Quick take:
- Portal is building a solution that enables secure peer-to-peer swapping of Bitcoin across a range of blockchains.
- The solution allows users to swap Bitcoin in seconds without giving up their custody, privacy or security.
- The company also plans to launch a range of institutional-grade products in the coming months including an AI-powered, co-pilot investment application.
Portal, the decentralised exchange platform for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has exited stealth mode with a $34 million seed round backed by Coinbase Ventures, Arrington Capital, OKX Ventures, Gate.io and others. The fundraising follows Portal’s $8.5 million angel round announced in September 2021.
Portal’s suite of technology products seeks to address one of the biggest challenges decentralised finance apps face. With hackers stealing more than $2.5 million through cross-bridge breaches over the past two years, the company is building a solution that enables secure peer-to-peer swapping of Bitcoin across a range of blockchains.
Users will be able to swap Bitcoin in seconds without giving up their custody, privacy or security.
“Bridges, centralized exchanges and other custodial solutions that enable cross-chain exchange have been vulnerable and insecure for as long as they have existed,” said Chandra Duggirala, co-founder and CEO of Portal.
“From the very early days of Mt. Gox to FTX, centralized exchanges have been a persistent source of risk to user funds. Now, the risk remains, but it has taken a new form in bridges and other custodial cross-chain solutions. Portal intends to solve the problem of custodial risk once and for all using secure and transparent Layer 2 atomic swap technology. With the support of our investors, we look forward to introducing cross-chain infrastructure that finally enables users to execute trades quickly and safely.”
Portal said it will use the funds to accelerate the development of its two flagship products.
Portal DEX is a Bitcoin-based exchange that enables Layer 2 atomic swaps of cryptocurrencies across blockchains. The company said its DEX platform operates at greater speed, lower cost and with increased transparency, security and interoperability. On the other hand, Portal Wallet is a fully non-custodial tool that integrates Portal DEX, allowing users to receive, store and send cryptocurrencies across blockchains.
Dora Yue, founder of OKX Ventures commented: “Portal is carving a unique niche in the evolving Bitcoin landscape, crafting an innovative, cross-chain, private DEX protocol that masterfully addresses the complexities and risks of both centralized and decentralized exchanges.”
The Bitcoin ecosystem has quickly become a major force in the dApp market since the emergence of Ordinals. More developers are now more willing to tap into the power of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, and Portal looking to build on that with a planned launch of more easy-to-use tools that were previously only available to institutions and hedge funds.
Michael Arrington, founder and partner of Arrington Capital added: “Portal is rapidly pushing ahead the Bitcoin ecosystem by enabling fast and low-cost economic activity without being beholden to third parties. As one of the largest asset classes, Bitcoin will be more accessible and secure for individuals thanks to Portal’s unique approach to access, security and products.”
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