Crypto-focused venture capital firms Hashed and Galaxy VC have participated in a bootstrapping round for multi-chain browser wallet Liquality. The funding round saw the noncustodial wallet, which boasts over 11,000 users, raise around $7 million.
“We are always looking to partner with entrepreneurs that are building the next generation in decentralized finance products,” said Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy VC.
“Liquality’s team has a massive mission and the product exceeded our expectations in every capacity – from secure cross-chain swaps to frictionless multi-chain functionality. Given this is our first retail-focused investment, we’re especially excited to partner with Liquality.”
Building a Bridge Between Blockchains
The first multi-chain browser extension wallet with inbuilt swap capabilities, Liquality is an alternative to the popular MetaMask wallet which crossed 5 million monthly active users earlier this year. Unlike MetaMask, the ConsenSys-incubated Liquality supports the Bitcoin blockchain as well as Ethereum Web 3, Rootstock, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Near, Arbitrum and Polygon (Matic).
Capital raised in the latest round, which attracted additional investment from the likes of White Star Capital, Accomplice, Jump Capital and Coinbase, will be used to extend the Chrome wallet’s capabilities according to Liquality Co-Founder Simon Lapscher.
“With this funding round, Liquality will be able to expand on its value proposition by integrating new chains, creating native dApp experiences in the wallet, and improving the broader crypto landscape’s user experience and accessibility,” he said.
Liquality acts as a gateway to a Web3 world populated by disparate blockchains and unique decentralized applications (dApps), allowing users to trade assets from different networks without having to surrender their keys to a counterparty. Since launching its mainnet last autumn, the wallet purports to have facilitated over $35 million in cross-chain atomic swaps.
“By unifying blockchain communities within one wallet, we can offer a range of decentralized technologies and jointly create the fabric of the digital world,” says the venture’s Co-Founder Thessy Mehrain.
A Gateway to Defi
Extension wallets such as Liquality and MetaMask are most often used to interact with decentralized finance (defi) protocols concerned with trading, lending and borrowing, a sector that has drawn tens of billions of dollars into the cryptoconomy in the past 18 months. Despite the impressive growth of defi, many believe the sector could explode if key retail players embrace the technology.
Last week, PayPal boss Dan Schulman hinted at defi integrations, noting that its crypto trading platform Venmo had seen strong adoption in recent months. eCommerce giant Shopify is also adding support for the sale of NFTs, crypto assets that represent a thriving element of defi.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
