RBV Weekly Newsletter🧔📖Week of 12/06/24

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

Author

Joshua Howard
December 06, 2024

Subject: RBV Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 12/06/24: Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

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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, 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! 🚨

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Subject: RBV Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 12/06/24: Open Deals, Portfolio Updates, Crypto News, & More

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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, 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! 🚨

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RBV Spotlight 🚀

Moxie expands to Base 


Moxie, incubated by Airstack, is a platform for buying and selling Fan Tokens on Farcaster. Moxie has expanded to Base, which enables both fast transactions and accessing a wider base of users. Fan Tokens on Moxie represent support for creators or communities, providing access to exclusive content and rewards. The platform fosters a decentralized economy with minimal transaction costs, allowing users to earn tokens through engagement, which can then be used for benefits within the ecosystem. Future plans include enabling anyone to launch their Fan Tokens and integrating AI to enhance user experiences.

Congrats to the team!!

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  • LayerZero serves as the interoperability protocol for Corn, enabling seamless transfer of any asset from Ethereum to Corn through Corn's website. This means users can move assets like cryptocurrencies between these networks efficiently.

  • Both $BTCN (Corn's native gas token) and $CORN (the governance token for the Corn chain) have implemented the Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) Standard. This standard allows these tokens to be used across multiple blockchains supported by LayerZero, facilitating easier cross-chain interactions.

  • Cross-Chain Functionality: With LayerZero, applications on Corn can leverage lzRead to access and compute data from over 90 supported chains, enhancing the capabilities of dApps by allowing them to interact with historical and current blockchain data across different networks.

  • Anduril Industries a defense technology company focused on autonomous systems, has partnered with OpenAI. The collaboration aims to enhance counter-unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) capabilities.

  • OpenAI's technology will be integrated into Anduril's defense solutions to improve threat detection and decision-making in real-time scenarios.

  • The partnership highlights the growing focus on overlapping hardtech and software for strategic defense. Amidst global competition, particularly with China, focus has remained strong on producing advanced military technologies and Anduril is at the center of that. 

  • RapidNode will introduce lightning nodes, enhancing the Lightning Network's capability for swift, cost-effective transactions. These nodes are essential for scaling blockchain technology by managing transactions off-chain, improving efficiency.

  • Script Network is working towards a decentralized TV model where lightning nodes help in content distribution and monetization. This setup aims to connect viewers directly with creators, fostering a system that supports content creators while providing viewers with privacy and reduced costs.

  • The introduction of lightning nodes on RapidNode supports Script Network's goal of enhancing accessibility and decentralization, impacting how content is shared and monetized in the digital space.

  • Stacking DAO is a Liquid Stacking Protocol on Stacks that allows users to earn a native yield on STX tokens while keeping liquidity via stSTX tokens, which can be used in various DeFi applications within the Stacks ecosystem.

  • Stacking DAO has achieved a significant milestone by reaching a total value locked (TVL) of over $150 million, highlighting the rapid growth and increased liquidity within the Stacks DeFi ecosystem.

  • Learn more here, and congrats to the team

  • Layer3 announces the start of their "Winter Wonderland 2024" event, featuring over 25 premier protocols on both EVM and Solana networks.

  • Participants can engage in exclusive NFT quests and have access to a significant reward poolUsers can access the Winter Wonderland event through provided links for both EVM and Solana versions

.

  • Participants can undertake simple tasks like minting a cube for 450 XP or bridging to Mantle to swap tokens, providing education for new and experienced users alike. Also provides rewards like 0.45 $MNT. Learn more here and congrats to both teams!

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🔔 Active Investment Opportunities:

Webacy: Building the "Norton" for Web3 | Backed by Quantstamp, VaynerFund, and Soma | SAFE + Token Warrant $WBCY

  • Webacy is redefining blockchain security with its SafetyScore™ APIs and Safety Suite, empowering users and developers to protect assets and assess wallet safety in real time.

  • Platform secures $2B+ in assets, scans 10M+ wallets monthly, and generates 2M wallet safety notifications/month, with projected $3M ARR by 2025.

  • Positioned to dominate the $58.86B blockchain security market by 2032, with tools embedded in partners like Etherscan, OKX Explorer, and Revoke.cash.

  • Operating as a consumer-first, chain-agnostic platform, Webacy outpaces competitors like Blockaid by integrating proactive wallet management and risk monitoring.

  • Led by CEO Maika Isogawa (Stanford CS, Forbes 30 Under 30, ex-Microsoft cybersecurity) and CTO Vincent Chan, the team combines technical excellence with a focus on Web3 safety innovation.

  • Link to invest

Seasats: Autonomous Maritime Vehicles for Ocean Monitoring and Defense | Backed by Shield Capital and L3Harris

  • Seasats is redefining ocean operations with Lightfish, a cost-effective, autonomous surface vehicle trusted by high-profile clients like the U.S. Navy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

  • Revenue projected to grow from $1.7M in 2023 → $4M in 2024 → $12M by EO’25, with a clear path to $30M–$50M annually and upside to surpass $100M/year through DoD contracts

  • Trusted by customers including Navy Special Warfare, Task Force 59, and NIWC, with multiple deployments in the Middle East

  • Operating costs at just $1,604/day, significantly undercutting competitors like Saildrone ($5,338/day) and traditional vessels

  • Against legacy defense and maritime players like Huntington Ingalls Industries ($8B) and innovative upstarts like Saildrone (valued at $1B), Seasats offers substantial upside from our $70M post-money valuation entry price.

  • Link to invest

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

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: 

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🥳 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!

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🤝 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

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Onwards 🚀 

Drew, Elana, Joshua, and Lauren