1. Introduction
As we look back on 2023, it's clear that it has been a year of significant growth and evolution for both Ryze Labs and the wider crypto industry. Our rebranding this year is more than a new look; it's a reaffirmation of our dedication to being at the forefront of innovation in the crypto space.
2. Year Highlights
This year, we've achieved several milestones that highlight our commitment to advancing the industry. We've successfully led the funding rounds for Opentrade and Metagravity and intensified our focus on emerging markets, especially in Asia, where we've seen a 5% increase in founder engagement compared to last year.
Our strategic investments in sectors like gaming and infrastructure, despite not launching a new fund this year, have significantly contributed to our journey of growth.
3. 2023 Market analysis
This year, Solana (SOL) has notably outperformed its peers, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), in terms of year-to-date (YTD) percentage growth. As of now, SOL's YTD growth stands at an impressive 643.53%, a significant leap compared to BTC's 157.78% and ETH's 85.01%.
Bitcoin, maintaining its position as the market leader, has seen a substantial increase in value, with its price reaching $42,657 and a market cap of approximately $834 billion.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has also experienced notable growth, with its price at $2,214 and a market cap of around $266 billion.
Overall, while BTC and ETH have shown healthy growth, SOL's exceptional performance highlights its emerging status as a major player in the cryptocurrency market, driven by technological advantages and increasing adoption in various crypto sectors.
4. Portfolio Success Stories
UniSat has made great progress as the first open-source browser extension wallet for Bitcoin and NFTs. It has achieved a significant milestone with over 500k weekly active users, a testament to the team's commitment to rapidly integrating the latest innovations in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Recently, Unisat launched 'Unisat inscribe,' offering a user-friendly interface for publishing inscriptions. This feature not only enhances user engagement but also contributes to the protocol's revenue, with a fee charged on the first 25 inscriptions.
OpenTrade made remarkable strides in 2023, beginning with the successful closing of a pre-seed round led by Ryze. Demonstrating their efficiency and market responsiveness, OpenTrade completed their platform build in less than six months and promptly went live. A significant development was their collaboration with Circle in co-announcing the Perimeter Protocol, showcasing their commitment to innovation in the crypto-financial products space. Further enhancing their market presence, OpenTrade partnered with WOO X to power yield products for retail customers using their tokenized Treasury Bill investment product, marking a significant step in broadening their service offerings and market reach.
Clearpool achieved significant milestones in decentralized finance, expanding to Polygon zkEVM and Optimism for enhanced performance and lower costs, supported by a grant from the Optimism Foundation. The company revamped its revenue model and tokenomics to strengthen the CPOOL token's utility and balance protocol growth. Notably, Clearpool launched its Governance Forum, moving towards community-driven decision-making, and introduced Clearpool Prime, an institutional-grade marketplace. The integration with OKX's Web3 Wallet expanded Clearpool's user base significantly. A major financial achievement was surpassing $450M in total loans originated, showcasing Clearpool's robust growth in the decentralized lending space.
Evertas achieved significant milestones in 2023. The company dramatically expanded its insurance capacity, setting industry-leading limits for crypto custodians and miners ($420M and $200M respectively). This expansion led to Evertas ensuring 25% of all Bitcoin mining hashrate by year-end. The acquisition of crypto mining insurer Bitsure was a strategic move that boosted their offerings. Evertas also introduced new insurance products, including D&O insurance tailored for crypto ventures and a smart contract insurance product targeting the DeFi market. These innovations contributed to a substantial 30x revenue growth compared to 2022. In Asia, Evertas successfully penetrated the market by providing reinsurance to a local insurer, overcoming regulatory challenges in the region.
Rise had a transformative year, starting with the successful closure of its Seed funding round. This accomplishment was further highlighted by their victory at the Consensus' PitchFest Competition, showcasing their innovative approach and market potential. Financially, Rise crossed a significant milestone, achieving over $25 million in total payouts. Their service base expanded considerably, securing contracts with notable clients like Lido, Bitcoin.com, P2P, ZenAcademy, and Velodrome Finance. On the operational front, Rise grew its team to 14 members across four countries, reflecting its expanding global footprint and its commitment to leveraging diverse talents.
MetaGravity had a banner year, securing a $9.5 million equity round and expanding its team significantly. They marked their presence in the gaming world with the launch of the Edge of Chaos: Dungeons game and the signing of new clients like Star Atlas and Outerlife. Their technological capabilities were showcased with successful tests of 10,000 and 30,000 concurrent players in collaboration with Star Atlas. Their growing influence in the gaming and blockchain space was further confirmed with their participation in key industry events and their confirmed presence at GDC 2024.
ArDrive made significant strides with a complete redesign of their app, enhancing user experience and functionality. The ability to create an Arweave wallet directly in ArDrive and the launch of ArDrive Turbo marked their commitment to user-centric innovation. Additionally, their development of an open-source bundle upload and payment service, including the option to pay with a credit card, represents a significant advancement in accessibility and ease of use.
ar.io saw the successful launch of the AR.IO Network Testnet, along with the Public Node Alpha Test of ar-io.dev. The release of open-source ar.io node software, along with the launch of the Gateway Address Registry, Gateway Observer Service, ArNS.App, ArNS Cache for SmartWeave, and the WayFinder Chrome extension, marked a series of significant developments in their offerings, further solidifying their position as innovators in the blockchain technology space.
Texture pivoted to peer-to-peer lending, leveraging Solana's fast and cost-effective transactions. They launched a NFT borrowing aggregator and introduced an innovative NFTFi product for NFT borrowing, allowing holders to list their digital assets and borrowers to engage in short-term borrowing. Additionally, Texture announced the first peer-to-peer order book lending protocol for Solana tokens, showcasing their ability to innovate and adapt to market needs.
Hooga Gaming solidified its position as a leading esports guild this year, especially in dominating titles like Axie Infinity Land Game and Metacene. A notable achievement was their innovative project on Linea, Tatarot, which emerged as one of the top transacted projects during the Linea Voyage campaign. In a significant stride towards technological advancement, Hooga Gaming ventured into AI solutions under Chasm, collaborating with gaming and content companies across both Web2 and Web3 spaces. A testament to their growing technological prowess was their selection into the Google Cloud Web3/AI program, positioning them alongside other prominent players in the field.
pSTAKE marked 2023 with groundbreaking developments, most notably the relaunch of stkATOM as a cosmos native token. This was complemented by a strategic partnership with Ceffu Global for institutional custody of PSTAKE and stkBNB. The introduction of stkETH v2, a pioneering layer 2 native ETH liquid staking solution, saw over 2,200 users engage with its Marvel Testnet. Their support for the Liquid Staking Module on the Cosmos Hub, enabling instant conversion of staked ATOM to liquid stkATOM, marked a significant enhancement to their platform. Furthermore, pSTAKE’s expansion plans for liquid staking solutions for various assets like OSMO, DYDX, TIA, and XPRT underscore their ambitious growth trajectory. An upcoming development, contingent on the approval of Cosmos Hub Governance Proposal 853, could see a substantial deployment from the Cosmos Hub Community Pool, further cementing pSTAKE's position in the market.
Legends of Venari underwent a transformative year, transitioning their initial Gameplay Passes to customizable Seeker Avatars and hosting various in-game events, such as their one-year anniversary and Lunar New Year celebrations. A major developmental leap was made from a simple static minigame to an expansive open-world exploration game, currently gearing up for Early Access release. This transition was supported by the creation of a custom ECS-based game engine and the design of bespoke 3D environmental assets. Community engagement was also a focus, with biweekly newsletters to over 11,500 subscribers and regular playtests to shape the game with community feedback.
Domi Online saw a series of exciting developments in 2023. They released multiple patch builds, including updates to the character selection model, multi-character support, and gamified profession updates. Their collaboration with BunkerVFX for a cinematic trailer highlighted their commitment to engaging storytelling and quality presentation. The major patch build 1.1.0 marked their first step towards multiplayer integration, enhancing the game's appeal and functionality. Additionally, Domi Online's integration with the Beam subnet and utilization of the BeamSDK for on-chain digital assets and in-game storefronts represents a significant move towards more immersive and integrated gaming experiences.
Blocklords saw a series of exciting developments in 2023. The game's launch on the Epic Games Store significantly increased its reach. The release of the "Slay the Bear" trailer and the establishment of a Steam Wishlist page further boosted its visibility. A planned TGE for Q1 and nominations for multiple GAM3S awards underscored the game's growing popularity and industry recognition.
Elixir made significant strides in the Web3 gaming sector, marked by strategic partnerships and acquisitions. The acquisition of Lit Lab Games, and collaborations with industry giants like GameStop and Gala Games, significantly expanded Elixir's gaming portfolio and influence. A notable partnership with Square Enix, leading a strategic investment round, underscored Elixir's growing appeal to traditional gamers. Additionally, Elixir secured 10 exclusive deals with top-performing games, further establishing its presence as a leading platform in the Web3 gaming space.
5. Looking Ahead
As we reflect on the past year and look towards 2024, our journey through a myriad of challenges and opportunities has not only strengthened our resolve but also sharpened our strategic focus. One of our most significant accomplishments has been our expansion in the dynamic Asian market, a testament to our adaptability and insight into global trends.
The regulatory landscape, especially in Asia, has been a key factor influencing our direction. With significant developments in Singapore and Hong Kong and increased scrutiny in Western markets, Asia's regulatory environment has become increasingly attractive for the crypto industry. These shifts underscore the importance of our long-standing presence and expertise in the region, positioning us well to help our portfolio companies capitalize on these emerging opportunities.
Looking forward, we anticipate a strong bull run in 2024, particularly with the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF in the US. This development, along with continued interest from major players like Blackrock, JP Morgan, and Visa in leveraging blockchain technology, signals a positive shift in investor sentiment towards digital assets. The increasing institutional interest, driven by the prospect of easier access to capital through tokenized assets and related financial products, reinforces our belief in the robust future of the crypto market.
In terms of investment strategy, we continue to rigorously evaluate opportunities with a specific focus on user engagement. We believe that successful projects must demonstrate a dedicated user base, or “superfans,” as a key indicator of their potential to bring crypto to the masses. This approach is crucial in our decision-making process, ensuring we invest in projects with the capability to address and solve existing industry challenges, such as improving user experience and wallet interfaces.
DeFi and gaming, especially in the Asian markets, remain important use cases for the industry. We are optimistic about the potential of several projects in our portfolio to address the current pain points in these areas. Our commitment to innovation and excellence in the crypto sphere remains unwavering as we step into the New Year. We are poised for a year of groundbreaking achievements and leadership in the industry, continually adapting to the evolving landscape and seizing opportunities that align with our vision for the future of blockchain and digital assets.
6. Acknowledgments
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated team, partners, founders, and the vibrant community that stands with us. Your support is the cornerstone of our success and inspires us to reach greater heights.
7. Conclusion
As we bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the new possibilities that 2024 brings, we do so with optimism and a steadfast commitment to advancing the crypto ecosystem. We look forward to continuing our journey together, filled with new achievements and breakthroughs.