Quick take:
The funding values Bitlayer at $300 million and brings the total raised to $16 million following a $5 million seed round announced in March this year.
Stake Capital Group, WAGMI Ventures, Skyland Ventures, Flow Traders, GSR Ventures, FalconX, Metalpha, 280 Capital, Presto Labs, and Caladan also joined the Series A round.
Franklin Templetonâs investment makes Bitlayer the first Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure project to receive a strategic investment from an ETF-licensed institution.
Bitlayer Labs has closed an $11 million Series A round co-led by Franklin Templeton and ABCDE. The fundraising values the Bitcoin layer-2 at $300 million, also bringing the total raised to $16 million. Bitlayer raised $5 million in a seed round announced in March this year, which ABCDE co-led with Framework Ventures.
The Series A round also attracted participation from Stake Capital Group, WAGMI Ventures, Skyland Ventures, Flow Traders, GSR Ventures, FalconX, Metalpha, 280 Capital, Presto Labs, and Caladan, with DOMO, the creator of BRC20, Brian Kang, cofounder of FactBlock KBW among those joining as angel investors.
Franklin Templetonâs investment makes Bitlayer the first Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure project to receive a strategic investment from an ETF-licensed institution, the BitVM-based startup said in a statement.
The company plans to use the fresh funding for expansion including supporting selected native Web3 protocols built within its ecosystem.
Commenting on the fundraising, Charlie Hu, co-founder of Bitlayer Labs lauded the backing from some of the worldâs leading funds as his company looks to accelerate the development of its Bitcoin L2.
âThis Series A funding from some of the most respected entities in the blockchain space validates our mission to make breakthroughs in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Our goals include achieving Bitcoin finality, establishing a Bitcoin security-equivalent native Layer 2, and making history in the Bitcoin world,â Hu said.
Bitlayer launched its Mainnet-V1 in April this year and has continued to build V2, a Bitcoin-native rollup powered by a Bitcoin-friendly proof system that combines both ZK and fraud proofs.
Kevin Farrelly, Managing Principal of Franklin Templeton Digital Assets commented: âWe believe that Bitlayerâs unique approach and technology has the potential to unlock new use cases and opportunities for Bitcoin, and we look forward to exploring collaboration opportunities with our Bitcoin-focused financial products. This investment underscores our commitment to supporting innovation in the digital asset space.â
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The post Franklin Templeton and ABCDE Co-Lead $11M Series A Round for Bitcoin Layer-2 Bitlayer appeared first on NFTgators .