Science of Blockchain Conference 2025, $6M+ Raised, Rugby Streaming, Staking Innovation, & More!
The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is an internationally recognized, non-dilutive source of support for startups in the global blockchain ecosystem and now leads our 3rd pillar on community & entrepreneurship for the Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence (RDI).
Also, UC Berkeley has been ranked the #1 university for blockchain in the US for two years in a row!
RDI Events
Science of Blockchain 2025 at UC Berkeley
Berkeley RDI is honored to host the Science of Blockchain Conference 2025 and affiliated workshops, scheduled to take place from August 2 to 6, 2025 at UC Berkeley. This conference focuses on technical innovations in the blockchain ecosystem, and brings together researchers and practitioners working in the space. We aim to foster collaboration among the different communities working on blockchain protocols, cryptography, distributed systems, secure computing, and crypto-economics. The call for papers deadline is March 13, 2025. For more information, please visit https://www.sbc-conference.com/2025/.
Fundraising Efforts
This is dedicated to our alumni teams who are currently fundraising. If you are interested in learning more about a team’s fundraising efforts, please contact them directly.
Altify: Raising $3M to Scale Tokenized Private Market Investing
Altify, from our 2021 cohort, is an innovative tokenized alternative investment marketplace connecting individuals and financial advisors to lucrative private market investment opportunities. They are backed by one of Europe’s top start-up investors Hansi Hansmann, listed investment firm Sabvest, Web 3.0 VCs CVVC and Emurgo and founders from Bitpanda, Paysafe, and Scalable Capital.
Invested volumes increased 450% and revenues grew +210% this last quarter, resulting in the fintech reaching profitability.
Altify is currently raising a Pre-Series A funding round of $3 million to scale its annual recurring revenue (ARR) 3x. With 20% of the round already committed, Altify is poised to further its mission of democratizing private market investing through tokenization.
View Altify’s Pitch Deck to find out more.
Snowball Announces Additional $3M Raise for Digital Identity Revolution
Our 2020 cohort team, Snowball, a leader in chain abstraction infrastructure, has successfully raised $3M in a seed extension at a $30M valuation and is now raising an additional $3M to advance its Modular Naming Service (MNS) and Snowstorm, a decentralized identity (DiD) infrastructure. Backed by the Sui and Near Foundations, and founders of Akash, Kava, Celestia, Movement labs, Ripple, Twitch, and many more, Snowstorm enables seamless cross-chain messaging and transactions for modular blockchains. Launching with Movement Labs in Q1 of 2025, Snowstorm aims to empower the next generation of appchains with scalable digital identity solutions. The testnet launch is approaching, offering early users exclusive access to the most accessible gateway for managing wallets, cross-chain transactions, and messaging.
View Snowball’s Pitch Deck or contact Parul at parul@snowball.money to learn more.
Alumni Announcements & Milestones
Garrett Kinsman, Co-founder of Nodle
Nodle wins “Best Technology” award at Visual 1st for the Click camera app! 👏
Nodle, from our 2020 cohort, has received the prestigious Visual 1st Best Technology award for its innovative Click app, recognized for addressing critical challenges in media authentication amidst rising concerns over deepfakes and copycat content. Highlighting its simplicity and efficacy, the app enables secure signing and verification of media, paving the way for broader adoption of C2PA standards. Andy Kelm, Managing Director at Palmarés Advisors, praised Nodle’s solution for its potential impact across consumer, creator, and business contexts. Additionally, Nodle is collaborating with the Piedmont Consulting Group at UC Berkeley to promote the app’s use on campus, further expanding its adoption and impact.
Ava Protocol Sees Surging Adoption with Term Finance Integration
Term Finance, a leading fixed-rate lending protocol, has announced its integration with our 2022 cohort team, Ava Protocol, to automate critical backend operations. This partnership optimizes Term’s systems by streamlining collateral monitoring and automating liquidation triggers, protecting lenders from potential bad debt while significantly reducing DevOps costs. Ava Protocol’s decentralized infrastructure also automates auction price reveals, eliminating server-side dependencies and mitigating single points of failure. By reinforcing trustless operations and ensuring reliability, the Ava Protocol integration positions Term Finance to scale securely while maintaining operational excellence. This collaboration highlights the growing importance of decentralized automation in financial systems.
Learn more via Ava Protocol’s blog.
Source Network Unveils DefraDB v0.14.0: Advancing Open Web Data Management
DefraDB, a key component of Source Network (from our Spring 2019 cohort), continues to push the boundaries of open web software with its latest update. This advanced local/edge database now features an improved query system, integrated access control for robust security, advanced document encryption, and enhanced peer-to-peer (P2P) capabilities. These innovations simplify data management, empowering developers to build more efficient and secure applications. As part of Source Network, DefraDB is central to redefining developer workflows for local and edge environments.
Explore the full feature list and release details on GitHub: DefraDB Release Notes.
SafeStake Launches Private Mainnet, Pioneering Decentralized Ethereum Staking
SafeStake, from our 2021 cohort, ParaState, has launched its private mainnet, a significant step forward for decentralized Ethereum staking. Leveraging Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), SafeStake enhances validator resilience, mitigates single points of failure, and fosters network decentralization — key principles of Web3. The mainnet launch follows the success of its Holesky Testnet (January–September 2024), where rigorous operator testing validated its performance and reliability. High-performing testnet operators have been invited to the mainnet, benefiting from incentives like DVT tokens. SafeStake’s collaboration with Lido highlights its secure and efficient integration into Ethereum’s staking ecosystem, marking a transformative moment in decentralized staking technology.
To learn more about SafeStake’s Private Mainnet read this article.
Eluvio Powers EPCR TV for Enhanced Global Rugby Streaming
Our Fall 2019 cohort, Eluvio, has partnered with EPCR to launch EPCR TV, a groundbreaking streaming service for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. Leveraging Eluvio’s Content Fabric Protocol, the platform delivers high-quality, low-latency streaming with robust content security and anti-piracy measures. Fans can enjoy live matches, archival content, and tailored viewing options across multiple devices. This partnership marks a milestone in decentralized content distribution, offering a transformative digital experience for rugby enthusiasts. Eluvio’s innovative technology underscores its commitment to advancing global sports streaming, reinforcing its leadership in next-generation video distribution and monetization.
Read more about the partnership in this article or watch this short video.
Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator Newsletter
December 2024