Binance Labs Invests in Bitcoin Staking Protocol Babylon
Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of crypto exchange Binance, has made an investment in Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol. This investment is part of Binance Labs’ increased focus on supporting startups in the staking and restaking domains. Babylon aims to allow BTC holders to stake their coins on proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains and earn rewards. The protocol will help make PoS chains safer by using the security of Bitcoin to secure these networks. With Binance Labs’ investment, Babylon plans to hire more developers and launch its mainnet phase one before the end of the year.
Binance Labs’ Investment Details
The size of Binance Labs’ investment in Babylon has not been disclosed. However, it is structured similarly to Babylon’s previous seed and Series A rounds, which were equity with token warrant rounds. In December 2023, Babylon raised $18 million in Series A funding, followed by $8.8 million in seed funding in 2022.
Focus on Staking and Restaking Startups
Binance Labs has been actively investing in startups within the staking and restaking verticals. In addition to Babylon, Binance Labs has recently invested in Renzo and Puffer Finance. These two projects have quickly become the second and fourth-largest Ethereum liquid restaking protocols according to DeFiLlama data.
What is Babylon?
Babylon is a Bitcoin staking protocol that enables BTC holders to stake their coins on PoS blockchains and earn rewards. By utilizing Bitcoin’s security, Babylon helps make PoS chains safer. Currently, PoS chains rely on their native tokens for security, which can be costly for newer chains that need to offer high staking rewards to attract capital. Babylon is already supporting the Cosmos Hub ecosystem, which allows applications to have their own blockchains.
Babylon’s PoS Chain and Marketplace
Babylon is building its own PoS chain using the Cosmos SDK, and it will be the first PoS chain secured by the protocol. Additionally, Babylon plans to create a marketplace where BTC holders can restake their coins on other PoS networks through Babylon.
Hot Take: Binance Labs Continues to Support Bitcoin Narrative
Binance Labs’ investment in Babylon represents its commitment to supporting innovative projects that advance the use cases of Bitcoin. By investing in Babylon, Binance Labs is contributing to the integration of Bitcoin with the Proof-of-Stake economy. With the additional funding from Binance Labs, Babylon aims to expand its team and launch its mainnet phase one before the end of this year. This investment demonstrates Binance Labs’ continued interest in startups within the staking and restaking domains as they play a crucial role in shaping the future of cryptocurrency.
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