Mina, the world’s supposed lightest blockchain, announced today that it has raised $92 million in a fresh funding round led by FTX Ventures. This will be the first time FTX will be investing in a zero-knowledge smart contract technology.
FTX and Others Invest $92 Million in Mina
The funding was led by mainstream crypto exchange venture funding unit, FTX Ventures, and Three Arrows Capital. It also saw participation from Alan Howard, Amber Group, Blockchain.com, Brevan Howard, Circle Ventures, Finality Capital Partners, Pantera and five of Mina’s existing partners.
Commenting on the funding, Brian Lee, partner and investor at FTX Ventures, said:
“Mina’s lightweight blockchain architecture allows the protocol to reach a new level of decentralization by enabling everyone to easily participate in the network. That, combined with its native data-privacy capabilities makes it a unique L1 with massive potential to shape the future of Web3.”
Developing its Ecosystem
Mina noted that it will use the fresh capital to develop its zero-knowledge-based smart contract technology and also speed up its adoption.
The project is a layer1 blockchain protocol that allows developers to build privacy-focused decentralized applications (Dapps).
Mina describes itself as the world’s lightest blockchain. The network reportedly maintains its size regardless of the number of transactions made on it, thereby allowing users to operate a node and help secure its network without requiring an advanced system.
“We are pleased to have worked with the Mina ecosystem and world-class funds on this $92M raise. This validation from some of the most respected entities in crypto bolsters our aim to ensure that Mina becomes the go-to privacy and end-to-end security layer for Web3 while remaining powered by participants,” Evan Shapiro, CEO of the Mina Foundation said.
FTX Venture Fund Begins Operation
The latest funding means that the FTX venture fund unit has kick started its operation. Recall that in January, the exchange launched a $2 billion venture fund unit led by Amy Wu, a former partner at Lightspeed, a global venture capital firm, to support crypto and blockchain startups.
In the same month, FTX reached a 32 billion valuation, up from $25 billion last October shortly after its U.S. arm reached $8 billion valuation following a $400 million raise.
Meanwhile, just recently the exchange obtained an operating license from Dubai, UAE to offer users crypto services including crypto derivatives products and clearing services. FTX is also looking to set up a regional headquarters in the city.
