T-Rex Completes $17M Pre-Seed Round from Portal Ventures, Framework Ventures and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures

Traditional Web2 platforms are usually controlled by centralized companies, and the data and traffic value generated by users are aggregated and commercialized by the platform

A new consumer Web3 platform is aiming to bring the "attention economy" to mainstream Internet users and content creators.

T-Rex, a Web3 consumer entertainment and content distribution platform, has secured Pre-Seed funding of $17 million. The investment round was led by Portal Ventures and Framework Ventures, with participation from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures and several strategic partners.

The platform, which is designed for optimal performance on the Arbitrum chain, aims to solve the “digital ghost town” phenomenon and “mercenary user” problems in the blockchain ecosystem. It is also developing a Chrome extension for optimal integration with social media and video platforms.

Targeting the ‘attention engine’ of ordinary consumers

T-Rex is focusing on expanding the Web3 ecosystem by merging the strengths of Web2 platforms with Web3 technologies.

The platform is highlighting the principles of decentralization, user ownership, and value consensus that are emphasized by Web3. In contrast to traditional Web2 platforms, which are usually controlled by centralized companies and aggregate the data and traffic value generated by users for commercialization, rendering it difficult for users to directly benefit from their own content creation or interaction, T-Rex empowers users.

The platform records users' interactive behaviors on social media and video platforms on the chain and gives cryptographic rewards according to the principles of the "attention economy". It aims to solve the problems of "digital ghost town" and "mercenary user" in the blockchain ecosystem and introduce more mainstream Web2 user groups, such as those who use social entertainment platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter daily, as well as content creators, game players, etc., who have a high degree of participation in entertainment content.

The T‑Rex technology stack is built with the Nitro engine provided by Arbitrum Orbit. It inherits the advantages of Arbitrum's customizable chain, achieving ultra-high throughput, low latency, and extremely low transaction costs to meet the needs of consumer-level applications for instant response.

Its core innovation is the Proof-of-Engagement (PoE) consensus mechanism: the platform uses browser plug-ins to covertly capture users' interactive behaviors on common social platforms, and generates privacy-protected on-chain proofs for behaviors such as likes, video watching, and content sharing, and automatically issues points and token rewards. This mechanism focuses on verifying and evaluating real user interactions, effectively distinguishing between real users and machine behaviors.

To improve the user experience, T‑Rex is designed with the concept of simplifying the process and lowering the threshold. Users only need to install the T‑Rex browser plug-in to continue browsing on commonly used social media and video websites. All interactions are automatically recorded and instantly exchanged for rewards, without manually creating wallets or needing to understand encryption technology. The plug-in is scheduled to be launched this summer. Its familiar interface makes users feel like they are using a normal Web2 platform, while completing Web3 chaining and reward distribution in the background.

The platform also provides developers with comprehensive documentation, APIs, and SDKs to simplify the development and access of consumer-grade dApps, and has established an incubation fund of approximately US$8 million to support ecosystem construction, technical resources, and community operations.

In terms of security, T‑Rex introduces zkTLS (zero-knowledge transport layer security) technology to protect data privacy and achieve secure connection between Web2 content data and Web3 reward links. In addition, as a chain built on Ethereum ecological technology, T‑Rex inherits Ethereum's security and wide compatibility, and can be seamlessly integrated with mainstream wallets such as MetaMask and other Ethereum ecological protocols, facilitating cross-chain asset flow and development tool reuse.

Token incentive + attention economy: Is it feasible?

There have been projects that target user attention and convert it into crypto rewards. The Brave browser, which has been online for several years, is a representative of such projects and is also considered an early explorer of the Web3 attention economy.

Brave launched the optional Brave Rewards feature in 2019, providing rewards based on Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token (BAT). Brave Rewards allows users to selectively watch privacy-protected ads and receive BAT rewards based on the number of views and engagement. Brave takes 30% of the user's advertising revenue, and the remaining 70% is distributed to the user. Users can use the BAT they receive to reward websites or content creators, or withdraw it to crypto wallets such as Uphold and Gemini, or use it for consumption scenarios such as purchasing gift cards.

According to data recently released by Brave co-founder Brendan Eich, as of April 2025, Brave's monthly active users will reach 87 million, and its daily active users will be about 36 million, indicating that its market acceptance is still considerable. Brendan said that Brave's goal this year is to achieve 100 million monthly active users.

Although Brave and T-Rex are similar in concept, both aiming to convert users' browsing or