Babylon Raises $70M in Largest Funding Round in Bitcoin Ecosystem

Babylon, a project focused on creating a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world, announced the successful completion of its $70 million funding round today, according to a May 30 Bloomberg report. This is the largest funding round ever in the Bitcoin ecosystem. 

Led by Paradigm, the round saw significant contributions from Bullish Capital, Polychain Capital, and other investors. With this latest round of funding, Babylon aims to propel its mission to ensure a Bitcoin-secured decentralized economy.

"This funding will accelerate our mission to make Bitcoin the security backbone of PoS systems, said David Tse, co-founder of Babylon. "Our team is dedicated to advancing the utility of Bitcoin beyond its traditional roles and enhancing the security of the entire blockchain ecosystem."

Babylon's Vision

Babylon seeks to build a Bitcoin-secured decentralized economy. Its Bitcoin Staking protocol allows Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems, including PoS chains, Layer 2 solutions, Data Availability (DA) layers, and oracles, to acquire staking capital from Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin, the largest decentralized crypto asset, brings higher crypto-economic security compared to native tokens. Babylon enables PoS systems to introduce Bitcoin as a staking asset through its modular design and slashing functionality.

This could unlock value from the over $1 trillion Bitcoin ecosystem. According to Babylon, Bitcoin, which serves as a store of value without much yield, can now be used to reduce inflation pressure on PoS chains and enhance its financial utility for holders. 

Babylon's approach to staking Bitcoin directly on PoS blockchains eliminates the need for intermediaries like third-party custodians, bridge technologies, or wrapping services. As per reports, this method allows users to earn yields while providing PoS chains with enhanced economic security.

In December 2023, Babylon raised $18 million in a Series A funding round, attracting investments from Polychain Capital, Hack VC, Framework Ventures, Polygon Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, OKX Ventures, and Symbolic Capital.