CGV 2023 Fiscal Year Investment and Research Overview: Deep Dive into Bitcoin Ecosystem, Web3×AI, Modularization, and Other Key Sectors
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CGV 2023 Fiscal Year Investment and Research Overview: Deep Dive into Bitcoin Ecosystem, Web3×AI, Modularization, and Other Key Sectors
In 2023, CGV not only deepened its research on the crypto primary market and expanded its investment footprint in the Web3 sector, but also released multiple in-depth industry research reports, actively exploring emerging blockchain technologies and application directions.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights2023 was a year of both challenges and opportunities for the global crypto market. Amid persistent market volatility and rapid technological innovation, the crypto sector demonstrated renewed vitality after major adjustments in the previous year. Both price fluctuations in crypto assets and the maturation of regulatory policies laid the foundation for the industry's long-term, healthy development.
As a Japan-compliant research and investment firm focused on the cryptocurrency and Web3 industries, Cryptogram Venture (CGV) consistently adheres to the principle of "research-driven investment." Leveraging extensive industry resources and strong influence within Japan’s crypto market, CGV maintains broad connections with Japanese investors and the technical community, actively engaging at the forefront of the market. In 2023, CGV deepened its research into the crypto primary market, expanded its investment footprint across Web3 domains, released multiple in-depth industry reports, and actively explored emerging blockchain technologies and applications.
Steve Chiu, founder of CGV, stated that since 2020, we have witnessed the rapid evolution of various crypto subfields such as DeFi, NFTs, GameFi, and the metaverse. In 2023, breakthroughs in decentralized identity (DID) and cross-chain technology, the expanding applications of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP), and the rise of Ordinals and inscriptions revealed new technological trends—foreshadowing a vast future for the crypto industry.
In 2023, CGV successfully invested in a series of cutting-edge projects such as UniSat, Celestia, and UXUY, achieving significant returns—an illustration of its sharp insight into industry trends and accurate grasp of market cycles. Meanwhile, CGV actively positioned itself in emerging sectors.
Bitcoin Network Ecosystem (BTC Network Eco)
We have been closely monitoring the development of the entire Bitcoin ecosystem—not only focusing on asset issuance protocols like BRC and ARC, but also on product directions with long-term value and sustainability: Taproot Assets, Bitcoin Layer 2 networks, Lightning Network applications, Nostr protocol infrastructure and apps, and new protocols such as RGB and BitVM.
CGV believes that Bitcoin is more than just “digital gold” for value storage—it requires scaling and upgrades to embrace more native applications and foster the long-term growth of the Bitcoin network ecosystem.
Since 2023, key investments and collaborations (partial list) include:
UXUY: A next-generation decentralized multi-chain trading platform based on MPC & AA wallets. UXUY launched a DID powered by the Lightning Network, compatible with the EVM DID ecosystem. Upholding the philosophy of “Your Crypto, You Control,” UXUY actively participates in building the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem. It offers traders instant cross-chain trading services for cryptocurrencies and digital assets across public chains. By establishing an “intent-centric” social trading feature, liquidity pools centered around stablecoins, and a universal Gas solution called GasPool, UXUY delivers a CEX-like user experience.
DLC.Link: A self-custodial Bitcoin cross-chain financial solution. It innovatively adopts a relatively secure and efficient method to bring BTC onto public blockchains with smart contract capabilities (such as Ethereum), enabling direct access to mature DeFi infrastructures. Users lock their Bitcoin on-chain, allowing it to be utilized by Ethereum and other smart contract blockchains. This “trustless bridge” enables lending, trading, derivatives, and more. DLC.Link plans to officially launch dlcBTC, a non-custodial form of Bitcoin, in February 2024.
UniSat: As a leading market participant, UniSat continuously open-sources and optimizes high-performance indexing-based Bitcoin infrastructure, advancing native protocol development. Its wallet holds a prominent position in the current Bitcoin Ordinals trading market. According to the latest data from Dune Analytics, UniSat wallet accounts for approximately 10% to 20% of market trading volume and transaction time, serving around 60,000 unique users. Additionally, UniSat recently launched brc20-swap—the industry’s first native Ordinals exchange platform—enabling users to deploy new trading pairs and add liquidity.
TNA: TNA is a protocol for issuing and managing Bitcoin Name Assets based on the Taproot Assets Protocol (“TAP”). Designed for seamless integration with the Lightning Network and potentially other Bitcoin networks, TNA unlocks a range of utilities including user-friendly Bitcoin addresses, social platform identifiers, and decentralized identifiers (DID). This not only enhances practicality within the Bitcoin ecosystem but also improves user experience.
BEL2: As a second-layer network for Bitcoin (BTC), BeL2 aims to revolutionize the ecosystem by enabling smart contract functionality for BTC and other innovative assets built on Bitcoin. This initiative will usher Bitcoin and related innovative assets into a breakthrough era of smart contracts. BeL2 distinguishes itself from other Bitcoin Layer 2 projects through its unparalleled ability to integrate all Bitcoin-native innovative assets into the smart contract domain—a significant leap forward in blockchain technology.
Since 2023, CGV has published research reports on the Bitcoin ecosystem and secondary market trends, including:
CGV Tendency｜Can Bitcoin Continue Rising After Failed Breakout?
CGV Tendency｜Why We Remain Bullish on BTC’s Performance in H2?
CGV Tendency｜Endgame Approaching: Uptrend Possible in Q2
CGV Tendency｜Seize the Q1 Pullback Opportunity—Persistence Pays Off
Entering 2024, CGV has initiated investment and market partnerships with projects such as BEVM (a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution), Xlink (a Bitcoin cross-chain infrastructure), NostrAssets (a Taproot assets trading platform), and BitSmiley (a Bitcoin stablecoin protocol), further enriching and refining its strategic positioning within the BTC ecosystem.
AI and Web3 Convergence (Web3×AI)
The convergence of Web3 and AI is becoming an inevitable trend—these two fields are no longer evolving independently but increasingly intertwining. CGV continues to explore innovative projects that integrate AI technologies with Web3 applications in areas such as DeFi, NFTs, computing power, and data management, pushing the boundaries of innovation between Web3 and AI, and identifying and empowering more practical and cutting-edge Web3×AI solutions.
Since 2023, key Web3×AI investments and initiatives (partial list) include:
CharacterX: An innovative platform for a decentralized AI companion network where users can chat, create, invest, and earn through AI characters. This platform is more than just an app—it is a dynamic ecosystem designed to provide a sustainable environment for AI creators, consumers, and investors via creative AI-powered NFT mechanisms.
AIFocus Accelerator: On December 1, 2023, CGV jointly announced the launch of AIFocus Accelerator in Hong Kong with Web3 Labs—an accelerator program dedicated to startups at the intersection of Web3 and artificial intelligence (AI). It aims to provide comprehensive support—including technical guidance, funding, and resources—to teams with forward-thinking ideas and commercial potential in the integrated field of Web3 and AI.
Deeper Network: An innovative company focused on Web3 and cybersecurity. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, the company has pioneered integrations in cybersecurity, network sharing, and blockchain technology. Deeper Network Inc. strives to build and implement a next-generation internet infrastructure, upholding the principle of “by users, for users,” prioritizing individual privacy and ensuring full ownership over personal traffic and data rights.
DOKO.ai: The first platform to use Web3 knowledge and information within AI scenarios. Users can leverage their NFT holdings to randomly initiate conversations in communities and ask any Web3-related questions. DOKO’s AI chat integrates unique Web3 training models, featuring specific cryptocurrency market analysis strategies and supporting independently trained models.
Since 2023, CGV has published research reports on Web3×AI, including:
CGV Research | AIxDePIN: What New Opportunities Will Emerge from This Hot Collision of Trends?
Entering 2024, CGV has initiated investment and market partnerships with projects such as AIBS (an AI application marketplace and payment indexer), Network3 (an AI-focused Layer 2 protocol), and Alaya (a distributed AI data collection and annotation platform), further enhancing its strategic footprint in the Web3×AI convergence space.
Modular Tech Stack and Ethereum Ecosystem
Open-source, modular tech stacks help unlock innovation by enabling new projects to build on more specialized and competitive foundational layers. At the same time, we focus on innovative applications on Ethereum Layer 2 networks—such as DeFi, cross-chain and bridging services, GameFi, Sociafi, NFT platforms, and metaverse applications—providing new growth and innovation opportunities for users and developers.
CGV believes that with the advancement of Ethereum Layer 2 applications such as Blast and Optimism, Ethereum may continue to maintain its leadership in the decentralized application and smart contract sectors.
Since 2023, key investments and initiatives in modular tech stack and the Ethereum ecosystem (partial list) include:
Celestia: The industry’s first modular blockchain network, focused on building a scalable data availability layer, enabling the transition from monolithic blockchains to scalable modular blockchain architectures. Celestia scales by decoupling execution from consensus and introducing a novel primitive—data availability sampling—allowing every developer to deploy their own blockchain as easily as deploying a new smart contract.
Blast Ecosystem Special Investment Program: On November 27, 2023, CGV announced a $5 million dedicated fund to invest in Blast projects, jointly promoting the development of the Blast network. Blast is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 solution based on Optimistic Rollup technology. Contributors to Blast have already raised $20 million from institutions such as Paradigm, Standard Crypto, and Mechanism Capital. Blast’s EVM compatibility and developer support resources are expected to attract more developers and users, driving the prosperity and diversification of the Blast ecosystem.
zkPass: A privacy-preserving protocol for private data verification, based on MPC, ZKP, and 3-party TLS. zkPass allows users to selectively prove their verifiable data—from legal identity, financial records, medical history, social activity, work experience, education credentials, and skills—to third parties via zkSBTs, without uploading files or revealing personal details.
Since 2023, CGV has published research reports on modular tech stacks and the Ethereum ecosystem, including:
CGV Research | The Rise of Ethereum Rollups and Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS)
CGV Research | Deep Dive: How the MEV Market Evolves from “Zero-Sum Game” to “Separation of Powers”
CGV Research | Can Layer3 Spark a Boom in Application-Specific Chains?
CGV Research｜Can ZK Bridges “End the Cross-Chain Wars”?
Entering 2024, CGV has initiated investment and market partnerships with projects such as zkPass (a private data protocol based on ZK technology) and SphereX (the first DEX in the Blast ecosystem), further strengthening its strategic presence in the modular tech stack and Ethereum ecosystem sectors.
Crypto Mass Adoption
In today’s rapidly evolving digital economy, mass adoption of cryptocurrency has become a global focal point. With continuous advancements and refinements in blockchain technology and increasing popularity of digital currencies, we are witnessing an unprecedented digital financial revolution. Innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide are actively exploring and advancing this field—not only in crypto trading and storage, but also in widespread applications across daily commerce, financial services, and social governance.
Since 2023, key investments in crypto mass adoption (partial list) include:
Gameta: A multi-layer NFT gaming ecosystem offering players a comprehensive Web3 gaming and entertainment experience—from hyper-casual to immersive. Its vision is to build a multifunctional platform integrating gaming, information, and investment. Gameta aims to lead billions of Web2 users into the Web3 world by attracting them with a suite of hyper-casual games. It ranks first in active users on the BNB Chain and is a winner of Binance Labs’ Most Valuable Builder incubation program.
Anima: A blockchain AR technology provider offering NFT solutions based on AR art creation. Founded in 2021, it has launched the first on-chain AR digital assets: [Onlybots], LEGO-style pets supporting AR that users can collect and trade; [Mirror], an AR sculpture collection; [Boombox], AR speakers; [Cernan], an astronaut AR sculpture, among others.
Marquee: A Web3 insurance and options derivatives project enabling users to purchase token price insurance or smart contract insurance to hedge against digital asset volatility or security vulnerabilities. Users can also become insurers to earn multiple rewards. Marquee is committed to decentralization, combining DAO governance with smart contracts to create a DeFi insurance and derivatives platform accessible to everyone.
SkyArk: SkyArk Chronicles is a Triple-A fantasy JRPG game featuring interoperable NFTs. It is a trilogy comprising two GameFi titles (“House of Heroes” and “Legends Arise”) and one SocialFi metaverse (“Mirrorverse”). Developed by Singapore-based blockchain game studio SkyArk Studio, the project aims to replicate the success of Hong Kong unicorn Animoca by building an ecosystem to incubate crypto projects using the studio’s proprietary resources.
Since 2023, CGV has published research reports on crypto mass adoption, including:
CGV Research ｜Telegram VS X: Who Will Dominate the Super App Race in the Web3 Era?
CGV Research ｜Anti-Inflation Stablecoins: Why Did Vitalik Rank It Among the Top 3 Crypto Trends of 2023?
CGV Research｜TON Reborn: Technological Advancements and Future Outlook of Telegram Open Network
CGV Research｜In-Depth Analysis of Cross-Chain Gaming: Past, Present, and Future
CGV Research｜The Path to One Billion Users in Web3 Applications
Looking ahead to 2024, we see a world brimming with innovation and boundless possibilities. Blockchain technology and related fields—Bitcoin ecosystem, AI and Web3 convergence, Ethereum Layer 2 applications, DePIN networks, TON and Solana ecosystems, and emerging blockchain tech stacks—are undergoing rapid development.
Every advancement in crypto and Web3 marks another step toward a more decentralized, efficient, and secure digital future.
In 2024, let’s move forward together!
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