RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 04/10/25

Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

Author

Austin Ritter
April 10, 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. Denarii also features a consulting business for later stage clients with higher touchpoint needs in tokenomics, communications, growth, and marketing.

🎤 RBV / Denarii Labs Announcements:

Monthly Syndicate LP Call - Scheduled For Tuesday, April 22

Join us for Red Beard Ventures' April LP Call, where we'll share key portfolio updates, showcase live investment opportunities, and highlight insights from across Web3, blockchain, DePIN, and AI. This is a great opportunity to engage directly with the RBV team, meet founders currently raising, and hear what’s ahead as we scale the syndicate and Fund II. More information will be sent via Angellist. Mark your calendars!

If you are an LP, register at https://forms.gle/4WYv1NsaoPkj29pd7.

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.

🚀 RBV Spotlight:

Our portfolio company, Colossal Biosciences, has made history by bringing the dire wolf back from extinction for the first time in over 10,000 years. Using advanced genetic engineering, Colossal decoded the dire wolf genome from ancient DNA and made 14 key edits to the gray wolf’s DNA, creating embryos that were gestated by domestic dogs and delivered via planned cesarean section. The result: Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, three living dire wolves, now reside on a 2,000 acre protected reserve. This breakthrough was described by Colossal co-founder George Church as a “game changer” and achieved through a minimally invasive process using blood derived cells instead of tissue. These pups exhibit wild lupine behavior, larger builds, and vocalizations lost to history, confirming the success of the edits. Beyond reviving extinct species, Colossal’s work has profound implications for conservation, with its de-extinction tools being applied to endangered species like the red wolf and efforts underway to resurrect the woolly mammoth, thylacine, and dodo - making Colossal not just a biotech company, but a pioneer in ecological restoration.

đź’Ľ Portfolio News:

  • $LMWR crosses $15M in 24-hour trade volume - its highest daily total this year.

  • Reflects rising market confidence in LimeWire’s pivot to Web3 creator tools and NFT platforms.

  • A signal of growing traction as the rebranded company positions itself at the intersection of crypto and content creation.

  • Projects can unlock added liquidity and trading volume for their native tokens with no net cost by creating a Pod

  • Pods help stabilize token charts during sell offs, drive organic trading activity through volatility farming, and redirect yield back to project treasuries

  • The permissionless launch offers a new onchain primitive to strengthen token utility, holder sentiment, and long-term protocol sustainability on Berachain

  • The team is pushing the launch by three weeks to ensure stronger market conditions and maximize support for the community

  • Tech development remains on schedule with systems ready by April 15, reinforcing confidence in product readiness

  • Shardeum’s testnet set records with over 171K validators and 81M transactions, showcasing robust momentum ahead of mainnet rollout

  • India’s longest-standing crypto exchange now supports Lightning Network payments, enabling fast and low-cost bitcoin transfers

  • Integration, powered by Voltage, also sets the stage for future USDT transactions through the same infrastructure

  • As regulatory pressure continues in India, Unocoin’s move signals resilience and leadership in driving practical crypto adoption

  • Firehawk will adopt multiple JuggerBot 3D P3-44 systems to accelerate production of solid rocket motors using additively manufactured propellants

  • The collaboration combines expertise in energetics and large-format 3D printing to streamline fuel grain production for next-gen flight systems

  • Both companies see this as a leap forward in defense readiness, enabling faster, mission-tailored manufacturing of high-performance munitions

  • ZenSports has been approved for an interim license to offer both sports wagering and iGaming managed services in West Virginia

  • The move marks the company’s first expansion outside Tennessee, following a market access deal with Delaware North’s Wheeling Island Casino

  • VIP Play, ZenSports’ parent company, plans to launch operations in West Virginia in the coming months as it continues its U.S. growth strategy

  • Built by an Australian indie team, ZED Champions combines NFT-powered digital horses with blockchain-based transparency, creating a new model for gaming and asset ownership

  • The platform’s success stems from grassroots development, user-driven feedback, and revenue models based on breeding, racing, and secondary market activity

  • Despite challenges like scalability and regulation, ZED is evolving with crosschain plans, potential AR/VR integration, and community governance as it redefines digital ownership in Web3 gaming

🥳 Upcoming Events:

Our team is currently at Paris Blockchain Week! Reach out to [email protected] to connect with us!

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

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Austin