1inch Network Raises $175 Million from VanEck, Alameda Research
1inch Network has secured $175 million funding to enhance its products for the entrance of institutional investors.
The popular decentralized exchange 1inch Network has raised $175 million in a Series B funding round participated by some of the notable names include VanEck, Alameda Research, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Tribe Capital.
As so many new names have participated in the funding round, 1inch said it will lead to “further decentralization” of its ecosystem, “making it more democratic by allowing everyone’s votes to matter.”
The DeFi project explained that it plans to utilize the amount to expand its services and focus on traditional investors. In fact, 1inch aims to facilitate its entrance into the decentralized finance space by creating new protocols, additional utilities for the native cryptocurrency, and scaling up the contributor team.
“While continuing to keep the existing DeFi audience happy by delivering state-of-the-art products, 1inch also aims to become a gateway for institutions that want to be part of the DeFi space.” – commented Sergej Kunz, 1inch Network co-founder.
He believes that in the next few years, institutional investors will pour more than $1 trillion, which is why 1inch will focus on providing better services for them. More precisely, the project wants to onboard such investors into its 1inch Pro platform as it expects to “more than double” its current size by 2025.
$70M Turned Into $175M
1inch initially aimed to raise $70 million with this funding round. However, some most recent developments in the DeFi space and the “huge demand from valuable backers” prompted the project to increase it by over $100 million.
Tiantian Kullander, co-founder and managing partner of Amber Group, said institutional investors require “seamless access to liquidity across different protocols and chains” before they enter the space. This is why his team has chosen to invest in 1inch.
“We have been truly impressed by the 1inch team’s pace of product innovation and are extremely excited to partner with them as they continue to build the go-to hub for the DeFi ecosystem.” – Kullander added.
