Funding Wrap: Babylon announces $70M raise led by Paradigm

Babylon led the pack of funding announcements alongside OpenSocial, Aperture and Scrypt

article-image

Zwiebackesser/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Another week, another slew of venture capital rounds. 

Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon led this week’s raises, announcing a $70 million raise led by Paradigm on Thursday. 

Bullish Capital, Polychain Capital and Galaxy also participated in the round. 

“This latest round of investment will accelerate Babylon’s mission to enable a Bitcoin-secured decentralized economy. Babylon Bitcoin Staking protocol allows PoS systems like PoS chains, [layer-2s], DA layers, oracles, etc., to acquire staking capital from Bitcoin.”

PitchBook analyst Robert Le previously told Blockworks that he believes infrastructure projects will capture the attention of venture capital at this point in the cycle. 

Read more: Let’s talk Bitcoin staking: Babylon’s litepaper

“I still think infrastructure is still underdeveloped,” he told Blockworks at the time, citing prices he’s seen on Base. “There’s no way that we can say infrastructure [and blockchains are] mature when you pay $5 to sign a transaction.” 

“Trustless staking is a novel and fundamental primitive for bitcoin and the broader ecosystem,” Paradigm’s Arjun Balaji said in a statement. He added that the team is “at the frontier of bitcoin innovation.”

The week was quieter on the funding front, though it followed Farcaster’s announcement of $150 million

Speaking of Farcaster, Fortune reported that Neynar — which allows developers to build social applications on Farcaster — raised $11 million from Haun Ventures and Coinbase. 

Other notable funding news:

  • OpenSocial, an infrastructure layer to build social applications, announced a $5 million seed funding round, which closed in January 2024.*
  • DeFi platform Aperture announced a Series A raise, totaling $12 million across its rounds to bring its valuation to $250 million. The raise included Skyland Ventures, and Blockchain Founders Fund. 
  • Swiss-based crypto asset financial services company Scrypt announced a $5 million strategic funding round led by Braza Bank. 

*Note: Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz participated in the OpenSocial round.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Should higher-fidelity graphics be the goal for crypto games — which result in much higher costs and risk?

article-image

From Mel B to Neil deGrasse Tyson, BTC has seen its share of strange celebrity sightings

article-image

Circle’s roadshow will be the real test for the stablecoin issuer

article-image

PitchBook’s Robert Le said crypto projects focused on institutional use cases are the focus

article-image

The decentralized AI firm designed ODS to be owned by the community in an effort to promote more decentralized AI

article-image

The non-profit’s launch and big-name hires aim to grow Solana’s footprint in Washington