New Purpose-Built Blockchain T-Rex Raises $17 Million to Transform Attention Layer in Web3

Launching Summer 2025, T-Rex's built-in distribution engine introduces a radically simple idea: rewarding people seamlessly for doing what they already love online.

T-Rex, a purpose-built blockchain for entertainment, content, and cultural virality, today announced a $17 million fundraise and Incubation Fund to revolutionize online content publishing by seamlessly rewarding consumers for everyday interactions on social platforms.

The blockchain, which will be launching Summer 2025, is focused on cutting through the "ghost town" and "mercenary users" issues that plague decentralized applications (dApps) from achieving sustainable adoption.

Its core innovation, Proof-of-Engagement (PoE), is focused on how to seamlessly integrate and reward users for engaging with applications they already love in a privacy-preserving manner.

T-Rex is being launched by EVG, a prominent product builder and publisher in Asia, known for driving mass adoption with products like Deek, Last Odyssey, and Edgen AI, and reaches billions of users across its portfolio companies.

Announced today, T-Rex has closed an $17 million Series Seed funding round led by Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, with participation from Framework Ventures, North Island Ventures, Portal Ventures, ArkStream Capital, Mindfulness Capital, Hypersphere, SNZ, and Arche Fund.

This funding will be used to further develop T-Rex's technology and expand its ecosystem of dApps and creators.

T-Rex is powered by Arbitrum’s Layer-2 scaling solution, which delivers ultra-fast, secure, and low-cost transactions. Arbitrum Gaming Ventures is also deploying a regional strategy focused on Southeast Asia, a key growth area with the gaming market alone set to reach $7 billion by 2028.

"Arbitrum Gaming Ventures recognizes the transformative potential of platforms like T-Rex that are expanding Web3 beyond DeFi. EVG’s strong regional influence and deep understanding of the Southeast Asian market, projected to reach $7 billion by 2028, provide a strategic gateway for us to significantly scale our footprint within this high-growth region. Combining our robust scaling capabilities with EVG’s extensive ecosystem expertise, we are strategically positioned to penetrate the entertainment industry and broader consumer market in a pivotal and rapidly expanding part of the world," said Dan Peng, Partner at Arbitrum Gaming Ventures.

T-Rex: A New Kind of Blockchain for the Culture-First Internet

(UI screenshot: A user earning rewards while browsing YouTube with T-Rex’s browser extension.)

While Web3 promises a decentralized future, the current landscape is fragmented, user-unfriendly and often empty with underutilized dApps. For all its innovation, most chains lack real users, real culture and no reason to stay.

T-Rex flips the model with a simple first principle: stop trying to reinvent user habits and instead enhance them invisibly. Its core innovation, Proof-of-Engagement (PoE) mechanism, automatically rewards users on apps they already use daily through a privacy-preserving browser extension.

This turns everyday online actions like watching videos, liking posts and sharing memes into tangible, valuable digital ownership and offline perks.

“Instead of building another blockchain pipe, we’re delivering actual water: engaging content, thriving communities, real-world rewards. Users shouldn’t have to think about crypto until they want to. Our blockchain stays invisible, letting them effortlessly turn their online fun into something meaningful. It’s attention becomes equity, community becomes power and participation becomes currency,” adds Allen Ng, Co-Founder of T-Rex and EVG.

Radical Simplicity: Web3 That Feels Like TikTok, Not A Crypto Wallet

(UI screenshot: Home Discovery pushing relevant content and dApps to user.)

At launch, users simply install T-Rex’s browser extension and continue browsing popular social media platforms. Every interaction is quietly, securely recorded via advanced zero-knowledge tech (zkTLS), and seamlessly turned into rewards, no wallet or crypto jargon needed.

Creators and projects benefit from instant audience discovery and viral distribution, while T-Rex users earn rewards effortlessly, which can be redeemed both digitally and offline, such as cash back at favorite restaurants or exclusive local deals.

“The next wave of breakout applications will be defined by distribution, UI / UX, and product differentiation. The team at T-Rex gets this. They’re building a protocol that seamlessly onboards social media users and allows them to monetize their data through network rewards. We’re excited to back T-Rex as they merge protocol-native network design with clean consumer product expertise,” said Evan Fisher, Founder and General Partner of Portal Ventures.

“Web3 infrastructure has matured, but it still lacks consumer momentum because only a few use cases resonate en masse. T-Rex is a strong contender to bridge this gap. By prioritizing culture and abstracting complexity, they offer a path to broad adoption,” said Travis Scher Managing Partner and Co-founder of North Island Ventures.

T-Rex Incubation Fund to Spark Ecosystem Growth

The $8 million Incubation Fund backed by EVG with support from the Arbitrum Gaming Ventures will accelerate ecosystem growth, offering