RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 04/17/25

Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

Author

Austin Ritter
April 17, 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, tokenomics accelerator, and Web3 consultancy:

  • 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 - 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’re an LP, register at https://forms.gle/bjkNEr8LpPfNPTQQ6.

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:

Quex, our portfolio company building a next generation oracle platform, has officially launched on Hedera, bringing hardware level cryptography and verifiable data infrastructure to the network. Backed by TDX (Tokenized Data Exchange) standards, Quex enables confidential, tamper-proof, and customizable off-chain data integrations — a foundational step as Hedera expands into tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and enterprise-grade DePIN use cases. This milestone strengthens Hedera’s position as a go-to network for compliant, data-driven Web3 applications. Congratulations to the team!

💼 Portfolio News:

  • Venus upgrades its RDRE engine with a high performance nozzle developed through a NASA SBIR award

  • The system will power a hypersonic flight demo this summer showcasing detonation based propulsion at scale

  • This marks a major step toward scalable Mach 5+ flight with a single compact engine architecture

  • BCUT evolves from a blockchain analytics token into the core of a decentralized AI ecosystem

  • The token now powers payments, rewards, and governance across BitsCrunch’s expanded AI infrastructure

  • Backed by Coinbase, Animoca Brands, and Chainlink, and partnered with Mastercard and EY, BitsCrunch is aligning BCUT with the future of on chain data and AI services

  • Tailos’ AI powered vacuum Rosie will be deployed across InnVest properties in 2025 following a two year evaluation process

  • The rollout will automate over 80 million square feet of carpet cleaning while reducing strain on hotel staff and improving guest experience

  • Backed by InnVest’s commitment to team empowerment and efficiency, the partnership showcases how robotics can elevate both operations and employee well being

  • Layer-1 blockchain Shardeum confirmed a May 5 mainnet launch

  • Launch delayed slightly to align with optimal market timing

  • Development remains on schedule with readiness by mid-April

  • Blaize and BROADSAT to co-develop AICON Edge, a new AI edge computing solution

  • Enables real-time video and data processing across telecom and broadcast networks

  • Focused on global infrastructure upgrades via AI at the edge

  • Collaboration aims to speed up rocket motor production using 3D printing

  • Enhances precision and flexibility in solid rocket motor fabrication

  • Builds on Firehawk’s mission for scalable propulsion technology

  • Partnership explores monetization and interaction of digital spaces in the metaverse

  • Focus on unlocking new creator and community use cases in Web3 real estate

  • Part of Superworld’s broader push into immersive spatial experiences

  • Collaboration between OORT and U2U Network to power AI-enabled decentralized infrastructure

  • Leverages U2U’s DAG chain for scalable compute and OORT’s verifiable data stack

  • Aims to enable real-world use cases in decentralized cloud and edge systems

  • Launch of Muv-Luv Land brings iconic Japanese visual novel IP to The Sandbox

  • Players can join teams, play mini-games, and earn metaverse rewards

  • Highlights growing adoption of traditional IPs in blockchain gaming

  • Fully homomorphic encryption protocol Fhenix now live on Arbitrum

  • Developers can deploy private smart contracts with one-click functionality

  • Major milestone in bringing confidentiality to Ethereum Layer-2s

  • Mintify expands beyond NFTs with a new trading interface for cross-chain tokens

  • Users can buy assets from any chain via one streamlined dashboard

  • Broadens Mintify’s product offering to meet growing multi-chain demand

  • New .art domains cater to artists and creative communities

  • Expands Unstoppable’s reach beyond tech and finance audiences

  • Supports Web3 identity building with a cultural and aesthetic angle

  • Enables USDT payroll transactions via the fast and low-cost Polygon network

  • Targets global freelancers and remote workers seeking affordable crypto payments

  • Strengthens Bitwage’s position as a scalable blockchain payroll solution

  • Developers can now build smart contracts using any programming language

  • Responds to demand beyond JavaScript and Solidity with multi-language support

  • Lowers barriers for global devs joining the Web3 space

  • Empire of Sight game launches on Saga’s dedicated blockchain infrastructure

  • Highlights Saga’s growth in supporting full-chain Web3 games

  • Game emphasizes immersive play and quality, aiming beyond average blockchain titles

  • Connects Web3 wallets to GitHub to reward developers on-chain
    Automates crypto payments for open source code contributions
    Bridges traditional dev workflows with decentralized incentives

  • Minima nodes run on ultra-light devices to enable offline payments

  • Demonstrates enterprise-ready blockchain for real-world IoT assets

  • Promotes decentralization with minimal hardware requirements

  • Achieves a new monthly traffic high, up 3x since January
    Indicates strong user growth in revamped digital collectibles platform

  • Suggests increasing interest in LimeWire’s Web3 ecosystem

  • Flow-based lending and NFT platform sees 69% week-over-week user growth
    Active buyers and sellers climbed to a yearly high of 3,350

  • Reflects increasing liquidity and participation in Flow’s NFT economy

  • Named as a leading wallet infrastructure provider by StayStableXYZ

  • Powers secure access for over 30 projects in the stablecoin ecosystem

  • Validates DFNS’s growing role in enterprise crypto security solutions

  • In-depth coverage in AI Magazine highlights OORT’s vision and tech stack

  • Recognition from a leading AI publication boosts market credibility

  • Explores OORT’s edge in decentralized cloud infrastructure for AI

🥳 Upcoming Events:

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

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Austin