Dive Into the Big Splash: Puffer Finance Raises $18M to Propel Ethereum’s Decentralization
Ahoy Puffer Family! Puffer is bubbling with excitement to share some fintastic news: we have successfully closed our Series A funding round, raising a whale of $18 million! Led by the savvy sea captains at Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital, this treasure chest will fuel the launch of our Puffer Mainnet, setting the stage for a more decentralized Ethereum ocean.
We’re over the moonfish to welcome aboard our new partners from the deep crypto seas, including Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Avon Ventures (affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments) and LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures, along with other key players like Lemniscap, Lightspeed Faction. Your belief in our mission to revolutionize the Liquid Restaking sector fills our sails and steers us towards exciting waters!
Making Waves with Milestones and Growth
Since casting off our lines last August with a $5.5M seed round co-led by Lemniscap and Lightspeed Faction, the currents have been more than favorable. Our journey was further buoyed in January by a strategic investment from Binance Labs, Binance’s venture capital arm, which plunged into the Puffer waters, thrilled by our technology’s potential to make Ethereum validation more accessible and profitable.
The strong support of our community has been instrumental in the success of our Series A. During our early-mainnet phase, dubbed the Crunchy Carrot Campaign, we managed to reel in an impressive $1.23 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), firmly establishing Puffer as a titan of the native Liquid Restaking seascape.
As we navigated through the DeFi deeps and Ethereum Layer 2 currents, we’ve continued to enhance the utility for our pufETH holders. Known for its liquidity, pufETH has become one of the most sought-after Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs), ensuring a steady and reliable market presence for all our users. With new integrations on the horizon, we’re ready to dive deeper and explore uncharted territories of innovation.
Puffer Mainnet: Your Passport to a Decentralized Ethereum
The support from Series A is set to enrich the development of Puffer Mainnet — our beacon of research and innovation in decentralized tech.
By reducing the entry threshold to just 1 ETH, we’re democratizing the ability for more validators to join the Ethereum network, thereby enhancing its decentralization. This sea change is not just a ripple but a wave, poised to revolutionize the Liquid Restaking landscape by integrating Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake yields with Actively Validated Services’ (AVS) restaking yields. These combined yields offer compelling incentives for a more diverse array of Node Operators to enhance network security and decentralization.
At the heart of our innovation are the Secure-Signer technology and Validator Tickets (VTs), designed to keep our network swimming safely and efficiently. Supported by an Ethereum Foundation grant, Secure-Signer bolsters network security by protecting Node Operators from potential slashable offenses. Meanwhile, VTs introduce a revolutionary approach to enhancing the efficiency, resilience, and profitability of both permissionless and bonded Node Operators on Liquid Staking Protocols (LSPs). Together, these innovations serve as our armor against the rough seas, charting a course for a more inclusive and secure blockchain ecosystem.
What’s Next for Puffer?
This Series A round isn’t just a milestone — it’s a springboard that propels us towards significant advancements in Liquid Restaking. As we prepare for the mainnet launch, our focus remains on creating an inclusive, secure, and decentralized Ethereum ecosystem, ensuring that Puffer remains a lighthouse of innovation in the sea of blockchains.
Following the mainnet launch, Puffer Finance is set to further enrich the ecosystem for pufETH holders. Aligned with our strategic roadmap, we are committed to becoming a hub for AVSs, driving growth, and enhancing offerings for our users.
A Sea of Support: Heartfelt Thanks to Our Investors
As we navigate the exciting currents ahead, we’re anchored by the strong support of our investors. The belief and commitment shown by each one have been instrumental in propelling Puffer Finance forward. A special thanks to our lead Investors, Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital, who steered this round with vision and confidence.
We’re also immensely grateful to our participating investors who have joined us on this voyage. Each organization and individual brings unique strengths and insights that enhance our collective journey towards decentralizing Ethereum:
Sea Captains (Lead Investors):
- Brevan Howard Digital
- Electric Capital
Crew Members (Participating Investors):
- Coinbase Ventures
- Franklin Templeton
- Avon Ventures (a venture capital fund affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments)
- Kraken Ventures
- Lemniscap
- Lightspeed Faction
- Consensys
- Mechanism Capital
- GSR Ventures
- CoinSummer
- Animoca Ventures
- Leadblock Bitpanda Ventures
- SNZ Capital
- Breed VC
- Cherubic Ventures
- DeWhales Capital
- Longhash
- Inception
- Mask Network
- AP Capital
- Formless Capital
- Web3Port
- StakeFish
- A41
- Everstake
- Neuler
- InfStones
- Ebanker
- Moonhill Capital
- Swissborg
- Bas1s Ventures
- Canonical Crypto
Navigators (Angel Investors):
- DiscusFish, Cofounder @ F2Pool and Cobo
- Andrew Kang, Partner @ Mechanism Capital
- Sandeep Nailwal, Cofounder @ Polygon
- YQ, Cofounder @ AltLayer
- Ted Lin, Web3 Angel and Former CGO @ Binance
- Stephane, Cofounder @ Flashbot
- Anthony Ramirez, Cofounder @ Wormhole Labs
- Saeed Badreg, Cofounder @ Wormhole Labs
- Anton, Founder @ Pendle
- 0xCygaar, Cofounder @ Frame
- Spencer Yang, Managing Partner @ Block Space Force
- Alexey Bondar, Launch Lead @ P2P
- Lester Chui, Partnerships @ P2P
- Romeo Kuok, Managing Director @ OSL
- Mike Armstrong, Partner @ .XYZ Group and former Strategy @ Coinbase
- Lewis Tuff, CTO @ BH Digital
- Ross Trachtman, Principal @ BH Digital
- Alex Matthews, Principal @ BH Digital
- Gregoire le Jeune, CEO @ Hito Studios
- Tiger Kim, Founder @ nfr
- Emilio Fulco, Partner @ 4RC
- Edward Rogers, Partner @ 4RC
- Keegan Selby, Partner @ 4RC
- Jonathan, thetie.io
- Winslow Strong
Your trust and partnership mean the world to us, and we are thrilled to have you all as part of the Puffer family. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries of blockchain technology and make waves in the liquid restaking space.
About Puffer
Puffer is the first native Liquid Restaking Protocol (nLRP) built on EigenLayer. It introduces native Liquid Restaking Tokens (nLRTs) that accrue PoS and restaking rewards. Nodes within the protocol leverage Puffer’s anti-slashing technology to enjoy reduced risk and increased capital efficiency, while supercharging their rewards through native restaking exposure. http://puffer.fi/
