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Crypto Investing Giant Paradigm Leads $20M Round for Fractional NFT Protocol

Fractional, which allows for collective non-fungible token ownership, is rebranding as Tessera.

Updated May 11, 2023, 6:49 p.m. Published Aug 17, 2022, 6:05 p.m.
Fractional is rebranding as  Tessera. (Yuga Labs)
Fractional is rebranding as Tessera. (Yuga Labs)

Fractional, a protocol that enables collective ownership and governance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is rebranding as Tessera, and it also revealed a $20 million funding round led by crypto-native investment giant Paradigm that closed earlier this summer.

  • NFTs are unique digital assets such as images or music that include proof of ownership. While the tokens are singular by definition, fractional NFT ownership is possible when the asset is locked into a decentralized platform and is then split into multiple fungible tokens.
  • Fractional NFT ownership opens up bragging rights and loan collateral for expensive or highly desired assets, reducing both the costs and the risks.

Read more: How Can You Share an NFT? Fractional NFTs Explained

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  • “NFTs are transforming how people interact, build community and view governance, so we’re transforming, too – from a simple smart contract to full-blown NFT infrastructure to support the future of collective ownership,” the Fractional (now rebranded as Tessera) team wrote in a Medium post.
  • Other investors in the Series A funding round included Focus Labs, Uniswap Labs Ventures, eGirl Capital and Yunt Capital.
  • Last year, Paradigm launched a then record-breaking $2.5 billion crypto-focused venture capital fund, a title that was stripped in May when Andreessen Horowitz started a $4.5 billion investment vehicle.

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  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
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Turkey's Paribu Buys CoinMENA in $240M Deal, Expanding Into High-Growth Crypto Markets

Yasin Oral, Founder and CEO of Paribu (center) and Dina Sam’an (left) and Talal Tabbaa (right), Co-Founders of CoinMENA (Paribu, modified by CoinDesk)

With the acquisition, Paribu gains regulatory foothold in Bahrain and Dubai and access to the region's fast-growing crypto user base.

What to know:

  • Paribu acquires Bahrain- and Dubai-based CoinMENA for up to $240 million.
  • Deal marks Turkey’s biggest fintech acquisition and first international crypto M&A, the firm said.
  • The move taps into the MENA region’s fast-growing crypto user base and supportive regulatory hubs.