Web3 Startup Aptos Locks Up $150M From FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto

Palo Alto, California-based Aptos Labs, founded by ex-Meta employees, closed a $150 million Series A led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto—more than doubling its valuation.

The round comes just four months after the company closed a $200 million investment from Tiger Global, Coinbase Ventures and FTX Ventures, and valued the company at $1 billion.

The new funding is further evidence of investors’ insatiable appetite for all things Web3. Aptos is creating a Layer 1 system blockchain, meaning it will not sit on Ethereum or another network, but be its own decentralized network. The company is looking to build off of key elements of the Diem blockchain and its smart contract language—Meta’s Stablecoin project that was shuttered earlier this year.

Web3 and blockchain funding

According to Crunchbase data, VC-backed blockchain startups have raised nearly $11.5 billion thus far this year. That number puts it on a similar pace to last year, when more than $20.4 billion poured into the space.

Other large Web3 raises this year include Switzerland-based blockchain startup ConsenSys closing a $450 million round in March at a valuation of over $7 billion—more than doubling its valuation since its $200 million Series C raise last November.

In February India-based Polygon Technology—a scaling platform for the Ethereum blockchain—closed a $450 million round at a reported $13 billion valuation. That same month, San Francisco-based Alchemy, which provides tools and hosting for those wanting to transact on blockchain and Web3,raised a $200 million “Series C-1” that valued the company at $10.2 billion.

The current round also included participation from new investors Apollo, Griffin Gaming Partners, Franklin Templeton, Circle Ventures, Superskrypt and others. Existing investors a16z, Multicoin Capital, Oak HC/FT and ParaFi Capital also took part. The company says it has raised $350 million to date.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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