Quick take:
- The company is seeking a $1.5 billion valuation in the current fundraising, which is being executed via private token sale, a source told Bloomberg.
- Founded by the pseudonymous Smokey The Bera, Dev Bear and others, the EVM-compatible blockchain mainly focuses on DeFi protocols.
- Berachain counts Polychain Capital, Hack VC, and Robot Ventures among its previous investors.
Decentralised finance (DeFi) focused blockchain, Berachain is reportedly raising $69 million at a valuation of about $1.5 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg. Brevan Howard Digital and Framework Ventures are leading the round, which is being executed via a digital token sale. Bloomberg said the two venture firms declined to comment on the matter, while Berachain did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Founded by the pseudonymous Smokey The Bera, Dev Bear and others, the EVM-compatible blockchain mainly focuses on DeFi protocols, enabling trading, lending and borrowing without the use of traditional intermediaries like banks.
Some of the DeFi protocols based on the Berachain Network include the Proof-of-Liquidity staking protocol Infrared Finance, which raised $2.5 million in a seed round announced in January. Kodiak Finance, another decentralised exchange platform that leverages PoL and is incubated by Berachain also secured a $2 million seed according to an announcement shared with NFTgators last month.
The fundraising comes following an extended bearish market that saw funding for crypto projects decline significantly. According to Pitchbook, funding for Web3 startups fell for six consecutive quarters through Q3 2023, from its peak of more than $11 billion in the first quarter of 2022. However, the industry is on course for a major rebound after fundraising for the crypto sector rose for the first time in two years in Q4 2023.
The venture capital tracking and analytics platform said in a report published in February that most notable crypto ventures receiving funding seem to focus on finance and technology solutions, including the tokenization of real-world assets like real estate and stocks on the blockchain, and decentralized computing infrastructure.
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