Reach, a blockchain development platform designed to simplify the creation of decentralized apps (dapps), announced today that it has raised $12 million in funding to expand its offerings and launch a commercial version of the toolkit.
The platform currently supports the development of dapps for both Ethereum and Algorand, although Reach’s announcement suggests a “growing pool of partner protocols.” Reach likens its platform to the launch of Apple’s iOS platform for mobile apps, suggesting that it will make it easier for developers to design and launch their own blockchain-powered apps and services.
According to Reach, the $12 million funding values the company at $48 million, although the press release does not state who led or participated in the round. A representative for Reach declined to name the investors when asked by Decrypt. The firm was previously the recipient of an Algorand Foundation grant.
Founded in late 2019, Reach now claims to have 1,000 developers building on the platform, which has thus far produced decentralized games, auctions, and non-fungible token (NFT) crypto collectibles projects—but not commercial-level products.
Reach plans to use the funding in part to create a commercial version of its platform for enterprise-grade smart contacts (industry jargon for the computer code used to run decentralized applications), to handle larger volumes of transactions as well as higher-value assets. The firm also intends to build further features into the platform, expand its team, develop further instructional materials, and pursue potential developer acquisitions.
Ethereum is the leading smart contract platform for decentralized app development, although its network congestion and high gas fees (the variable cost of making transactions on the network) have pushed some developers to look at competing blockchain platforms—or adopt layer-2 scaling solutions on top of Ethereum.
Ethereum is in the process of transitioning from the current, energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus model to a more efficient proof-of-stake model called Ethereum 2.0.
Algorand, meanwhile, was built from the ground up as a proof-of-stake blockchain designed around a dual-layer architecture, providing fast transactions and comparatively low fees compared to Ethereum. However, Ethereum’s market cap is dramatically larger—almost 58 times larger than Algorand’s cap as of this writing, according to Nomics.
