The team behind the Solana blockchain is in the process of raising a large sum of money in a bid to take on Ethereum, according to a report by Decrypt.
The project — which is best known for powering FTX’s decentralized exchange Serum — could raise anywhere from $300 million to $450 million from the raise, but the exact figure is unclear from Decrypt’s report. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko did not respond to a message from The Block seeking further clarity about the raise.
Solana’s blockchain promises more scalability through a new consensus mechanism known as Proof of History. It appears to be favorable among traders. Serum, which FTX announced in July, has seen its trading volumes top $1.6 billion last month, as per The Block’s data dashboard.
The ecosystem for Solana appears to be growing at a fast clip. A number of projects building on the blockchain have launched recently. Jump Trading — one of the largest high-frequency trading shops — announced Pyth, a Solana-based project that would bring Wall Street’s vast amount of market data on chain.
Last week, the Solana Foundation announced a $20 million fund to build out the ecosystem in South Korea.
In 2019, Solana announced the completion of a $20 million fundraise led by Multicoin Capital. Other investors include Blocktower Capital, Slow Ventures, and Passport Capital.