DEX Aggregator 1inch Network Raised $175M Series B Funding Round
1inch Network, the project behind the decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch app, announced Wednesday that it has closed a $175 million Series B funding round. According to the announcement, the fresh new capital will be leveraged to scale the team, foster additional 1inch token utilities, and build new protocols.
Three months ago 1inch was raising at least $70 million in Series B funding. A month after that report, 1inch said it had increased the targeted raise amount to $175 million.
Amber Group led 1inch’s Series B and it was a token funding round. Other participants in the round include Jane Street, VanEck, Alameda Research, Celsius, Nexo, and Gemini Frontier Fund.
1inch sold its tokens at a discounted price of $1.50 per token in the round. The 1INCH token is currently trading at around $3.60. The firm said it sold the tokens at a discounted price as it wanted to bring visionary investors on board to help scale the Network.
1inch Network co-founder Sergej Kunz commented:
“While continuing to keep the existing defi audience happy by delivering state-of-the-art products, 1inch also aims to become a gateway for institutions that want to be part of the defi space.
The next $1 [trillion] of assets entering defi will come from institutions rather than retail users, and 1inch would like to facilitate entry for them,” he adds. “We have already started work in that direction by attracting some key players from the traditional finance markets, and this collaboration will only accelerate over the next few years.”
Institutional clients
With the money in the pocket, 1inch Network is looking to serve institutional customers, including banks and hedge funds. The firm plans to get licensed in Europe and in the U.S., said Kunz. “First step is Europe,” he said, adding that 1inch is currently exploring available regulatory opportunities in Germany, Gibraltar, and Liechtenstein.
It’s still uncertain what type of licenses will 1inch Network will go for to be compliant to serve institutions. According to Kunz consultations with lawyers are on-going.
1inch is already working on launching a product specifically for institutions called 1inch Pro. It was first revealed in September when the project began geofencing U.S. IP addresses. The product is expected to launch by the end of 2022 or in early 2023, said Kunz.
It will provide “permission pools” for institutions and permit only verified participants, said Kunz, adding that retail users would have to pass KYC and AML to access all the available liquidity sources and services which would run under the 1inch Pro product.
1inch Network is also looking to launch a new protocol in Q1 2022, which will use the 1INCH token as an “insurance token.”
Kunz said:
“Users can stake and cover the protocol from losses by taking risks and earning from the protocol’s fees.”
The Series B round brings 1inch Network’s total funding to date to nearly $190 million. The project has previously raised $14.8 million in two funding rounds.
