UK-based Bitfinity, a blockchain startup building a Bitcoin Layer 2 network, has secured $7 million in funding. This total investment came in two parts – $1 million in 2021 and the recent round of $6 million, which values the company at $130 million. The round was led by prominent investors – Polychain Capital and ParaFi Capital. It also saw participation from Warburg Serres, Dokia Capital, and Draft Ventures.
The funds will bolster Bitfinity’s efforts to integrate Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) capabilities with Bitcoin, potentially enabling faster and cheaper Bitcoin-enabled decentralised finance (DeFi) services. Also, it comes at a time when the mainnet launch is slated for either late January or early February.
Revolutionises DeFi space
Founded by Max Chamberlin in 2021, Bitfinity distinguishes itself as a Bitcoin scaling solution built on the Internet Computer protocol, offering compatibility with the EVM. It enables Ethereum developers to create Bitcoin-enabled decentralised applications (dApps) on the Bitfinity network. The Bitfinity EVM is touted to boast speeds 100 times faster than Ethereum. Some of the dApps that have joined Bitfinity include Sonic, Synthetix, and Liquity.
The innovative platform is currently in its testnet phase, aiming to revolutionize the DeFi space by enabling high-speed transactions at a fraction of the cost associated with Ethereum. Bitfinity’s solution boasts an impressive capability of processing over 1000 transactions per second (TPS), which could significantly outpace the current transaction speeds on the Ethereum network.
As per the company, the key component of Bitfinity’s technology is its Chain-Key technology, which is part of the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP)’s Threshold Relay consensus mechanism. This feature is designed to bolster security through a cryptographic scheme that refreshes key shares periodically, thus providing an additional layer of protection against potential security threats.
Bitfinity currently employs around 20 team members but plans to expand headcount to 25 following the upcoming mainnet launch. The hiring process aims to further enrich the project’s ecosystem by broadening its feature set.
Additionally, several cryptocurrency exchanges are expected to list Bitfinity’s native token after its mainnet debut. This presents an opportunity to improve liquidity and accessibility for the token.
