- August 18, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
- Category:
ZetaChain, a Layer-1 network, has successfully raised $27 million in funding to bolster its chain-agnostic platform, as announced on August 16th. Notable participants in this funding round include Blockchain.com, Sky9 Capital, Jane Street Capital, VistaLabs, Human Capital, Vy Capital, CMT Digital, and other prominent investors.
Established in 2021, the ZetaChain protocol aims to standardize interoperability between various blockchain networks, enabling seamless interaction between non-smart contract chains and the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. This innovation empowers developers to implement smart contracts on networks that do not natively support such technology, including chains like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
Smart contracts are digital agreements stored on a blockchain that execute automatically upon specific, predetermined conditions. However, facilitating communication between smart contracts across different blockchains has posed challenges within the crypto ecosystem. ZetaChain addresses this limitation by allowing developers to create omnichain decentralized applications (DApps), where assets and data can be accessed from a unified platform, irrespective of the originating blockchain, without the need for token bridging or wrapping.
ZetaChain reports a significant uptake of its platform, with over 27,000 DApp contracts deployed from a diverse array of third-party applications. These include cross-chain DeFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Web3 identity solutions, and gaming protocols. The protocol’s testnet has recorded over 13 million transactions carried out by more than 1.7 million users.
Key contributors in the crypto space have joined the project since its inception, including Ankur Nandwani (formerly of Coinbase, Brave, and 0x), Panruo Wu (an early THORchain contributor), and Brandon Truong (formerly associated with BuzzFeed, Udacity, and Yada). The core team also includes former employees from projects like Cosmos, Ignite, and ConsenSys.
In a statement, Ankur Nandwani emphasised the importance of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible cross-chain smart contracts in addressing these issues. This innovation enables decentralized software developers to create services that are faster, more secure, and easier to use.
