A project to build a decentralized bridge between Bitcoin and Ethereum just received a multimillion-dollar boost.
The Keep Network says it has closed a $7.7-million funding round led by Paradigm Capital, an independent investment dealer led by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam. The private token sale also includes participation from Chinese venture capital fund Fenbushi Capital and tech VC firm Collaborative Fund, among others.
The Keep Network allows users to store their Bitcoin in a secure wallet and convert them into a token that runs on the Ethereum network. Bitcoin holders can then take advantage of the many applications running on the Ethereum blockchain. For example, users can leverage the new token, dubbed “tBTC” as collateral for loans or trading on margin. To redeem their Bitcoin, users would simply have to exchange their tBTC for BTC through the Keep Network.
Matt Luongo, founder of the Keep Network, says that tBTC offers the best of Ethereum and Bitcoin. The hardiness of Bitcoin as a means of exchange remains while exploiting Ethereum’s supercomputing feature.
“The goal is to give Bitcoin the superpowers that smart contracts have on Ethereum, and, also, to bring Bitcoin as collateral to decentralized finance.”
The company has not yet set a launch date but says it will release tBTC in the coming weeks.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek