil Kamath of Kamath Associates. The company reported a strong financial performance for the 2023 fiscal year, with net profit soaring and operating revenue increasing by 75% year-on-year. New capital will be directed toward investments in esports, blockchain gaming, and strategic acquisitions.
GAM3S.GG
Previously known as Polkastarter Gaming, GAM3S.GG completed a $2 million seed round on September 7th. The funding was led by Mechanism Capital, with participation from Polygon, Double Peak, ArkStream Capital, and others.
GAM3S.GG is a Web3 gaming information platform offering reviews, guides, news, and curated gaming tasks. Its goal is to become a comprehensive hub for Web3 gaming, featuring integrated social logins, progress tracking, and direct gameplay on the platform. Shreyansh Singh, Investment Director at Polygon, praised the platform's vision of making high-quality Web3 games accessible and providing trustworthy guidance for gamers. The platform boasts a community of over 80,000 gamers on Discord.
Additional GameFi Funding
BlockGames, a blockchain gaming project, was selected for the Google Cloud Web3 Startup Program and secured Series A funding, though specific amounts were not disclosed. The project gains access to Google Cloud’s Scale Tier products and Web3 services.
Metaverse development company Crucible also closed a new funding round led by Futureverse’s Born Ready fund. The company simultaneously announced a strategic partnership with Futureverse to advance open metaverse initiatives.
NFT and Digital Fashion Investments
A single funding round in the NFT and digital fashion space raised over $5 million, representing 1.77% of the week’s total funding.
TRLab
NFT art platform TRLab completed a $5 million seed round on September 6th. The investment was led by OKX Ventures and Hivemind Capital Partners, with participation from HashKey Capital.
Based in New York and Hong Kong, TRLab collaborates with artists, estates, and cultural institutions to create digital-first art experiences. Its past projects include interactive collections with the Calder Foundation and contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang. The new funds will support partnerships with additional artists and institutions, international market expansion, and enhanced technology integration for digital art collection experiences. The platform plans to launch several new digital art projects and host its first offline exhibition in November.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Funding
The DeFi sector recorded four funding deals totaling over $26.5 million, accounting for 9.4% of the week’s investment volume.
Brine Fi
Decentralized exchange Brine Fi raised $16.5 million in a round led by Pantera Capital, achieving a valuation of $100 million. The platform operates as a non-custodial, order book-based DEX on StarkWare, leveraging zero-knowledge proof technology to protect user privacy and transaction history.
Unlike automated market maker (AMM) models, Brine Fi uses an order book to minimize slippage, offering latency as low as 80 milliseconds. The platform charges a fixed 0.1% transaction fee, which can be reduced based on trading volume, and offers referral rewards to users. 👉 Explore more strategies for decentralized trading
Additional participants in the round included Elevation Capital, StarkWare Ltd, and Spartan Group. The successful funding highlights continued investor interest in privacy-focused and technologically innovative DeFi solutions.
LeverFi
LeverFi, a decentralized leveraged trading platform, received a $5 million strategic investment from Unicorn Web3 on September 7th. The platform supports a wide range of collateral types, including major cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and liquidity provider (LP) tokens.
Its unified collateral basket system allows users to manage risk across multiple assets while enabling larger trading positions. The funding will support deeper collaboration with Unicorn-Verse and help accelerate ecosystem growth and platform upgrades.
Other DeFi Funding
Real-world asset (RWA) protocol Helix raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Saison Capital and Superscrypt. The platform aims to provide blockchain-based loans to businesses in Southeast Asia using proprietary credit assessment tools.
Infinimos, a Cosmos ecosystem liquidity staking derivatives platform, secured $3 million in seed funding at a $10 million valuation. The project aims to enhance staking liquidity and maximize user benefits within a decentralized framework.
Social and Creator Economy Investments
Two funding rounds in the social and creator economy sector raised over $58 million, making up 20.57% of the week’s total.
Story Protocol
Story Protocol, an on-chain intellectual property infrastructure provider, raised $54 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The investment saw participation from Hashed, Endeavor, Samsung Next, and others.
The protocol aims to create an open IP repository that tracks the evolution of creative works, enabling seamless collaboration and value distribution. Its modular architecture supports various operations for IP assets, fostering a new internet-native framework for intellectual property management.
Pop Social
Web3 social platform Pop Social completed a $4 million seed and strategic funding round with support from Fundamental Labs, Chainlink, and former executives from Binance and OKX.
The platform emphasizes dynamic rewards, creator empowerment, and true content ownership through decentralized storage solutions like IPFS and Binance Greenfield. This approach enhances censorship resistance and allows creators to monetize their content freely.
Infrastructure Sector Updates
Five infrastructure-focused projects raised over $13.9 million last week, accounting for 6.84% of total funding.
Socket Protocol
Cross-chain interoperability protocol Socket raised $5 million from investors including Coinbase Ventures and Framework Ventures. The protocol facilitates secure and efficient cross-chain data and asset transfers, supporting over 80 dApps across 15 chains with a historical transaction volume of $3.5 billion.
The new funds will expand Socket’s partnership with Coinbase, enhancing services for Coinbase Wallet and Base network users.
D3 Global
Domain startup D3 Global completed a $5 million seed round led by Shima Capital, with participation from Maelstrom and others. The company aims to bridge Web2 and Web3 internet infrastructure by offering tokenized, compliant domain management and identity solutions.
D3 plans to apply for new top-level domains (TLDs) in the upcoming ICANN application window, supporting broader browser and device compatibility.
Additional Infrastructure Funding
Discord chatbot service Gleens raised $4.9 million in an oversubscribed round with backing from Slow Ventures and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. The funds will support product development and marketing efforts.
Web3 domain provider Freename secured $2.5 million to advance its platform for customizable top-level and second-level domains on multiple blockchains.
Nigerian Web3 startup Nestcoin raised $1.9 million to support its mission of creating equal economic opportunities through decentralized onboarding solutions.
Digital Asset Management and Payments
This sector led the week with four deals totaling over $118 million, representing 41.84% of all funding.
Zopa
UK digital bank Zopa raised £75 million (approximately $93 million) in a round led by IAG SilverStripe. While the bank does not directly support cryptocurrency transactions, customers can transfer funds to FCA-regulated third-party trading platforms. The company has now raised a total of £530 million to date.
Other Digital Finance Rounds
Crypto lending platform Trident Digital Group, founded by former Coinbase executives, raised $8 million in seed funding led by White Star Capital.
Swiss fintech platform GenTwo secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Point72 Ventures to expand its asset securitization platform internationally.
Kenyan crypto payments startup Kotani Pay raised $2 million to enhance cross-border remittance services for underbanked users in Africa via blockchain-based middleware.
Other Notable Funding
Decentralized insurance distributor OpenCover raised $4 million in a seed round led by NFX and Jump Crypto, with support from Coinbase. The platform will launch on Base, Optimism, and collaborate with leading DeFi protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the total amount raised in Web3 funding last week?
Last week, 21 disclosed funding rounds in the blockchain and Web3 space raised approximately $282 million. The average funding amount per round was about $13.43 million, with the digital asset management sector attracting the most capital.
Which sector received the most investment?
The digital asset management and payments sector received the highest funding, totaling over $118 million across four deals. This was followed by the social and creator economy sector, which saw two major raises exceeding $58 million.
What makes Brine Fi different from other decentralized exchanges?
Brine Fi uses an order book model instead of an automated market maker (AMM) system, helping to reduce slippage and improve transaction efficiency. It also leverages StarkWare’s zero-knowledge proof technology to enhance user privacy and does not charge gas fees—instead applying a fixed transaction fee.
How does Story Protocol aim to change IP management?
Story Protocol provides an on-chain repository for intellectual property, allowing creators to track the evolution of their work and receive fair compensation for contributions. Its modular system supports composability, making it easier to collaborate and innovate around digital IP.
What are the benefits of Web3 social platforms like Pop Social?
Web3 social platforms emphasize user ownership and control over content. By using decentralized storage systems like IPFS, they ensure creators retain ownership, can monetize their work freely, and are less susceptible to censorship or platform policy changes.
Why is infrastructure important for blockchain adoption?
Infrastructure projects provide the foundational tools and services needed for seamless user experiences, cross-chain interoperability, and secure transactions. Investments in this sector enable broader adoption and more innovative applications across DeFi, gaming, and social networking. 👉 View real-time tools for blockchain development