Babylon, a project focused on creating a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world, has made a significant breakthrough in the crypto industry by raising $70 million in the largest funding round ever in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The funding round, led by Paradigm, saw substantial contributions from prominent investors such as Bullish Capital, Polychain Capital, HashKey Capital, Hack VC, Galaxy Digital, and others.
TLDR
- Babylon has raised $70 million in the largest funding round ever in the Bitcoin ecosystem, led by Paradigm with significant contributions from Bullish Capital, Polychain Capital, and other investors.
- Babylon aims to build a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world by allowing Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems to acquire staking capital from Bitcoin, the largest decentralized crypto asset.
- Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking protocol enables PoS systems to introduce Bitcoin as a staking asset, providing higher crypto-economic security compared to native tokens and reducing inflation pressure on PoS chains.
- The funding will accelerate Babylon’s mission to make Bitcoin the security backbone of PoS systems, advancing the utility of Bitcoin beyond its traditional roles and enhancing the security of the entire blockchain ecosystem.
- Babylon launched the world’s first trustless Bitcoin staking testnet in February 2024, demonstrating the platform’s potential to evolve Bitcoin into the security backbone of PoS systems.
The primary objective of Babylon is to enable a Bitcoin-secured decentralized economy by allowing Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems, including PoS chains, Layer 2 solutions, Data Availability (DA) layers, and oracles, to acquire staking capital from Bitcoin.
By leveraging the largest decentralized crypto asset, Babylon aims to enhance the security and stability of the entire blockchain ecosystem.
At the core of Babylon’s innovative approach is the Bitcoin Staking protocol. This protocol allows PoS systems to introduce Bitcoin as a staking asset through its modular design and slashing functionality.
By doing so, PoS systems can benefit from the higher crypto-economic security provided by Bitcoin compared to native tokens.
This not only strengthens the overall security of the PoS systems but also helps reduce inflation pressure on PoS chains, ultimately enhancing the financial utility for Bitcoin holders.
David Tse, co-founder of Babylon, expressed excitement about the successful funding round, stating,
“This funding will accelerate our mission to make Bitcoin the security backbone of PoS systems. Our team is dedicated to advancing the utility of Bitcoin beyond its traditional roles and enhancing the security of the entire blockchain ecosystem.”
Investors have also expressed confidence in Babylon’s vision and potential. Arjun Balaji, Investment Partner at Paradigm, emphasized the novelty and fundamental nature of trustless staking, stating,
“We are thrilled to partner with David Tse and the Babylon team, who are among the best researchers and builders pushing at the frontier of Bitcoin innovation.”
Alasdair Foster, CEO of Bullish Capital, highlighted the significance of Babylon’s solution, saying,
“The ability for holders to stake their bitcoin whilst retaining their keys is a significant breakthrough. It is a hard problem that has been solved by Babylon with some cryptographic genius.”
Babylon’s journey has been marked by significant milestones, including the launch of the world’s first trustless Bitcoin staking testnet in February 2024.
This testnet saw over 100,000 stakers within 48 hours, demonstrating the platform’s potential to evolve Bitcoin into the security backbone of PoS systems.
By unlocking the value of the over $1 trillion Bitcoin ecosystem and enabling Bitcoin to be used as a staking asset, Babylon aims to reduce the reliance on native tokens and introduce a more secure and decentralized approach to staking.
This not only enhances the overall security of the blockchain ecosystem but also provides Bitcoin holders with new opportunities to earn yields without compromising their holdings.
