Elixir, a DeFi protocol, has successfully concluded a Series A fundraising round, amassing a significant $7.5 million in capital while reaching a valuation of $100 million. This strategic move is poised to enhance liquidity across decentralized order book exchanges.
Leading this funding round is Hack VC. They are accompanied by substantial investments from NGC Ventures, AngelList Ventures, Bloccelerate.
Additionally, there are contributions from prominent figures at Ledger Prime, Genesis Trading, and Hudson River Trading, among other notable participants, as indicated in an official statement.
Ed Roman, Managing Partner at Hack VC, enthusiastically expressed his excitement for the investment. He emphasized the importance of pioneering elements that drive the industry forward. Proudly leading Elixir’s Series A financing, he noted that exchange liquidity has historically posed challenges.
These issues are particularly pronounced in order book-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and token ventures. They have struggled with inefficient capital utilization, relying on a limited consortium of firms.
Elixir’s widespread adoption across the industry’s order book exchanges has positioned them as frontrunners. This is due to the sophisticated technology they have developed over two years, particularly in the realm of order book liquidity on exchanges.
Elixir Protocol: Advancing from Seed to Series A Funding for Product Expansion
Transitioning from Seed to Series A, Elixir protocol is building on the momentum of its initial seed round conducted in January. This earlier round, which raised $2.1 million, received support from key investors including FalconX, Commonwealth, Chapter One, Ava Labs, and the renowned BitMEX founder, Arthur Hayes.
Philip Forte, co-founder, and CEO of Elixir protocol, expressed his excitement. He mentioned;
“We are thrilled to have concluded our Series A funding round as we set out on our product launch journey.”
With this new influx of capital, they are well-prepared to expand their in-house team and bolster their engineering efforts. This will, in turn, accelerate the implementation of their roadmap to support additional use cases by leveraging their protocol infrastructure.
Unlocking Deeper Liquidity and Expansion: The Elixir Protocol Journey
Elixir’s present team, comprised of 17 individuals, boasts a wealth of experience from reputable firms such as Gemini, Hudson River Trading, and Tokensoft.
Improving Order Book Liquidity in the DeFi Space is a paramount goal. Traditional centralized exchanges have historically preferred using order books for efficient trading.
However, as the concept of order book-based decentralized exchanges gains momentum, the persistent challenge of limited liquidity remains a pressing concern.
Order book-based decentralized exchanges offer a trading approach where users can directly execute orders with fellow traders, similar to centralized exchanges.
However, this process occurs on-chain, ensuring complete custody of their cryptocurrency assets throughout the trading process. In contrast, the common automated market maker DEX model uses liquidity pool smartcontracts for decentralized trading of specific token pairs.
Elixir empowers users to inject liquidity directly into pairs on order book exchanges. This allows them to earn maker incentives while maintaining a risk-return profile comparable to AMMs.
The team’s primary objective is to stimulate deeper liquidity. They aim to create a more streamlined trading environment characterized by narrower bid-ask spreads and increased trading volume.
Elixir’s delegated Proof-of-Stake protocol is expected to launch on the mainnet in the coming weeks. This launch will include integration with decentralized exchanges, such as Vertex, Bluefin, and WooFi.
Additionally, Elixir plans to introduce permissionless market features on dYdX V4. This initiative is scheduled to be rolled out early next year, as indicated by the team.