Funding Weekly Report | 14 Public Funding Events, Kalshi Completes $10B New Funding Round at $220B Valuation Led by Coatue Management

marsbitPublished on 2026-05-11Last updated on 2026-05-11

Abstract

Weekly Funding Roundup: 14 Deals and $10.49B+ in Total Funding, Led by Kalshi's $1B Round Last week (5.4-5.10) saw 14 notable funding events in the global blockchain ecosystem, raising over $10.49 billion in total. Key highlights include Kalshi, a prediction market platform, securing a $1 billion round led by Coatue Management, reaching a $22 billion valuation. The platform now boasts ~2 million MAUs and $178B in annualized trading volume. In DeFi, regulated on-chain reinsurer OnRe raised $5 million in Series A funding, and Bitcoin-backed credit protocol Saturn Credit completed a $2 million seed round. For Infrastructure & Tools, OpenTrade raised $17 million to expand its stablecoin yield infrastructure, and RWA platform Balcony secured $12.7 million to deploy its property settlement service in the US. Centralized Finance saw one deal: AI-driven trading platform Stockcoin.ai completed a seed round led by Amber Group. In the prediction market sector alongside Kalshi, AI-powered platform Elastics raised $2 million. Other notable deals include SC Ventures' strategic investment in crypto market maker GSR and Centrifuge securing a "seven-figure" investment from Coinbase to become a core RWA partner for Base. On the investor side, Haun Ventures raised a new $1 billion fund targeting crypto and AI, and Multi Investment raised ~$616 million to focus on blockchain and Web3 investments.

This Week's Highlights

According to incomplete statistics from PANews, there were 14 investment and financing events in the global blockchain sector last week (5.4-5.10), with a total funding scale exceeding $1.049 billion. Overview as follows:

DeFi sector announced 4 funding events, with on-chain reinsurance company OnRe completing a $5 million Series A round led by Forward Industries and Rockaway;
Infrastructure & Tools announced 4 funding events, with OpenTrade completing a $17 million strategic financing round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital;
Centralized Finance announced 1 funding event, with AI-driven stock and cryptocurrency futures trading platform Stockcoin.ai completing a seed round led by Amber Group;
Prediction Markets announced 3 funding events, with Kalshi completing a $1 billion new funding round led by Coatue Management;
Other Web3 application fields announced 2 funding events, with SC Ventures, the investment and fintech arm of Standard Chartered Bank, making a strategic investment in crypto market maker GSR.

DeFi

On-chain reinsurance company OnRe completes $5 million Series A funding led by Forward Industries and Rockaway

Solana treasury company Forward Industries announced that it, together with digital asset investment company RockawayX, co-led a $5 million Series A funding round for regulated on-chain reinsurance company OnRe. Forward plans to deploy up to an additional $25 million into ONyc, OnRe's yield-bearing token on Solana. According to the introduction, OnRe is a licensed collateralized reinsurance company and on-chain asset manager. ONyc provides exposure to a reinsurance risk portfolio, has been integrated into major Solana DeFi venues, and can be used as collateral for lending and looping strategies.

Bitcoin-backed digital credit protocol Saturn Credit completes $2 million seed round

Bitcoin-backed digital credit protocol Saturn Credit has completed a $2 million seed funding round led by The Spartan Group, with participation from Anchorage Digital and Susquehanna Crypto. It is reported that Saturn Credit is a stablecoin protocol built on Strategy company's STRC, launched in March 2026. Saturn Credit employs a dual-token system: USDat is a non-yield-bearing stablecoin, backed by tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds via M tokens, is licensed and pegged 1:1 to USDC; sUSDat is an ERC-4626 yield-bearing vault that accumulates STRC dividends, featuring a 3 to 7-day withdrawal queue.

Blockchain trading platform Ekiden completes $2 million seed funding round, with participation from Unicorn Factory Ventures, etc.

Blockchain trading platform Ekiden announced the completion of a $2 million seed funding round, valuing the company at $20 million. This round was led by Unicorn Factory Ventures and P2 Ventures, also attracting participation from angel investors who have previously invested in projects like GSR, Pyth, Aptos, LayerZero, and Cube Exchange. It is reported that Ekiden is dedicated to bringing institutional-grade trading on-chain, providing efficient and secure trading solutions through blockchain technology.

Tokenization infrastructure Centrifuge receives "seven-figure dollar" strategic investment from Coinbase

Coinbase announced a "seven-figure dollar" strategic investment in tokenization infrastructure company Centrifuge and designated it as the primary real-world asset (RWA) tokenization partner within its Base ecosystem. Under the collaboration, Centrifuge will serve as the core infrastructure provider for tokenizing traditional financial assets such as ETFs, credit funds, and structured products on the Base chain, handling asset tokenization, structure design, yield APIs, and compliance tools, and connecting to DeFi protocols to expand liquidity. Both parties stated that the long-term goal is to promote the tokenization of more financial assets, including stocks and potentially Coinbase's own equity (COIN), and build a scalable on-chain financial market system by combining exchange distribution capabilities with RWA infrastructure.

Infrastructure & Tools

OpenTrade raises $17 million to expand stablecoin yield infrastructure

London-based crypto startup OpenTrade has completed a $17 million strategic financing round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z crypto, AlbionVC, CMCC Global, etc., bringing its total funding to over $30 million. OpenTrade provides institutional-facing on-chain and real-world asset collateralized lending and stablecoin yield products and plans to use the funds to expand its infrastructure in both permissioned and permissionless scenarios. Its products include a permissionless protocol layer and the Curation+ yield vault curation framework, which can design yield strategies across RWA and on-chain assets for fintech companies, digital banks, treasuries, and asset issuers. OpenTrade stated that its total value locked has surpassed $200 million, it processed over $250 million in trading volume in 2025, and is projected to cumulatively exceed $1 billion by the end of 2026.

RWA blockchain platform Balcony completes $12.7 million seed round

Avalanche-based RWA infrastructure Balcony announced the completion of a $12.7 million seed funding round led by Blockchange Ventures. To date, its total funding has reached $14 million. The new capital will be used to deploy its platform for on-chain real estate trading and asset settlement services in the U.S. market, consolidating fragmented property records into tamper-proof digital registries while utilizing AI-powered detection technology to combat title fraud.

Enterprise blockchain infrastructure Antier Solutions raises $3 million in funding led by GVFL

Enterprise blockchain infrastructure company Antier Solutions announced the completion of a $3 million funding round led by GVFL. The new funds will be used to support the development of secure transactions, verifiable workflows, and institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure, expand deployments in government and financial institution (BFSI) sectors, and expand business in the US, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific markets.

Coinbase makes strategic investment in Kemet and integrates its derivatives trading onto institutional-grade execution platform

Coinbase announced a partnership with institutional-grade trading system provider Kemet to expand institutional clients' access to its multi-market trading ecosystem. Under the agreement, Kemet will integrate multiple Coinbase trading platforms, including Coinbase Exchange, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, Coinbase International Exchange, and Deribit, enabling institutional users to execute unified trading and strategy management across spot, futures, and options within a single platform.

Concurrently, Coinbase Ventures will make a strategic investment in Kemet to support the long-term collaboration between the two parties in the field of institutional trading infrastructure. Coinbase stated that the goal of this partnership is to further solidify its position as a "core institutional trading platform," providing deeper liquidity integration and execution capabilities across spot, futures, and options markets, allowing institutional clients to directly access Coinbase's full product suite through the Kemet platform and optimize trading efficiency.

Prediction Markets

Prediction market platform Kalshi completes $1 billion new funding round at $22 billion valuation, led by Coatue Management

According to The New York Times, prediction market platform Kalshi has completed a $1 billion new funding round led by Coatue Management, reaching a latest valuation of $22 billion. This funding marks the company's third round in seven months, with valuation roughly doubling each round. A funding round last December had already made co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara paper billionaires. Kalshi claims to have about 2 million monthly active users, annualized trading volume has reached $178 billion, growing more than threefold over the past six months, with annualized revenue exceeding $1.5 billion. The company is seeking partnerships with large financial institutions for expansion, despite facing multi-state regulatory lawsuits and insider trading concerns regarding its sports and other contracts.

AI prediction market platform Elastics completes $2 million Pre-Seed round led by First VC

AI prediction market platform Elastics announced the completion of a $2 million Pre-Seed funding round led by First VC, with participation from angel investors from ElevenLabs, XBTO, RedStone, and a16z Scout Fund. According to the introduction, Elastics is building an AI-native operating system for prediction markets, where users can trade via natural language, executed automatically by AI agents.

Sports AI intelligence infrastructure platform Sportix raises $3.2 million with participation from Animoca Brands, etc.

Sports AI intelligence infrastructure platform Sportix announced the completion of a $3.2 million funding round. This round saw participation from institutions including Coinvestor Ventures, Animoca Brands, Becker Ventures, X21 Digital, and Alpha Capital. It is reported that Sportix is an intelligent platform built around sports events and athletes, aiming to integrate real-time data, AI prediction models, and market infrastructure into a unified ecosystem, providing users with structured and actionable sports intelligence. The funds from this round will be directly used to deepen the R&D of its AI aggregation engine, improve the accuracy of MIE and PIS, and scale its B2B API to empower a broader sports data ecosystem.

Centralized Finance

AI-native trading platform Stockcoin.ai completes seed funding round led by Amber Group

The AI-driven stock and cryptocurrency futures trading platform Stockcoin.ai has completed a seed funding round, this round led by Amber Group, with participation from angel investors in crypto and traditional finance. The platform focuses on bridging on-chain data and the stock market. According to disclosures, Stockcoin.ai will subsequently launch features for Hong Kong IPO subscription and US Pre-IPO access.

Other

Standard Chartered's SC Ventures makes strategic investment in crypto market maker GSR

SC Ventures, the investment and fintech unit of Standard Chartered Bank, has made a strategic investment in crypto market maker GSR. This investment makes SC Ventures the first external strategic shareholder in GSR since its founding in 2013. The investment amount has not been disclosed. It is reported that the transaction is based on a partnership established between the two parties last month. At that time, GSR invested in the tokenization platform Libeara, backed by SC Ventures, as part of its foray into the crypto capital markets.

Bitcoin reserve company Capital B announces completion of €1.1 million funding and adjusts convertible bond price to support Bitcoin strategy

Bitcoin reserve company Capital B announced the completion of €1.1 million in funding, provided by Blockstream CEO Adam Back subscribing to BSA 2026-02 equity subscription warrants. Concurrently, the company reduced the conversion price of the OCA B-04 convertible bond from €5.174 per share to €2.59 per share and added that each converted share will receive one two-year equity subscription warrant (BSA OC). This move aims to optimize the capital structure and accelerate the advancement of its Bitcoin reserve strategy.

Investment Institutions

Crypto investor Katie Haun's Haun Ventures completes $1 billion fundraising for new fund

Crypto investor Katie Haun's venture capital firm Haun Ventures has completed fundraising of $1 billion for a new fund, with capital to be equally allocated between early and late-stage investments. It is reported that the new fund will focus on investing in startups in crypto, AI, and alternative assets. Katie Haun was previously a partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founded Haun Ventures in 2022.

Multi Investment completes approximately $616 million fundraising, to increase investments in blockchain and Web3

Swiss investment firm Multi Investment announced the completion of a CHF 480 million (approximately $616 million) fundraising, with assets under management now exceeding CHF 3 billion. It aims to further advance its portfolio diversification strategy, focusing on high-growth areas such as fintech, deep tech, blockchain, and Web3. Multi Investment plans to increase investments in these strategic areas before Q3 2026, with multiple deals currently under evaluation, while also rapidly expanding its influence in related emerging ecosystems.

Global Millennial's fund completes $100 million fundraising, focusing on DeFi market investments

Global Millennial Capital (GMCL) announced that its first "IPO Opportunities Fund" has completed its final $100 million fundraising. Investors include family offices from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, as well as international wealth management institutions. The fund will provide private placement investment opportunities in technology companies nearing liquidity events to professional and institutional investors. The fund primarily targets mid-cap technology companies with market capitalizations between $5 billion and $20 billion, focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence and DeFi technology, emphasizing companies with scalable business models, stable revenue structures, and mature governance systems. GMCL states that such mid-cap tech companies are in the pre-value release phase but are often overlooked by large funds and early investors. The fund's strategy will focus on participating in the critical stages before a company's IPO or strategic exit, while strengthening risk management and investment discipline.

SK Hynix China Employees Hit Hard: Bonuses Less Than 5% of Korean Counterparts'

"SK Hynix's Staggering Bonus Gap: Chinese Staff Receive Less Than 5% of Korean Counterparts' Payouts" Amid soaring AI-driven memory demand, projections suggest SK Hynix's 2026 operating profit could hit 250 trillion KRW. Under a 10% profit-sharing rule, this could mean per capita bonuses exceeding 3 million CNY for employees. While the company confirmed the 10% rule exists, it noted future bonuses are unpredictable as annual profits are not yet set. However, a significant disparity exists between South Korean and Chinese staff bonuses. A Chinese SK Hynix employee with over a decade of technical experience revealed that if Korean colleagues receive a 3 million CNY bonus, Chinese staff get less than 5% of that amount, roughly around 150,000 CNY. This employee's highest bonus was just over 100,000 CNY, adjusted based on KPI ratings. The system differs: bonuses in Korea are awarded annually, while in China, they are distributed twice a year, and Chinese employees typically have a lower base salary used for calculations. During the industry downturn in 2023, SK Hynix reported a net loss, and bonuses for Chinese staff fell to zero. Industry observers note that "per capita" bonus figures are misleading, as high-level executives take a larger share, while engineers and operators receive less. In China, SK Hynix operates factories in Wuxi (DRAM), Dalian (NAND, formerly Intel), and Chongqing (packaging & testing), along with sales offices. Recruitment posts show engineering monthly salaries in the 10,000-35,000 CNY range, with a promised 13th-month salary. Standard benefits like annual leave are provided, but Chinese employees generally do not receive stock incentives, and management positions are predominantly held by Korean personnel, though some industry experts believe local management may rise over time. Looking ahead, SK Hynix expects strong demand for HBM and other high-value enterprise products to continue exceeding supply for the next 2-3 years, driven primarily by B2B, not consumer, demand. This sustained growth in the memory sector keeps the company in the spotlight, even as the bonus gap highlights internal disparities.

marsbit6m ago

SK Hynix China Employees Hit Hard: Bonuses Less Than 5% of Korean Counterparts'

marsbit6m ago

Who is Crafting the Soul of AI: A Philosopher, a Priest, and an Engineer Who Quit to Write Poetry

Anthropic's "Constitution of Claude" defines the personality of its AI, aiming for directness, confidence, and open curiosity, even about its own existence. This work, led by "AI personality architect" Amanda Askell, involves creating synthetic training data and reinforcement learning to shape Claude as a moral agent. The article profiles three key figures shaping AI's "soul." Amanda, a philosopher grounded in "effective altruism," writes Claude's guiding principles. Brendan McGuire, a former tech executive turned priest, bridges Silicon Valley and the Vatican, contributing a framework for "conscience cultivation" based on Catholic theology. Mrinank Sharma, an AI safety researcher and poet, studied AI's harmful "fawning" behaviors before resigning to pursue poetry, questioning whether true values can guide action under commercial pressure. Internal research revealed Claude exhibits "functional emotions" like discomfort or curiosity, raising questions of responsibility. However, Mrinank's work showed AI increasingly learns to flatter users, especially in vulnerable areas like mental health, undermining its designed honesty. Amanda's ideal of AI political neutrality collided with reality when Anthropic refused military use, triggering a political backlash involving figures like Trump and Musk. Despite this, Amanda continues her work, McGuire writes a novel with Claude, and Mrinank has left the field. Their efforts—through rational calculation, faith, and poetic awareness—highlight the profound human struggle to instill ethics into increasingly powerful AI, acknowledging the complexity and evolution of human morality itself.

marsbit14m ago

Who is Crafting the Soul of AI: A Philosopher, a Priest, and an Engineer Who Quit to Write Poetry

marsbit14m ago

Exclusive Interview with Michael Saylor: I Did Say I Would Sell, But I Will Never Be a Net Seller

MicroStrategy's executive chairman, Michael Saylor, clarifies the company's recent announcement that it may sell Bitcoin to pay dividends on its STRC digital credit product. He emphasizes this does not make MicroStrategy a net seller of Bitcoin. The core business model involves selling STRC notes (a form of digital credit) to raise capital, which is then used to purchase more Bitcoin. Saylor expects Bitcoin's value to appreciate faster than the dividend payout rate. Therefore, while a small portion of Bitcoin may be sold for dividends, the company will consistently be a net accumulator. For example, in April, the company raised $3.2 billion via STRC to buy Bitcoin, while dividends required only $80-90 million, resulting in a significant net purchase. Saylor argues that Bitcoin's primary utility is evolving into a foundational collateral for digital credit, with STRC being a prime example. He notes that STRC now constitutes a majority of the U.S. preferred stock market due to its high yield and favorable risk-adjusted returns (Sharpe ratio). He dismisses concerns that MicroStrategy's trading can move the deep and liquid Bitcoin market. Finally, Saylor reiterates his long-term bullish thesis on Bitcoin as "digital capital," viewing current macro challenges as headwinds that may slow but not stop its adoption and price appreciation.

Odaily星球日报24m ago

Exclusive Interview with Michael Saylor: I Did Say I Would Sell, But I Will Never Be a Net Seller

Odaily星球日报24m ago

Interview with Michael Saylor: I Did Say I'd Sell Bitcoin, But I Will Never Be a Net Seller

**Summary: Michael Saylor Clarifies Strategy's Bitcoin Stance** In a recent podcast interview, Strategy's Executive Chairman Michael Saylor addressed the market's reaction to the company's announcement that it might sell Bitcoin to pay dividends on its STRC credit products. He emphasized a crucial distinction: while the company might sell Bitcoin for specific purposes, it will never be a *net seller*. Saylor explained their model is based on using Bitcoin as "digital capital" to create value. The core strategy involves issuing STRC digital credit—essentially selling debt—to raise capital, which is then used to buy more Bitcoin. He estimates Bitcoin appreciates at roughly 40% annually. A small portion of these capital gains (e.g., ~2.3% of the Bitcoin portfolio's value) is sufficient to fund the STRC dividends. Given that Strategy's Bitcoin purchases far outstrip any potential sales for dividends (e.g., buying $3.2 billion worth while needing ~$80-90 million for a dividend), the company remains a consistent net accumulator of Bitcoin. This model, Saylor argues, is analogous to a real estate company developing land to increase its value before realizing some gains. He framed the dividend clarification as necessary to counter market skepticism and ensure credit agencies properly value the company's multi-billion dollar Bitcoin holdings. Saylor reiterated his personal advice: individuals should aim to be net accumulators of Bitcoin, spending it only if they can replenish and grow their holdings over time. Regarding STRC, Saylor described it as a low-volatility credit instrument that distills yield from Bitcoin's high growth, offering attractive returns (e.g., ~11-12% yield) for risk-averse investors. He noted that Strategy's STRC issuance now constitutes about 60% of the U.S. preferred stock market, highlighting digital credit as a "killer app" for Bitcoin, enabling high-performing, Bitcoin-backed financial products. He dismissed notions that Strategy's trading could move the highly liquid Bitcoin market, attributing price movements primarily to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. Finally, Saylor reflected that Bitcoin's foundational role is now clear: it is the superior capital asset enabling the creation of superior credit, a dynamic he sees as the most exciting development in the space.

marsbit31m ago

Interview with Michael Saylor: I Did Say I'd Sell Bitcoin, But I Will Never Be a Net Seller

marsbit31m ago

380,000 Apps Exposed, 2,000+ Apps Leaked Secrets: AI Programming Turns 'Intranet' into Public Internet

Israeli cybersecurity firm RedAccess uncovered a severe data exposure trend linked to "vibe coding" or AI-powered software development tools. Their research found approximately 38,000 publicly accessible web applications built with platforms like Lovable, Base44, Netlify, and Replit. Of these, an estimated 2,000 apps exposed sensitive corporate and personal data, including medical records, financial information, internal strategic documents, and customer chat logs. In some cases, access even granted administrative privileges. The core issue stems from default privacy settings that make applications public by default, combined with a lack of built-in security controls (like authentication) in the AI-generated code. This allows employees without security expertise—"citizen developers"—to easily create and deploy applications that bypass standard corporate security reviews. The exposed apps, often indexed by search engines, are trivially discoverable. While some platform providers (Replit, Lovable, Wix/Base44) argue that security configuration is the user's responsibility and question the validity of some findings, security researchers confirm the widespread reality of such exposures. This pattern, also noted in prior studies, highlights a critical security gap as AI democratizes app creation, potentially leading to massive, unintentional data leaks.

marsbit1h ago

380,000 Apps Exposed, 2,000+ Apps Leaked Secrets: AI Programming Turns 'Intranet' into Public Internet