Velar, the Bitcoin DeFi platform, has successfully concluded its seed funding round, securing $3.5 million in capital from a diverse group of prominent Web3 investors. Notable participants in the round include Bitcoin Startup Lab, CMS Holdings, Black Edge Capital, GBV, Cypher Capital, Trust Machines SPV, Transform Capital, Maple Block, and Samara Asset Group, among others.
Capitalizing on the remarkable surge of interest and expansion in the DeFi sector in recent years, which has funneled over $100 billion in liquidity into the Ethereum network, Velar is introducing the world’s inaugural perpetual decentralized exchange (PerpDEX) on Bitcoin. Velar’s objective is to tap into the dormant liquidity of $800 billion within the Bitcoin network for its evolving DeFi environment, thereby providing BTC holders with the same appealing value proposition and yields that have proven successful in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Mithil Thakore, Co-Founder and CEO of Velar, said, “Velar’s successful funding round is a validation of our mission to make Proof-of-Work and Bitcoin the base layer of DeFi. Velar is set to redefine what’s possible, facilitating $800B worth of dormant liquidity to be used in DeFi; and we’re excited to invite the world to be a part of this groundbreaking journey.”
Evolving DeFi Landscape on Bitcoin
In anticipation of the imminent mainnet launch of Dharma, the pioneering automated market maker (AMM) inspired by Uniswap v2 and constructed on the widely adopted Bitcoin Layer Stacks, Velar is gearing up to expedite the development of its PerpDEX, known as Velar Artha, using the freshly secured capital. The platform will harness the power of Stacks to facilitate liquidity for DeFi decentralized applications (dApps) on the Bitcoin network, with the launch of Velar Artha scheduled for the second quarter of 2024.
While Velar had its initial launch on Stacks, it is important to note that the protocol is Layer 2 (L2)-agnostic and is poised to incorporate other prominent Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions. Cem Özer, Co-Founder and CEO of Sovereign Labs, and Alexei Zamyatin, Co-Founder of Build on Bitcoin (BoB), distinguished figures associated with upcoming Bitcoin Layer 2 projects, have actively contributed to Velar’s funding round as angel investors.
Muneeb Ali, Co-Creator of Stacks, said, “DeFi is the logical next step for Bitcoin. Introducing perps for Bitcoin and other assets that can be swapped in a decentralized way, and earn rewards will help unlock the $500B in untapped value on Bitcoin. This fundraising helps the team at Velar build a liquidity protocol that will be a major gateway for the usability being unlocked by sBTC on Bitcoin L2.”
Eric from CMS Holdings, said, “We are excited to support the adoption of DeFi on BTC. After witnessing the explosion of DeFi on ETH with the introduction of swapping, staking, and farming, we believe that Velar brings this same ensemble of DeFi products to the BTC space.”
The forthcoming product suite from Velar will encompass an AMM, a project launchpad, and PerpDEX. The PerpDEX component specifically empowers institutions to leverage their inactive BTC holdings as collateral in a non-custodial manner. Velar initiated its AMM testnet in May of last year, resulting in the creation of over 165,000 testnet wallets—an unprecedented achievement for a DeFi project centered around Bitcoin.
Redefining DeFi Possibilities
Velar is a DeFi platform that empowers Bitcoin users to actively engage their holdings in the decentralized finance space. Comprising an AMM, a launchpad, and a perpetual DEX, Velar is designed for BTC holders seeking to yield returns on their assets in a non-custodial manner, all within a secure and native Bitcoin environment. The platform aspires to progressively contest Ethereum’s position as the primary Layer 1 for DeFi, creating opportunities for financial dApps to thrive on the Bitcoin network.
Mithil Thakore, Jakob, Tejinder Singh Mor, and Aravind Sathyanandham co-founded Velar, bringing together their extensive expertise as fintech and blockchain veterans in the Web3 domain. Mithil, the originator of TeraSurge Capital, a quantitative-based crypto derivatives trading desk and proprietary venture capital, possesses a wealth of experience. Aravind, who held positions as the Director of MENA at Amber Group and in Institutional Sales at Crypto.com, adds his valuable insights to the team.
While Ethereum maintains its stronghold as the primary blockchain for DeFi, capturing 57.3% of the overall Total Value Locked (TVL), the rise of platforms such as Stacks—a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution for smart contracts, DeFi, and NFTs—has spurred the development of a burgeoning decentralized financial ecosystem on the Bitcoin network. The native asset of this blockchain has been a focal point in the crypto sphere, especially following the approval of 10 spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January.
As Velar positions itself to challenge Ethereum’s dominance in the DeFi sector, it not only aims to offer similar value propositions and yields to BTC holders but also endeavors to redefine possibilities in the DeFi landscape. The strategic vision and collaborative efforts of Velar’s co-founders, along with the support from investors and the broader crypto community, set the stage for an exciting and groundbreaking journey in the evolving realm of decentralized finance on Bitcoin.
