Quick take:
Variational is developing a peer-to-peer crypto derivatives trading protocol on the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum.
The fundraising closed over three years ago, with the company beginning operations as a market maker in January 2022.
Variational has since pivoted to building a DeFi protocol, which is currently in a test network and is set for the mainnet launch soon.
Variational, a decentralised Finance Protocol built on the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum has revealed it completed a $10.3 million seed funding round.
The fundraising was led by Bain Capital Crypto and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India and Southeast Asia), with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, North Island Ventures and Hack VC.
The fundraising closed over three years ago, with the company beginning operations initially as a market maker in January 2022. Variational has since pivoted to developing a decentralised finance platform for trading crypto derivatives.
The platform is currently in the test network with the decision to announce the seed round now, deemed strategic ahead of the mainnet launch.
Variational co-founder and CEO Lucas Schuermann told The Block the fundraising was structured as equity with 1:1 standard token warrants.
Schuermann described Variational as a generalised peer-to-peer trading and settlement protocol, adding that it is not a decentralised exchange.
“As active participants in crypto OTC trading, we saw a number of risks and inefficiencies in the manual nature of bilateral trading,” Schuermann said, reflecting the company’s early beginnings as a market maker. “We had a vision that any two people in the world should be able to seamlessly execute a customized derivatives contract using automated infrastructure.”
The company already has two products built on its platform, Omni, a retail-focused platform for trading perpetual futures and Pro, a platform focused on institutional traders. The company plans to add more apps in the future, particularly those with yield-generation features and lending.
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