This week, the blockchain industry witnessed a significant surge in funding, with 34 startups raising a total of $109.3 million across various investment rounds. This funding frenzy demonstrates the growing interest in blockchain technology and its potential to transform various industries.

Nexus Laboratories, a web3 startup, secured $25 million in a series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Pantera Capital. The funding will support the development of Nexus 1.0, a zero-knowledge virtual machine. Layer3, a New York-based startup, raised $15 million in a series A funding round co-led by ParaFi and Greenfield Capital. The company's omnichain identity and distribution protocol streamlines user engagement and token distribution across over 25 blockchains.

NEAR Foundation's spinout, Nuffle Labs, garnered $13 million in funding to advance NEAR's modularity and promote decentralized development. Ava Protocol, formerly OAK Network, completed a $10 million seed funding round, with investors like Electric Capital backing its vision of intent-centric autonomous transactions. Irys, previously Bundlr Network, concluded an $8.9 million strategic round led by Lemniscap to improve on-chain data management and combat misinformation.

Symbiotic secured $5.8 million in a seed round led by Paradigm and cyber.Fund to develop its shared security protocol. Kima Network raised $5 million in pre-seed funding led by Blockchange Ventures and FinSec Innovation Lab to bridge traditional finance with decentralized finance tools.

These funding rounds demonstrate the growing interest in blockchain technology and its potential to transform various industries. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, we can expect to see more innovative projects securing funding and driving progress in the web3 space.

In addition to these funding rounds, Paradigm, a prominent crypto-focused venture capital firm, announced a new $850 million fund targeting crypto projects in their earliest stages. This move further solidifies the firm's commitment to supporting the growth and development of the blockchain industry.

The surge in funding for blockchain startups is a testament to the growing recognition of the technology's potential. As the industry continues to mature, we can expect to see more innovative applications of blockchain technology across various sectors.

In other news, the crypto gaming space is gaining traction, with Notcoin's airdrop claim ending on June 16. Notcoin's NOT token has seen significant growth, with a price spike in early June pushing the token above a $2 billion market cap. The game has amassed nearly 2.5 million on-chain holders and millions of players through exchanges.

Other Telegram-based games, such as Hamster Kombat, Yescoin, and TapSwap, are following suit with similar plans, with Hamster Kombat amassing 150 million players ahead of its crypto integration. The Open Network and its native Toncoin (TON) are also reaping the benefits from the growing attention, with TON jumping to a new all-time high price of $8.25.

Overall, the blockchain industry is witnessing a significant surge in funding and adoption, with innovative projects and applications emerging across various sectors. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, we can expect to see more exciting developments in the web3 space.