RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 03/20/25

Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

Author

Austin Ritter
March 20, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Red Beard Ventures newsletter, where we dive into exciting updates and insights from all over blockchain, frontier tech, and the angel investing landscape.

As a reminder, Red Beard Ventures has a syndicate, fund, and a tokenomics accelerator:

  • The Red Beard Ventures Syndicate is stage agnostic and invests in Frontier Technology with a focus on Web3, Space, FinTech, Sports, Robotics, Biotech, and Climate. We invest anywhere between $100k - $1.5M.

  • Red Beard Ventures Fund I invests $100k - $1M in Pre-seed and Seed blockchain based companies.

  • Denarii Labs is a tokenomics accelerator which invests $100k into companies interested in designing and launching a token over a twelve week hands-on program. Also, Denarii features a consulting business for later stage clients with higher touchpoint needs.

🎤 RBV / Denarii Labs Announcements:

Denarii Labs Accelerator Cohort 003 – Applications Now Open

Denarii Labs is accepting applications for its third accelerator cohort - designed to help Web3 founders refine their token models, prepare for investors, and execute a best in class GTM strategy. Participating teams will receive $100,000 in funding and gain access to a robust network of 200+ Web3 portfolio companies—including Animoca, Dapper Labs, and SuperRare—for business development. Additionally, founders will connect with a community of over 4,000 investors ready to support their growth.

Red Beard Ventures Fund II – Now Raising

Red Beard Ventures is launching Fund II, building on the success of our first fund and extensive network in Web3, blockchain, and DePIN. With a track record of early investments in high growth companies and a strong investor base, Fund II is positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the space.

Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Denarii Labs Tokenomics Summit – Panel Videos Are Now Available

Missed the Denarii Labs Tokenomics Summit at ETH Denver? We’ve got you covered. Our expert led discussions on Web3 tokenomics, on chain gaming, regulatory landscapes, venture capital, and more are now available to watch. Learn from top investors, founders, and thought leaders as they break down the future of token design and real world applications.

🚀 RBV Spotlight:

On Wednesday, projects on Sonic Labs gained access to deepened liquidity, increased trading volume, and enhanced token utility—all at zero net cost through Peapods Finance. By creating a Pod for their native token, projects can reinforce their tokenomics with sustainable liquidity mechanisms and volatility driven yield generation. Peapods' proxy liquidity model helps stabilize tokens against sell offs while increasing organic trading volume through arbitrage incentives. Unlike traditional liquidity pools that require inflationary rewards or external bribes, Peapods enables projects to earn yield on single sided protocol owned liquidity - redirecting third party yield back into their treasury for a self sustaining revenue stream!

By integrating Peapods, projects can now:

  • Drive sticky TVL

  • Incentivize long term token holding

  • Improve community sentiment during market downturns

… All while optimizing for liquidity efficiency. This approach not only strengthens a token’s market position but also provides a more sustainable alternative to inflationary liquidity incentives. Pods can be created fully trustlessly at beta.peapods.finance.

💼 Portfolio News:

  • Peapods Finance announces its launch on Sonic, starting March 19, 2025, offering free liquidity and volume for projects.

  • Projects can create Pods to gain benefits like liquidity protection, increased trading volume through arbitrage, and revenue from volatility yield.

  • The integration aims to incentivize long term holding and improve community sentiment during market volatility.

  • GFAL, backed by Supercell and led by industry veterans, chooses Saga as their exclusive blockchain partner for Diamond Dreams!

  • Saga's chainlets and AI capabilities are highlighted as key factors for scaling GFAL's vision.

  • The partnership aims to introduce AI-driven character evolution enhancing player engagement in the match 3 game format.

  • Gateway introduces Odyssey, a platform for exploring on chain privacy on the Monad blockchain.

  • Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain bringing parallel execution to the EVM.

  • Odyssey enables users to interact with Monad's blockchain via a playground to explore the next gen of dApps while keeping their data and transactions private.

  • OPEN Ticketing Ecosystem introduces the OPEN Pass - which can now be purchased with debit or credit cards in addition to cryptocurrency.

  • The OPEN Pass offers exclusive perks such as a chance to win tickets to any show and free swag with users only paying for shipping.

  • For $25, users receive the pass and $20 worth of $OPN tokens, + the ability to earn more through referrals.

Minima Partners with Siemens Cre8Ventures to Enhance Security in Key Industries

  • Minima and Siemens Cre8Ventures announce a partnership to develop security solutions for automotive, energy, and healthcare sectors.

  • The collaboration aims to support the EU Chips Act promoting European technology independence and leadership in digital ecosystems.

  • The partnership is expected to strengthen industry specific security solutions leveraging Minima's blockchain technology.

  • Starting today, NBA Top Shot collectibles on Flow Blockchain can be bought, sold, and traded on OpenSea.

  • This integration brings some of the most iconic moments in basketball history to the world’s largest NFT marketplace!

  • By expanding access to NBA Top Shot, OpenSea continues to bridge the gap between sports fandom and digital collectibles.

  • Shardeum, the world’s first EVM based L1 blockchain with dynamic state sharding, is launching its $SHM token sale through Tokensoft before public trading begins.

  • Early contributors can secure $SHM at exclusive pricing, with no lockups, providing immediate flexibility.

  • Purchasing $SHM offers the opportunity to run a validator node, contributing to Shardeum’s scalable and high performance blockchain network.

  • Moxie announces the open source release of its AI skills in collaboration with Eliza  integrating seamlessly with the Eliza OS to enhance onchain AI capabilities.

  • Developers can now create and integrate Eliza plugins as Moxie AI skills - accessing 100,000+ users and enabling agentic trading, sentiment analysis, and more on the Base blockchain.

  • The framework includes tools like agent wallets, the Moxie Agent Lib, and Moxie Client, empowering a decentralized, extensible AI ecosystem for Web3 applications.

🔔 Active Investment Opportunities:

Texas Ranchers: Building the Future of Professional Pickleball

  • Ranchers Global is a premier paddle and racquet sport conglomerate, owning the Texas Ranchers Major League Pickleball (MLP) team and strategic equity stakes in key pickleball assets, including MLP, Pickleball TV, and DUPR.

  • Since acquiring the Texas Ranchers for $5.25M in 2023, Ranchers Global has transformed the team into the most-followed, highest-valued, and highest-grossing franchise in MLP, securing league-leading sponsorships and media deals.

  • With $1M in revenue to date and projected $3.1M in 2025 revenue, Ranchers Global is capitalizing on the rapid 40% CAGR growth of pickleball, the sport's push toward Olympic recognition, and rising valuations across MLP franchises.

  • Raising a $3M Series A at a $23M pre-money valuation, with notable investors including Lil Wayne, Scottie Scheffler, Tim Tebow, Taylor Fritz, and the DeVos family. The round is in high demand, but Ranchers Global is making space for our syndicate.

  • Link to invest

PWR Labs: First Blockchain to Create Direct Interoperability with Web2

  • PWR Labs is revolutionizing blockchain infrastructure by creating direct interoperability with Web2, enabling seamless deployment of programming languages across external VMs, side chains, and smart contracts.

  • Testnet live since 2023 with various projects already building on the platform. Mainnet launch scheduled for Q4 2024. PWR Chain uniquely eliminates platform limitations, mirroring the decentralized structure of the internet.

  • $6M Pre-Seed raise via SAFT with a $90M pre-money valuation cap and token price of $0.09. 

  • Backed by notable investors including Tim Draper’s Draper Associates, Magnus Capital (Astra Protocol, Desofy), Alphabit Fund (Sire), GVG Capital, and Crypto Oasis Ventures.

  • Co-founder & CEO Melanie Mohr, serial entrepreneur with 20+ years in media and mobile technology, and Co-founder & CTO Edy Haddad, blockchain veteran with on-chain records for gas-efficient smart contracts, are leading this transformative project.

  • Link to invest

âš¡ Accelerator Portfolio Raises:

Some of our accelerator graduates are raising capital through the RBV syndicate:

  • Quex: Quex Technologies is a company building a critical data infrastructure layer for decentralized computing. By leveraging Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Quex enables blockchains to seamlessly connect with off chain infrastructure while ensuring cryptographic security and efficiency. Learn more and invest!

  • Rair Protocol: RAIR Protocol is an open source AI powered Web3 engine transforming decentralized application development by simplifying the process for developers and incentivizing contributions through token rewards. Learn more and invest!

  • Sudocat: Sudocat is a Web3 gaming and trading ecosystem that merges engaging play-to-earn experiences with AI driven crypto trading. The platform enables users to play games, execute trades, and earn rewards within a unified experience, creating a seamless entry point for mainstream users into crypto. Sudocat's approach leverages the accessibility of casual mobile gaming while integrating AI powered trading tools for all users. Learn more and invest!

  • KittyPunch: KittyPunch is a DeFi infrastructure powerhouse driving the evolution of decentralized finance on the Flow blockchain. By simplifying DeFi for mainstream adoption and delivering innovative products across trading, yield aggregation, and lending, we believe KittyPunch is positioning itself as the backbone of Flow’s DeFi ecosystem. Learn more and invest!

  • DevDock: Devdock is a Web3 protocol designed to assign precise value to private data used for AI training. Devdock's infrastructure aims to create a price-differentiated market for AI training data by automatically valuing workspace data based on its impact on model performance. The company believes that professional expertise should be fairly valued in AI development, ensuring that contributors are appropriately compensated for their data. Learn more and invest!

  • Maiga: Maiga is an AI powered DeFi trading platform that automates crypto signal intelligence and real-time trading strategies using on-chain data and machine learning. Built on ElizaOS and integrated with ecosystems like Base and Solana, Maiga leverages Proof of Trading tokenomics to drive liquidity participation and create a sustainable market for DeFi automation. Learn more and invest!

🥳 Upcoming Events:

Some of the upcoming events you’ll find our team at include:

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Austin