RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖Week of 11/08/24

Team RBV Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

Author

Joshua Howard
November 08, 2024

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. 


đź“Ł 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.

  • The Red Beard Ventures Fund I invests $100k - $1M in Pre-seed and Seed blockchain-based companies.

  • Denarii Labs is a tokenomics accelerator where we invest $100k into companies interested in designing and launching a token, over a twelve-week hands-on program. 🚨Applications are now open for Wire Accelerator, apply here! 🚨

—------------------------------------------------------------

RBV Spotlight 🚀


RapidNode, A Denarii Labs participant and RBV portfolio company, is a platform providing simplified node hosting. RapidNode has recently partnered with 0G which provides the infrastructure needed to support advanced AI applications, primarily focusing on expanding Data Availability for on-chain AI applications. A major challenge in AI today is ensuring that AI behaves in predictable, beneficial ways—0G addresses this by enabling AI alignment, a process that monitors and directs AI behavior on-chain to ensure it aligns with human values. RapidNode’s hosting capabilities make it easy for users to set up and run these AI Alignment Nodes with a single click, providing accessibility and passive income opportunities through $0G token rewards.

Congrats to the team!!

 â€”------------------------------------------------------------

  • Azuro’s revenue has reached $731,000, reflecting its expanding user base and the increasing adoption of its decentralized betting services.

  • The protocol supports over 30 applications and operates on multiple EVM-compatible blockchains, including Polygon, Gnosis, and Chiliz, enhancing its accessibility and user engagement.

  • With approximately 31,000 unique users and over 757,000 bets placed, learn more about Azuro stats here and congrats to the team!!

  • Stacking DAO provides stSTX, a token that allows users to earn Bitcoin by staking STX within the Stacks ecosystem. Users receive stSTX as a representation of their share in the stacking pool, enabling them to earn BTC.

  • Zero Authority DAO, a decentralized organization on the Stacks network which now allows creators to be rewarded in stSTX for commissioned work, such as memes, logos, or gigs. This integration supports the use of stSTX as a standard for community rewards.

  • The goal is to strengthen the Stacks ecosystem by making stSTX a preferred token for rewarding various community activities, enhancing both engagement and connectivity within the ecosystem. Learn more about Zero Authority DAO here: 

  • Limewire AI enables users to securely create, upload, and share digital content across devices powered by multi modal LLMs and other AI tech..

  • LimeWire recently reached a milestone with over 15 million $LMWR tokens staked in its DeFi pools, amounting to more than $2 million in total value

  • Learn more about Limewire’s progress here, and congrats to the team! 

  • Saga provides blockchain infrastructure that enables developers to create and deploy decentralized applications, including games, using its chainlets technology.

  • Saga is launching the Indie Autumn Campaign, a campaign which features a lineup of indie games developed on Saga’s platform, demonstrating the capabilities of its chainlets in supporting diverse gaming experiences.

  • Following Indie Autumn, Saga plans to introduce its “Spring Slate,” which will include AAA-level indie games, aiming to set a new standard in on-chain gaming.

  • Developed by Zerion, the ZERO Network is an EVM-compatible Layer 2 rollup that eliminates gas fees, aiming to enhance user experience and scalability within the Ethereum ecosystem. 

  • Layer3 is facilitating user engagement with the ZERO Network through interactive quests and educational content, enabling users to explore and interact with the network’s features. 

  • The integration of ZERO Network into Layer3’s platform offers users a gas-free environment for transactions and provides developers with tools to build and deploy decentralized applications more efficiently. 

  • Radius is an infrastructure platform designed to improve scalability, security, and privacy for Web3 applications. It provides developers with tools to integrate secure data processing using zero-knowledge proofs.

  • The zkBoost Governing Council is a consortium focused on advancing zero-knowledge technology for privacy and scalability in the blockchain space. By forming this council, zkBoost aims to bring together leading projects to collaborate on standardizing and promoting zero-knowledge advancements.

  • With Radius joining the zkBoost Governing Council, it strengthens their mission to foster secure and private solutions across Web3. Radius’s expertise in zero-knowledge infrastructure adds valuable perspective, driving further development and adoption of privacy-focused technologies in the decentralized ecosystem. Congrats to the team!! 

—------------------------------------------------------------

đź”” Active Investment Opportunities:

Dentity: Consumer-First Digital Identity on Web3 Infrastructure | Backed by Blockchange Ventures and Kleiner Perkins

  • Dentity is building a secure, consumer-controlled digital identity solution on Web3, using open standards to empower individuals to manage their online credentials independently. 

  • $3M Seed extension financing via SAFE with a $30M post-money valuation cap and token warrant

  • Backed by top-tier investors: Blockchange Ventures (Solana, Filecoin), Kleiner Perkins (Figma, Snap), Capital Factory, Nural Capital, and AARP

  • Expanded from 5,000 to 50,000 identity wallets in 2023; targeting 500,000 wallets in 2024, with projections for 5 million wallets and over 60 million verified attributes and attestations by 2025

  • Led by experienced founder: CEO Jeffrey Schwartz, who has founded, led, and been a director at over a dozen public and private companies, including Autobytel, Autoweb, and CarParts.com. He also serves as ambassador chairman of the Decentralized Identity Foundation

  • Dentity’s infrastructure is already being used by 100+ enterprises, creating a consumer-controlled identity ecosystem that fosters trust and data security across digital platforms.

  • Link to invest

xMarkets: Creator-Focused Prediction Market Platform | Polymarket ($1B Valuation) Competitor | Closing this week

  • xMarkets is revolutionizing prediction markets by enabling verified X users with 1,000+ followers to create markets on any topic using AI-driven tools for clarity and efficiency

  • AI agent for market creation, $100 fee for quality curation, multiple resolution methods (LLMs, market creators, pricing oracles), and seamless X integration

  • Secured KOLs with 10M+ followers, planning September launch ahead of presidential election. 

  • Competitor Polymarket valued at ~$1B

  • Led by experienced team: Co-founder AJ, MIT CS grad and former Microsoft ML Engineer, previously founded DeFi projects reaching $50M TVL and $1.1B market cap. 

  • Backed by notable investors: Wes Cowan (Juice.finance), Paul Taylor (BlackRock), OneFlow Digital founder, Rahim Noorani (Satori.finance), Peter Huo (Whampoa Digital), and Eckhardt Capital. 

  • Raising $1.5M Pre-Seed with $15M post-money valuation cap SAFE + $XMKT token warrant. 

  • Link to invest

Enhanced Games: Revolutionizing Sports with Medically Supervised Performance Enhancements | Backed by Peter Thiel and Balaji Srinivasan

  • Enhanced Games is poised to disrupt the world of sports by introducing an alternative to traditional athletic competitions like the Olympics

  • The company already has 6,500+ articles and billions of impressions with just $2.5M marketing spend

  • The Inaugural event is targeted for late 2025

  • Led by President and Co-Founder Dr. Aron D'Souza (previously founded OPEN, backed by NYSE) and Co-Founder Christian Angermayer (founder of Apeiron Investment Group and atai Life Sciences - NASDAQ: ATAI)

  • Backed by notable investors including Peter Thiel (PayPal, Palantir), Balaji Srinivasan (ex-CTO Coinbase, ex-GP Andreessen Horowitz), and Apeiron Investment Group.

  • Revenue from media rights, sponsorships, and pharmaceutical partnerships leveraging athlete performance data.

  • Link to invest

StackingDAO: Liquid Staking on Stacks (The largest L2 on BTC) | Building what Lido (1.83B FDV) is for Ethereum

  • Stacking DAO is building a liquid staking protocol for Stacks, the largest L2 on Bitcoin, solving issues like long unlock periods, high minimum requirements, and manual relocking.

  • $110M TVL since December 2023 launch, fastest-growing DeFi protocol in Stacks history, holding 17% of stacked STX.

  • Backed by Portal Ventures, Golden Chain Republic (Republic's Digital Asset Arm), Modular Capital, and Cherry Crypto.

  • Strong potential to become the Lido (current $1.83B FDV) of Stacks, offering auto-compounding tokenized representation of stacked STX (stSTX).

  • Link to invest

Monoquant: Revolutionizing Quantitative Trading for Crypto

  • Monoquant is developing an AI-powered platform that democratizes quantitative trading in the $2.1T cryptocurrency market, allowing investors at all levels to create, backtest, and deploy automated trading strategies.

  • Impressive data moat covering 60% of DeFi and 70% of CeFi markets, with over 4 trillion data points.

  • Secured broker agreements with major exchanges (OKX, Binance, Crypto.com, Bybit, MEXC) spanning ~85% of CEX volume.

  • Backed by Cherry Street Digital Assets Fund and Alumni Ventures.

  • Raising a pre-seed round at an attractive $20M post-money valuation cap with SAFE + token warrant. $MONQ token with 15% unlock at TGE, 3-month cliff, 12-month linear vesting.

  • Link to invest

Travelswap: Exclusive Expedia Crypto Partner Disrupting Travel

  • TravelSwap, an Expedia exclusive, combines travel booking with 100+ crypto payments, tokenized reservations, and rewards.

  • Impressive traction since July 2023 launch: 1,000+ bookings, 50+ B2B partners, 10k+ users (50% MoM growth), 12%+ repeat bookings.

  • 2024 plans: $TRAVL token, last-minute DEX, V2 B2B platform, expanded offerings.

  • Link to invest

SatRepublic: Leading Ordinals Studio Launches tool for collectors and developers

  • SatRepublic, the Ordinals Studio behind Pizza Artifacts, SatScribe is launching Runevo, a mobile-first infrastructure designed to enable users to transact, monitor, trade, and snipe Runes, Rare Stats, and Ordinals.

  • Pizza Artifacts, the first historical collection of Ordinals fully inscribed on the exotic 'pizza' Sats from the pizza transaction of May 22, 2010, trading at 25x mint; SatScribe, the first public platform for inscribing on rare and exotic Sats, which has done over 150k paid inscriptions for users; and Runevo, a collection of 6.025 pre-rune Ordinals that sold out in under 24 hours to raise $1.4mm USD, or 17.4 BTC.

  • Link to invest: 

—------------------------------------------------------------

🥳 Upcoming Events: 

Events are a great way to stay informed in our industry, so we have had a very full 2024. We would love to hear about any other conferences you will be attending or the remainder of this year, so please let us know as we are still planning our event calendar! 

Stay tuned for updates on future events, and until then, keep spreading joy and positivity in our community!

—------------------------------------------------------------

🤝 We are also looking for part-time syndicate vertical leads in the following categories - if you are interested please reach out and we can discuss the opportunity in greater detail:

Biotech 

Space 

Robotics & Automation

Climate 

Fintech & SaaS

—------------------------------------------------------------

Onwards 🚀 

Drew, Elana, Joshua, and Lauren