Key Takeaways:
- Paradigm leads a $225 million investment in Monad Labs to develop a new layer-1 blockchain network, aiming to offer enhanced speed and reduced costs compared to Ethereum.
- Monad’s layer-1 smart contract network promises up to 10,000 transactions per second and full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), addressing Ethereum’s high transaction fee issues.
- The first quarter of 2024 saw a 38% increase in crypto VC funding, indicating a renewed optimism in cryptocurrency investments, with Paradigm negotiating an up to $850 million new fund.
In the dynamic realm of cryptocurrency investments, venture capital interest continues to ascend, with Paradigm, a leading crypto-focused venture capital (VC) firm, spearheading a substantial $225 million funding initiative.
This financial injection is poised to catalyze the development of a groundbreaking layer-1 blockchain network, heralded as a formidable rival to Solana and other leading platforms.
Monad Labs raises $225 million in funding round led by Paradigm https://t.co/3HjRZD4qis
— The Block (@TheBlock__) April 9, 2024
Monad Labs, the driving force behind this ambitious project, has successfully closed the funding round.
The initiative aims to forge a novel layer-1 smart contract network characterized by enhanced speed and reduced operational costs compared to Ethereum, the current leader in the field.
According to Monad Labs founder Keone Hon, this development marks the culmination of two years of meticulous research and innovation.
FORTUNE: Paradigm leads $225 million round for Monad Labs, which is building a layer-1 blockchain to take on Ethereum and Solanahttps://t.co/TQ7i301aLA
— Tree News (@News_Of_Alpha) April 9, 2024
In a dialogue with Fortune, Hon highlighted the unique approach of Monad Labs amidst a landscape fixated on alternative scaling solutions, stating, “We’re emerging from roughly two years of development […] At a time when a lot of the research community was focused on roll-up, data availability, and other directions of scaling, Monad basically went really deep on the pure execution side.”
Monad’s new layer-1 network is designed to be fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), boasting an impressive capacity of up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).
BREAKING: Monad announces $225 million Series A led by @Paradigm to accelerate the EVM
— The Pipeline (@pipeline_xyz) April 9, 2024
This is crypto’s largest fundraise thus far in 2024
Despite being pre-testnet, there’s more hype around Monad than crypto’s ever seen for a pre-launch L1… and for good reason 👇🧵 pic.twitter.com/VgR0tJolMf
This leap forward was announced through a March 14 X post by Monad, signaling a significant technological advancement.
Ethereum, despite its pioneering role in decentralized finance (DeFi), grapples with notable challenges, such as high transaction fees during peak usage.
Monad Labs’ execution-centric layer-1 aspires to transcend these limitations, aiming to deliver a more efficient EVM solution.
“We realized there was a huge need for a more performant EVM, and that in spite of this need, no one was really working on this problem,” Hon explained to Fortune.
Monad Labs is excited to announce a $225M fundraise, led by @paradigm pic.twitter.com/cRchQd506k
— Monad (evm/acc) (@monad_xyz) April 9, 2024
The narrative of rising crypto VC funding is further enriched by recent developments.
The Bitcoin layer-2 network Mezo heralded the completion of a $21 million Series A funding round on April 9, with Pantera Capital at the helm.
Mezo introduces an innovative yield-earning mechanism based on the duration of token holdings, described as a “Bitcoin Economic Layer.”
Paradigm leads $225 million round for Monad Labs pic.twitter.com/rJ4zm8qGoa
— Alpha Insiders (@AlphaInsiders) April 9, 2024
Moreover, recent reports indicate Paradigm’s ongoing negotiations to amass up to $850 million for a new fund, setting the stage for what could be the largest fundraising endeavor in the crypto sector since May 2022.
At that time, Andreessen Horowitz, a VC titan based in Silicon Valley, secured a record-breaking $4.5 billion.
Marking a pivotal shift in the investment landscape, crypto VC funding witnessed a resurgence in the first quarter of 2024, snapping a two-year downtrend.
Fortune：Monad Labs has completed a $225 million funding round led by Paradigm, with the funds going towards building an L1 blockchain to challenge competitors such as Solana and Sui. Monad will fully support EVM, with the goal of deploying its mainnet by the end of this year and…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 9, 2024
Investment figures surged by 38% compared to the preceding quarter, as per analytics from Crypto Koryo, heralding a renewed optimism in the potential of cryptocurrency ventures.
About The Author
Victor Fawole, a seasoned Web3 content creator and social media influencer, excels in bringing the pulse of the crypto world to our readers.
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