2023 encryption investment focuses on the infrastructure track, 5 potential projects worth following.

In 2023, there were a total of 1,178 financing events, with a financing scale reaching $2.839 billion, according to statistics from a certain data platform. In terms of financing scale, the infrastructure sector ranked first.

Many top investment institutions have focused on the infrastructure sector as a key layout direction. Although different investment institutions have varying degrees of preference for the sector, the infrastructure sector occupies a significant portion of their investment landscape. In addition, a well-known investment institution places greater emphasis on the gaming field; several other institutions focus more on the DeFi sector, while another institution with fewer investments shows a more balanced number of investments across other fields.

Here are a few potential projects worth noting in the infrastructure sector:

B² Network

B² Network is an EVM-compatible Rollup based on Bitcoin zero-knowledge proof validation commitments. It records Rollup data and zk proof validation commitments on the Bitcoin network, ultimately confirmed through a challenge-response mechanism.

The project participated in a Bitcoin ecosystem project roadshow held by a certain organization in 2023 and received investment. It is understood that the core members of the B² Network technical team are active members of mainstream open-source communities such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Recently, the B² Network has upgraded from the Alpha testnet to the Haven Beta testnet. Currently, their Odyssey mission is in progress, and users can participate through the official website.

Mind Network

Mind Network is a zero-trust layer designed to bring the next billion users and trillions of dollars to Web3. It offers security and data privacy solutions for true CrossFi scale, compliant with regulatory requirements, while upholding the Web3 principles of asset tokenization and personal data ownership.

On June 29, 2023, Mind Network announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed round financing, with several well-known investment institutions participating. Previously, the project was also selected for the fifth season incubation program of a certain exchange platform's laboratory and the BUILD program of a certain well-known project.

Omni Network

Omni is the interoperability layer for Ethereum, serving as the core infrastructure that supports all modular applications on Ethereum. Developers can seamlessly build applications that exist throughout the Ethereum ecosystem while accessing all users and all capital. Omni is the predecessor of the DeFi protocol Rift Finance, which provided financial services for Web3 projects.

Omni has received $18 million in funding support, with investment institutions including several well-known venture capital firms. In June 2023, its testnet went live, and the official has not yet announced any news regarding the airdrop plan.

Wormhole

Wormhole is a decentralized universal messaging protocol that enables developers and users of cross-chain applications to leverage the advantages of multiple ecosystems.

Wormhole completed a $225 million financing at a valuation of $2.5 billion, with several well-known investment institutions participating, making it the largest financing deal of 2023.

CESS

CESS is committed to building a blockchain-based distributed cloud storage system, effectively managing distributed resources through virtualization technology, and providing customers with consistent and efficient distributed storage services. The CESS global content delivery network enables users to easily access their data anytime and anywhere.

In December 2023, CESS completed a financing of $8 million. The CESS team won the championship in the Web3 Hackathon organized by the Web3 Foundation in 2021 and passed all three milestones funded by W3F. According to the officially released roadmap, CESS plans to conduct a token issuance in 2024. Currently, CESS has activities on a task platform where users can participate in the testnet phase.