Cross-chain DEX and self-hosted Layer 2 wallet Portal, which ensures quick, private, and secure atomic swaps between Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and other digital assets, closed an $8.5 million funding round to build a non-censorable, self-sovereign DeFi on Bitcoin. The announcement precedes their public token sale on Republic.co launchpad next month.
Funding round was led by Coinbase
The Coinbase Ventures-led funding round saw participation from Republic.co, Shima Ventures, LD Capital, ArringtonXRP Capital, OKEx, Monday Capital, GenBlock, Taureon, B21 Capital, Autonomy Capital, Krypital, the founders and senior executives of Ethereum (ETH/USD), DFINITY, Galaxy Digital, Bitcoin.com, MobileCoin, Republic, Hedera Hashgraph, Centre.io, Polymath, 4K, and more.
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Portal CEO Eric Martindale said,
“By bringing a fast, peer-to-peer, Layer 2 exchange — with the speed of centralized exchanges but with privacy — Portal is delivering on the promise of self-sovereignty for everyone. The current centralized exchanges, false “decentralized” DEXs, custodially wrapped tokens, and censorable ecosystems all threaten Bitcoin’s promise of self-sovereignty. Fabric technology enables Layer 3 privacy on cross-chain transactions and eliminates the need for centralized custodians.”
Brain Johnson of Republic Capital said:
“Interoperability is a necessity for blockchain to bridge into the mainstream finance world. Republic Capital invested in Portal with this future in mind. Utilizing Bitcoin’s security as an anchor, we believe the Portal and its team are in a unique position to build one of the leading bridges in DeFi.”
Combining trust minimization with liquidity and speed
Portal combines the trust minimization guarantees of Bitcoin and the liquidity and speed of centralized platforms. The DEX decentralizes finance using options, spot markets, and p2p lending and borrowing through peer to peer, on-chain contracts without any third party control or custody.
Michael Arrington, founder of ArringtonXRP and TechCrunch, said:
“Decentralized cross-chain bridging is one of the hardest problems in crypto right now, especially as multiple blockchains gain real traction. We’re excited to see Portal’s Bitcoin-native approach to multichain transfers go live and provide an alternative bridging mechanism to the growing number of active on-chain users.”
Cutting edge Fabric technology at core
Fabric, the Layer 2 and Layer 3 technology at the core of Portal, is an open-source toolbox for layering censorship resistance on top of the Bitcoin base. Fabric makes it possible to execute smart contracts for liquidity, P2P swaps, asset issuance, staking, and more privately and off-chain. Portal uses Bitcoin’s “hash time-locked contracts” to prevent fund loss and counterparty risk.
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