RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 05/8/25

Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

Author

Austin Ritter
May 08, 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:

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:

Shardeum has officially launched its Golden Gate mainnet, transitioning from testnet to a fully operational autoscaling Layer-1 blockchain. This milestone follows a record-setting testnet run with over 81 million transactions, 1.2 million wallets, and 171,000 validators—making it one of the most active Layer-1 testnets to date. To commemorate the launch, Shardeum is hosting #ProofOfCommunity events in 62 cities across 19 countries, offering a firsthand look at the network’s autoscaling technology and vibrant global community. The scale and geographic breadth of the celebrations highlight Shardeum’s strong international traction and grassroots momentum as it enters the next phase of its journey.

đź’Ľ Portfolio News:

  • MoonPay partnered with SatGo, the Bitcoin wallet platform powered by RBV portfolio company SatRepublic.

  • The integration enables seamless purchasing of Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes via Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal, and more.

  • This move strengthens SatRepublic’s position as a leading on-ramp for consumer crypto adoption.

  • SuperWorld teamed up with Luma, a DePIN-focused DEX on Solana.

  • The partnership will bring liquidity and financial tools to virtual land.

  • It represents a convergence of metaverse assets and decentralized finance.

  • Truflation’s real-time inflation metrics are now integrated into NuonFinance through Truflation’s decentralized data stack.

  • This partnership aims to scale truth across DeFi, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of financial data in decentralized applications.

  • The collaboration highlights Truflation’s growing influence in providing decentralized data solutions.

  • vSelf, a Web3 marketing assistant, has launched a new website and blog to educate users on Telegram-native growth and gamified campaigns.

  • The platform offers tools for community-as-a-service, focusing on real user rewards and engagement.

  • This launch positions vSelf as a key player in the Web3 marketing space, leveraging Telegram’s potential for community building.

  • Dfns now lets customers run their own validator nodes on the Canton network.

  • This offers institutions more control over compliance and infrastructure.

  • The feature enhances Dfns’ appeal to enterprise blockchain clients.

  • azuro Protocol has released V3, promising better odds, UX, and execution for onchain prediction markets.

  • The new version eliminates slippage and noise, focusing on raw market logic for a smoother experience.

  • Migration to V3 has begun, marking a new era for decentralized prediction markets.

  • Stacking DAO now secures over 77 million STX tokens from users.

  • This amount equals more than 5% of all circulating STX.

  • The milestone shows growing trust in Bitcoin-yield opportunities on Stacks.

  • WeatherXM has opened early signups for its Targeted Rollouts program, allowing participants to earn $WXM.

  • Investors can fund station deployments by purchasing NFTs and earn daily $WXM rewards, along with access to the Analytics Platform.

  • Deployers receive, deploy, and maintain stations, contributing to the network’s growth and utility.

  • bitsCrunch has upgraded to Pectra, bringing more scalability, efficiency, and better UX across Ethereum.

  • The upgrade is part of their ongoing efforts to improve their data and analytics services for NFTs and blockchain data.

  • This enhancement could attract more users and developers to their platform.

  • QUEX released its TEE verification module as a free npm package.

  • Developers can use it to validate secure enclave data in the browser.

  • The tool supports more secure off-chain data feeds and trustless verification.

  • TravelSwap participated in the TakeOverIRL event in Dubai, attracting over 1,000 attendees and generating 100K+ digital impressions.

  • The event featured 14 partners and showcased TravelSwap’s platform and community.

  • This successful event highlights TravelSwap’s growing influence in the travel and crypto space.

  • Rally got a $35,000 offer for a bottle of Domaine Dujac Chambertin.

  • The offer represents a 36.5% gain from the asset’s IPO price.

  • Shareholders were invited to vote on the first-ever wine exit on Rally.

  • HYTOPIA has updated its World Editor to version 1.5, introducing new features and improvements.

  • The update aims to enhance user experience and creativity within the HYTOPIA ecosystem.

  • Details of the patch notes can be found in their announcement, indicating ongoing development and support.

  • Azteco’s bitcoin vouchers are now available worldwide through Razer Gold, a digital wallet for gamers.

  • Users can use Razer Silver points to claim vouchers or buy them directly, integrating crypto into gaming ecosystems.

  • This partnership with Razer could significantly increase Azteco’s user base and promote bitcoin adoption among gamers.

  • Ripple has invested $25 million, primarily in Ripple USD, to support U.S. classrooms and educators through partnerships with DonorsChoose and Teach For America.

  • This initiative aims to empower teachers and students, showcasing Ripple’s commitment to social impact.

  • The investment could enhance Ripple’s reputation and potentially influence regulatory perceptions positively.

  • Users can now launch e-commerce storefronts tied to their NFT domains.

  • The feature is powered by Droplinked for easy merch creation and sales.

  • This helps users monetize their Web3 identities through real-world goods.

🥳 Upcoming Events:

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

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Austin