This week witnessed substantial funding for five firms operating in the crypto and blockchain space, with particular attention and capital flowing into bitcoin mining and crypto lending ventures.
Leading the pack, Utah-based Nodal Power secured a significant $13 million in funding. The company, which operates as both a bitcoin miner and an energy provider, received contributions from a group of angel investors predominantly based in and around Utah. Nodal Power stands out for its commitment to fueling its mining operations using flared methane gas derived from landfills. With two existing data centers, one in the southwestern United States and the other in the “mountain west,” the company remains discreet about specific locations but reveals both are powered by landfill gas. The first center operates at 3.2 megawatts (MW) of electricity generation and 15 petahashes per second (PH/s) of computing power, while the second site, with a hashing power of 50 PH/s, boasts 1.6 MW.
Nodal Power’s latest funding will facilitate the establishment of a third mining location projected to operate at 60-70 PH/s, scheduled for completion in early 2024.
In another funding development, crypto lending protocol Maple Finance secured $5 million in a strategic round after returning to Solana. BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital led the funding, joined by other contributors like Room40 Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Spartan Capital, GSR Ventures, and Veris Ventures. The proceeds will support Maple Finance’s ongoing decentralized technology development. The platform recently introduced on-chain access to US Treasury bill yields, enabling users to deposit in the pool using Solana USDC (USDC-SPL). The pool channels yields from one-month US Treasury bills to lenders, minus fees. This addition follows Maple Finance’s prior launches of a direct lending arm in June and a cash management pool in April, attracting about $27 million in deposits to date.