Ellipsis Labs, a prominent player in the crypto exchange sector, has secured $20 million in Series A funding, with Paradigm taking the lead in the investment round. This funding will allow Ellipsis Labs to further expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) technology stack. Along with Paradigm, Electric Capital also participated in the investment round, and support came from notable figures such as Justin Drake and Mike Neuder from the Ethereum Foundation, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, and others. Ellipsis Labs is known for developing Phoenix, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Solana blockchain. In August 2023, the company raised $3.3 million in seed funding, with Electric Capital leading the investment round. Phoenix currently has a total value locked (TVL) of $14.31 million and a trading volume of $238.79 million in the past 24 hours, ranking it as the eighth-largest DEX on Solana based on TVL.
Phoenix aims to revolutionize trade settlements by eliminating the need for a “crank” mechanism, which enables multiple transactions to occur simultaneously without waiting for each to finalize before initiating the next. The platform provides users with on-chain market event data, including placed limit orders, fills, and canceled limit orders, offering transparency and access to Phoenix’s complete activity history. Ellipsis Labs emphasizes the importance of combining the decentralized benefits of DeFi with the liquidity and efficiency found in traditional finance. The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate the progress of DeFi, up and down the stack. Ellipsis Labs set out 1.5 years ago to build better on-chain liquidity primitives, with Phoenix being the first protocol developed by the company to achieve this goal.
Paradigm, the leading investor in the funding round, is reportedly in discussions to raise up to $850 million for a new fund. This potential fundraise comes as crypto markets have witnessed a recovery in recent months. If successful, it would be Paradigm’s largest raise since announcing a $2.5 billion fund in November 2021. Paradigm’s investment portfolio includes notable crypto firms such as Coinbase, Blur, dYdX, Compound, and Citadel Securities. The firm is also leading a funding round aimed at elevating the valuation of Merkle Manufactory, the company behind the social network Farcaster, to the $1 billion mark. Paradigm has played a key role in supporting crypto firms in legal battles, filing a legal brief in support of the prediction market platform Kalshi and challenging the SEC’s attempt to expand its jurisdiction over crypto secondary markets.
In the accompanying Medium post, Ellipsis Labs highlights the importance of combining traditional finance’s liquidity and efficiency with the decentralized benefits of DeFi. The company plans to utilize the new funding to accelerate the progress of DeFi, both up and down the stack. Paradigm’s investment in Ellipsis Labs and other crypto firms showcases the firm’s commitment to supporting innovative projects in the crypto space. Ellipsis Labs’ Phoenix platform aims to improve trade settlements by streamlining transactions and providing users with transparent on-chain market event data. With the successful funding round, Ellipsis Labs is well-positioned to further develop its technology stack and expand its presence in the DeFi sector.
Overall, Ellipsis Labs’ successful Series A funding round, led by Paradigm, will enable the company to enhance its decentralized finance technology stack and continue building innovative solutions in the crypto exchange sector. Phoenix, the platform developed by Ellipsis Labs, has achieved significant success, boasting a high TVL and trading volume on the Solana blockchain. Paradigm’s ongoing efforts to raise a new fund further demonstrate the firm’s commitment to supporting innovative projects in the crypto space. By combining the benefits of DeFi with traditional finance’s liquidity and efficiency, Ellipsis Labs aims to revolutionize trade settlements and improve user experiences in the decentralized exchange market. The funding secured by Ellipsis Labs solidifies its position as a key player in the crypto sector, with plans to accelerate the progress of DeFi technology development.
