Violet Secures $15M From Coinbase and Others for New Exchange

Blockchain infrastructure provider Violet has raised $15 million from a group of venture capital companies to launch its new decentralized exchange (DEX) dubbed Mauve. 

The new financing round saw participation from Coinbase Ventures, BlueYard Capital, Balderton, Ethereal Ventures, and Brevan Howard. The funding will be used to promote the DEX, which will officially debut this summer. 

Bridge the Gap Between Traditional Markets and Crypto 

According to the press release, the DEX is designed to bring the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and Traditional finance (TradeFi) together to empower investors worldwide.

Mauve will offer a suite of product offerings related to the two financial systems to crypto enthusiasts around the globe, bridging the gap between DeFi and TradeFi. 

“We envision a future without intermediaries where all financial products and services run on decentralized crypto rails. This vision requires deep integration between TradFi and DeFi and is the reason why we started Violet and now Mauve,” said Philipp Banhardt, co-founder at Violet. 

Mauve to Leverage Violet’s On-Chain Compliance 

As a decentralized exchange that prioritizes compliance and safety for its users, Mauve will require users to undergo rigorous compliance checks to ensure that even those who are restricted from centralized and custodial exchanges feel safe migrating to DeFi. 

The DEX protocol will leverage Violet’s securities, including multi-factor authentication for security and identity continuity, to achieve this aim.

Furthermore, Mauve will rely on Violet’s on-chain compliance infrastructure to issue privacy-preserving compliance credentials. According to the release, the credentials are composable across other applications and will ultimately position Mauve as the cornerstone of a far-reaching compliant DeFi ecosystem that leverages Violet’s credentials.

Direct Response to FTX Fallout 

Markus Maier, another co-founder at Violet, said that Mauve was a direct response to the FTX fallout, which raised concerns and brought distrust to the emerging economy. 

While FTX handled its customer’s assets, Maier explained that Mauve would be a self-custodial exchange with zero access to the user’s funds.

“Mauve empowers its users to trade without surrendering custody of their assets. This means no one can access, much less steal, any retail or institutional investor’s funds, helping to restore confidence among market participants,” Maier said. 

Violet said Mauve has applied to register as a digital asset service provider (DASP). If approved, the DEX will legally provide its product offerings to users in compliance with AML and sanctions law.