Blockchain-based startups continue to attract funding during the current bear market, with MetaMask partner Blockaid raising $33 million in October. However, overall funding in the crypto industry has dropped to levels last seen in 2020, amassing $2.1 billion over 297 deals in the third quarter of 2023, according to Messari. As is often the case during bear markets, investors take a closer look at projects before investing, seeking tangible, real-world applications.

As part of October’s highlights, the Nature science journal discussed applications of blockchain technology, praising decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) for their potential to support underfunded scientific research. Cointelegraph’s venture capital (VC) roundup features some of the projects that raised capital in October.

Untangled Finance completes $13.5 million fundraising to bring private credit on-chain

London-based fintech Untangled Finance has raised $13.5 million to accelerate efforts to bring institutional-grade credit with a built-in liquidation mechanism on-chain. Fasanara Capital was the lead investor in the round. The platform’s protocol focuses on tokenizing real-world private credit assets, such as invoices and small and medium enterprise loans, into on-chain structured credit pools. These pools, in turn, facilitate the issuance of collateralized debt notes to both decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) investors, Untangled noted in a statement. The protocol concentrates on private credit markets, where it sees the most utility for DeFi. Untangled plans to access over 130 verified asset originators spanning 60 countries through the funds.

Nocturne raises $6 million seed round for private accounts on Ethereum

Nocturne, a protocol enabling on-chain private accounts, announced a $6 million seed funding round co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital, with participation from Vitalik Buterin and other members of the Ethereum community. Other investors include Bankless Ventures, HackVC and Robot Ventures. The company plans to launch on mainnet in the coming weeks, according to a statement. Nocturne offers a solution that combines stealth addresses, zero-knowledge proofs and account abstraction to enable private accounts on public blockchains. The seed round will accelerate the production and deployment of Nocturne’s protocol across various ecosystems. A portion of the round will also go to legal work as the team adapts to changing regulatory requirements.

Account Labs secures $7.7 million in funding for the UniPass Wallet app

Web3 wallet provider Account Labs announced raising $7.7 million from lead investors Amber Group, MixMarvel DAO Ventures and Qiming Ventures, among others. This announcement coincides with the launch of the company’s first consumer-facing app, UniPass Wallet, on Polygon. According to Account Labs, its UniPass Wallet app leverages account abstraction to allow users to create and access a self-custody Web3 wallet with only a Google account and top up with any Mastercard or Visa card. Account Labs was formed from the merger of hardware wallet developer Keystone and software wallet developer UniPass in May 2023. The company hopes to address the demand for stablecoin transactions in the Southeast Asia region.

Rymedi raises $9 million to expand blockchain-based healthcare infrastructure

Rymedi, a blockchain-based healthcare data exchange platform, announced a Series A round of $9 million to expand its reach. The round was co-led by RW3 Ventures and White Star Capital, with participation from Blockchange Ventures, Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund and strategic angel investors from the healthcare industry. Rymedi claims to serve over one million patients in over 1,200 locations across the United States, Africa and Australia. The funds will be used to increase data security and healthcare record accessibility for patients. “We are always searching for great teams that are using blockchain technology to solve real-world problems with the potential to address global markets,” said Pete Najarian, managing partner of RW3 Ventures.

Waterfall secures $2 million funding for mainnet launch

Layer-1 protocol Waterfall Network has raised $2 million ahead of its mainnet launch, which is expected to take place during the first quarter of 2024. Infrastructure provider Bytrade Lab led the funding. Bytrade Lab has become a key investor and user of Waterfall Network following a six-month trial of its tech infrastructure, according to a statement. The protocol is Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible and employs a technology called directed acyclic graph or “DAG,” which allegedly allows for unlimited scalability. Waterfall is also collaborating with BlueWave Corporation to develop its smart contract platform.