Katie Haun’s New Fund Joins $10M Round for Polkadot Lending Protocol Moonwell

2 years ago

As Polkadot brings its hub-and-spoke imaginativeness for the aboriginal of crypto to the fore, investors are pouring wealth into the network’s decentralized concern (DeFi) gathering blocks.

Lunar Labs is the latest squad to emerge, announcing Thursday a backing circular of $10 cardinal to substance the improvement of Moonwell Artemis, a collateralized lending protocol for Polkadot’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)–compatible Moonbeam parachain.

The backing round, which was co-led by Hypersphere Ventures and Arrington Capital, is 1 of the archetypal to diagnostic information from ex-Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Katie Haun’s caller task fund. Big names similar Lemniscap, Robot Ventures, Signum Capital and others were involved.

Moonwell Artemis volition enactment likewise to lending products similar Aave, MakerDAO and Compound by allowing users to lend crypto and instrumentality retired over-collateralized loans. The look has proven palmy successful DeFi, with Aave, MakerDAO and Compound attracting $12.06 billion, $15.84 billion and $6.89 billion successful crypto deposits, respectively.

Polkadot, which describes itself arsenic a Layer 0 network, makes it casual for Layer 1 parachains similar Moonbeam to securely communicate. This means users of Moonbeam – and truthful Moonwell Artemis – tin easy transportation worth crossed Polkadat networks without relying connected problem-prone cross-chain bridges.

Since Moonbeam is EVM-compatible, users of Ethereum, Fantom and different EVM-compatible chains volition beryllium capable to interact with Moonwell Artemis utilizing acquainted tools similar Metamask.

As for wherefore 1 mightiness privation to get crypto against precocious collateral, Luke Youngblood, who near Coinbase to co-found Lunar Labs, gives the illustration of paying rent.

“It’s large to beryllium capable to instrumentality retired stablecoins and wage bills successful the existent satellite without having to merchantability immoderate of your crypto,” Youngblood told CoinDesk, “especially if you person the semipermanent presumption that crypto is going to beryllium worthy much time than it is today.”

Moonwell Artemis is not acceptable to motorboat until April, but Lunar Labs is already piloting its lending protocol connected Moonbeam’s Kusama-based sister chain, Moonriver. (Polkadot projects typically motorboat archetypal connected Kusama, Polkadot’s canary network, which is utilized to trial retired caller features but has emerged arsenic a invaluable ecosystem successful its ain right.)

The aviator lending protocol, Moonwell Apollo, launched connected Moonriver connected Feb. 10 and has already amassed $230 cardinal successful total worth locked (TVL).

Over time, Lunar Labs says it plans to decentralize Moonwell merchandise improvement via the Moonwell DAO, whose WELL governance token volition beryllium distributed to Lunar Labs investors, Moonwell users and different Moonwell assemblage members. WELL won’t travel with voting rights erstwhile Artemis launches, but holders volition beryllium capable to involvement it with the protocol successful speech for rewards.

DISCLOSURE

The person successful quality and accusation connected cryptocurrency, integer assets and the aboriginal of money, CoinDesk is simply a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict acceptable of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an autarkic operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests successful cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As portion of their compensation, definite CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, whitethorn person vulnerability to DCG equity successful the signifier of stock appreciation rights, which vest implicit a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to acquisition banal outright successful DCG.

Sam is simply a quality newsman astatine CoinDesk focused connected decentralized technology, DeFi and DAOs. He owns ETH, BTC and MATIC.


Subscribe to The Node, our regular study connected apical quality and ideas successful crypto.

By signing up, you volition person emails astir CoinDesk merchandise updates, events and selling and you hold to our terms of services and privacy policy.

View source