GizmoLab Report: Cutting-Edge Developments in Web3📈

A Quick TL;DR:

- Caldera Acquires Hook to Expand Ethereum Rollup Infrastructure with Metalayer

- Folks Finance Raises $3.2M Series A, Reaches $75M Valuation

- Ireland Seizes $3.4M in Crypto from Chinese Scam Syndicate

- Coinbase Hits Top 10 in App Store, #1 in Finance as Trump Spurs Crypto Rally

- Prosper Gains BIT Mining Investment for Institutional Bitcoin Mining Expansion

- Pepe Coin Hits ATH as Whale Activity Quadruples

Founders Fund-backed Caldera Acquires Hook to Advance Metalayer, a Unified Ethereum Rollup Infrastructure Platform for Scaling Decentralized Applications

Caldera, a rollups-as-a-service provider funded by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, has acquired Hook, a development team formerly behind the Hook Odyssey protocol, to drive development of Metalayer, an Ethereum rollup infrastructure platform. The acquisition, Caldera's first, follows a recent $15 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to $25 million. Metalayer aims to simplify and unify the fragmented rollup ecosystem, allowing developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) seamlessly across Ethereum Layer 2 and Layer 3 ecosystems. By supporting both Optimistic and ZK frameworks, Metalayer will enhance cross-rollup coordination, address current scalability challenges, and improve developer experience.

Caldera has already facilitated over 50 rollup projects, including notable launches such as ApeChain and RARI Chain. Hook’s six-member team, five of whom have joined Caldera, will contribute directly to Metalayer, bringing expertise from Hook Odyssey’s rollup technology. Caldera plans to expand to around 40 team members next year, adding new hires in engineering, marketing, and growth. While Ethereum Foundation researchers are proposing base-layer upgrades that could change rollup requirements, Caldera’s CEO Matt Katz emphasized that demand for custom rollup solutions remains high. Caldera’s acquisition aligns with its mission to lead in Ethereum rollup infrastructure, with Metalayer offering developers a robust platform to build scalable and efficient dApps across Ethereum's growing ecosystem.

Folks Finance Raises $3.2 Million in Series A, Valuing DeFi Platform at $75 Million, Plans to Expand Cross-Chain DeFi Capabilities

Folks Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform specializing in cross-chain transactions, has raised $3.2 million in a Series A round, achieving a $75 million valuation. Led by Borderless Capital, with contributions from Algorand Ventures, Mapleblock Capital, and Sovo Ventures, this oversubscribed round exceeded the initial $2 million goal, highlighting strong investor interest. This brings Folks Finance’s total funding to $6.2 million, following a $3 million seed round from investors like Coinbase Ventures and Jump Crypto. Folks Finance’s xChain app enables cross-chain asset lending, borrowing, and trading, currently supporting blockchains like Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Avalanche, and BNB Chain.

Leveraging technologies like Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP), xChain allows asset transfers between chains, offering DeFi users flexibility and efficiency. The Avalanche blockchain serves as the central hub for these transactions. With over 15,000 active monthly wallets and more than $100 million in total value locked (TVL), the platform plans to expand its ecosystem to new chains like Linea, Polygon, Optimism, and ZKsync. CEO Benedetto Biondi also noted the team’s expansion, aiming to onboard developers and regional community growth professionals to enhance the platform’s reach.

Irish Authorities Seize $3.4 Million in Cryptocurrency Linked to Chinese "Pig Butchering" Scams in Major Anti-Fraud Operation

Irish authorities have seized over $3.4 million in cryptocurrency linked to "pig butchering" scams, a scheme allegedly operated by a Chinese criminal syndicate. These scams, often executed via social media, involve criminals building trust with victims over time and persuading them to invest increasingly larger amounts into fraudulent crypto schemes, only to steal the funds. The seizure followed an investigation by Garda Síochána and international partners, who uncovered a large-scale money-laundering network with connections to over 15 European countries.

During a raid in Blackrock, Dublin, officials from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Criminal Assets Bureau, and Europol confiscated €3.25 million in crypto, €20,000 in cash, digital devices, and documents. Two suspects believed to be involved were detained. The operation highlights growing international concerns over crypto-related scams linked to Chinese syndicates. Similar cases have surfaced globally, including a major bust in the Philippines and an April arrest in the UK for a $5.6 billion fraud. This week, another Chinese individual pleaded guilty in the U.S. for laundering $73 million through crypto scams.

Coinbase Leaps to Top 10 in U.S. Apple App Store, Takes #1 in Finance Amid Bitcoin Surge and Trump’s Pro-Crypto Election Victory

Coinbase has re-entered the U.S. Apple App Store’s top 10, jumping from 435th place before the U.S. election to 8th on Wednesday, reaching #1 in the finance category as Bitcoin soared to a record $93,000. This surge follows Donald Trump’s election victory and his campaign promises to support crypto, including a national bitcoin reserve and a rollback on regulatory crackdowns. Market enthusiasm around Bitcoin and broader crypto assets has spiked since the election, fueling retail interest in apps like Coinbase. Historically, Coinbase’s app ranking has served as a bellwether of high retail interest during crypto market peaks. Steven Zheng, The Block’s research director, notes that Coinbase’s top ranking often reflects a large wave of retail investor entry into the market.

The app previously topped charts in October 2021, just before a crypto bull market peak, signaling that such ranking spikes often correlate with price highs and surging retail enthusiasm. On decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, odds suggest an 87% likelihood of Coinbase staying in the top 10 by Friday. Coinbase’s main app is now 95th in the finance category on Google Play, while its web3 wallet ranks 14th in the Apple Store, reflecting growing consumer interest in decentralized finance. Meanwhile, bitcoin’s price holds steady at $91,325, up 22% over the past week, and the GMCI 30 index for top cryptocurrencies has gained 64% year-to-date, underscoring the rally’s momentum.

Bitcoin Mining Protocol Prosper Secures Token Investment from BIT Mining, Expands Institutional Bitcoin Mining on Blockchain

Prosper, a decentralized Bitcoin mining protocol that tokenizes hashrate-backed assets, announced it has received strategic token funding from BIT Mining. This funding, disclosed in a Nov. 14 blog post, marks a significant institutional endorsement of Prosper's approach to bringing institutional-grade Bitcoin mining power on-chain. Prosper’s protocol uses tokens that represent live Bitcoin mining power, aiming to provide investors a new way to gain exposure to Bitcoin mining via blockchain-backed assets. Though the investment amount wasn’t disclosed, BIT Mining’s involvement follows a recent similar investment by Waterdrip Capital, a VC firm led by Chinese blockchain entrepreneurs, in Prosper’s native token, PROS.

Following BIT Mining’s backing, the PROS token rose 7%, reaching $0.52, reflecting market confidence in Prosper’s unique model. Founded in 2021, Prosper enables PROS token holders to earn passive income through limited-time staking rewards tied to Bitcoin mining output. To qualify for staking in future campaigns, PROS holders must participate in governance by casting at least one vote every three months on either the BNB Chain or Ethereum. By bridging real-time Bitcoin mining power to blockchain, Prosper aims to integrate institutional mining operations with decentralized finance, appealing to a broader range of institutional and retail investors.

Pepe Coin Reaches New All-Time High Amid Surge in Whale Activity Following Robinhood Listing

The popular meme-inspired cryptocurrency Pepe has hit a new all-time high (ATH) following a dramatic increase in whale activity. Initially launched in April 2023 as a tribute to the internet’s Pepe the Frog meme, the token has since surged over 40,000%, reaching an ATH of $0.000025 after Robinhood announced it would list the coin. The token’s bullish movement was further fueled by Donald Trump’s recent election win, which boosted the broader crypto market. Within the past 24 hours, Pepe’s price is up 80%, currently trading at $0.000022, and its market cap now stands at around $9.8 billion, ranking it as the 14th-largest crypto asset.

The daily trading volume for Pepe also spiked, climbing 313% to reach $21.5 billion. Whale activity quadrupled following the Robinhood listing, with large transactions (over $100,000 worth of PEPE) jumping from $405 million to $1.66 billion on Nov. 13. Over 3,000 such transactions occurred, but a major selloff by large holders triggered a net outflow of 1.11 trillion PEPE. Despite this selloff, retail investor interest has helped stabilize the price, though analysts predict a potential correction before the next rally.

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