Berachain Raises $69 Million in Latest Funding Round

Hi NoRamp Community,

Daily News:

1) Block Drops Rock-Like BitKey Bitcoin Wallet

2) Berachain Raises $69 Million in Latest Funding Round

3) Web3 Fashion House mmERCH Secures $6.4M in Seed Investment

4) Zscaler Acquires Avalor in a $350M Deal to Revolutionize Cybersecurity

5) Levenue Acquires MidFunder to Accelerate Growth in Switzerland

Block Drops Rock-Like BitKey Bitcoin Wallet:

• Block releases Bitkey, a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet, now shipping to customers who preordered, allowing users to store Bitcoin and control their private keys.

• Bitkey integrates with Coinbase and Cash App for direct Bitcoin purchases and offers tools for fund recovery in case the device and wallet are lost, emphasizing user control and fund security.

• The $150 wallet, designed for offline cold storage, requires users to manage their private keys, with support from Block's founder Jack Dorsey, who advocates for self-custody of Bitcoin away from exchanges.

Berachain Raises $69 Million in Latest Funding Round:

• Berachain, a Cosmos-based DeFi project with a bear theme, is expected to reach a $1.5 billion valuation after raising over $69 million in a funding round led by Brevan Howard Digital and Framework Ventures.

• The platform offers trading, lending, and borrowing services and uses a tri-token system consisting of its native gas token bera, honey stablecoin, and governance token BGT.

• Berachain previously raised $42 million in a private token round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from other notable investors, including Hack VC, Shima Capital, Robot Ventures, and Goldentree Asset Management.

Web3 Fashion House mmERCH Secures $6.4M in Seed Investment:

• Web3 fashion startup mmERCH, led by Colby Mugrabi, announced a $6.4 million seed funding round at a $25.7 million post-money valuation, led by Liberty City Ventures.

• The funding will be used to invest in mmERCH's proprietary technology stack, expand the engineering team, and invest in subsequent collections to create a modern brand and platform.

• The startup, known for its "neo-couture" approach to fashion, will debut its inaugural collection next month, featuring pieces developed using generative algorithms and AI, with each garment having a non-fungible physical copy linked to its digital twin through blockchain technology.

Zscaler Acquires Avalor in a $350M Deal:

• American cybersecurity firm Zscaler is acquiring Israeli startup Avalor for $350 million to enhance its cloud security offerings.

• The acquisition, Zscaler's third in Israel, aims to bolster its Zero Trust Exchange platform and further develop Avalor's innovative data solutions focused on enterprise security.

• Avalor, which emerged from stealth mode in April, will operate as an independent unit within Zscaler, with plans to hire additional employees. The acquisition is seen as a strategic move to process large volumes of data and provide AI-driven analytics and decision-making capabilities to customers.

Levenue Acquires MidFunder to Accelerate Growth in Switzerland:

• Levenue, Europe's largest revenue-based financing company, has acquired Zurich-based FinTech MidFunder to accelerate its growth in Switzerland.

• The acquisition expands Levenue's financing marketplace presence across Europe, where it currently serves subscription-based companies in 16 countries, and strengthens its operations in Switzerland, a unique market separated from the EU.

• MidFunder, founded by Patrick Frei and Pascal Schumperli, initially focused on crowdfunding for SMEs before pivoting to revenue-based financing for digital businesses. The acquisition aligns with both companies' missions to provide innovative financing solutions without dilution.

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