on the crypto
Chia Network, led by BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen with the goal of creating a programmable money platform, has just raised another $ 5 million in a round led by Slow Ventures.
$ 16 million of venture capital raised over 3 years
Despite the resurgence of token sales this summer, Cohen said that since 2018 the plan has been to follow the IPO route and rely on venture capital until the launch of the token. Meanwhile, the team continues to work to bring early-stage contributions closer to the gaming industry and attract a Chia-focused developer community.
Cohen explained that the Chia network uses “plots” of empty space on computers instead of proof-of-work mining like bitcoin. This latest equity round included Collab Crypto, IDEO, and other returning investors such as Naval Ravikant.
The startup has now raised about $ 16 million in total venture capital since it launched in 2017, according to Cohen, who added that the startup will use the funds to grow the team.
Perspectives
IDEO's Gavin McDermott said his company trusts this blockchain close to launch because the creators of Chia are "the first Internet pioneers" who have already "achieved significant milestones in terms of public node participation", currently estimated at over 1.430.
Slow Ventures' Jill Carlson said she is looking forward to the mainnet launch, scheduled for the end of the year, explaining that the venture capital community at the moment is more focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized applications (dapp).
Like many crypto startups in 2020, Chia's team is focused on DeFi applications. Cohen said Chia is poised to take Ethereum's market share - here is our guide to invest - offering DeFi capabilities to match in 2021, while Ethereum may still struggle to scale
Chia President Gene Hoffman added: “It is functional like Ethereum. It might force you to act differently than Ethereum, but there are good reasons for doing so. "
Market strategies
Chia's team aims to make money using traditional business-to-business offerings, even if the technology is built through an open source hybrid model.
Hoffman said the goal is to get "vertical providers" like Paxful or banks interested in these tools and services rather than mass-market play directly through retail.
Hoffman also added that he is already exploring various opportunities with several potential clients, including government agencies, for live pilot tests when the network launches in several months.
“That market [government agencies] is coming under pressure from Chinese blockchain initiatives,” Hoffman said. “[The banks] are worried that they have to get all their transactions through Manhattan. … They too agree on wanting all the positive aspects of an open network that can still use decentralized identity types ”.
