RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 3/12/26

Announcements, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, Open Deals, Events & More

Author

RBV Syndicate
March 12, 2026

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:

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.

One Spot Left!

Join our current accelerator alongside Canton and Starknet. We've previously run accelerator programs for Avalanche, Hedera, Flow, Xion & more.

If you'd like to partner with RBV/Denarii for an accelerator, DM Sean Melcher 

Looking for funding? Link to apply

🚀 RBV Spotlight:

Dfns has been selected as a launch partner in Mastercard's new global crypto partner program, integrating its secure wallet infrastructure and transaction systems directly into Mastercard's payment rails. The program brings together more than 85 crypto-native companies, providers, and institutions under a single initiative aimed at connecting digital assets to the most trusted payment network in the world.

The partnership puts Dfns at the center of how banks, fintechs, and payment services will plug into stablecoin payments and digital assets going forward. By embedding wallet infrastructure at the Mastercard layer, Dfns removes one of the core technical barriers that has kept traditional financial institutions from moving confidently into crypto, secure, flexible custody without vendor lock-in baked in from the start.

Being named a launch partner rather than a later addition signals that Mastercard views Dfns as foundational to how this program scales. As stablecoin adoption accelerates and institutions race to build compliant digital asset capabilities, Dfns is positioned as the wallet infrastructure layer they will build on to get there.

Congratulations to the Dfns team! 🚀

•Anduril is collaborating with EDGE Group in the UAE to produce and test the Omen system in harsh environments simulating the Indo-Pacific.
•The partnership focuses on long-distance operations over water, expeditionary basing, and persistent ISR without fixed infrastructure.
•Accelerates readiness for potential Pacific conflicts, serving as a direct signal to adversaries.

• $25M round led by Notable Capital with participation from Steven Bartlett.
• The company reported 10x revenue growth in five months driven by strong adoption of its voice input technology.
• Funding will support expansion toward a full AI assistant platform capable of executing tasks beyond voice input.

• Integrates Chainlink’s Automated Compliance Engine with Chainalysis KYT risk intelligence.
• Enables automated compliance workflows across multiple blockchains.
• Reduces operational overhead while improving transparency for exchanges, issuers, and institutions.

• Enables developers to generate style-consistent avatar clothing assets within minutes.
• Assets automatically fit and rig for Genies avatars through integration with the Avatar SDK.
• Expands the Genies developer ecosystem through Unity’s distribution network.

Ava Labs Joins Mastercard's Global Crypto Partner Program

• Ava Labs joins an 85+ company initiative connecting digital assets to Mastercard's trusted global payment infrastructure.
• Program targets real-world applications including cross-border remittances and B2B transfers
• Positions Avalanche as a foundational layer in bridging institutional crypto adoption with mainstream TradFi payments.

• Removes fees for ACH deposits to improve onboarding for collectors.
• Crypto deposits remain free as part of the platform’s standard offering.
• Signals continued investment in simplifying access to digital collectibles.

• Introduces a mobile-first platform allowing users to create and trade tokens in minutes.
• Designed with simplified onboarding and referral incentives for adoption in India.
• Expands Shardeum’s strategy to drive consumer-friendly blockchain applications.

• Collaboration combines GamePad’s AI runtime with OORT’s 350k+ user network.
• Enables automated execution of DeFi strategies with community participation.
• Designed to accelerate adoption of AI-powered decentralized finance applications.

• OpenClaw trading agents deployed via Senpi produced more than $185M in trading volume.
• Users can launch autonomous trading agents using a toolkit of more than 45 strategy modules.
• Demonstrates growing traction for AI-powered trading infrastructure in crypto markets.

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Sean, and Jeff