RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 1/15/26

Welcome to the latest edition of the Red Beard Ventures newsletter, where we dive into exciting updates and insights from all over our portfolio and network!

📣 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:

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 Cohort 4 - Applications Now Open for Cohort 4

Denarii Labs is now accepting applications for Cohort 4. We are actively reviewing applications and investing $100K into projects looking to design, launch, and scale their token ecosystems over a 12 week program. Apply now to join a network of high-conviction builders shaping the next generation of on-chain economies.

Previous cohorts have partnered with leading ecosystems such as Avalanche, XION, Celo, and more. Hedera and Flow tracks are currently live, with more ecosystem partnerships to be announced soon.

Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Link to apply

🚀 RBV Spotlight:

Senpi brings U.S. equities into an onchain trading UX

Senpi introduced onchain-native U.S. equities, giving users real-time PnL, momentum tracking, and transparent trader performance inside a single crypto-style interface. Instead of mimicking traditional brokerages, the platform treats equities the same way it treats perpetuals or onchain assets, with every action and outcome visible at the protocol level.

A core feature is automated mirroring. Users can identify high-performing equity traders through observable performance data and follow their strategies in real time. This turns equities into a social and data-driven trading surface that naturally fits within crypto’s existing behavior patterns.

By collapsing equities and crypto into one interface, Senpi creates a unified environment for multi-asset trading and sets the stage for new distribution channels built around reputation, performance, and transparency. It is a meaningful step toward bringing traditional markets fully into the onchain trading stack.

Congratulations to the Senpi team! 🚀

💼 Portfolio News:

Chainalysis deepens partnership with BVNK via KYT integration into BVNK’s Layer1

• Chainalysis KYT now plugs directly into BVNK’s platform so teams can monitor risk in real time without leaving their payments stack.
• Enables compliance teams to flag and freeze high-risk transactions through a simpler API-key workflow.
• Reinforces Chainalysis’ wedge as the default “risk layer” for institutional crypto payments and on/off-ramps.

Dfns launches a native Python SDK for wallet infrastructure across 100+ chains

• Releases an official Python SDK to integrate wallets and security controls without custom glue code.
• Adds strongly-typed models, built-in auth, and auditability to accelerate developer adoption.
• Expands Dfns’ footprint as the programmable wallet layer for apps and institutions.

QUEX goes live on 0G Labs mainnet with TEE-backed oracles for off-chain data

• Quex is now live on 0G mainnet enabling verifiable access to private/public off-chain data.
• Ships hardware-attested execution, encrypted API keys, on-chain verification, and “zero trust” operator assumptions.
• Unlocks a critical primitive for AI and data-heavy apps that need secure, verifiable oracle rails.

Canza Finance announces strategic partnership with Tevau to expand financial access

• Partners with Tevau to leverage complementary strengths and broaden access across emerging markets.
• Signals accelerating distribution for Canza’s rails as it pushes deeper into cross-border financial workflows.
• Sets up future joint product launches as Canza builds toward a more interoperable payments stack.

POAP expands the Airport Rally with 8 new airports added

• Adds MSP, LGA, SEA, BOS, KUL, PXM, OAX, and SCL to the growing POAP Airport Rally footprint.
• Continues scaling POAP’s IRL distribution flywheel across major travel hubs throughout 2026.
• Strengthens POAP’s position as the consumer “memory layer” bridging real life and onchain identity.

HYTOPIA teases “play & prompt” game creation with no coding

• Pushes toward a no-code creator workflow where users can build games via prompting.
• Expands the addressable creator base beyond Unity/engineering-heavy pipelines.
• Strengthens HYTOPIA’s thesis as a creator-first, UGC-driven Web3 gaming platform.

QuickNode publishes independent benchmarks claiming fastest BNB Chain response times

• Cites third-party benchmarking (QuickLee, Jan 2026) showing faster BNB Chain RPC performance.
• Positions QuickNode as a reliability layer during ecosystem activity spikes when infra bottlenecks surface.
• Reinforces enterprise-grade infra narrative as onchain volumes surge across major networks.

Unstoppable Domains launches “.cashme” with CashMe for receive-side crypto → fiat flows

• New namespace positioned specifically around getting paid (human-readable destination for receiving funds).
• Strong consumer framing: senders use crypto, recipients can receive fiat without wallet complexity.
• Expands UD’s wedge from identity into payments UX and “naming as infrastructure.”

Wilder World launches “Wilder Packs: Season One” with onchain packs + token burn mechanics

• Introduces 108,000 total packs with a clear scarcity framework and tiered rarity across weapons, vehicle mods, and avatar gear.
• Packs cost 150 WILD and the team is positioning it as “100% of WILD burned” for S1, tying gameplay/collecting directly to token sink dynamics.
• Sets up a repeatable template for onchain gaming economies: playable + tradable + persistent items with a deflation-linked loop.

Wire Network explains “Wire Outposts” as a liquidity/yield hub for native assets

• Outposts act as chain-native liquidity hubs where users can stake ETH/SOL, earn yield, and convert yield into $WIRE pre-tokens.
• Simple UX framing (stake → earn → convert) helps communicate the product wedge to non-technical LPs.
• Signals a broader “universal transaction layer” strategy by meeting users on native chains rather than forcing migration.

🥳 Upcoming Events:

We’ll be attending ETHDenver from February 16–20. Join RBV + Denarii Labs for our Tokenomics Summit 2026.

This year’s summit will feature a full day of conversations, workshops, and deep dives at the intersection of tokenomics, decentralized systems, and emerging technologies. If you’re building in this space or looking to have a presence at ETHDenver, we’re exploring sponsorship opportunities.

Please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] to learn more.

We’re finalizing our full 2026 event calendar and would love to hear what other conferences you plan on attending throughout the year.

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Jeff