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Near Protocol, a Layer-1 blockchain network has announced another capital raise worth $350 million from investors led by Tiger Global. As reported by Bloomberg, the funding round is on schedule to be officially unveiled on Wednesday, and, it comes weeks after the startup pulled $150 million as it continues to tap into the frenzy investors have now developed for cryptocurrency projects.
The backing of Near Protocol by Tiger Global is a testament to the recognition of the blockchain’s perceived potential in the fast-growing blockchain ecosystem by investors. According to Amos Zhang, partner at MetaWeb VC which focuses on unique investments bordering on the broader blockchain ecosystem, the Tiger Global backing is proof that the venture capital is optimistic Near will be among the protocols to take over the world.
Besides Tiger Global, the Near Protocol funding round also enjoined participation from the likes of Republic Capital, FTX Ventures, Hashed, and Dragonfly Capital, among others. According to popular reports, the funding will be utilized by Near Protocol to bolster the decentralization of its ecosystem, a move that is essential to its overall growth.
The funding round news has also impacted the blockchain network’s native token NEAR which is trading at $16.06 atop a $10.6 billion market capitalization per data from CoinMarketCap.
Complimenting Near Protocol Growth
In relation to other blockchain protocols around, the Near Protocol is arguably one of the most liquid around, thanks in part to the 2-nine-figure funding rounds it has successfully completed since the start of the year.
As a layer-1 blockchain network, the Near Protocol was designed as a community-run cloud computing platform and that eliminates some of the limitations that have been bogging competing blockchains, such as low transaction speeds, low throughput, and poor interoperability.
In a bid to properly harness the strength of its infrastructure, the blockchain network launched an $800 million ecosystem fund back in October last year to empower projects that are willing to build on Near.
“While NEAR is giving all communities access to this record amount of funding, it will be focusing on decentralized finance (DeFi) teams who are actively revolutionizing and reimagining the way we interact with money,” the blockchain network said at the time, noting that, “DeFi projects on NEAR have already hit a significant milestone of more than $150M Total Value Locked (TVL). NEAR has an ambitious goal to grow that number quickly and securely. NEAR is also actively looking for projects focused on NFTs, DAOs, and gaming.”
With the latest funds serving as a complement to its ongoing liquidity injection, every aspect of the Near Blockchain is poised to be impacted in the near term.
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